jesus, you wouldn’t believe how difficult it is to upload photos around here. some net cafes’ USB ports are disabled, while others will allow you to use their USB ports for a higher hourly rate (VIP lounge = 5 RMB/hour). it doesn’t make sense. not that i should whine about it, cuz it’s still satisfyingly affordable.

you also wouldn’t believe how many snickers bars and american fast food meals i’ve consumed. the mao muffintop is doing quite well. did you know that in china, KFC far surpasses McD’s in popularity?

remember when starbucks first opened in the forbidden city seven years ago, to a resounding firestorm-starting “BOO!!!” ? well, i guess starbucks finally succumbed to the battle and closed, but now a new debacle is a brewin’: it’s been replaced by another cafe.

last piece of trivia: napalm death recently played their first show in china. i wish i could’ve gone!

this is my another shanghai-related post, and it’s about two excellent, solid, first-rate museums: the shanghai museum, and the shanghai munipical history museum.

the former is shanghai’s pride and joy, and rightly so. it’s gloriously classy and well-done. the galleries–each with its own flavor–are intelligently executed, with clear organization and creative design. effective educational tools included wall charts with examples (i.e., shards of ceramics to illustrate different dynasty styles), and a reproduction of the ceramics/porcelain process, replete with kilns. i was beyond impressed. not only does it possess a strong collection, it also showcases it very well.

the latter was simply tons of fun. don’t let the stale name of this must-see museum fool you. it was wicked AWESOME. half the time i was laughing out loud to myself, overtaken by the immensely clever, diverse, and endearing methods that were used to convey ideas and tell a grand story – that of shanghai’s history and how it came to be. they used frighteningly realistic wax figures (a little too come-to-life), miniature cardboard cut-outs of photographed people, dioramas, photo backdrops, music and ambient sounds, video installs, elaborate settings, etc. this is crude, but it was slightly reminiscent of disney’s pirates ride. god it was cool.

if you’re ever in shanghai, you’ve got to check out these two institutions.

i’ll shut up now and let the photos speak for themselves!

SHANGHAI MUSEUM

looks like a giant bamboo steamer, eh?

the fake kiln even had flickering flames, and this was the source

one gallery was devoted exclusively to seals/chops

and another to numismatics

now, on to the SHANGHAI MUNICIPAL HISTORY MUSEUM

i thought this was such a nice touch

um, cleanup in the 1920s aisle?

adrian tomine, what are you doing here?

omg, this was one of the FUNNIEST THINGS EVERRRRRRRRRR – an opium den

this guy’s face…man oh man…mirthquake!
kids, don’t ever try this at home

mr. huang, i, uh, i…i think you’ve had enough

uhh, talk to the (elegantly gesturing) hand!

this just totally blew my mind. think of aaaaall the work that went into creating this

gotta get my money gotta get my money gotta get my money gotta get my money *scratches self a million times*

getting her hair did

i’m *cough* not *HACK* feeling too…hot *falls over*

tiny video installation depicting brutality of poverty

check out the poor wallflower. this display was illustrating the opulent lifestyle of the foreign aristocrats. these dolls were so funny because they were so ugly and scary. the heads of the ones sitting down were all hanging back like they were drunk, and everyone wore an oversized wig

they were all this terrifying. no wonder no one wants to dance with fuggos

to top it all off, they had a blue screen where visitors could be superimposed onto a busy 1920s-30s street. talk about ending with a bang

eager to satiate the wannabe artist in me, i visited two “artsy” places in shanghai.

it is thrilling to check out contemporary art here, and this excitement stems from so many things. what i really struggle with articulating is how it feels for an art-loving chinese american to see art created by people with whom i share an “ancestry,” but that’s really about it in terms of similarities.

i guess it all boils down to identity. something that perpetually surfaces, for me, is the all-too-common salient reference in art to mao and the cultural revolution. i wonder if i’m being too insensitive if i perceive it something of a gimmick, like a default topical approach if there’s a creative drought. what if i was a chinese (without the hyphenated “american”) artist of a certain generation? would i make allusions to mao in my art? or is it almost impossible to avoid?

i try to curb this criticism and remind myself that that particular chunk of history is such a powerful, integral part of the collective psyche. as an outsider (a minor in chinese studies), i couldn’t even come close to imagining the impact mao and co. has had and will continue to have on generations to come.

but that’s enough of that asian american studies 101 blathering. i apologize for the mental diarrhea. maybe i’m just feeling hormonal and weird.

back to the “artsy places”:

the first, taikang road art centre/street, was a little disappointing but charming in its own right. it was expat haven, with more cafes and boutiques than actual galleries worth perusing. however, its location — a tangle of narrow residential alleys off a bigger street — was enchanting and neat, like stumbling upon a commercial secret garden. i too retreated into an air conditioned cafe after wandering and thus melting.

the second, 50 moganshan, resembled 798 in beijing in concept and appearance. i guess they’re trying to brand it as “m50.” nestled against suzhou creek, it’s more of a community and industrial park, with galleries, boutiques, few cafes, design studios, and open artist workshops/studios. this was also fun to explore, and showcased a handful of intriguing pieces.

TAIKANG

(this made me sad)

50 MOGANSHAN

this one’s simply titled: derek + anthony: ham sandwiches

there goes the neighborhood

upon closer inspection

a fantastic little cafe that played and sold chinese folk music, where i had…

refreshing grapefruit tea and sesame tang yuan (glutinous rice dumplings) – pegs, i thought of you with every bite i took

of course i had to go to the hokey chinese sex culture and health museum. it was small and kinda ghetto (let’s just say it was part of the bund sightseeing tunnel), but apparently there’s a better, more substantial one in tongli.

there aren’t too many photos, so this makes for an easy entry (um, no pun intended?). the didactics speak for themselves – they’re hilarious.

ohhhh snap

dude, we get it

ahhhhhkward (and disturbing)

the accompanying caption: “this part of my body could not be locked”

supposedly in the ol’ days, moms hid these little gems in the dowry trunks of their daughters so the newlywed brides would know what to do on the night of their honeymoon. thanks mom. everything i ever needed to know about sex i learned from a pop-up locket (sorry, the punning is irresistable). it is quite cute though

and my favorite, ladies and gents, i bring you the piece de resistance…

a few days ago i excitedly took a cab to 798 art district in the dashanzi area of chaoyang – a hip and happening part of beijing.

i’d always wanted to go/come to the motherland, but 798 was a recent catalyst in my wanderlust. i read about it b/c of the sui jianguo and liu xiaodong exhibitions at work (both are impactful modern chinese artists), and since then, had been starry-eyed about this mythical and magical place (which boasts a fascinating industrial heritage and houses a former german factory). pardon my naivete, but i perceive 798 as the spawning ground for contemporary art in china. a trip to beijing would’ve been incomplete without checking out this huge commercial/cultural/artistic space.

a few galleries had special receptions, so i lucked out on soaking up extra positive vibes. i was totally awestruck seeing 798 in action. one thing i was particularly fond of: the gallivanting multigenerational families. this was definitely not your sf first thursdays hipster hangout (whew). at nightfall, artists and art lovers squatted outside the galleries smoking, chatting, and sipping wine, while construction workers did their thing on bamboo scaffolding. couples were holding hands and grandparents were chasing after rambunctious wee ones. a group of twenty-somethings, probably college students, gleefully met a particular artist (see mark ryden-esque painting below, not my cup of tea) – it was so sweet seeing them ooh and aww over the catalogue that said artist had signed for one of them.

on top of all that, it’s just a super-cool place to explore! it could easily take half a day, between the countless galleries, shops, and opportunities for tea breaks. sprawling networks of gas pipes, water lines, and so forth create a distinctive (somewhat cool, somewhat eerie) ambiance.

in conclusion, finally experiencing 798 in all its glory made me very happy.

i am a late bloomer. paul recently turned me on to conceptual artist jenny holzer with this, a truism from her the living series. i really love it for its startling truth and eloquence:

“Some days you wake and immediately start to worry. Nothing in particular is wrong, it’s just the suspicion that forces are aligning quietly and there will be trouble.”

thanks to MAN, i just discovered that she (or an imposter) is on twitter! wow, what a perfect tool for her art. the two go hand in hand.

meet cao fei, a 27-year-old chinese artist. i am fond of her series, “room 807.” perhaps it’s too “obvious” and heavyhanded, but oh well, i love it nonetheless. it resonates with the macabre and morbid in me.
here’s her “statement” for room 807. it’s a bit nebulous, but it’ll do. take a look.

please tell me what you think. i’m curious.

p.s. – she also made this series, “cosplayers.”
these two photos illustrate, for me, the two ostensibly contrasting qualities pervasive in the series: an enjoyable whimsy juxtaposed with a disturbing, sinister undercurrent of sadness.

Ron Mueck Installation – "Wild Man"
Originally uploaded by The Modern.

check out the pics in this album, which belongs to the modern art museum of fort worth.

more here.

as “art,” who knows, but as a demonstration of staggering talent, skill, and execution, it blows my mind. one day, i will see a ron mueck installation. one day…oh yes…one day…anybody up for an impromptu trip to texas?

on a side note, i’m impressed by the museum’s web savvy and sophistication. they’re locked and loaded with a flickr account, a substantive blog, and from the looks of their clean (if not semi-stylish) website, some cool programming. specifically, a janus films series.

children are the most amazing artists. i don’t understand them, and they sorta frighten me, but i could watch them for days on end as they draw and doodle to their hearts’ content. it’s fascinating, adorable, and endlessly heartwarming.

kid art does for me what remy’s ratatouille did for anton ego.

i see a tiny bit of myself in all the wee ones who draw with reckless abandon. before a certain age, they’re still unfettered and unconditioned (in a weird sense). their lack of inhibition, when given some instruments and paper, is so inspiring.

all i did as a child was draw, and quite feverishly at that. nothing made me happier than when my aunt and mom bestowed upon me scratch paper from their work. often times it was reams of dot-matrix printer paper. remember that? with the perforated sides (with the holes)?

now you give me a pen and some paper and i’m overcome with a paralyzing fear that triggers this thought flow: what do i draw? whatever i draw won’t look right. it’s gonna look like shit. why is it so hard for me to just draw SOMETHING? god i hate myself.

anyway, i was reminded of all this at BLAST OFF. the community mural was getting some serious play from people of all ages. it was magnificent and endearing – an incredible experience. PLEASE peep some of the photos of the young tykes drawing. they’ll slay you with sweetness!

ps – in the second photo above, three guys are basking in a lyrical drawing by two sisters.

has anybody ever noticed how cat toes bear an eerie resemblance to the fruit snacks of our youth? you know, the simple, chewy, pod-shaped ones?…unlike the annoying and cloying newfangled sugar shooters of today, like this crap.

i’ve yet to find another person who is in agreement with me on this. hello? are you out there? if so, let’s be soul mates.

anyway, i’m super-bummed b/c my camera is out of commission. the lens is stuck and will not retract. prognosis is very grim. according to some “research” i’ve done online, there’s not much that can be done unless you just use sheer brute force to shove the lens back in. i don’t have the heart to do this quite yet.

i was hoping to share pictures of all sorts of things, like fourth of july, which was spent on a patio boat in the san pablo reservoir, where fran caught a CRAPPIE. am i the only one who finds this amusing? a fish called crappie. i named him “carl.”

it would’ve been nice to post a photo from the museum’s BLAST OFF event, of derek and anthony drawing on a community mural (their brilliant idea), surrounded by a gaggle of happy children armed with markers. and of hellen attracting a curious crowd to her screenprinting table. BLAST OFF was a six-hour long beautiful and joyous scene. it felt good, i felt good.

sigh. perhaps camera death happens when you take 8,000 pictures in six months. it’s kinda crazy how unhealthily attached i’ve become to my camera. i’m obsessed with capturing almost everything that captures me. which means A LOT of stuff.

hellen…why do you always make that face when i’m around?

courtesy of evan.