 |
||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||||
|
Friday - Sunday: Father's Day specials at The Silver Spoon Café The Silver Spoon Café will be giving free drink cards out to all dads throughout the weekend. Friday: Hawaiian party at Speakeasy Bar Speakeasy Bar is throwing a Hawaiian party tonight with music provided by DJ Fan Yi, DJ Yan and MC Latino. There will also be Hawaiian dancers and prizes for the person with the most leis. The free party starts at 10 pm. Friday: Friday the 13th costume party at The Hump Bar Part Friday the 13th costume party, part farewell for Raphael, tonight The Hump Bar will feature music by As Done by Robots and DJ Starricos. Show up dressed as your favorite horror movie murderer – 10 yuan buys a glass of 'horror punch'. The free party starts at 10 pm. Saturday: Uprock reopening party Uprock reopens on Saturday night after being closed for renovations. DJ Tantrum and DJ Echoo will be joined onstage by MC Menace for a night of electronic dance. Saturday: Violin concert at TC/G Nordica Violinist Li Chaoqun of Yunnan Art Institute will play a free 8 pm concert at TC/G Nordica featuring the works of Mozart, Paganini and Chinese composers. Sunday: Father's Day buffet brunch and dinner at Grand Park Hotel Grand Park Hotel Kunming will be offering special brunch and dinner buffets on Sunday from 11:30 to 3:00 and 6:00 to 9:30, respectively. The buffet will take place at the hotel's Café Palmetto on the first floor and will cost 158 yuan for adults and 98 yuan for children (subject to 15% surcharge). Tags: As Done by Robots, DJ Starricos, DJ Tantrum, Father's Day, Grand Park Hotel Kunming, Li Chaoqun, Menace, TC/G Nordica, The Silver Spoon Cafe, Uprock, Yunnan Art Institute
This weekend Kunming will celebrate the Duanwu Festival (端午节) on Sunday, during which people all over the city will be munching on gooey zongzi (粽子 - see image above). The weekend will be followed by the arrival of the Olympic Torch on Monday - see this forum thread for details on the torch's route through Kunming. Friday-Tuesday: Kunming Fair The 16th annual Kunming International Import and Export Commodities Fair - aka the Kunming Fair (昆交会) - will take place again this year at the Kunming International Convention and Exhibition Center (昆明国际会展中心) from today through Tuesday, June 10. Vendors from around China and the world will be hawking their wares from 8 am to 6 pm daily. Friday-Saturday: Yunnan Art Institute Cartoon Design Show Yunnan Art Institute's Cartoon Design Show at Yunnan Provincial Science and Technology Hall will continue for another two days. The show highlights a range of works and media by students from Yunnan Art Institute, one of China's most influential art schools. Friday: Modern dance performance at TC/G Nordica TCG/Nordica will host a performance of homegrown modern dance tonight, beginning at 8:00. Admission to the performance is five yuan. Friday: Happy Avenue at Laowo Bar Laowo Bar will be host to the pop stylings of Happy Avenue tonight at 9:30. Admission to the show is 30 yuan, which includes a coupon for 5 yuan towards drinks. The show will begin with an opening band to be determined. Saturday: Yeyang Guantou at Speakeasy Bar Metal band Yeyang Guantou will play at Speakeasy Bar Saturday night with local band Heiyu opening. The show starts at 9:30, admission is 30 yuan. Tags: dance, Happy Avenue, Heiyu, Kunming Fair, Kunming International Convention and Exhibition Ce, Laowo Bar, live music, Speakeasy Bar, TC/G Nordica, Yeyang Guantou, Yunnan Art Institute
In the Chinese art world, the term the "Yunnan School" of art is an umbrella term covering all of the art coming out of Yunnan province, home to one of the most influential art scenes in all of China. As art moves away from the government's sphere of influence and toward an increasingly interested international art market a major diversification of themes and styles is taking place across the country. What is unique about the art scene in Yunnan is that it can be generalized as a 'homegrown' art scene with a high number of locally born artists and relatively few Chinese from other parts of the country fleeing the megacities of the coast – although that is slowly changing, especially in Dali. A new generation of painters is emerging from the so-called Yunnan school – a group of oil painters whose artistic talents were cultivated during their time at the Yunnan Art Institute – one of China's more influential art academies. This 'Kunming School' of painters which includes Chen Liu, Zhang Wei, Du Xi and Wang Jiwei was born in the 1970s and 80s and as a result grew up in a much more politically stable environment than their predecessors - many of whose works are heavily influenced by the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution. GoKunming sat down with the four painters at Yunart Gallery, where they recently wrapped up a three-month exhibition. All four were as friendly and laid-back as one would expect. Here's an intro to each painter and their views on art:
Chen Liu 陈流 Born in Kunming, Yunnan province in 1973 to two artists, creativity is in Chen Liu's blood. His father a famous painter and his mother an accomplished woodcutter, Chen started painting regularly in 1985. He graduated from Beijing's renowned Tsinghua Fine Arts Institute in 1996. After graduation Chen returned to Kunming, where he has been painting as well as serving as a professor specializing in oil painting at Yunnan Art Institute. Affected more by China's opening to the rest of the world than by the turbulent politics of the 1970s, Chen first became interested in art via American comics and Japanese manga – influences that he blends with his interest in the supernatural and classical Chinese stories such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms. As Chen sees it, the fringes of reality are infinitely more interesting than the middle of the road. "I like extremes," he says "I can appreciate extreme beauty, such as the female form, but can also enjoy the ugliness of a gory scene in a horror flick." Chen's paintings have been have been well-received around China and the world. His works have been featured in galleries in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Guiyang, Taiwan, New York, Milan and Vietnam.
Zhang Wei 张炜 As a child, Zhang Wei preferred to spend his time alone, away from other children – painting was his escape. Born in Kunming in 1970, Zhang started painting in primary school at the age of seven. After deciding to focus full-time on painting, Zhang studied at the Yunnan Art Institute under famous painter Chen Raoguang (陈绕光), father of fellow painter Chen Liu (陈流). Zhang says that while studying under Chen, he learned how to turn reality into art. Zhang's aesthetic sensibilities are more in line with modern, industrialized China rather than the China of dynastic times when painters often used natural scenery as the inspiration for their brushstrokes. "Lately I've been enjoying painting scenery," Zhang said, "But I don't really enjoy pure natural scenery – I enjoy painting what humans have done to the natural world." "Sometimes a ripped-out side of a mountain is not enough for me, and I'll have to add a plane to the sky." Zhang's paintings are often imbued with scenery and images from his home province of Yunnan. The artist said he frequently leaves his home in Kunming to search the Yunnan countryside for inspiration. "I'm not going to go to a scenic place like Stone Forest though, I'm more likely to be inspired by seeing an animal getting slaughtered in a village. I like strange and scary paintings – I really like violence." Zhang sometimes spends long periods of time between paintings or series of paintings. "I'm interested in a lot of different things," he said, "which causes the themes of my paintings to change frequently. I don't like to relax too much – I like to keep a bit of an edge." Zhang's works have participated in exhibitions in Milan, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Kunming.
Du Xi 杜溪 Born in 1980, Du Xi is one of the younger members of the generation of talented artists emerging from Kunming, with Yunnan Art Institute as the epicenter of this wave of creativity. Du is one of the few painters in Yunnan to have spent time in the US – in 2005 he spent seven months attending his exhibitions as well as painting and exploring a country that was very different from his own. Whereas many Chinese artists would have stayed on, Du decided to return to his native Yunnan – which in many ways serves as his most important muse. "America has friendly people, clean air and almost everything was beautiful to me," Du said, "But I quickly found it boring - I'm most interested in painting things that I'm connected to." "As a child I was always interested in older things that had a link to the past, like my grandparents' old house, the different parks and temples around Kunming, these places give me inspiration and feelings – that's why I paint them." "Modern painting is about individual expression – last year [2007] I tended to paint things connected to life today, but now I prefer to paint in a more traditional style – especially Peking opera, Romance of the Three Kingdoms and old symbols from ancient China," he said, "My paintings have moved to more of an emphasis on storytelling." "A year ago, I needed to see what I was painting with my own eyes. Now I'm more into using my ears, my imagination, my dreams. Everything I'm painting now focuses on things that I'm imagining coming up with – it's much more comfortable for me this way now." Du's works have been exhibited in Brussels, Los Angeles, Guangzhou, Guiyang and Kunming.
Wang Jiwei 王继伟 "I was born in 1976 – it was a turbulent year." Wang Jiwei may have been born in the year of the dragon, but it is remembered better by other Chinese as the year in which Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai died, the Gang of Four was arrested, and the Tangshan earthquake took the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Since Wang's birth, China has left its revolutionary fervor for a new path – where it leads is still unclear. What is clear is that in those three decades China has undergone a massive change unprecedented in any other country. The sharp difference between the China of the 1980s and China since the 1990s has had a major impact on Wang. As China leaps into modernity and globalization, Wang prefers to look to the past for his inspiration. "I like everything old – buildings, paintings, antiques and embroidery are all interesting to me." A student of Chen Liu and Zhang Wei and former classmate of Du Xi, Wang took to painting at an early age and in 1997 began to study it formally. Wang's paintings often feature a mix of Chinese and Western elements. Tradition is a consistent theme in Wang's paintings, as is his love for all things Yunnan. "Yunnan is very different from the rest of China – it's on the periphery, the fringe." Wang's paintings have been featured in exhibitions in Guangzhou and Kunming. Tags: art, Chen Liu, Du Xi, painting, Wang Jiwei, Yunart Gallery, Yunnan Art Institute, Zhang Wei Queen Sea Big Shark to play Kunming this weekendFriday, 28th March 2008 ~ Xiao Lu ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
One of the more popular bands of the moment in the Beijing rock scene - Queen Sea Big Shark (后海大鲨鱼) will bring its live show to Kunming Saturday night, when it performs at Laowo Bar across from the main gate of the Yunnan Art Institute. Formed in 2004, Queen Sea Big Shark has quickly emerged as one of the more active bands in Beijing. The twentysomething band's music, often described as 'dance rock', features retro-style 80's beats, plus a smattering of punk and surf rock and English lyrics. In addition to the domestic status that comes with being on the Modern Sky label, Queen Sea Big Shark has also opened for international acts performing in China including the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Maximo Park and Mando Diao. Its self-titled debut album on Modern Sky was released on the last day of 2007 - the band has been touring China to promote the album since the beginning of March. Admission to the show is 25 yuan (20 yuan for students) including a beer or a non-alcoholic drink. Showtime has yet to be confirmed – call Laowo Bar at 2924115 for more information. Video: Queen Sea Big Shark Tags: Laowo Bar, Modern Sky, Queen Sea Big Shark, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Yunnan Art Institute Holiday Happy Hour at Fisherman's Bar Starting at 5:30 today, Fisherman's Bar (渔夫酒吧) will be celebrating Christmas with five consecutive days of 15 of its more than 50 imported beers and ciders from around the world on discount at only 20 yuan per bottle. Fisherman's Bar is located on the second floor of Kunming Zoulang (map), near the intersection of Renmin Zhong Lu and Qingnian Lu. Christmas Party at Laowo Bar Laowo Bar (老窝吧)will be throwing a Christmas Party featuring four Kunming-based bands. Music starts at 9 pm with the Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project, Brain Concussion, Rap Republic and Tribal Moons playing before two late-night DJs. Admission to the party is 20 yuan – Laowo Bar is located 20 meters downhill from the main gate of Yunnan Art Institute (云南艺术学院), just off of Kunrui Lu (昆瑞路). Tags: Brain Concussion, Fisherman's Bar, Laowo Bar, Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project, Rap Republic, Tribal Moons, Yunnan Art Institute Oxford art historian to speak at Yunnan Art InstituteWednesday, 23rd May 2007 ~ Tom ~ Link ~ Comments (1)Sullivan will give a second lecture this Friday at the Yunnan Art Institute's Drama College in classroom 110. The lecture is scheduled for 3-5 pm and is entitled "Impression of Visiting Yunnan". The lecture is free and open to the public. Tags: art history, arts and entertainment, education, Michael Sullivan, Oxford University, Yunnan Art Institute
Painted by the Yunnan Art Institute, the mural has a very Chinese Communist utopian-future feel, but its vibrant colors and upbeat theme of the advancement of ethnic minorities through science, technology and even religion make that stretch of the sidewalk a pleasant diversion from the busy street. Kunming is filled with a variety of murals, ranging from the small and simple to elaborate multi-themed pieces. An aimless stroll around the Cuihu (Green Lake) area or around Renmin Zhong Lu generally yields a good sampling of the striking art and propaganda scattered throughout the city. We'll be adding more galleries in the future. To get to the gallery page, simply click on the link to the left or on either of the images on the right or left of most pages. Tags: Yunnan Art Institute |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
| ©2006-8 MGHK Limited |