21st Century China: Contemporary Art

I like the way how Chinese modern or contemporary art is evolving and how China's new generation of artists are experimenting and trying to move away from traditional Chinese art. There is nothing wrong with traditional art, but I believe local artists should think more outside the box.

I did check some photos of Chinese art of the 21st century and I find some of them amusing, colorful, simplistic and others boring. Some are so stylized, others realistic, some are almost bordering between graffiti and a rough black and white sketch on paper and some are so animated like a Japanese anime' in technicolor. Far different from traditional Chinese art where one can feel the serenity and grace of the illustration of a Chinese maiden, a breed of horses running wildly, peaks of hills and mountains or a goldfish in a still pond and far from the sculpture of a Buddha, a tree made of jade, a serene goddess with flowing mantle, etc., etc.


Modern Chinese art is catching very quick with Western style and gaining much attention in the international art scene. I just hope that the Chinese governmant will not censor their artists too much to the point of detaining them. Long live the Chinese artists, long live China!


Photo Credit: Giant Ants. Accelerate: Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition
Photographer: Singartsam
Photo Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30754835@N02/

Photo Credit: Ling Jian 12
Photographer: Nikolaus Ellrodt
Photo Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/56518650@N06/with/5848586989/

21st Century China: Architecture

China's architecture in its key cities like Beijing and Shanghai is continuing to change the infrastructure's landcape. The start of the 21st century saw the rising and contruction of modern architecture in the old cities of this country. Trying to be one with the changes in the modern world the country opened its doors to work with building designers, architectural firms and engineers from Europe and the US.

I personally think that this decision is good for China and I like the design of the modern architecture, though sometimes it is too modern that the imprint of Chinese culture cannot be seen or be felt in the physical appearance of the infrastucture. Perhaps that is the same sentiment that some of China's younger generation are lamenting that the architectural design is too modern and too Western that it did not even reflect the blueprint of Chinese culture and architecture.

The following ten projects that pushed the boundaries of China's architectural status quo since 2002 are The Commune in Beijing, Beijing International Airport, Shanghai Worl Financial Center, National Aquatics Centre in Beijing, CCTV in Beijing, Linked Hybrid Housing in Beijing, Dongatan Eco City in Dongtan, Beijing National Stadium, Donghai Bridge and the National Grand Theater in Beijing to name a few.

Photo Credit: CCTV Building, Beijing
Photographer: Nathaniel McMahon
Photo Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathaniel-mcmahon/

Photo Credit: Bird's Nest, Bejing
Photographer: FatBoyRoy
Photo Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fatboyroy/

21st Century China: Fashion

With everything going global and China being exposed to a lot more influences from the West...one thing is for sure, that the young generation of Chinese will be more open to the trends of Europe and the US. One area of global influence will be in fashion. New Chinese fashion designers (surprisingly most of them are educated in Western countries) are presenting their style which are heavily inspired by European fashion.

I personally think that if China's fashion industry will be steered in the right direction the country will be one of the major fashion capitals in Asia next to Japan and it also has a strong potential to be one of the world's fashion trendsetters making Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai its local fashion hubs.

Below are some pictures from Beijing Fashion Week held in 2010. Judge for yourselves how fast China's 21st century high fashion is taking shape.

Photo Credit to Photographer: Feng Li for Getty Images/AsiaPac

Should Celebs Act Badly?



Can You Name Them?

 Ah celebrities, most people look up to them, follow them, emulate them and some people take it too seriously to the point of stalking them. Celebrities in the world of cinema/theatre, music/arts, politics, fashion and sports are so powerful that when these same famous people commit human mistakes and fall from grace, us ordinary people have mixed emotions - some of us vicariously enjoy the "ride" that they go through when they fall from their pedestal or we might feel their pain just because we are one of their fans. Whatever it is we should always remember that they are regular people too experiencing the same emotions, addictions and demons we have in our regular lives. Unfortunately, their lives are magnified a hundred times than ours which makes it more interesting for the ordinary people to follow the events of their lives as it unfolds in media.

For this blog what I would like to point out is that why can't these celebrities contain themselves and behave well in their private lives and in the public eye. They MUST know that a thousand or more people look up to them as role models, as inspiration perhaps. It is sad that sometimes these famous and rich people enjoy the attention they receive in the midst of their bad behavior. One celeb I used to admire as she was on her way to the top was Lindsay Lohan but like any other dumb celebrities when she got to the pinnacle of her career that was when she lived a life of stupidity by doing stupid things. One or two mistakes is fine but to commit the same mistakes the third time or more is unacceptable. It is funny to think that most of these famous people are adults doing and practicing juvenille stupidity...you know stupid stuffs that adolescents and late teens do. Such a shame!

On the one hand I believe that there are more responsible celebrities who understand their standing in society and in the world. I commend these celebrities because they are aware that acting badly will impress wrong things to people and their fans. Some of these celebrities worth looking up to are Gloria Estefan, Orlando Bloom, Matt Damon, Leonardo di Caprio, Mary J. Blige, Celine Dion, Meryl Streep, Michael J. Fox, Dianne Sawyer, Charlie Rose, Kate Blanchet etc...to name a few. The names I just mentioned are famous people who are both stellar in name and attitude, inspiring and world class. Perhaps you can fill in the names of celebs that are quite notorious for behaving badly. Leave a comment and let me know. :)

Too Much Reality is Hazardous to Your Health

The end of the 20th century in television history saw the rise of reality TV shows. Gone were the days when most television shows were scripted and featured well-known actors for lead and supporting roles. As we all know reality shows feature famous, infamous and virtual unknowns who would like to taste the so called "15 minutes of fame."

I think reality TV is part of our modern culture. With the advent of the internet and advanced global communication technology the world became smaller. I guess people got tired of watching too much fantasy television and are now more interested in watching real life and events as they unfold in front of their television sets and computer screens. I personally like reality TV depending on the type of show. Clean talent competition shows, non-trashy talk shows, relevant documentary shows, true-to-life crime and drama shows are the type of reality television shows I like.

Unfortunately there are also reality TV shows whose main concern is to "dish out the dirt" amongst its cast, glorify decadence, sloth, greed and perhaps all seven deadly sins. There are also reality shows that desensitize us to violence and too much sexual behavior and just plain bad behavior. This is really sad because the theme of these reality shows breaks the fiber of our values and negatively influence the younger generation. The trashy actions and foul language that some reality so-called stars show off (whether scripted or not) impress negative things on children and teenagers, and even in some adults.

I hope children born in the age of reality TV grow up with good manners and right values just like how their grandparents and parents were raised, free from the trash of reality TV but then again I might be wrong, perhaps too much reality TV will open their eyes on what they should not be when they grow up, perhaps younger people are much wiser and they know what is acting and what is reality in reality TV, perhaps I should advice you to be selective of the type of reality shows you should be watching and warn you that too much reality TV may be hazardous to your mental, moral, social, etc. health. You tell me!

Photo: Reality TV Graffiti
Photographer: Dean
Photo Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/leunix/

Racism is Ugly

According to the dictionary Racism or Racialism means:

1. the belief that races have distinctive cultural characteristics determined by hereditary factors and that this endows some races with an intrinsic superiority over others

2. abusive or aggressive behaviour towards members of another race on the basis of such a belief

Reading and understanding the two given meanings of racism, however one "wraps their head" around it, the meaning is still negative. Others may not be affected by its meaning but I personally feel that the racism is a very condescending act.

Is there racism selling these dolls? Dark skin dolls put on sale and lighter skin dolls still at $5.93. You judge.

This is another social issue that mankind struggled throughout generations for thousands of years. From generations of long time ago people of superior civilization would always try to conquer another race and impose their creed and their culture to "erase" the customs of the conquered race. In the early 20th century until now, we still experience this atrocious act in different forms and shape - from deadly genocide (Hitler against the European Jews, the Rwanda genocide in the early 90's, Saddam against the Kurds, Ku Klux Klan, Skinheads against people of ethnic races, "blacks vs whites", etc. and the list will never end) to softer versions (like name calling and stereotyping - John Galliano vs. Jewish couple, Imus vs. the African American female basketball team and a few more).

I admit that it is not always easy stereotyping each race and sometimes we even judge the person based on the color of their skin without even fully knowing them, we also fall on what I call "subconscious racism" where we sometimes generalize different races and categorize them in funny ways, some examples - all Asians eat rice and all Hispanics eat beans, African Americans love greasy fried chicken, etc. they may sound non-offensive, but still not cool. Why can't we just live without name calling? Why can't we just unite? Is it because one is rich and one is less fortunate? Is it that I live in this fashionable side of town and you live in the projects? Is it because my skin is lighter than your dark skin? is it because your parents drive a cool topdown and mine owns a simple sedan? I can ask lots of questions about differences but I believe what each of us should strive for is to learn how to stop our negative racial "urges" against each other. Let us stop and listen to ourselves before we act out or talk racially disgusting remarks about our fellowmen. I know I am guilty of this sometimes but I try to calm myself and really, really do my best to just shut-up and think of the best about people. On the flipside I have experienced a few incidents where I was the person being offended, it does hurt sometimes but I just turn my back.

That said let's pray and hope that we all live happy together as one race, the human race!

Photo: Racism in Walmart
Photo Courtesy: Alinaalonge070 from FailPost.com

Stop Being A Bully !!!

Anti-Bullying Campaign Poster

For today I would like to post this short blog about my opinion on bullying and the BULLIES! Bullying for me is one of the most stupid acts that anyone can do. Obviously it is not productive, it doesn't do anything good to the bully and for the person being bullied. It is a negative and non-productive energy. I also think that parents should be the very first people who should and must educate their children at a young age against bullying and how to confront a bully, and how to address the situation and tell the appropriate authorities. I believe that parents must always include the bullying issue when they talk to their children. After all children are the reflection of their parent's beliefs and values.

As for the the bullies out there, I can only tell you one thing STOP being a bully! I personally believe bullies are ego and power trippers who can only beat and take people who are not as big as they are physically plus most bullies stick together in groups because I know and I am sure that they cannot bully just by themselves because they are cowards. Most bullies hate themselves, are jealous of others and frustrated with their life and mostly unloved at home. Technically, I believe that a bully, truly only bullies himself.

As for those who think they are being bullied (hard as it may seem to do) you must expose the bullies to proper authorities, learn to stand up against these losers and live your life!

Photo: BullyingUK Campaign Poster
Photo Credit: BullyingUK
Photo Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bullyinguk/