Visted the new Singapore Art museum space at the old Catholic High School today. I loved how they converted the school compound.
Anyway, we went to see the Japan Media Arts exhibition which was really good!
We were met with a work which mimics movement of water. The technology was so simple yet the works was intriguing. So was the drawing of doodles using light-emitting devices!
tracks of blue © SUZUKI Taro
At zone 2, got in touch with the interactive works. The 3-D technology of a Vermeer, the drum-tapping-mimicking device, the miscommunication when playing games, Nintendo Wii (I play better tennis on computer. haha.), and the out of body experience from on-top. Cool.
Lastly, I loved the animation screening room! They were screening Japanese animated shorts which were the kinds which you do not get to see in Singapore usually. Jane and I sat there for the longest time enjoying them film by film. The many variety of animated pieces was amazing. From 2-D drawings to 3-D clips, from dialogued-shows to music accompanied pieces. I think they were all unique in one way or another!
I especially liked ‘Block Man’ about continuity, breaking apart and it is just amazing how they transform simple white blocks into amazing visuals! The music complements the film very well, it felt like you were taken to another world. A very meditative piece.
Youhei Murakoshi’s Blockman
And I laughed so hard at ‘Boneheads’ which was really slapstick. The funny thing is if the film was acted out it would probably be the ‘dumb and dumber’ kinda show which I really cannot stand. But in animation… wow. Amazing ridiculous yet funny. And all over a banana (you have to watch the clip to understand what I am talking about.)! haha.
Hiroshi Chida’s Boneheads
Toshiaki Hanzaki’s Birthday (a hilarious take on evolution)
Lastly, the last short we watched ‘Clockwork City’ was so incredibly well done. And I was able to understand the show even without understanding Japanese (there wasn’t much dialogue anyway) so it was great how a narrative could be told without the use of words. But while it was beautiful, it was also very sad. Towards the end, the show offered you a perfect solution to the clockwork city only to take that away from the viewer in a minute. It wouldn’t have been so sad if the viewer wasn’t presented with such a great solution the problem in the first place. Ah well… it was a great short, probably my favourite out of the 10 we watched.
Ryu Kato’s The Clockwork City
Yes… we sat there and just watched unlike all the other museum go-ers who couldn’t afford the time to watch. We weren’t rushing anywhere so it is ok. I only wished I stayed there longer to finish the rest (we only completed 1/3 of the films…) but it was too cold. And it was nice to end on a good note. (:
I think the animations were fantastic and it was like watching it at ‘animation nation’. Plus, (excuse my being a kiasu Singaporean) we did not have to pay for the screening or the rest of the exhibition since both NJC and ACJC are members of the National Heritage Board scheme. If it is one thing I miss about being a student, it is probably free entries into Singapore museums. That and the cheaper bus fares.
We visited the fabric dolls exhibition at Basheers after that.
ramblings. 