Results tagged “art”

There's a general energy in the air over Obama's upcoming visit. Judging by the many, many taxi and motorcycle drivers who have conversations with us to the effect of "美国好," Obama has become a cultural icon for the Chinese. While the American president represents a polar change in policy and practice for Americans, the Chinese seem to view him as an intelligent and fair man who will directly or indirectly help China in its ascendant world superpower-dom.

Navigating the labyrinth that is M50 can be an intimidating as the bronze robots emerging from one of its galleries, but no fear: Shanghaiist is here to help, starting with introducing you to some of the artistic figures you'll see wandering in and out.

We've worked at art auction houses before, and we've come to understand that the Chinese Art world has pretty much entirely passed over the years under Mao. Besides, when we think of the soviet realist artwork that was produced during that time, we struggle to see anything beyond the cheap souvenirs sold on Dongtai Lu. Interestingly, Bloomsbury Auctions is holding the first ever revolutionary Chinese art auction, with memorabilia (Maomorabilia?) that ranges from porcelain works to little red books. The 170 lots are expected to fetch around £130,000: we wonder what Mao would think of that? photo by Transpacifica

Because we know you can't get enough of timelapse videos, here's another one by Shanghai newbie, Joe Nafis, who tells us that he's been in town for just a month and jobless. We're totally amazed that all this was possible with the humble Canon A540. Anyone out there wanna give this guy a job?

For those of you that missed yesterday's big party, here's an awesome 3.5 minute timelapse version by Dan Chung of The Guardian which is just absolutely sublime and splendiferous. Some have said this is the "only version of China's National Day Parade you need to watch". We agree (and take that, CCTV!).

We love it when we find some Chinese-made animation that absolutely rocks our socks off and this 16-minute anti-war film definitely fits that definition. Made by an amateur CG hobbyist called "Jokelate" (饺克力) over the course of three years, it's better than most of the things we've seen come out of the actual Chinese animation industry.

China, the youthful and ever growing country that it is, has taken many lessons from the rest of the world. As a result, great men from other countries have come to be revered by the Chinese for their advancements: from Issiac Newton to Michael Jordan, many have made lasting impressions on the Chinese psyche. In preparation for the 60th anniversary of the PRC, the Global Times compiled a list of the sixty most influential foreigners in the country's short history. We'll give you a few guesses.

• Discounts! Bargains! Deals! This week there apparently a glut of savings at Plaza 353 where dozens of stores are beginning to offer promotions and steep discounts in anticipation of the impending national holiday [City Weekend]
• We'll need those savings if we're going to enjoy this hairy crab season. Reports have come out that prices will be about 10% higher than last year because of bigger crabs and higher water quality. [Shanghai Daily]
• In the mood for a classy night out living it up with the fashionistas but don't want to spend a lot? The Frau Ana fashion shows combines a party, fashion, and no cover this Friday. Oh, and there is allegedly free cotton candy. Sweet. [Shanghaiist]

                          

Over the weekend, A Nice Set - the traveling exhibition of leading artist-designed slipmats (that thing you place over your vinyl records) - debuted at SOURCE. Presented by NeochaEdge and Jellymon, the Shanghai edition not only featured mats by international artists, it also was the first showing of original slipmat designs from Chinese counterparts.

One year on and suddenly, Lu Yiying, the Shanghai-born, Australia-based creator of Twitter's fail whale, is suddenly getting a sudden media reemergence. Besides an audio interview with the BBC, she was also featured in a more in-depth piece by digital design site vectortuts+.

      

A man with a kid on his shoulder is disappearing behind a gate leading to a narrow alley behind Julu lu. He is apparently heading towards The Studio, the art gallery and creative space which lies squeezed inside a maze of low brick houses. A couple of minutes later more parents show up, leading their children by the hand into this little bubble of art in the heart of the French Concession.

Shanghai is in for a surprise from Colombia, but not of the illicit kind. From dcist comes a heartwarming story of, well, heart statues that have been placed around DC as part of an advertising campaign from the Colombian government. Dcist surmises that the campaign, aptly named "Discover Colombia Through its Heart," is attempting to change the country's public image: apparently kidnapping and cocaine are bad draws for tourism. And lucky for us, Shanghai will soon be graced with the exhibition.

German national Christoph Rehage shaved his head in the fall of 2007, walked from Beijing to Urumqi on foot (yes, all 4,500 km of it!), taking pictures of himself wherever he went, and this awesome video is what he ended up with. Especially appropriate is his use of the Chinese song, Olive Tree 《橄榄树》with its haunting lyrics, "不要问我从哪里来" (Don't ask me where I'm from). We're already looking forward to the next video of his walk from Urumqi back to Germany -- if he ever gets down to it, that is. Check out the rest of his website The Longest Way.

The Salvador Dalí sculpture gallery at Creative Shanghai may have just ended, but fear not because on July 31st, the Shanghai Art Museum will open a much more comprehensive showcase of Dalí's works in the exhibition "Salvador Dalí in Shanghai".

Our good friend Ben Houge's first visual exhibition, 29 Giraffes, opens today at [the studio] on Julu Lu today at 6pm, with a special sound performance starting at 8pm.

Did we ever tell you how much we love Meiwenti Productions or Juan Vargas' slapstick, pervy sense of humor? We were there for the epic Swat Chicks set in sci-fi Shanghai. We walked out thinking WTF!!! (but in a good way). And we giggled and guffawed through last year's Short Erotic Film Awards.

For the past year, the non-profit and non-governmental organization Hands on Shanghai, with the help of ad agency TBWA and Kodak, has been putting cameras in the hands of children from migrant families and teaching them principles of photography both inside the classroom and out in the field. Several of the photos taken by the kids through this learning program, called "Shutterbugs," will be on display and up for auction this Sunday at Glamour Bar, with the proceeds going towards expanding the program in Shanghai and Chengdu.

        

Photos and text by Jeremy Breningstall Ever wonder what the story of Oedipus would be like if it were told through the language of Beijing Opera? These photos offer a glimpse of that as well as Humans in the Year 2222, a Vietnamese drama. Both are among the many performances happening as part of the 2009 UNESCO Chair ITI Asian Pacific Expo of Theatre Schools & 5th Shanghai International Experimental Theatre Festival is taking place this week at the Shanghai Theatre Academy and other venues across town. This festival brings thespians from across the Pacific region for a range of workshops and performances.

Internationally renowned artist Tony Wong is no stranger to success in the art scene, with his work having been exhibited extensively across major US cities, in Hong Kong and Taipei, and throughout Europe.

Time for the most exciting theater happening of this week - East West Theater premieres this friday with California Suite, Neil Simons' 1976 bittersweet comedy. EWT is one of Shanghais first locally-based English theater groups in Shanghai. In an interview with Shanghaiist, producer and actress Rosita L. Janbakhsh and directors Jonathan Geenen and Daniel Connelly, tell their thoughts around the play, life as an artist in China, male dominance within the theater world, and much more.

Last week, the organizers of Cut&Paste held their digital design tournament in Shanghai for the first time ever. Artists from around the city competed in the categories of 2D design, 3D design and motion design at the Shanghai Sculpture Space. It was a fun and hectic day out, followed by an equally fun and hectic night in Yu Yin Tang for the FREE THE WAX live show.

The latest exhibition at the Art Labor gallery on Yongjia Lu is a satirical take on last summer's Beijing Olympics.

With dodgy versions of Photoshop available from every fake market, DVD shop and noodle stall in the city, it takes more than a few flashy images to make your club flyer stand out from the crowd.

More photos on the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute page, use Flickr and tag your photos “shanghaiist”. Or you can email your photos to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically appear on our site (and here).

It's May, which means that we're about to see a slew of Sichuan Earthquake-related tributes to commemorate the one year anniversary of the terrible disaster. Right now, one of the most popular videos on Youku is of a sand artist drawing images related to Wenchuan.

This weekend, support both your local amateur artists and Shanghai's favorite pet charity with a fun lunch at Café DuMonde 咖啡杜梦in Pudong. Second Chance Animal Aid (SCAA) will be holding the awards ceremony for their art contest there on Saturday, April 25.

Sometimes dubbed the Moganshan Lu of 15 years ago, the artists' enclave at 696 Weihai Lu, despite its central Shanghai location, has been pulsing under the radar for much of the past three years. Originally an opium den that was later turned into a factory, 696 Weihai is now home to around 40 residents, most of them artists and designers who have taken advantage of the the location and vibe to set up their studios and workspaces there.

• As Chinese art market crashes, many artists applaud [csmonitor.com] "Chinese artists were seen as ATMs," says Jerome Sans, director of the nonprofit Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing. "Maybe now they'll stop creating for the market and create for the mind."
• Wine producers pin hopes on China in tough times [AFP] "Wine producers are pinning their hopes for growth during the financial crisis on a country that only recently entered the ranks of the world's top ten wine drinking countries — China. Wine bars and speciality wine stores have flourished in Shanghai, which prides itself of being the nation's most cosmopolitan city, and have quickly become part of the landscape."
• Reports: China auto sales 1.03 million in March [Forbes] "Preliminary figures show auto sales in China rose to at least 1.03 million in March, exceeding U.S. sales for the third month in a row, state media reports said Wednesday. Sales data from 14 major auto makers, accounting for roughly 90 percent of total sales, totaled 1.026 million, the state-run newspaper Shanghai Securities News said, citing Chen Bin, head of the Department of Industry at China's main economic planning agency."

Calling all debonair designers with a flair for competition - this is the last week you can enter the Shanghai-based chapter of Cut&Paste, a contest for digital artists interested in showing off their artistic chops under pressure.

• When China is no. 1 [McKinsey: What Matters] "Less tangibly, we should expect to see a Sinicization of global culture through the influence of Chinese consumers’ tastes. Clothing styles, food flavors, the design and packaging of global brands, music, sports, and entertainment will respond to the draw of the Chinese market. More and more, we should expect to see our youngsters studying Chinese from elementary school. Moving to Shanghai or Beijing to start a career will no longer be an exotic adventure."
• China Rises Again - Part I [YaleGlobal] "The Chinese will continue to treat the economic global as means to a greater end and subordinate to what they consider their primary goal: a prosperous and powerful China that enjoyed respect and influence in the world. They also see the need to redefine universalist values for China and accept whatever is necessary to sustain civilized living, and integrate modern ideas with the best of its own heritage."
• China's irrepressible modern art scene [csmonitor.com] "China sits atop a gold mine of contemporary art that few people have ever seen, either inside or outside the country. An exhibition near Boston unveils an unexpected side of China - colorful, winsome, and touched with a subversive kind of humor."