Study Journal 01

A mentor told me not to fuss too much about catching up on Art History.  I have been worried about it, since I am entering the Department of Visual Studies at Lingnan.  The mentor told me that since I have studied western thoughts through history, music history, Christian thoughts and aesthetics, it shouldn’t be difficult for me to find the place of Art within this framework.  So I decided I should catch up instead on my aesthetics theories, especially those that deal with how art works with people and communities.

Speaking of Community Arts, I built my thesis proposal on the study of art in communities.  And now that I am accepted, I have the time and luxury to begin further up the vine, with questions such as the nature of art and the nature of communities.  So I picked up Lyon and Driskell’s The Community in Urban Society, published in 2012.  And as I went through the forefathers of concepts of community such as Ferdinand and Simmel, I realized that this sociological aspect is very important.

I wouldn’t have to become an expert in them, but I have to appreciate the ways in which communities are considered to be communities.  To me, each of these schools of theories shed light on different aspects on the nature of communities.  Therefore, in a sense, the possible formats of Community Arts would be as varied as the ways that a community is a community.

So the reading goes on.

Scenes of a Circle Festival in Guangzhou

 Day 1 - Physical set up…

The artists prepared a huge table for seniors with difficulty painting on the floor.  Appreciating this arrangement, the seniors painted the 2m x 2m canvas with great ease, but a little too quickly.  One could even see it in their eyes, there was not the dreaminess of contemplative work, nor the excitement of creativity; it was apparent that the seniors understood it as a task to be fulfilled.  Perhaps the physical setup was too similar to their daily activities.  So, for the afternoon, the artists decided to return the painting to the floor with low chairs.

Returning from lunch, the seniors were eager to take on this challenge of a larger canvas placed on the floor.  Maybe because of the slight physical discomfort, the painting slowed down and an atmosphere of concentration was built up.  Artists periodically led everyone to standup and stretch, in essence standing back to look at the composition and colour of the bigger picture before continuing.   After finishing this second painting, they returned to the table to paint their individual aprons with visibly greater indulgence.

Day 2 - Circle Catwalk…

The event included a performance of ‘circle dance’.  While some participants truly enjoyed the somatic movement of their bodies, some were very reluctant to be part of this dance.  To help these participants, the artists used the 8m x 2m circle painting from the previous day as the catwalk.  Being able to move, play, lie and dance on their own painting was a strong empowerment, and their own physical presence became more acceptable.  The canvas clearly defined the physical space of the dance, making the process imaginable for those unaccustomed to the freedom of an empty stage.  Secondly, the dancers were provided with a prop each: the silk umbrella that each of them painted on day 1.  As a traditional Chinese dance prop, the umbrella inspired and empowered many participants.  All participants found their place in the rehearsal and performance.  For those that were still unable to really ‘dance’, they strode across the circle catwalk with more confidence and physical grace than they themselves realize.

Day 3 – Painting Together…

I have always dreaded speaking with reporters, being over self-conscious to say the ‘right’ thing.  Having persuaded and blackmailed several of my fellow artists to be interviewed by newspaper and television, I was finally cornered by an earnest reporter looking for answers.  “How has ‘We are all the same’ actualized in this festival”?

The theme of the festival was “We are all the same”.  This slogan is certainly a reminder to the social reality of the city, and to all of us committed to making this a reality.  After a few minutes of stuttering through press-release points, my mandarin finally got into a groove.

“It is simple to say and display these slogans, but painting together gives us the chance to experience it.  [I stopped myself from going into theories about how circle painting is facilitating this]  Just look around you, you see people of different age, physical and mental ability, those rehabilitated from leprosy, and shoppers, passers-by painting shoulder to shoulder.  This is no longer just a slogan to them, this has been a reality”.