Happenings

Vincent Lee (06009913)

Definition of “Happening Arts”

A kind of public art which could take place anywhere Often multi-disciplinary, including visual arts, music,

acrobats or even dress-up Lack a narrative mean, rather spontaneous,

improvisational Extend a little bit of planned elements to be some

kind of performances guided by the flow of one’s emotion

Function

Bridge the gap between art work and audience, in which the spiritual essence of visual arts merges with our real life

Benefit

Audience rarely need to pay extra effort to understand and digest the contents and ideas of an art activity, since their appreciations would be guided by the artist with the use of rhythms and lively vividness.

What is more…

A happening art usually helps ease the nervous and busy mood of urban dwellers, since most of the art elements bring about visual pleasures.

Artists could arouse public awareness to social absurdities by performing some satirical stories.

Kwok Mang Ho – the King of Frog

Introduction to his work

Kwok established his personal symbol – the Frog. He created his own engraved seal with such symbol and chopped everywhere he performed. Usually, he linked his frog-liked gestures with the activity of Chinese painting and calligraphy-writing, whereas his brushworks are extremely self-expressive. His performances were often transformed into valuable art pieces through being captured into photographs and being edited to be somewhat like postcards. People can either get the postcards or Kwok’s explorative calligraphic pieces as a kind of collective memory after enjoying the unrestricted gathering.

Great innovation in Hong Kong contemporary art circus – mixture of Chinese art, installation art and behavioral art

Chinese ink: the centre theme of his happenings

Momentary gratifications to audience’s visions

From Kwok’s work, you can see the following visual elements…

Physical show-off Ancient Chinese art mediums Personal logos Fluctuating facial expressions Indoctrination of his frog-liked subconscious mind

within his gathering audience Laugh The violation of behavioral restraints, as well as

eliminating people’s common artistic standard in terms of well-preparation and idea-development

A sense of unleash

Ching Chin Wai

Ching’s concept

“I live in this city at the same time I observe the city as if I am an outsider. I react to the city spontaneously. I deconstruct the city. And then, I observe it again.”(an over-distant artistic appreciation)

The combination of two eggs into the same piece of yolk

Very explorative, without well-planned intentions

“Taking apart from the gift or wrapping the gift?”

Re-puzzled the broken egg surface in such an occasion, and then was recorded by camera all of a sudden

Inspired by environmental settings where you walk through

Monuments were made freely in Shaukeiwan, Central, Tai Po etc. to commemorate the disappeared relationship between men and pets.

Ching’s concept

Playful: project the absurdities of daily lives

Pak Shuang Chuen, Tozar

Pak works with Ching Chin Wai in Ming Pao Editorial Board. Both of them are asked to create some time-restricted artwork in order to remind urban dwellers to stop for a while in such a busy atmosphere.

Occasional discovery of subject matters, then create some ideas through an easy procedure of reorganization

“The extension of the longitude of Hong Kong and the latitude of Taipei form a crossing in China. I traveled to that position and found a stone in shape of Taiwan Island.”

Discovery of vertical objects by photo-taking, then reorganized them into a snapshot

A Present to Central Government (during the July-1 Demonstration)

Pak laid a piece of yellow cloth off on Hennessy Road to bear witness to the third July-1 Demonstration. Cutting across the route, it was there to get footprints of the marchers.

Then, Pak took many pieces of yellow cloth to Beijing, and tied them into ribbons around the periphery of Tiananmen Square as a mean of expressing Hong Kong citizens’ desire for democracy.

A little flower for the pass-by (for those who pick up the coins would receive luck and blessings!)

Pak’s style of happenings

Express his feeling of loneliness and alienation in the urban life

Relationship between happenings and performance arts:

Performance art can be any situation that involves four basic elements: time, space, the performer's body and a relationship between performer and audience. It is opposed to painting or sculpture, for example, where an object constitutes the work.

Happenings is under the category of Performance Arts. But, Happenings could still revitalize the importance of studio or media art mediums.

Same as performance arts, Happenings strongly rely on media arts (photography and video) to save your idea and promote it throughout the community.

Happenings: Everyone has the potential of being an artist! But, do remember…

Backup support for the popularity of your happening arts: media, under the statement of an institution, e.g., in Cattle Depot

Audience’s participation Well manipulation of recording techniques if

really wanted to be known by others – photography, snapshot, video etc.

A very healthy mean!

Happenings provide an alternative drainage for the people, who’re not very good at painting or sculpture, to release their emotions and ease their panics. (to make a breakthrough upon the art traditions)

Everybody enjoys art free-of-charge. Happening artists unite the joyful feelings in the gathering, thus audience abandon their daily life pressure.

No matter the happening artists or audience would no longer be serious to life absurdities. They would carry a rather optimistic and positive mind.

As the artistic movements are recorded, participants could recollect the pleasant flavour at any time.

THANK YOU

Choi Hung means “Rainbow”! Tozar Pak