Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Mystery Pic 2 revealed




Hi class,

Thank you so much for your blog entries.
Many of you have, through research, gotten these 2 terms right.
Camera Lucida by Roland Barthes is a classic book of his thoughts on the function of photography as a visual coding. Barthes is essentially, a French literary critic, who has developed studies on semiotics ( study of sign processes in this world—remember I told you on another occasion these 2 terms- the ‘signifier’ and the ‘signified’?) His theory centered around “punctum” and “studium” which are the 2 main parts of the photograph.

To put it simply,
The studium is the main message or point of the photograph and the punctum is the part that grabs your attention. He places more attention on the punctum which is subjective, private and can sometimes, be considered redundant. However, every photographer should be looking for the ‘punctum’ in the photographs that he takes, to create an individuality, albeit the signature of something that ‘disturbs and wounds’. In my opinion, the ‘punctum’ is what gives life to a piece of photograph, like how Barthes was reminded of the haunting past of his dead mother as he chanced upon an old photograph.

In this picture,
The punctum is obviously the disturbing fold at the top right of the ”wallpaper’- it is actually a floral piece of fabric which resembles a “wallpaper” as it is hung upright. It makes the work look imperfect and people question why that flap is so obvious, and if it was an incomplete work done in hanging up this work.
As the studium is the message of this work, the message of this work is a documentation of this piece of artwork. The labels flanking the sides serve to tell us this idea very aptly, and the space around this wallpaper makes it look exclusively in a space of an exhibition.

This is a work in a recent exhibition “Drawing as Form” in Sculpture Square. Done by Marienne Yang, the title is “Remember to Forget II” and the medium is floral fabric, red thread and wallpaper glue.
This is the synopsis:
Drawing- “What exactly defines a drawing? I caught myself asking when I was interested in participating in this show. Running my eyes over Wikipedia, the very technical answer would probably swim around ‘a visual expression’ and ‘a small amount of material on a 2-dimensional medium creating a mark on it’. Carrying on the later idea, I will present a floral fabric with embroidered text wallpapered onto the wall.
Texts- as they are embroidered onto the fabric stitch-by-stitch, denoting both spent time and bodily fluids. The diary-the source of the text-is one where an individual pens down the most intimate of thoughts. Through the process of penning it down via the repetitive embroidering, the artist seeks to forget a past.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

a piece of myself

Words on a blank page. I have been so busy that I forgot how to remember and how to write. I am equally bored too. Things are getting too familiar. It is difficult to be upbeat although there is something worth looking forward to everyday. Oh yes, I am going to London. Stratford-upon-avon, white cube and tate.. a reward for this year. This is a year for a beginning. Very soon, I will have to learn more things, and have more courage to face reality. Like it or not, to survive will mean to be alone.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

when it pulls ur heartstrings

It's a long long journey
Till I know where I'm supposed to be
It's a long long journey
And I don't know if I can believe
When shadows fall and block my eyes
I am lost and know that I must hide
It's a long long journey
Till I find my way home to you

Many days I've spent
Drifting on through empty shores
Wondering what's my purpose
Wondering how to make me strong

I know I will falter
I know I will cry
I know you'll be standing by my side
It's a long long journey
And I need to be close to you

Sometimes it feels no one understands
I don't even know why
I do the things I do
When pride builds me up till I can't see my soul
Will you break down these walls and pull me through

Cause it's a long long journey
Till I feel that I am worth the price
You paid for me on Calvary
Beneath those stormy skies

When Satan mocks and friends turn to foes
It feels like everything is out to make me lose control
Cause it's a long long journey
Till I find my way home to you
To you

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Mystery Pic Revealed





Hi my beloved students,

Just when you are wondering what this work is about, don't kill me for revealing the truth.

This work is a sculpture by local artist Yeo Chee Kiong. He is often quoted as "him and his creative medium". A similar work by him is done in the National Museum of Singapore – “A Day Without a Tree”. (centre pic)

This is his blog address: http://cheekiongyeo.tripod.com/index.html

The title of this work is “Endless Night”.
Here is the abstract of the work—Night is both an abstract concept and a daily, natural phenomenon. With Endless Night, local sculptor Yeo Chee Kiong takes an endlessly imaginative, “romantic-minimalist” point of view to materialize and explore “night” and its related phenomena of ever-changing darkness, shadows. dreams, dreamers, silence and loneliness.

Definitely a work that can be used for public display,given that the materials used are safe and durable.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009