Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
"Perform This Way" by Weird Al Yankovic
Interesting story behind this parody of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" - read the text to find out more.
Strangely enough, without the image of the diva herself proclaiming these words, I feel like it's become a manifesto of sorts for my own costumed clownery. Viva la creativité secondaire!
Strangely enough, without the image of the diva herself proclaiming these words, I feel like it's become a manifesto of sorts for my own costumed clownery. Viva la creativité secondaire!
Monday, April 18, 2011
SPORE Art Salon - April Showers Edition, Tue 26 Apr
I was involved in curating this one. Come down and watch young slam poet Deborah Emmanuel - she's really cool.
SPORE Art Salon
Tue 26 April, 7-11pm
ECHO Loft, 268A South Bridge Road
Here's the blurb:
This month we will be featuring a live art installation/creation, featuring the visual artistry of ART SASPUTROWARDOYO and DAWN ANG. They will be combining their talents for improvisational line drawing, to absorb the atmosphere and produce a fantastic and imaginative landscape in real-time. This must be seen to be believed!! As always, we will be conducting live model drawing sessions throughout the evening, so bring your pencils, charcoal, pads and paper. Let our engaging and eclectic models inspire your creativity. All guests are allowed and encouraged to participate in the drawing sessions.
FEATURED PERFORMING ARTISTS:
ALICE RENOU BOUILET: Miss Alice hails from Paris, France, where she has enjoyed an exciting performance career. Having performed as a dancer at the world famous Lido theater, and distinguishing herself as an accomplished modern dancer, harpist, choral singer and actress, she now joins the SPORE Art Salon to weave her wonderful blend of cabaret, jazz, and sophistication. A truly tempting treat!
DEBORAH EMMANUEL: Deborah Emmanuel is a full-time learner, part-time teacher and performer who has newly discovered her love for telling stories. Most of the stories she has told have used theatre and drama as their medium. Within the last year, she has started using performance poetry as the way to tell hers and other people's. Most of her poetry is based on snatches of time or striking life experiences which explore raw emotion. Deborah believes that it is this essence of each story which brings people together, since every person has been sad, happy, angry or afraid- even if they pretend not to be. She hopes that you hear her stories with an open heart and mind, and that they make you feel.
EDMUND LEE: Sir Edmund Lee is a heartfelt and passionate singer/songwriter. Deeply inspired by the work and stylings of Jason Mraz and John Mayer, Edmund continues to create welcoming and warm pictures and stories with his music. Come let him speak to your soul.
You don't want to miss a single minute of this month's event. The cost of the evening is $20 CASH ONLY. Proceeds go to fund the ECHO music school.
SPORE Art Salon
Tue 26 April, 7-11pm
ECHO Loft, 268A South Bridge Road
Here's the blurb:
This month we will be featuring a live art installation/creation, featuring the visual artistry of ART SASPUTROWARDOYO and DAWN ANG. They will be combining their talents for improvisational line drawing, to absorb the atmosphere and produce a fantastic and imaginative landscape in real-time. This must be seen to be believed!! As always, we will be conducting live model drawing sessions throughout the evening, so bring your pencils, charcoal, pads and paper. Let our engaging and eclectic models inspire your creativity. All guests are allowed and encouraged to participate in the drawing sessions.
FEATURED PERFORMING ARTISTS:
ALICE RENOU BOUILET: Miss Alice hails from Paris, France, where she has enjoyed an exciting performance career. Having performed as a dancer at the world famous Lido theater, and distinguishing herself as an accomplished modern dancer, harpist, choral singer and actress, she now joins the SPORE Art Salon to weave her wonderful blend of cabaret, jazz, and sophistication. A truly tempting treat!
DEBORAH EMMANUEL: Deborah Emmanuel is a full-time learner, part-time teacher and performer who has newly discovered her love for telling stories. Most of the stories she has told have used theatre and drama as their medium. Within the last year, she has started using performance poetry as the way to tell hers and other people's. Most of her poetry is based on snatches of time or striking life experiences which explore raw emotion. Deborah believes that it is this essence of each story which brings people together, since every person has been sad, happy, angry or afraid- even if they pretend not to be. She hopes that you hear her stories with an open heart and mind, and that they make you feel.
EDMUND LEE: Sir Edmund Lee is a heartfelt and passionate singer/songwriter. Deeply inspired by the work and stylings of Jason Mraz and John Mayer, Edmund continues to create welcoming and warm pictures and stories with his music. Come let him speak to your soul.
You don't want to miss a single minute of this month's event. The cost of the evening is $20 CASH ONLY. Proceeds go to fund the ECHO music school.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Tell the Chinese government to release artist Ai Wei Wei
This post previously appeared on the Canvas, the National Art Gallery's blog. It's still there, but it's been edited for diplomatic reasons. ;)
UPDATE: Time Magazine's done a great story on this. Click here.)
(Image from Ai Wei Wei's blog, via Danwei.)
We know that the Singapore is by no means a model for freedom of speech in the arts. Our government also arrests our artists for dabbling in politics.
But that's the government. We're Singaporean citizens, PRs and residents who care about art, and most of us also care about free speech. Which is why we bloody well ought to tell the Chinese government that we do not approve of their jailing one of their foremost contemporary artists on obscure charges of "economic crimes" - probably linked to his support of pro-democracy activist activities in support of a Chinese Jasmine Revolution.
There's a petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/call-for-the-release-of-ai-weiwei?alert_id=ZntTBqdKpo_IZtByZSTro&me=aa
Please sign it. Please also share anything else you can think of which could help in this matter. To recap, Ai Wei Wei is most famous for being the designer of the Bird's Nest Stadium, showcased in the Beijing Olympics.
You may have seen his work at Art Stage Singapore - he created the colossal installation "Through" from the remnants of a demolished Qing dynasty house.
(Image via Snippets from the Manila Art Scene.)
He's spoken out against the Olympics, he's been beaten up by the police for testifying regarding casualties in the Sichuan Earthquake, he's been placed under house arrest and this January he had his newly built Shanghai studio destroyed by authorities, while visitors to the Tate Modern were ooh-ing and aah-ing over his "Sunflower Seeds" exhibition, consisting of 100 million handpainted porcelain sunflower seeds.
This February, amidst the government crackdown on pro-democracy activists, he cryptically posted the following on his Twitter account: "I didn’t care about jasmine at first, but people who are scared by jasmine sent out information about how harmful jasmine is often, which makes me realize that jasmine is what scares them the most. What a jasmine!"
On 3 April, government agents arrested Ai at the Beijing airport and seized papers and computers from his studio. That's pretty much all we know right now - no word on where he is or how he's doing.
A petition to release Ai on Change.org has been started by twelve leading figures in the international arts world, including the directors of the Guggenheim, Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, and Tate Museum, have started a petition on Change.org demanding that the Chinese government free Ai Weiwei.
Of course, we should be supporting the release of all the activists, given that many of them have played a more instrumental part in this movement than Ai himself. However, given the Chinese government's pride in its artists, and its new emphasis on showcasing them - they've recently announced plans for the world's biggest art gallery - their arrest of Ai is particularly egregious.
Once again, the petition's here:
http://www.change.org/petitions/call-for-the-release-of-ai-weiwei?alert_id=ZntTBqdKpo_IZtByZSTro&me=aa
Hidup Revolusi Bunga Melur.
(Image from Ai Wei Wei's blog, via Danwei.)
We know that the Singapore is by no means a model for freedom of speech in the arts. Our government also arrests our artists for dabbling in politics.
But that's the government. We're Singaporean citizens, PRs and residents who care about art, and most of us also care about free speech. Which is why we bloody well ought to tell the Chinese government that we do not approve of their jailing one of their foremost contemporary artists on obscure charges of "economic crimes" - probably linked to his support of pro-democracy activist activities in support of a Chinese Jasmine Revolution.
There's a petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/call-for-the-release-of-ai-weiwei?alert_id=ZntTBqdKpo_IZtByZSTro&me=aa
Please sign it. Please also share anything else you can think of which could help in this matter. To recap, Ai Wei Wei is most famous for being the designer of the Bird's Nest Stadium, showcased in the Beijing Olympics.
You may have seen his work at Art Stage Singapore - he created the colossal installation "Through" from the remnants of a demolished Qing dynasty house.
(Image via Snippets from the Manila Art Scene.)
He's spoken out against the Olympics, he's been beaten up by the police for testifying regarding casualties in the Sichuan Earthquake, he's been placed under house arrest and this January he had his newly built Shanghai studio destroyed by authorities, while visitors to the Tate Modern were ooh-ing and aah-ing over his "Sunflower Seeds" exhibition, consisting of 100 million handpainted porcelain sunflower seeds.
This February, amidst the government crackdown on pro-democracy activists, he cryptically posted the following on his Twitter account: "I didn’t care about jasmine at first, but people who are scared by jasmine sent out information about how harmful jasmine is often, which makes me realize that jasmine is what scares them the most. What a jasmine!"
On 3 April, government agents arrested Ai at the Beijing airport and seized papers and computers from his studio. That's pretty much all we know right now - no word on where he is or how he's doing.
A petition to release Ai on Change.org has been started by twelve leading figures in the international arts world, including the directors of the Guggenheim, Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, and Tate Museum, have started a petition on Change.org demanding that the Chinese government free Ai Weiwei.
Of course, we should be supporting the release of all the activists, given that many of them have played a more instrumental part in this movement than Ai himself. However, given the Chinese government's pride in its artists, and its new emphasis on showcasing them - they've recently announced plans for the world's biggest art gallery - their arrest of Ai is particularly egregious.
Once again, the petition's here:
http://www.change.org/petitions/call-for-the-release-of-ai-weiwei?alert_id=ZntTBqdKpo_IZtByZSTro&me=aa
Hidup Revolusi Bunga Melur.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Dead Philosophers in Heaven
I am really rather amused at this new webcomic.
It doesn't score every time, but I thank the stars for every little thing that makes me feel that my liberal arts education was money well spent. :/
It doesn't score every time, but I thank the stars for every little thing that makes me feel that my liberal arts education was money well spent. :/
Monday, April 04, 2011
Texts Mar 2011
*POETRY*
+Léon Damas Gontran’s “Pigments – Névralgies”
+Sandra Cisneros’s “Loose Woman”
*FICTION*
+Paul di Filippo's "The Steampunk Trilogy"
+Hyejin Kim's "Jia"
+Aphra Behn’s “Oroonoko”
+J. M. Coetzee’s “Summertime”
*NON-FICTION*
+Navtej Sarna’s “The Book of Nanak”
*GRAPHIC TEXTS*
=Gwee Li Sui’s “Myth of the Stone”
*FILMS*
=Wee Lilin’s “Forever”
=Zack Snyder's “Sucker Punch”
*PERFORMANCES*
Mereka’s “Bersendaloka”
+The Necessary Stage’s “Balek Kampong”
=Zizi Azah’s “No Exit”
+W!ld Rice’s “Emily of Emerald Hill”
=NUS Centre for the Arts and Checkpoint Theatre’s “The Power of Notions, Notions of Power”
+LaSalle’s “Thoroughly Modern Millie”
NUS Stage and Checkpoint Theatre’s “The Good, the Bad and the Sholay”
=Panggung Arts’ “F”
*EXHIBITIONS*
+NTU School of Art, Design and Media's "Port of Call"
+Singapore Art Museum’s “Singapore Biennale”, “It’s Now Or Never II” and “Negotiating Home, History and Nation”
The Art-Science Museum's ="Travelling the Silk Road", +"Genghis Khan: The Exhibition" and ="Shipwrecked: Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds"
+Léon Damas Gontran’s “Pigments – Névralgies”
+Sandra Cisneros’s “Loose Woman”
*FICTION*
+Paul di Filippo's "The Steampunk Trilogy"
+Hyejin Kim's "Jia"
+Aphra Behn’s “Oroonoko”
+J. M. Coetzee’s “Summertime”
*NON-FICTION*
+Navtej Sarna’s “The Book of Nanak”
*GRAPHIC TEXTS*
=Gwee Li Sui’s “Myth of the Stone”
*FILMS*
=Wee Lilin’s “Forever”
=Zack Snyder's “Sucker Punch”
*PERFORMANCES*
Mereka’s “Bersendaloka”
+The Necessary Stage’s “Balek Kampong”
=Zizi Azah’s “No Exit”
+W!ld Rice’s “Emily of Emerald Hill”
=NUS Centre for the Arts and Checkpoint Theatre’s “The Power of Notions, Notions of Power”
+LaSalle’s “Thoroughly Modern Millie”
NUS Stage and Checkpoint Theatre’s “The Good, the Bad and the Sholay”
=Panggung Arts’ “F”
*EXHIBITIONS*
+NTU School of Art, Design and Media's "Port of Call"
+Singapore Art Museum’s “Singapore Biennale”, “It’s Now Or Never II” and “Negotiating Home, History and Nation”
The Art-Science Museum's ="Travelling the Silk Road", +"Genghis Khan: The Exhibition" and ="Shipwrecked: Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds"
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