BLOG week 8: Memorial Project Nha Trang
Cyclo driver: Ho Chi Minh
It has been suggested that the video work also has a link to Taoism- an eastern Asian philosophy that also strongly influenced Western culture. The word ‘Tao’ literally means “path” or “way” which even on the most basic level of interpretation can clearly link to the work as the Cyclo drivers are creating their path towards the complex ahead of them.
Though the work is directly set in the context of modernity I see strong relationships with the concept of the sublime. The aesthetic content of the video including the soundtrack communicates mans struggle to conquer the natural landscape, the ocean floor appears beautiful, mystical, challenging and infinite in its volume. This quality alludes to the paintings of the sublime which portrayed the landscape as a wild, incomprehensible form. The overall experience of the video depicts a daunting, untamed natural form with deeply emotional roots in terms of the struggling cyclo drivers. The mosquito nets (‘complex’) also support this connection as they somewhat present the concept of the unknown, which is a notable characteristic of sublime period paintings.
information sources
http://sites.asiasociety.org/arts/nh/interview.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism
http://rickshawchallenge.com/tag/memorial-project-nha-trang
http://www.edwebproject.org/asiapics/phnom.cyclo.jpg
Hey Krissy, i think his film work is really interesting and weird at the same time, the fact that he came up with such ideas are quite phenomenal. Not to mention how difficult it would be for the fishermen to swim down so deep and to carry the cyclos underwater! They must be quite fit!
ReplyDeleteI think the title of the work 'The courageous, the curious, and the cowards' could be talking about the history and national identity of the Vietnamese and their troubles as many boat people were killed in the war and the fact that they had to push themselves through tough the processes of modernization, not to mention what they earn so little from customers.
Thanks for this post that show me a lot of imformation about this project.I like your sentence:"The experience of watching the video is surreal as if the men are frozen in their struggle irrespective of time."It can be a brillant summary of the feeling that people are watching this work.I have a sketchy understanding to Vietnam's living condition, they live in a difficult environment,but never gives up life diligently.
ReplyDeleteYour description of the work is really well though out and does a great job of dissecting the work and the concept that lies beneath it. I think this would have to be one of the more extreme and odd pieces of work I have seen, but when you break it down as you did, the concept and ideology behind it becomes very literal and the end result is impressive. It's often difficult to take a concept and turn it into art so literally, but the artist here did a great job and created a visually intriguing and thought provoking work.
ReplyDeleteI think you have captured the meaning of this work really well. Its an interesting work, especially being a video. I think its an imaginative way of showing the difference between the societies. I like how you summed it up to "symbolizes the density and weight of Vietnams Historical past", before reading this, i wouldn't figure out what the work was about. After reading how you have described it, I understand clearly the concept and thought behind the work.
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