Paint Made Flesh

Our summer workshop included a trip to DC to see the exhibition noted above as well as the Duchamp and Self-Portrait exhibitions at the NPG. Paint Made Flesh is an amazing exhibition and I regret that the video the Phillips is using to promote the show is pedantic... and doesn't really do the show justice. It's worth a visit to DC - maybe even two!

Tibet Talk

Color, color everywhere.. How do I capture the Moving Cultures experience with word and image? I'll attempt a short show and tell on tomorrow at 12:30 in the VCU/AFO crit room. If you'd like a taste of what's to come please visit this link or with luck you'll be able to view the slide show I've embedded below.

Gwangzhou to Lhasa... and we begin again

Dragon had a bus waiting for ALL of us this morning... (eastern and western teams)...a bus big enough to hold all of us and our many, many bags.

We drove across town to the older train station here in Guangzhou and then began to circle. There is no parking access for a bus such as ours...and we are anxious we'll need to schlep our bags across a great distance. Our guide Dragon proves to be an excellent problem solver... as he gets out of the bus from one gate/station entrance to another and requests access... he finally asks the gate guards if they have ever seen westerners before... and they hadn't! They grant us access so they can take our picture as we exit the bus and collect our luggage!!! We are an oddity here. This is a relief. I am amused and impressed with his solution.

We navigate security screening and follow Dragon to a waiting room that looks like something out of Soviet era architecture.... but with big comfy chairs. I discover a staff member hiding and asleep and we wait and look for something cold to drink. Cold? Dream on.

Once we begin to board the train and make our way to our assigned berths we realize we are not prepared for our accommodations.... our luggage won't fit. There is no air movement. We are hot and crammed into each berth...with team members we don't know. Sweat and frustration abound as Hetty, Dragon, Cindy and I negotiate the heat, the space and our luggage. Not pretty but we survive.

As soon as the train takes off things cool off a bit. We figure out where to put our gear and settle in for three days. Yes, three days of train. How many photos of the landscape can one take in three days? MANY. We wander up and down the car... to see who is where and how the facilities work and look. We listen to each other's music, read our travel guides and get to know one another. At some point I decide it is time to take my altitude meds... and that proves to be my undoing.

I escape into the hallway and sit on a bench and watch the landscape roll by... and try to get a grip on myself. I am not well. It may be a combination of meds... I am also taking a motion sickness medication... whatever is going on, its not the way I want to spend my time on the train so I find my bed, take an Ambien and crash for the night. I try to read. I try to focus. It is like a bad trip... and I am worried a bit.

Guangzhou Cake Walk

Our two teams share a lovely respite of Chinese tea and fruit at the Orange Gallery. Pictured clockwise:
Andre, Hetty, Kate, the Orange Gallery director, Helen and Ivey.

Are traveling artists are more like cats or cattle? Should we each choose a Chinese animal name since the eastern team members was able to select a western name at some point in their life? This remains to be seen, or perhaps it depends on the context... but we of the west must manage to pull ourselves together to meet the eastern crew on Tuesday morning in Guangzhou. I don't remember how we made it to the train station. I must block all the memories that reference luggage, pain and movement. Maybe this data will resurface at another time. Maybe we shared cabs... I do remember most of the two hours of down time on the train before we arrived in Guangzhou.

Afterwards we had lunch with the Eastern team and discussed the parameters of the next few days. At some point today we will visit the Orange Gallery, our host for the closing exhibition near the end of July. Was our lunch in a private dining room in the hotel? Maybe. It was surreal. We met our official guide, Dragon and the Mr. Fang, the representative from the organizing travel agency. If the room weren't filled with blinding light I'd feel like we were part of a True Blood episode... as it was our first official meal together... east and west there were chop sticks and rice everywhere... with all the rest. Were we nervous? Perhaps.

Our room assignments for the three day train journey (three there and three back) and in Lhasa were made using a lottery method. Intercultural Dialogue insured - Irene and I are sharing here in the Star Hotel but beyond that it'll be a cake walk.

The eastern team members gave us transport to the gallery and back to the hotel. During tea I inquired about access to an acupuncturist and with much discussion afterwards. There is little time for such endeavors on this end of the journey but there is a willingness to help, which I appreciate. Hugh has received acupuncture treatment for a shoulder problem... so I am enouraged... but he was back home in Melbourne where acupuncture is a very common treatment and very reasonably priced. I am not sure how this will come together... in an afternoon. More research needed.

The western team is gathering for a bus ride to a shopping center... an opportunity to prepare for our train journey. I think I'll pass. All I need is water... and I could drink a gallon of Perrier if it were here before me. The heat is like a wall I didn't anticipate I'd have to scale. How could a place be warmer than New Orleans? It is. I left the crew and wandered across the large park across from the hotel. I saw an armed guard with a machine gun guarding a construction site. I discovered a Starbucks, sat in a garden, discovered the locals 'hood, walked by an Ikea and then, (voila!) next to it - a Construction Bank of China. Yippee! I realized that although I thought I was fine on currency I really only had the equivalent of about 30 dollars and I knew there would be no ATM on the train and who knows what we'll find in Lhasa. The bank was closing and could not do anything for me. One english speaking bank employee offered to convert the currency for me from their wallet but I didn't think that would be kosher. I need receipts. He helped me find an ATM at the bank that would work with an American Debit card! It spit out more RMB than I thought I'd need and I was not charged a fee.

I also bailed on dinner with the Aussie gang... I just don't have an appetite in this heat. I checked my email on Irene's computer and organized my gear as best I know how for the rail journey. It was a late night... but I took a walk in the dark... and tried to find a few of the things I could see from our hotel window. Hot. Surreal. Strange. Rooftop gardens, strange lighting... a little Bladerunner-esque - plus I found a cheap, exotic umbrella in the cigar/beer shop near the entrance to the hotel... I didn't find any aussies and no reason to stay out and endure the steamy heat. Lhasa will be a welcome change.

Irene is writing. I am painting and packing. Tomorrow we begin again.

Moon over Hong Kong

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Originally uploaded by Amie Oliver

My senses are overwhelmed by the sights and flavors of this place. I am reminded of Lost in Translation: jet lag, lost syllables, overwhelming transitions in time and structure. We made our way back on the ferry and out of the tunnel and back into Kowloon proper. A Banyan Tree engulfs a large percentage of the block across the street next to a Tiffany's that seems to be clinging to the block. After a day of dim sum, art and shopping for materials we made our way back to the Salisbury Y to check in on the arrival of the rest of our crew.

I can't remember what I did during our time at the hotel... maybe I made my reservation for our return? I think I met Louise and we talked about the pros and cons of the Louis Vuitton exhibition in the museum across the street. I confess I have no interest in seeing it as it is all work I've see before...repackaged for the Hong Kong / International press. Did I pack for Guangzhou? Its a mystery that only jetlag can explain.

I do know there was a dinner plan but I was not hungry. Everyone met in the lobby and walked past the museums to the point shown in the photo above... to see the Hong Kong skyline in all its byzantine global glory. There is a light show here every night... but I can't imagine how it can compare to the magnificance of this view. It must be something to see.

The restaurant was surreal.. with feathered columns and mirrors everywhere... part vegas and fantasy island. I was there for a beer and to get to know a few of the new faces that landed here this afternoon. I shared a light with Andre from the Australian contingent. He seemed very world weary and we've yet to really hit the rails. That's what jet lag will do to you.

After the meal a few of us walked the point and admired the wonder of a monument to Bruce Lee and looked for anything that would sell us something cold to drink. Hugh,
(Melbourne) Matt (Belfast) and I were up "for a wander" and were fortunate to find a Starbucks and a Pub prior to their closing... two choices (!)... and each shared a version of the view shown above with outdoor seating. I'll remember this place... even if I have no idea how much I am paying for anything at least I'll know where to spend whatever currency I have left at the end of this gig.

a dim sum day

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Originally uploaded by Amie Oliver

Thank god for Starbucks... I know, I know. its evil. Its bad... but when one is far from the comforts of home it can be a beacon.

We walked to the ferry which transports people between Kowloon and Hong Kong proper... and at this point I truly felt like we were beginning our journey. Irene is intimate with narrow alleys and secrets of Hong Kong so we were free to gawk and take photographs as she led us into the bowels of the city. We climbed the stairs off an alley to a wonderful shop full of Chinese paper, paint and brushes. It was heaven... it was cheap... and they took credit cards. It was hard to say no to quality of the materials for the price... so I had to focus on my eventual return and the three weeks between...still... it was a blast selecting a number of brushes and papers. After our art adventure we found my bank and a contraband Starbucks. Did I mention the intensity of the heat here?

We met Po Chung in the elevator of the China Club. He is the founder of DHL and founding benefactor of Metasenta. It was an honor sharing a dim sum brunch with this worldly man of the arts, philanthropic and business worlds... plus I knew that whatever food we'd have on our journey into China and Tibet... it is unlikely anything could be compared to this amazing meal.

The photo is taken from the stairwell looking into the first floor foyer. Note the gold fish in the porcelain platter embedded with porcelain erotica (figurines). It was part David Lynch and Ang Lee. Exquisitely real.

We climbed the stairs to see three or four floors of the club's collection of post war and contemporary Chinese painting, sculpture and prints - all curated by Mr. Po. We wound on the upper balcony for a view of Hong Kong I didn't anticipate. Is this real or jet lag?

no king kong in Hong Kong

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Originally uploaded by Amie Oliver

I managed to sleep for eight hours on the 15 hour flight... which was a blessing. We landed around 7pm on July 5... baggage claim, customs, et al was a breeze, mainly because there is strength in numbers. I was relieved to be navigating a strange airport and its potential mysteries with new friends.

After losing everyone while waiting for my luggage (one's bags are the last ones to arrive in the carosel when they are the first to be dumped on the flight)... Steve and the Princeton crew found the counter which handles the shuttle to the Salisbury. We managed to follow the shuttle directives (it was a little surreal) wound up on the bus with more tickets than we had people. That was a bigger deal to the shuttle driver than it was to us... everyone has their own priorities after 15 hours on a plane.

It was fun finally connecting the dots on the bus: artist with work, words with faces, etc. Upon arrival at the Salisbury we made our way through the surreal lobby (with duty free in tow) to check in with the color coordinated staff (very Lawrence Welk... but this observation was lost on the Aussies... ) ... there was a message from Irene - (wow... this is real!)... and a few surprises. I didn't expect a private room.

We met the rest of the western team (Hugh, Matt and Sarah) in the lobby and reviewed tomorrow's itinerary... the arrival of the other team members, etc. I must confess... I was distracted by the need of wifi since the Salisbury only offered a tragic internet corner in the damp cafe downstairs.

Hetty and I agreed to do a wee walk-about in the rain... since I was in search of an ATM for the Construction Bank of China and free wifi to confirm my arrival with the Harryman. No luck on either front... Hetty was together enough to email Harry for me from her blackberry while I stood in the doorway of the Starbuck's... (directly across the intersection from the Salisbury Y!) and searched for a signal...

It was a good thing, having a private room. I took every advantage of it.... stayed up late, did laundry, unpacked paint and paper... and fell asleep to an american tv show... soon enough these western comforts will be far, far away.

An unexpected view of the North Pole

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Originally uploaded by Amie Oliver

In search of Santa Clause? No. After a night of enduring pre-fourth of July fireworks in our 'hood I was fortunate to wake up for a moment on the flight to Hong Kong in time to see the North Pole. Stephen B. mentioned our route might take us north but I had no idea the geography would be so evident - or so beautiful.

I met up with Hetty and the Somers at Newark. We'll arrive in Hong Kong simultaneously jet-lagged and confused. I hope they have a good view of the world below because there is nothing worth watching on the entertainment channel... "Confessions of a Shop-a-holic" doesn't compare to the North Pole - with or without Santa.

The Life Cycle of Artists: Law, the Arts, and You

The Life Cycle of Artists: Law, the Arts, and You

Part Four: Estate Planning Issues for Artists

Tuesday, July 7, 6:30-8:30pm

Visual Arts Center of Richmond, Dominion Room

Free to the public

Ever wondered… If you need a will? How to protect your artwork for posterity? If there are any tax issues that you should know about? Enjoy wine, beer and pizza as Richmond lawyers discuss these topics and more! Free educational seminar for visual, performing and literary artists presented by the Virginia Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and sponsored by the

Visual Arts Center of Richmond.

1812 West Main Street

Richmond, VA 23220

804.353.0094

summer blossom

walk the walk: blossom
Originally uploaded by Amie Oliver

acrylic and mixed media on birch panel
12" x 12'