Voices of Art Speak

Hi! We're interns at SF's Asian Art Museum discovering culture and art through blogging

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Jasmine Sarah here. Tinikling is the most popular and best known of the Philippine dances. It is even honored as the Philippine national dance. This dance was originated in the islands of Leyte in the Visayan Islands. People of Leyte described a bird there, as one of the most unique in its movements. This was due to its walking around and in between tree branches and grass stems in Leyte. This specific bird was named the "Tikling bird" which is where the famous Tinikling dance got its name. The dance imitates the movement of the Tikling birds as they walk between grass stems, run over tree branches, or dodge bamboo traps set by rice farmers in the Philippines. The dancers would imitate the bird's grace and speed by skillfully moving across and between large bamboo poles. In English, Tinikling means "bamboo dance." As part of my culture, we were taught this traditional dance since we were little. We perform the Tinikling during special occasions such as weddings and anniversary parties.

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Jasmine Sarah here. Looking through the Korean Eye exhibit, it did not take long to find my favorite piece. Lee Rim is a 29 year old Korean artist who works with oil on canvas. Rim's primary focus is on the intensity of human emotions. Shown here is her series entitled, "The Mess of Emotion" that combine performance, photography, and oil. I admire how Rim acts as a 'one women show' as her self-portraits begin as performances where she applies black and white paint onto her nude figure, and then photographs herself. From the act of transferring realistic photographs onto a canvas, the artist is saying that the idea of judging characters just based on interpretations of physical characteristics is wrong. To add, as the paint washes over Lee's hyper-realistic body, it is creating a dialogue between emotion and expression. Finally, the heavy brushstrokes that fill the canvas with texture indicate the invisible mental anguish that this artist is going through. All in all, Lee Rim's media is to covey her personal message - feelings of intimacy, isolation, and suffering.

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Originated during the colonial Spanish era in the Phillipines, tinikling is a time-tested and popular dance form in many Filipino communities. It is a labor- intensive dance that requires lots of strength and cardio. One must hop and step in rhythm between large bamboo poles, making sure not to avoid hitting the poles. Oh, and did I mention that the sticks are moved by other people during all this? 

The movement and style of tinikling is inspired by the beautiful step of the tikling birds. From watching the quick, careful taps and jumps made by the birds to avoid sticks and traps on the ground, Filipino dancers incorporated them into their art.

The dance itself is often seen in Filipino festivals and culture celebrations. It is very joyful and accompanied by rondalla music. However, the festivity of the dance is also very tiring-which is what makes it great aerobic exercise. I would try it, but I would probably be really tired!

Come see some real live tinikling dancing at the Asian Art Museum on Fil Am day! 

Best wishes, Khanh 

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Tinikling. What, you might ask, could that be? Although at the first glance it looks like a misspelling of the word “tinkling,” Tinikling is in fact the national dance of the Philippines. Dancers mimic the tikling bird’s grace and agility while dancing between two moving bamboo poles. The dancers movements mirror that of the bird’s as they jump from foot to foot to avoid being touched by the bamboo. Although in the modern age, Tinikling is simply seen and appreciated as a beautiful art form, it may have a more complicated history. 

One specific folktale describes its beginning. During the era of colonialism, when Spain came to the Philippines, workers were sent out into the fields and paddies in order to tend to the crops under the encomienda system. If a worker was unproductive or unruly, his or her punishment was to go stand between bamboo sticks that would be slammed together, thereby injuring the worker’s feet. Of course, this negative feedback loop ended with a worker being injured, not working as hard, and then being beaten again. However, out of this punishment arose a dance of sorts in an attempt to avoid the harsh sting of the bamboo. As people in the field looked at the person jumping from foot to foot amongst the bamboo sticks, they saw a heron-like figure, and thus the name and the art form Tinikling was created. 

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Tinikling dance was created to imitate the tickling birds skillful maneuvering between two large bamboo poles to escape the traps. In English Tinikling is translated to "bamboo dance". This dance originated from the islands of Leyte in the Visayan Islands. Because the story behind the dance was passed down orally, many of the stories behind this traditional dance are not reliable. However, it does display the creativity of the Filipino ancestors. Looking into this dance, I was quite intrigued by their movement and how graceful each person looked while dancing. Their mirroring actions captures the audience and makes the watchers intently gaze at their every step. I think that this would be a a fun dance to learn!

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The Tinikling is a traditional Filipino dance which originates from the island of Leyte in the Vasayas, a part of the Philippines. 

Legend has it that the dance originated specifically during Spanish-Colonial times where Filipinos were often working in the fields. Often, the overseers of plantations punished workers by using long bamboo sticks clamped together. 

But, in order to avoid this people would often jump before the sticks would clamp together, thus forming the ‘Tinikling Dance.’

The word Tinikling means literally, ‘like the Tikling’ an umbrella term for rail-bird species native to the region. Dancers combine the essential skills of acrobatics, dexterity, perception and eye-to-foot coordination. Like a bird, dancers fly from end to end of the sticks with avian-like grace, skittering back and forth through complex movements.

But would I personally dance the Tinikling? Perhaps, if the movements were slow. But in this video with the Melengas Dance Ensemble the movements are quick and agile, like a bird’s. 

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Bae Joonsung is an aclaimed artist who is part of the Korean Eye exhibit. He was born in 967 in Gwangju, Korea and got both his B.F.A. and M.F.A at Seoul National University within the span of ten years.  He is know as realistic painter who explores themes of how people view and how artist view the subject matter they paint.  He has exhibited in numerous shows some which are solo.  Joonsung has also experimented with mediums such as vinyl and moving picture which can be found on his website right below.

http://www.baejoonsung.com/artworksLentiCanvas_2016.html

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While I was exploring through the Korean Eye 2012 collection, I stumbled upon a remarkable piece. At first glance, its simplicity can almost be observed as a stagnation. Yet upon further examination, its inherent slowness captures a moment in time that is contemplative as well as intriguing. The artist, Choi Chong-moon summarizes this piece’s intent brilliantly:

“ ...I try to express the existential meaning behind mass production and the emotions of loneliness, sadness and fear that every human feels. I take these thoughts of mine and express them through different formats of space and movement, nature and artificial nature, shape and materials, concepts and processes.” - Choi Chong-moon

Their artwork captures a sense of melancholy in an era where there is both a social and emotional disconnect. Often the thoughts invoked when gazing at a stagnant, ‘lonely’ cup without another sharing tea - A social activity - can be interpreted as isolation. 

Choi Chong-moon has a B.A. in Fine Art and an M.F.A in Fine Art. 

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When I first laid eyes on this sculpture, I wasn't very intrigued, but the more I observe it the more it grows on me. It channels a very dark yet amusing feeling. The minuscule details creates a vibrancy throughout the whole art piece itself. Not only is this art work so great, the material used is recycled tires. The artist Yong Ho Ji uses recycled tired for all of his sculptures. What amazes me about his artwork is the way he manipulates the details of the tires on the sculptures. By using the tire's natural form, Yong Ho develops more than just the tire. Each curve comes together to become a finely sculpted creature. His pieces also are believed by many that it taps into the controversy of genetically mutated animals and how humans are scientifically mutating certain species for human needs. Yong Ho Ji creates Korean sculptures that are influenced by mythical creatures and endangered species woven into human like bodies. He was born in 1978 went to university of Seoul then moved to New York for his masters. ~kelly

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The Korean Eye is an exhibitition composed of 33 contemporary Korean artists work, created by the Standard Chartered. Each artist uses innovative techniques and often their art plays on key events/problems in today’s world.

The artist I chose to talk about is Lee Moonjoo, who created the piece above. His message is to spread awareness of the wasteful materialism and disposability of modern-day cities. This is displayed in the painting’s landscape: a scene from a Seoul-based street shows piles of urban decay littered all over the ground, as if it was a metal layer of soil. In the background is the construction of clean and uniform houses in stark contrast to the sea of trash below. “My paintings portraying the city in the stage of decomposition based through my observation, I focus on what remains behind in the march towards urban progress,”- Lee.

Moonjoo has graduated from Seoul National University with a BFA and MFA in painting, and he has had worked featured in Seoul, Berlin, and New York.

Bye, Khanh

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Jasmine Sarah here. This is a Garment box with peony motif. This art piece was made in Korea between the 1700-800s, during the Joseon dynasty. The Korean Garment Box is made with lacquered wood with inlaid mother-of-pearl. This specific lacquerware appeals to me through its dainty designs and well crafted shape.

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This table is a Korean Lacquerware piece, Table with Phoenix, Crane and Peach (1800-1900) depicts phoenixes, cranes and peaches. It is made from lacquer and inlaid pieces of Mother of Pearl. This piece appeals to me due to its aesthetic which it encompasses. The mother of pearl creates a symphonic orchestra of colors, and when seen in person, though the exhibit’s lighting is rather dim, the small flecks of light dance upon the opalescent mother-of-pearl creating a truly one-of-a-kind visual display with every glance. The depiction of animals as well as winding, twisting trees and leaves is indicative of the craftsman’s skills. The necessary skills, time, and effort put into this piece is indicative of its aesthetic brilliance.

Until next time! 

-Helen

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This piece, titled “Table with birds and trees motif” from the 1700-1800s captures the epitome of the brilliance that is associated with lacquerware. It includes intricate detail in a compositionally difficult piece, and yet it has an aura of simplicity that makes it so approachable. When my grandmother visited the museum and saw this piece, she stood next to it for at least 5 minutes, mouth agape, and said, “Wow!” This combination of finished wood and mother-of-pearl simply makes a stunning piece!

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This mother-of-pearl dish plate caught my eye with its simple design and elegance. Made in Korea between 1800-1900, this piece has a single plum tree on it with a lone crescent moon floating above. The surface is lacquered and a deep brown hue. 

The intricacy of the tree’s line quality, invidual leaves, and moon are what drew me to write about it. It gave off a soulful and divine atmosphere. 

Until next time, Khanh.

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Hello it's Kelly here, This is a table that's dated back to the Joseon dynasty. It's made with laqcquered wood and the intricate designs are the mother of pearl. This piece caught my eye because it felt balanced and peaceful. In contrast to the other pieces, I saw that this piece had just enough details to look beautiful. The bird which is placed right in the center draws your attention to it and question why or how it was alone. And I'll leave it to your own interpretations.

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These pebbles may seem unreal, just photoshopped or a trick of the light. That is, if you don’t consider Korean artist Hwang Samyong. 

Hwang Samyong is most famous for the technique displayed in this piece shown above. Using the “cutting-up” technique, he is able to lacquer and inlay pieces with thin strips of mother-of-pearl. By using different color mother-of-pearl, he is able to create this visual masterpiece, guiding the viewer’s eye all around the stone. But of course, these works aren’t “quick and dirty” with each stone taking around 220 hours each! Luckily we’ll be able to see him and his assistant on Korea Day making their next piece. Can’t wait!

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Jasmine Sarah here. This art piece, entitled “Pebbles”, is presented by a Korean artisan, Hwang Samyong. “Pebbles” is created by attaching 0.2-millimeter thick mother-of-pearl strips to give the ordinary rock its capturing glow. This process takes seventeen hours a day. By using the “cutting-up technique”, Hwang spent 277 hours just to complete one piece of the work.With the different colors of mother-of-pearl, this artist manages to make various works with different shapes and surfaces. His thin-slicing is very essential in mother-of-pearl lacquerware. From the begging to the end, this technique is not an easy process. However, at the end of the day, the results show softness, naturalness, and beauty.