Shin Shin Bijinga! (新。真美人系)

My team, Gekkie, Raj, Son Tra and I created a visual response to Shin Bijinga – No.12 Dancing with Fan by Yosho Chikanobu.

I believe this is our first time doing such a project, and actually exhibiting it (although it was only for 5 hours), but for me, it felt really exciting because it was also my first time creating an interactive artwork.

The results definitely didn’t come easy. There were many struggles and obstacles (as I’m sure everyone has). In our first brainstorm session, we could hardly come up with any ideas. Seeing Yao Lu’s New Landscapes gave us better ideas. It was about having the same composition, but different subject matters, with an entirely different context/idea from the original Chinese landscape paintings. Naturally, we thought of doing Singapore landscapes as a response to Japanese screens. Somehow, the idea wasn’t all that exciting to us though.

Some lecture later, on Bjinga, we developed a new idea (Gekkie thought of it first!) Interestingly, women in Bijinga was depicted as shy and alluring, which is a different behaviour compared to women now! It was fun thinking of changing poses to show the more confident side of modern women (equality/feminism), but we felt that it may be a too complex or confusing topic to depict well/clearly.

Finally, after some discussions and comments, we found that there was a series of 18th century Bijinga (Shin Bijinga), that was a response to the original 17th century Bijinga. We then realised that we could possibly do a response to a response! We wanted to keep the Bijinga style, and also to make it obvious that we were responding to the Shin Bijinga, hence we finalized on the idea of changing the clothes of one of the works in the Shin Bijinga series. It is not too complicated and is easy to show our idea, that many things are different in our century, one of them being the roles of women, and the different clothes they wear based on it.

I was apprehensive about drawing the “suit”, as I’m not very good with fashion or anatomy. Thankfully, I had Gekkie and Son Tra to help as they gave me constructive comments to improve. As the blouses/blazers are usually plain-coloured, I added the patterns on the tie to give it the original feel, much like how Gekkie added it for the words on her t-shirt.

Overall, thinking back on all the obstacles we met along the way, I/we were really satisfied with how it turned out! It has been a long ride since our very first idea, and we’re grateful for all the suggestions and advice from our tutors!

Final Assessment

Group members: Gek, Raj, Pin, Son Tra

For the final assessment, we have decided to do a visual response to Japanese screens (byobu). The idea was inspired by Yao Lu’s New Landscapes and Team 5’s presentation. 🙂

At first glance, Yao Lu’s New Landscapes looks like any Chinese landscape paintings of mountains. On closer observation however, it is actually depicting trash. View more!

Here’s an example if you don’t want to open the links.

Dwelling in the Mount Fuchun, Yao Lu
Dwelling in the Mount Fuchun, Yao Lu.

Also, in Team 5’s presentation, they showed us a byobu that contained modern motifs.

We found these works really fascinating and are interested to do a visual response with an idea similar to these works.

We are still finalizing the byobu that we are “responding” to, but we are hoping to input some context of Singapore. E.g. Replace houses with HDB.

Introduction + Point

Chinese landscape paintings appeared as early as 4th century BCE, when people started to be more mindful about nature.[1] However, they were very much in the background and only became more prominent in Chinese culture around the end of the Tang dynasty. It was from then and to the Northern Song period (960–1127) that we now perceive as the one of the greatest times in the history of Chinese landscape painting[2]. Many famous painters surfaced during this period, including Guo Xi and Emperor Hui-tsung[3], whose paintings, Early Spring (see Figure 1) and Five-Coloured Parakeet (see Figure 2) respectively, will be discussed in this essay.

With regards to this particular time period, many painters and poets started to seek refuge in nature, to escape the disorder of society[4][5]. Hence, many of the paintings had motifs related to nature, such as mountains, trees, water, flowers, and more. Despite the generalization and similarities of Chinese landscape paintings, each painting can hugely vary from another in terms of its idea.

Both Early Spring by Guo Xi and Five-Coloured Parakeet by Emperor Hui-tsung are some of the most prominent work of the Northern Song dynasty[6]. On first glance, we can see that both works have nature-themed motifs, a general characteristic of Chinese landscape painting. Both paintings were done by ink on silk, which was the most common medium at that time.

Interestingly, different nature motifs have very different meanings. In Early Spring by Guo Xi, the subject matters are mountains, water and trees, while in the Five-Coloured Parakeet by Emperor Hui-tsung, there are flowers and a bird. Guo Xi’s idea of painting is to be able to imagine oneself relaxing and strolling through the paths within the paintings, momentarily removing oneself from the chaotic world and coming back refreshed even though they haven’t moved[7]. This relates to the subject matter of mountains as they tend to represent heavenly symbols, and thought to be the place where devout Buddhists felt closest to their Gods[8][9]. Mountains, coupled together with its streams, also symbolizes change, and the balance of yin-yang, the idea of opposite elements being interlinked[10]. On the other hand, in Five-Coloured Parakeet, the subject matters are a bird and a flowering apricot tree. Emperor Hui-tsung was engrossed with more than just skill, and he wanted to “achieve a transcendent realism”[11]. Many of his works are said to be studies of nature, but most of his works were often referred to with an auspicious nature. Likewise in Five-Coloured Parakeet, the parakeet was seen as tamed, charming and lively[12], while the apricot tree was thought of as a sign of good fortune[13]. Hence, we can see that Early Spring is more about balance while Five-Coloured Parakeet leans towards prosperous signs.

Besides the subject matter of the paintings, the meaning behind each work is also emphasized through how they were painted.


[1] Sherman E. Lee, “Chinese Landscape Painting,” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 41 (1954): 199.

[2] “Chinese Landscape Painting,” China Online Museum, accessed March 17, 2016, http://www.comuseum.com/painting/landscape-painting.

[3] Michael Sullivan, The Art of China (California: University of California Press, 1984), 155–164.

[4] “Chinese Landscape Painting,” China Online Museum, accessed March 17, 2016, http://www.comuseum.com/painting/landscape-painting.

[5] “Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127),” Metropolitan Museum of Art, accessed March 17, 2016, https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nsong/hd_nsong.htm.

[6] Michael Sullivan, The Art of China (California: University of California Press, 1984), 155–165.

[7] Wen C. Fong, “Monumental Landscape Painting,” in Possessing the Past: Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, ed. Wen C. Fong and James C. Y. Watt, (New York and Taipei: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and National Palace Museum, 1996), 131.

[8] “Chinese Painting and Poetry: Symbolism,” San Jose State University Digital Art Lobby, accessed March 18, 2016, http://gallery.sjsu.edu/oldworld/asiangate/chinesepainting/POETRY/symbolism/symbolism.html.

[9] “Chinese Symbols and Art Motifs,” Cultural China, accessed March 18, 2016, http://arts.cultural-china.com/en/62Arts11141.html.

[10] “Ruby Wang Gallery Guide,” Binghamton University, accessed March 18, 2016, http://www.binghamton.edu/art-museum/images/13-413%20Ruby%20Wang%20gallery%20guide%20bro3.pdf.

[11] Wen C. Fong, “Monumental Landscape Painting,” in Possessing the Past: Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, ed. Wen C. Fong and James C. Y. Watt, (New York and Taipei: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and National Palace Museum, 1996), 134.

[12] Maggie Bickford, “Emperor Huizong and the Aesthetic of Agency,” Archives of Asian Art 53 (2002/2003):79.

[13] “Symbolism of Flowers, Fruits and Trees in Chinese Decoration and Decorative Arts,” Nations Online, accessed March 18, 2016, http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/Chinese_Customs/flowers_symbolism.htm.


[Updated with combined paragraphs, slightly changed and a clearer thesis statement, a better link at the end of the second paragraph]

Chinese landscape paintings appeared as early as 4th century BCE, when people started to be more mindful about nature. However, they were very much in the background and only became more prominent in Chinese culture around the end of the Tang dynasty. It was from then and to the Northern Song period (960–1127) that we now perceive as the one of the greatest times in the history of Chinese landscape painting. Many famous painters surfaced during this period, including Guo Xi and Emperor Hui-tsung[1]. Their paintings, Early Spring (see Figure 1) and Five-Coloured Parakeet (see Figure 2) respectively, are some of the most prominent work of the Northern Song dynasty[2], and will be discussed in this essay. With regards to this particular time period, many painters and poets started to seek refuge in nature, to escape the disorder of society[3]. Hence, many of the paintings had motifs related to nature, such as mountains, trees, water, flowers, and more. Although both Early Spring and Five-Coloured Parakeet are classified as Chinese landscape paintings, each painting is different from each other in terms of its meanings.

On first glance, we can see that both works are nature-themed, but their different motifs give different ideas to the painting. In Early Spring by Guo Xi, the subject matters are mountains, water and trees, while in the Five-Coloured Parakeet by Emperor Hui-tsung, there are flowers and a bird. Guo Xi’s idea of painting is to be able to imagine oneself relaxing and strolling through the paths within the paintings, momentarily removing oneself from the chaotic world and coming back refreshed even though they haven’t moved[4]. This relates to the subject matter of mountains as they tend to represent heavenly symbols, and thought to be the place where devout Buddhists felt closest to their Gods[5][6]. Mountains, coupled together with its streams, also symbolizes change, and the balance of yin-yang, the idea of opposite elements being interlinked[7]. On the other hand, in Five-Coloured Parakeet, the subject matters are a bird and a flowering apricot tree. Emperor Hui-tsung was engrossed with more than just skill, and he wanted to “achieve a transcendent realism”[8]. Many of his works are said to be studies of nature, but most of his works were often referred to with an auspicious nature. Likewise in Five-Coloured Parakeet, the parakeet was seen as tamed, charming and lively[9], while the apricot tree was thought of as a sign of good fortune. Hence, we can see that both paintings have different meanings.

Besides the subject matter of the paintings, the differences in meaning behind each work are further emphasized through the conception of the painting.


[1] Michael Sullivan, The Art of China (California: University of California Press, 1984), 155–164.

[2] Michael Sullivan, The Art of China (California: University of California Press, 1984), 155–165.

[3] “Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127),” Metropolitan Museum of Art, accessed March 17, 2016, https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nsong/hd_nsong.htm.

[4] Wen C. Fong, “Monumental Landscape Painting,” in Possessing the Past: Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, ed. Wen C. Fong and James C. Y. Watt, (New York and Taipei: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and National Palace Museum, 1996), 131.

[5] “Chinese Painting and Poetry: Symbolism,” San Jose State University Digital Art Lobby, accessed March 18, 2016, http://gallery.sjsu.edu/oldworld/asiangate/chinesepainting/POETRY/symbolism/symbolism.html.

[6] “Chinese Symbols and Art Motifs,” Cultural China, accessed March 18, 2016, http://arts.cultural-china.com/en/62Arts11141.html.

[7] “Ruby Wang Gallery Guide,” Binghamton University, accessed March 18, 2016, http://www.binghamton.edu/art-museum/images/13-413%20Ruby%20Wang%20gallery%20guide%20bro3.pdf.

[8] Wen C. Fong, “Monumental Landscape Painting,” in Possessing the Past: Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, ed. Wen C. Fong and James C. Y. Watt, (New York and Taipei: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and National Palace Museum, 1996), 134.

[9] Maggie Bickford, “Emperor Huizong and the Aesthetic of Agency,” Archives of Asian Art 53 (2002/2003):79.


Essay Proposal

4. What is Chinese landscape painting? Compare Guo Xi’s Early Spring to a bird and flower painting by Emperor Hui-tsung.

Introduction
– What is Chinese landscape painting (Definition)
– Basic background information (How it started, etc?)
– Claim: Chinese landscape paintings (of the same time period) can be very different (in terms of aesthetics)

Paragraphs
– Discuss about Guo Xi’s Early Spring painting (Subject matter, composition, colour)
– Compare Emperor’s Hui-Tsung’s painting (Five-coloured Parakeet) to Guo Xi’s, similarities, differences (compared to what was mentioned in the above paragraph)


[Update] With the suggestions, I have edited my proposal.

Introduction
– What is Chinese landscape painting
-> Definition of Chinese landscape painting
-> When it started
-> Characteristics of Chinese landscape paintings
– Introduce Guo Xi and Emperor Hui-tsung
-> What is their motivation/reasoning/influences behind painting
– Claim
-> Although similar motifs (nature-ish), they carry largely differing meanings

Paragraph
– Compare subject matter of both paintings
– Compare composition of both paintings
– Compare colour of both paintings

(REVLIS) Lore: Entertainment

There ain’t much entertainment
here in Revlis.
Ladies and gentlemen,
all there is…

A burning campfire in
the plaza,
there’d be dancin’,
and potatoes getting char.

The library
with less than hundred
books, and mostly
all have them completely read.

Chill on the ridge,
contemplate life’s worth.
Walk round the edge,
or jog or run for good health.

If you can’t find
anything else to do, then,
work. So many kinds
of tasks to be done.

The best fun you can have,
ultimately, is with your
friends. The fave
are those chats and silly things that surely aren’t a bore.

(REVLIS) Lore: Celebrations

For clarification purposes, time isn’t measured by clocks or candles. Every day is roughly gauged by the flight of this huge flock of birds to and fro. No one can accurately tell how long an hour is or when the day is going to end, but when the birds fly from the forest behind the library in the direction of the plaza (they don’t land, they continue straight), it’s half-day, and when they fly back, it’s a new day.


1 year is 365 days. (Some of the information passed down from ancestors includes the calendar.) Every 4 years is a leap year. Revlis celebrates New Year’s Day, but besides that, there are two other major celebrations in Revlis.


11th July

It is a celebration of the beginnings of Revlis. It is not known for sure what happened on this day, but rumours say that 12th July was the day Lyra and Leoric convinced the townspeople, bringing the town together and leading them into a period of harmony and peace.

The celebration is two days long, and commonly referred to as Days of Revlis. There are still work that needs to be done though, but (almost) everyone will show up to help out because they want to finish it quickly and have fun together. However, the first day of the celebration isn’t grand. It signifies the hardship the town has overcome, and reminds everyone to be humble.

Over the course of the day, every house takes turns to go up the hill overlooking the town, and watch the town in silence for a short while. This act reinforces that everyone, not just the coordinators, will look out for the town’s safety and also the welfare of all of its members. Everyone then makes a wish and tie a piece of ribbon braided from long leaves (sedge).

Then, when it is half-day, most gather at the plaza/canteen area and have a simple meal of roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yam together. Throughout the day as well (that means, when the day starts till day ends), the canteen serves these food only.

12th July

Bells will ring to signify the arrival of this very special day. Light and simple food would be served from the start of the day to half-day, and at half-day, the townspeople will once more gather at the plaza/canteen. A feast would be set up, of roasted chicken to soft-boiled eggs, and mushroom soup to stuffed mushrooms. (And also the usual standard food like roasted potatoes, boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes, etc)

After the meal, there would be dances around the fire which usually last till the end of the day. It is only “compulsory” (note: nothing is really “compulsory”, it’s more like celebration norms and out of respect) to stay for the first dance.


Another celebration deemed important is the day a child turns 17. It signifies the coming of age, and it is when they will start to be included on the official working list.

On this day, for the child, s/he will have to drink a cup of celery juice as the day starts. It is then followed by by a walk at the edge of the forest with 1 of the 5 coordinators (if there are multiple children turning 17 on that day, they will all walk together with the coordinator). It is then followed by a long and slow dance around the fire in the plaza (that all the five coordinators will dance with you).

At half-day, the child and all friends and family (as long as they care for her/him) would return to the plaza and have a meal together, and sing a birthday song. After the meal, the child will be seated in the plaza (with the fire behind), and presented with elaborately braided sedge armbands. After which, the child will toss some firewood into the fire (usually their first time). Finally, they will dance the long and slow dance around the fire again, but this time with family and friends.

If the day happens to fall on the Days of Revlis, it will be scheduled to another day, usually within a week.

Update on Tang Shipwreck presentation

My team and I have reviewed our presentation structure and came up with a new and improved version!

Firstly, we will start by introducing what the Tang shipwreck is (background), then concentrate our presentation on 2-3 particular ceramic pieces that we feel are vital to learn about from the shipwreck.

The information we will include about the ceramic pieces are as follows:

  • Design
  • How the design was influenced from trade routes (interaction with other cultures)

Hopefully this presentation will be more concise and detailed with this updated structure!

– pin

(REVLIS) Lore: Law

There are no laws set in stone here, but rather, in its place are unspoken rules.

For example, the obvious, no random murdering of our own people, no hoarding of essentials. Such an outrageous act has never occurred since the beginning of Revlis though, and as such no punishments for such acts have ever been given.

The unspoken rules

  1. The obvious: No murders.
  2. No hoarding, everyone shares. No one is allowed to hoard things like food, clothes, to the extent that there is not enough for others. However, it is generally allowed to keep a few clothes that each individual likes very much (so much that it almost becomes their characteristic), and also a few personal items, such as toothbrushes, and undergarments, etc.

Work

As mentioned in some of my previous posts, the able townspeople are assigned work everyday by the coordinators.

A notice will be pinned up on each notice board in town that displays the next roster. It is usually not an enforced rule that you have to follow and do your assigned tasks. There are also no fixed timings, and is generally free and easy.

Of course, sometimes it happens that too many don’t turn up for work (though very rare), but when it happens and the situation gets too dire, the coordinator will try to rally them (or others who are free at that time) to help out.

(REVLIS) Lore: Architecture

If you actually follow my Lore posts, you will realise that I have written a list of places in town in this post.


Landmarks

The landmarks are simply the places townspeople frequent the most, hence are also larger in terms of size, easy to recognize.

The Plaza

Located right in the center of town, it is a huge area with a bonfire always burning.

Canteen

Right next to the plaza, it curves along the circular edge. There is a stall where anyone can get food when they are hungry. The stall is located at one end of the curve, and behind the stall is a fairly large cooking area. The stall is basically just a long wooden table, with pots and pans filled with food that anyone can help themselves to. The other parts of the table are stacked with plates, bowls and utensils.

At the other end of the canteen is a washing area that the townspeople can use to wash the dishes after eating.

Library

Located closer to the outer ring of the town, it is a strange material, different from all the other buildings here that are usually made with mud bricks, straw.

Many townspeople come here to chill and relax, as it is usually quiet.

Week 1-2 Journal

Week 1

What kind of learner are you

Honestly, I never knew what kind of learner I was. I get different results every time I do some test and I feel that I learn differently when I have different moods. Right now, however, I took some quizzes -> link.

Linguistic 75%
Intrapersonal 63%
Visual-Spatial 58%
Logical-Mathematical 50%
Interpersonal 50%
Musical 50%
Naturalistic 25%
Bodily-Kinesthetic 8%

-> link

Logical 20
Kinesthetic 16
Linguistic 14
Naturalistic 14
Intrapersonal 14
Musical 14
Interpersonal 13
Visual 11

As you can see…the results seem to vary widely. I suppose online quizzes aren’t really all that reliable (obviously). But I can perhaps derive that I am more partial towards the linguistic and logical learning style.

Personally though, I usually study by reading notes, writing notes, and doing examples, which is a learning style leaning towards kinesthetic.

After doing this exercise and thinking about it in detail, I find that there are lots of contradictions. It is probably not possibly to be only a few kinds of learner. Rather, everyone is every kind of learner, just more of some and less of others. For example, my usual learning style might be considered linguistic and kinesthetic, but in truth, (just quoting from the website, I don’t enjoy talking about things all that much (unless I’m comfortable with you) and I don’t do sports. People also tend to think that I would be a visual learner (since I’m in art school…right?) but I’m absolutely horrible at map reading and have 0 sense of direction.


Week 2

Favourite Buddhist temple

Unsurprisingly, I think that the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple is one of the nicest temples in Singapore. It is a tourist attraction, so it is of no surprise that the main temple is beautiful, with many statues and artworks displayed.

My favourite part of the temple, however, is the museum. I find understanding and learning about the history and some of the habits and rituals interesting, as there are information there that cannot be found anywhere else.