Category: News Archive

Workshop of Termite Art: Towards a History of the Essay film
[蟻蛀藝術：朝向一種隨筆電影的歷史] 工作坊
14-15 June 2016, Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei National University of Arts & Taipei National University of the Arts

The two day workshop ‘Termite Art: Towards a History of the Essay film’ will approach at the essay film as a critical category that draws on different languages and disciplines from cinema, visual arts and curatorial practice. The term “Termite Art,” taken from the critic Manny Faber, is used here to argue for the importance of the essay film as the critical meeting place between cinema and contemporary art. French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Goran proposed the term for the essay film in the retrospective The Way of the Termite. The Essay in Cinema 1909-2004 he organised for Vienna Film Museum. Faber defines ‘Termite Art’ as follows: “The most inclusive description of the art is that, termite-like, it feels its way through walls of particularization with no sign that the artist has any object in mind other than eating away the immediate boundaries of his art, and turning these boundaries into conditions of the next achievement.”

The workshop aims to propose a distinct approach of the essay film as a critical practice that devours and cannibalises other art forms, blurring the boundary between visual art and cinema, between documentary, experimental film, artists cinema, etc to create a distant critical art that eats away at fixed histories and definitions. The workshop will explore the meeting place between cinema and art with reference to the diverse work of Chris Marker, Camille Henrot, Luis Ospina, Kidlat Tahimik, Duncan Campbell, Hito Steyerl, Trinh T Minh Ha, Raul Ruiz, Morgan Fisher and others. With this in mind I’ll present a selection of screenings to reflect the concept of ‘Termite Art’ , focusing on works that eat away at each other and categorizations around art and how this idea relates to contemporary artists working across media and disciplines and connects debates within curatorial and art practice from Hito Steyerl’s idea of ‘poor image’ to debates around cultural appropriation. (Text by George Clark)

Workshop led by George Clark (Artist and curator) with Austin Ming-Han Hsu (Chief editor of Film Appreciation quarterly magazine) and Hongjohn Lin (Chair of Fine Arts Department, Taipei National University of the Arts)

The workshop was presented in English with Chinese translation by Fang-Tze Hsu. The workshop was developed and delivered as while I was participating in the 2016 Kuandu Residency programme from 2016.05.20-06.17.

Session One / 第一場
Termite Art as History: Essay film and the meeting of Contemporary Art and Cinema
作為歷史的「蟻蛀藝術」
從「隨筆電影」談論當代藝術與電影的遭遇點

Session Two / 第二場 
Termite Art as Practice: Images of the world in Curatorial and Artistic Practice
作為實踐的「蟻蛀藝術」：
從「隨筆電影」談論策展與藝術創作中的影像世界

【講座介紹】

本工作坊旨在探討隨筆電影作為一種批判文類，此文類來自不同語言和學科，諸如電影、視覺藝術和策展實踐。「蟻蛀藝術」一詞是取自於評論家曼尼．費巴（Manny Faber），對探討隨筆電影作為電影與當代藝術的遭遇點相當管用！法國電影導演尚．皮耶．高藍（Jean Pierre Goran）將此詞用於他為維也納電影博物館（Vienna Film Museum）所組織之隨筆電影回顧展「白蟻的路徑：電影中的隨筆 1909-2004」（The Way of the Termite. The Essay in Cinema 1909-2004）。費巴是這樣解釋「蟻蛀藝術」的：「對於藝術來說，最具有含括力的描述是『如蟻蛀一般，它自行其是地穿越了專屬化的牆垣且沒有任何徵兆，藝術家滿腦子想的除了吃掉他在藝術中突如其來的邊界之外，沒有別的想法，並且把這些邊界轉化為他進展到下一階段的條件。』」

藉此，本工作坊將戮力探索隨筆電影在觀念上與作法上的明確取向，隨筆電影作為對於藝術形式進行「同類相食」（cannibalised）或「異性相噬」（devours）的批判實踐，混淆著視覺藝術與電影之間、紀錄片、實驗電影與藝術家電影之間的種種界線，並且去創造一種帶有距離的、批判的蟻蛀藝術，蛀掉僵固的歷史與定義，吃掉電影與藝術的觀念。本工作坊亦將會選映法國導演克里斯．馬克（Chris Marker）、美國藝術家卡米爾．亨洛特（Camille Henrot）、哥倫比亞導演路易．奧斯皮納（Luis Ospina）、菲律賓導演奇拉．塔西米克（Kidlat Tahimik）、愛爾蘭藝術家鄧肯．坎貝爾（Duncan Campbell）、德國藝術理論家希朵．史戴爾 （Hito Steyerl）、越南媒體藝術家鄭明河（Trinh T Minh Ha）、葡萄牙導演拉烏．盧伊茲（Raul Ruiz）、美國導演摩根．費雪（Morgan Fisher）等人的作品，來探討上述有關「蟻蛀藝術」的理念，去吃掉與藝術相關的你我和各種範疇化的企圖，以及這個理念如何與那些處理不同媒體與學科的當代藝術家發生關連，並且聯繫到希朵．史戴爾（Hito Steyerl）所提倡之「弱影像」在文化挪用上的諸多討論。（徐明瀚翻譯）

Mosquito Cinema: Journey to the West
Saturday, May 14 2016, 6 PM – 9 PM
Tsung-yeh Arts and Cultrual Centre, Madou District, Tainan

This special outdoor 35mm film screening took place in the Tsung-yeh park during my period as artists in residence in Tainan. The event involved a programme of films drawn form the private collection of Mr. Hsu including short devotional film《醉八仙》/ ‘Drunken Eight Immortals’ designed for screening at Temples and the feature length Taiwanese fantasy film 《新西遊記》/ ‘New Pilgrims to the West (1982)’. The event was chaired by Mr. Hsu in traditional ‘mosquito cinema’ style and concluded with discussion with him reflecting on the origins of this tradition. 

“In Taiwan we are not unfamiliar with the outdoor film projectionists and tradition of ‘mosquito cinema’. Before television and VHS arrived on this island, the outdoor projectionists were the busiest men on the street. In the 1980s illegal gambling “Da Jia Le” (which literally means “everybody is happy”) overwhelmed the island and was so popular that people went to temples to ask for luck and even went to the cemetery to seek help from ghosts. When the gamblers won they would hire the projectionist to screen a film to thank the gods and the ghosts.

While researching this cinematic tradition we visited the studio and personal archive of Mr. Hsu in Pingtung, one of the few outdoor projectionists still active in Taiwan. He maintains a diverse collection of traditional celluloid film projectors and has been in this business for over 50 years, witnessing the rise and fall of mosquito cinema. For this special event we have invited Hsu to screen a 35mm film that he used to play in the temple ceremony and share his experience as a witness to the history of the mosquito cinema.” – The Other Cinema Collective with George Clark.

還記得小時候在廟口看電影的好時光嗎？隨著科技的進步，電影全面數位化、光碟與檔案取得容易，在廟口放電影的傳統逐漸在消失中。由「另一種影像記事」策劃「露天野放：電光石火35mm《新西遊記》」特別放映活動，將在本週六（5月14日）晚上六點起在台南麻豆總爺藝文中心登場，活動除了放映1982年由陳俊良導演執導的《新西遊記》，也邀請資深放映師許順吉、英國電影策展人與實驗電影創作者George Clark，一同與觀眾分享台灣露天放映興衰史。

在電視或錄影帶引進台灣之前，露天電影放映師曾經是街頭上最忙碌的人，80年代因為台灣全島流行大家樂，信徒為了酬神謝鬼「報明牌」而經常聘請放映師在廟前或野墓間放映電影回報鬼神，使得「電影放映師」變成受歡迎且利潤極高的職業。本次活動特別邀請到許順吉放映師，他視台灣現在少有仍在使用35釐米高感光弧光放映機進行露天電影放映的師傅，在業界將近50年見證露天電影放映史的興衰。他將以35mm放映機映演他蒐藏的電影《新西遊記》，以及短片《醉八仙》（30分鐘），並在映後講述露天電影興衰史。

「露天野放：電光石火35mm《新西遊記》」為即將在2017年5月於台南蕭壠文化園區推出的「每部影片都是一道謎語：在黑盒子與白立方的動態影像」之展前實驗放映會，也是英國電影策展人與實驗電影創作者 George Clark在台南駐村的階段性成果之一。

 

Thanks to Mr. Hsu, Yu ling Chou and Yaowen Hsu.
Supported by Soulangh Cultural Park, Tsung-yeh Arts and Cultrual Centre, National Culture and Arts Foundation.

Artist in Residence Tainan
Soulangh Culture Park / Tsung Yeh Art and Culture Centre, Tainan City, Taiwan
March-May 2016

As artist in residence I developed new installation project A Planter’s Art drawing on official, cinematic and family histories in Taiwan. Throughout residency I grew a garden and explored landscape and agriculture in the rural region of Tainan. During development of my film I also explored film and art histories in Taiwan in particular looking at performative and site specific film traditions from the tradition of rural with farmers during the Japanese colonial period to ongoing tradition of outdoor screenings at temples.

On The Planter’s Art: An illustrated talk on films, maps and gardening
Los Otros 59 Mahabagin St, Teachers Village East, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
13 February 2016

“I am told there are people who do not care for maps, and find it hard to believe; here is an inexhaustible fund of interest for any man with eyes to see or twopence-worth of imagination to understand with!” – Robert Louis Stevenson

“The map does not reproduce an unconscious closed in upon itself; it constructs the unconscious” – Gilles Deleuze

In this informal screening and talk, artist and curator George Clark will discuss topics related to his ongoing film projects exploring the ideas of perspective, categorisation and interpretation in cinema and art. Drawing from his research in Hong Kong and Los Angeles, George will present and discuss a diverse range of subjects from 16mm Kodachome films of Californian gardener Albert Wilson, the history of bird watching and illustration in colonial Hong Kong and the visionary 1980 Pompidou exhibition ‘Maps and Figures of the Earth/Cartes et figures de la Terre’ that explored maps as “instruments of travel and discovery, as well as sophisticated tools to dream.” The talk will draw on the writings of Jorge Luis-Borges and Gilles Deleuze and explore the early experimental films of Hong Kong critic Law Kar and the work in Paris of South American emigre filmmakers Raul Ruiz and Hugo Santiago.

Presented by Green Papaya Art Projects and Los Otros thanks to Audrey Lam Zi Yun. Photo documentation by Jacyn Esquillon & Merv Espina

 

GEORGE CLARK + JOSETTE CHIANG
11 February 2016 (Thursday) | 7 pm | Green Papaya EXT
99A Scout Rallos St corner Scout Ybardolaza St., Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Artist talk and screening with George Clark and Josette Chiang and dinner and drinks with guest chef Malay Javier presented by Green Papaya Art Projects and Los Otros.

THE 8TH ASIA PACIFIC TRIENNIAL OF CONTEMPORARY ART (APT8)
Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art
21 November 2015 – 10 April 2016

Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT) is the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art’s flagship exhibition focussed on the work of Asia, the Pacific and Australia. This eighth edition emphasises the role of performance in recent art, with live actions, video, kinetic art, figurative painting and sculpture exploring the use of the human form to express cultural, social and political ideas, and the central role of artists in articulating experiences specific to their localities. APT8 includes more than 80 artists and groups, an ongoing program of artist performances and projects; a conference as part of the opening program; extensive cinema programs; publications; and activities for kids and families.

Two focus projects are the result of in-depth research and ongoing exchange with the region. Yumi Danis (We Dance) presents the vitality and complexity of performance in the cultures of some of our nearest neighbours: Papua, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Kalpa Vriksha: Contemporary Indigenous and Vernacular Art of India looks at the breadth and vibrancy of Indigenous and vernacular art from regions of India. Also featured are site-specific installations by artists from UAE/Iran, India, South Korea, Myanmar, Australia and New Zealand. APT8 Cinema programs address the representation of Islamic cultures in popular culture throughout the region and showcase independent cinema from the Philippines.

I participated in APT8 as part of the International Visitors Program along with Diana Campbell Betancourt, Biljana Ciric, Reem Fadda, Hendrik Folkerts, Curator, Yee I-Lann, Abdellah Karroum, Emmanuel Kasarhérou, Raiji Kuroda, Venus Lau, Maia Nuku, Guillaume Soulard & Jochen Volz

Image: Danie Mellor New Materialisms (anticipating Girrugarr) I – V (detail) 2015 / Photographic prints on aluminium

A Distant Echo
Work-in-progress performance
Pavilion at Leeds Library, UK
24 April 2014