Culture

You will become a part of the happenings;you will simultaneously experience them Allan Kaprow The Genesis of Performance Art In 1959, American artist Allan Kaprow sent out invitations for his debut show at Reuben Gallery with a captivating proposition: “You will become a part of the happenings; you will simultaneously experience them.” He described the show as “something spontaneous, something that just happens to happen”. The audience, unaware of what awaited them, arrived at the venue with only one instruction: no smoking or leaving during the event. Upon reaching the second floor of the gallery, they were given detailed directives, orchestrating their seating and movements across three segmented spaces of the gallery. This format allowed viewers to adopt various perspectives...

Between June and October of this year, the NordArt 2023, currently Europe's largest annual contemporary art exhibition, took place in Büdelsdorf, Germany. One name that stood out amidst this creative extravaganza was that of Kayee C., a Hong Kong photographer. Kayee is a portrait photographer renowned for a distinctive approach – she often casts herself as the central figure in her work. While the expectation might be profound revelations like “my art is a reflection of self” or “I meld personal emotions with characters”, her journey started with a simple yet practical reason. She began her photographic voyage in 2015, falling deeply in love with portrait photography. Yet inspiration doesn't always align with model availability. Learning the ropes through self-study, she avoided wa...

In 2004, Sylvia Chang achieved a cinematic milestone with her directorial masterpiece, 20 30 40. This remarkable romantic comedy stands as the singular Chinese-language film selected for competition at the 2004 Berlin International Film Festival. The film masterfully weaves together the distinct yet interconnected stories of three women, each at a different stage of life: Li Hsin-chieh in her twenties, Sylvia Chang herself in her forties, and Renée Liu in her thirties. Through these characters, 20 30 40 eloquently portrays the various struggles and transformations experienced by women across different generations. Now, nearly two decades after its release, 20 30 40 retains its status as a cinematic classic, especially within the realm of women’s cinema. Sylvia Chang’s dual role as dire...

When reminiscing about the opulent years of old Shanghai, you might conjure images of the swinging jazz tunes wafting through nightclubs, Chinese classic songs enriched with Western musical arrangements, the lively Charleston dance, and poignant melodies like “When Will You Return” and “Waiting for You to Come Back”. In a serendipitous convergence of seasons, M+ presented an exhibition Madame Song: Pioneering Art and Fashion in China, CHAT (Centre for Heritage, Arts, and Textile) posed an intriguing question: Who is Rebecca Pan? These two Chinese women, both born in the 1930s, had remarkable life stories, one revered as “Madame Song” and the other affectionately referred to as “Sister Pan”. They each held numerous titles: Song Huai Gui was celebrated as the “pioneer of the arts”, a...

Once upon a time, there lived a girl who was born into a family deeply entrenched in traditional gender biases. Her father's lineage hailed from the mainland, where the desire for a male heir was ingrained in Chinese family culture. During her formative years, she often heard relatives chastising her mother for not producing a son. They'd criticise her mother, saying, “What's the point of earning money if you can't bear a son?” “Why couldn't you have been a son?” Her mother's reproach was cutting. Right from birth, her worth seemed measured by her gender, relegating her to an inferior status. A simmering resentment grew within her. “Why should having a son automatically make someone better? Are boys inherently more capable? Can't I excel just as well as a boy?” Many things pe...

Be original or die. Yevonde Middleton The timeless concept of the “Goddess” endures as a symbol of flawless embodiment and noble beauty. Evolving with the times, the term “Goddess” has been adapted to modern jargon like “KOL” and “internet celebrity”. In the realm of social media, tutorials on effortlessly capturing “Goddess Portraits” have become ubiquitous: guiding girls in striking authentically alluring poses and angles, and offering boys universal photography techniques. While we won't delve into the debate on the validity of this trend today, have you ever wondered about the original progenitor of the “Goddess Portrait”? Meet Yevonde Middleto, sometimes described as an eccentric artist, but revered within her profession as Madame Yevonde. In the 1930s, when the norm f...

Announcement: The Debut of M&S's Pioneering All-Female Leadership Team! It's official: Marks & Spencer (M&S) in the UK has unveiled its groundbreaking all-female management team, poised to lead the grand opening of five flagship stores and oversee a workforce exceeding 1,000 employees. A remarkable aggregate of over 115 years of combined retail experience (with an average of over 19 years per member), this strategic move by M&S shines a spotlight on the crucial facets of gender diversity and equality in the corporate realm. M&S's bold action underscores a powerful principle: leadership prowess transcends gender boundaries. The criterion is competence, not gender. However, it's worth noting that an all-female ensemble may not be a universal requirement. As per...

It's been said that dreamers are crazy,yet I think it's the ones without dreams who truly lose their sanity. Madame Song Huai-Kuei Starting from late July, the question 'Who is Madame Song?' has ignited widespread curiosity. However, the answer is far from straightforward. To begin with, Madame Song holds a multitude of titles, including “Artistic Pioneer”, “Business Elite”, “Cultural Ambassador” and “Fashion Maven”. Moreover, her substantial influence has led to her being commemorated by the esteemed institution, M+. Born in China in 1937 during a tumultuous era of conflict, she herself sparked a revolution in the realm of Chinese-Western culture. Her name is synonymous with Song Huai-Kuei. Clothing can mirror a person's character. Don Kenzo and life becomes a captivati...