[racvisual] Reading Contemporary Art 4 Spiritually engage

In the last issue, we talked about the three stages of interpreting works of art: "Emotionally engage". Being able to connect with the work and feel resonance is a beautiful thing in itself.

Unfortunately, today's life is a bit too noisy. In daily life, whether it is human voices, radio, cars, televisions, etc., or there are different types of noises in society, at work, in life, or even the surrounding environment is too noisy. Sensory stimulation tightens the facial features and reduces sensitivity. Perhaps in such an overly noisy place, sometimes you really need to turn off some of your senses to prevent yourself from collapse. I am talking about the noise in the streets in particular. Hong Kong is a bit too noisy for me. I often long for headphones that can reduce ambient sound by thirty decibels so that I can live in a quieter world. The rapid pace and dense environment make it difficult for people to slow down and connect with the things around them.

However, in order to understand a work, we need to reopen our five senses and have a soft heart to connect ourselves to all things. Our heart must be soft enough and our five senses must be sensitive enough to allow things to enter our hearts and understand them with our hearts. Feel or notice its details, especially when facing some "quieter" works or works that take a longer time to enter. The five senses are accustomed to excessive stimulation, which has a certain impact on our appreciation ability to a certain extent.

The importance of curiosity

Curiosity is necessary, you must know how to ask questions, don’t care if it is a stupid question, and don’t jump to conclusions too early. Sometimes we are too accustomed to jumping to conclusions too early, taking a quick look, throwing away a sentence, and walking away, or simply trusting any authority or conclusion. Many times, even if we have read a work many times, we can discover more possibilities by re-reading it. Especially when your experience is deeper and your appreciation ability is higher, you may discover things that you have not noticed before. Saw this while re-reading. This is also the so-called "eternity" of art. People of different eras will have different interpretations of the same work, which makes art itself endless and life continues. The definition of everything does not just stop at the moment of its birth. .

Click

In addition, I have also said that interpreting works requires more or less "wisdom". Whether it is emotional or spiritual, both can lead people to the depth of the work. Sometimes, even if you don't know much about the background, you can Feel it speaking to you. It seems a bit mysterious to say this, and it is difficult to express this point in words. In Cantonese, what we say is "click". If you click, there is that "electric shock". Perhaps just like the ineffability of love, this cannot be understood purely through rational analysis. Some are like a flash of inspiration, and some are like being spiritually lifted after washing it. Good works can lead your imagination, take you to further places, inspire you to do something, and even make some changes. It's like you see something and it sparks something creative. That's not copying or plagiarizing, but just a little bit, and then some things that are not really related to the original work. I have also heard that many people became interested in art after seeing a painting or something when they were children, and even hoped to become an artist.

I remember that when I was in Form 4, my art teacher took us to see an exhibition at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. I have no memory of what the exhibition was. I just remember that I saw Auguste Rodin’s sculptures at that time. Rodin (1840- 1917) seems to have a special place in my heart. It was the first time I saw the master's original work up close. Then there was a postcard given by the teacher that year with the works of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). At that time, I didn’t know about Cubism or what kind of artist Picasso was. I only saw colorful and colorful Several people seemed to be dancing, and that was the first image I had of Western art. It was not until many years later that I had the opportunity to see the painting in person, to see the true colours, to see the thickness and strokes of the paint, and to see the shock of its true size.

At that time, I never thought that I would be entangled with art and accompany it day and night in my life. These fragmentary things can be regarded as my enlightenment in Western art.

For four consecutive issues, we talked about some entry points for reading contemporary art. I think everyone has his or her own journey, and nothing has to be one way or another. Everything is just a matter of slowly looking for it with curiosity and humility.


(over)

Text: Ye Xiaoyan Rachel IP
IG: rachel.iphiuyin