|
|
ENQUIRE PROJECT DETAILS BY GENERAL PUBLIC |
| Project Details |
| Funding Scheme : | General Research Fund | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Number : | 12606618 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Title(English) : | An Exploration of Landscape Aesthetic, Hong Kong Scenic Sites and Cultural Imagination | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Title(Chinese) : | 山水美學、香港景象與文化想像間的探索 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Principal Investigator(English) : | Dr Koon, Wai-bong | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Principal Investigator(Chinese) : | 管偉邦 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Department : | Academy of Visual Arts (VA) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Institution : | Hong Kong Baptist University | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E-mail Address : | koon@hkbu.edu.hk | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Tel : | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Co - Investigator(s) : |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| Panel : | Humanities, Social Sciences | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Subject Area : | Humanities and Arts | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Exercise Year : | 2018 / 19 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Fund Approved : | 200,424 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Status : | Completed | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Completion Date : | 31-12-2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Objectives : |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract as per original application (English/Chinese): |
The proposed research-based contemporary art project will be built on the PI’s previous projects on landscape art. It will look into the use and reinterpretation of the landscape aesthetic in contemporary Chinese art and the correlation between the Chinese landscape aesthetic and contemporary society. The genre of landscape painting, a representative form of Chinese art, has resurfaced and gained currency in contemporary
Chinese art, particularly in the discourse of ink art. Focusing on the use of landscape elements including actual scenes and landscape aesthetic in Hong Kong art, the proposed project will 1) investigate visual and textual representations of Hong Kong’s scenic landscape, 2) offer a new perspective on Hong Kong scenic sites and landscape art, and 3) explore the the relationship between landscape, identity and the contemporary re-imagination of place and space.
The project will be organised into three phases. The first phase will involve archival and library research to collect information for an historical analysis of Hong Kong’s scenic landscape and to construct an image database. In the second phase, the project will explore the cultural tradition of landscape art based on findings from phase one, culminating in a cross-disciplinary symposium for curators, academics and artists to stimulate debate and discussion about the cultural tradition of landscape art. The third phase will transform the ideas and research gathered in the previous phases into works of art, using an exhibition as a site for further exploration of the topic of the Hong Kong landscape. Artists specialising in various media will be invited to experiment with the possibilities of landscape art through art-making, and an exhibition catalogue with
visual images of the artwork and the findings of the research will be published. The project will offer a holistic perspective to fill the gap in existing scholarship and advance our understanding of the relationships between man and nature, and landscape and cultural identity. The four key deliverables – the digital database, symposium, thematic exhibition and travel guidebook – will offer a new perspective on Hong Kong landscape and landscape art, and open up a new dialogue on the relationship between landscape and the contemporary re-imagination of place and space.
是項有關探索當代藝術的研究計劃，是承繼了PI以往的山水項目，目的在於了解當代山水如何為人所使用和重繹，並梳理出山水與當代社會之間的關係。誠言，山水自古已是中國藝術的文化表徵，且在近年的中國藝壇上大放異采，尤其在水墨的論述中更為突出。是項計劃，委實是以香港風景和中國美學為中心，用以1）研究實景山水的圖像及文獻；2）建構一個嶄新的角度來審視香港的實景寫生和中國的山水藝術；以及3 ）探究山水藝術、文化身分和時空重構（re-imagination）三者之間的關係。 是項計劃將分為三個時期。第一期擬從各研究檔案室和圖書館資料庫中搜集香港實景山水的歷史資料，並建立一個圖像資料庫。第二期則從前期的資料和跨學科的研討中，探索山水畫中的傳統問題。第三階段則將前兩期的研究結果轉化成一系列的藝術作品，並舉辦展覽，以作進一步研究香港山水之用。是項計劃將會邀請不同專長的藝術家，以藝術創作的形式來探索當代山水畫的可能性，及製作一本展覽文字圖錄來呈現展品的面貌和研究的成果，所以將會帶來一個較全面的角度來修補現時的學術上的空白，以及加強人們了解人與造化、山水藝術與文化身分之間的關係。研究結果最終呈現四種不同的形式：電子資料庫、研討會、主題展覽和旅遊指引，賦予香港山水和山水藝術多一個不同的視野，並且在山水藝術與時空重構（re-imagination）中建立一個全新的對話方式。 |
||||||||||||||||||||
| Realisation of objectives: | Objective 1: Four archives titled 1) “Local Landscape: Photos and Postcards”, 2) “Travel Biweekly: Wah Kiu Yat Po” (Vol. 1-411), 3) “Textual Database of Hong Kong Landscapes I: Hong Kong Island and Outlying Islands” and 4) “Textual Database of Hong Kong Landscapes II: New Territories and Kowloon” as well as two database websites related to Hong Kong landscape and artworks (https://imagesofhongkong.omeka.net/items and https://imagininghk.omeka.net/collections/browse) were produced. Objective 2 and 3: For the artistic practices, Ho Yuen Leung re-examined the relationship between man and nature, and re-investigated the farming culture of the old New Territories, Yuen Long in particular, by a series of abstract forms of the “sprouts”-like sculptures. In three pieces of video works in an installation setting, Lam Tung Pang questioned the role of a “visitor/stranger” in his hometown to re-explore the familiarity and unfamiliarity of this city along the northern coastline of Hong Kong Island. Joey Leung transformed what she received from the scenery of The Peak by her subjective visual, audio, scent and tactile senses into her imaginative 2-D images, while Wong Chun Hei took a time journey to go back to Hong Kong of the early and the mid of last century by restoring the nostalgic looks of the peninsula and the mountain range of Kowloon. Fiona Wong’s ceramic works brought the viewers back to the history of the catchwater drains in Pokfulan and let us pay homage to the artistry and the craftsmanship of the stone-chiselling by the stone artisans. In a series of installation works, the PI reinvestigated the understanding of 55 outlying Hong Kong islets and islands to record their appearances, history, legends, geology and culture by the Chinese aesthetics of brush and ink. Objective 4: An exhibition “Here & There: Re-imagining Hong Kong Landscapes” featuring the artworks in wide range of media and art forms was organised as the primary deliverable of the research. In association with the exhibition, a catalogue serving as a travel-guide book of six Hong Kong scenic spots was published by the Hong Kong Arts Centre. Along with it, a website (https://www.hereandthere.hk) was produced. In these two research deliverables, a long curatorial statement and six creative responses authored by the curator Dr Vivian Ting, an academic writing by Prof Pedith Chan as well as six artist statements by the artists were included. For stimulating discussion of landscape art among artists, curators and academic researchers, two artist talks and a public seminar called “Revisiting the Early Hong Kong Travel Activities from Travel Guidebooks” by Dr Yuen Chi and two sketching tours were arranged. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Summary of objectives addressed: |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| Research Outcome | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Major findings and research outcome: | This project aimed to find six visual artists to investigate the use and reinterpretation of the landscape aesthetic in contemporary Chinese art and the correlation between Chinese landscape aesthetic and contemporary society. The genre of landscape painting, a representative form of Chinese art, has resurfaced and gained currency in contemporary Chinese art, particularly in contemporary Chinese art, particularly in the discourse of ink art. Focusing on the use of landscape elements including actual scenes and landscape aesthetic in Hong Kong art, the project achieved 1) the visual and textual representations of Hong Kong’s landscape, 2) a new perspective on the Hong Kong scenic sites and landscape art, and 3) the transformation of the research into an inquiry on the relationship between landscape, identity and the contemporary re-imagination of place and space. The project had two research outputs. The first output was to build up a research archive in textual and visual forms to carry the information of an historical analysis of Hong Kong’s scenic landscape and construct an image database. In the second output, it consisted of an exhibition, a catalogue, three seminars/talks, two tours and a website. Titled as “Here & There: Re-imagining Hong Kong Landscapes” and held at Hong Kong Arts Centre between 8 and 30 October 2022, the art exhibition displayed the research of the first output by the artistic practices of six artists (Ho Yuen Leung, Lam Tung Pang, Wong Chun Hei, Fiona Wong and the PI). They all specialised in a specific media (sculpture, moving images, 2-D artworks, painting, ceramics and ink art) and were invited to experiment with the possibilities of landscape art (Yuen Long, North coast of Hong Kong Island, The peak, Kowloon mountain range, Pokfulan and the outlying islands) through art making and offered a holistic perspective to fill the gap in existing scholarship and advance our understanding of the relationship between man and nature, and landscape and cultural identity. In association with the art exhibition, a catalogue along with a long curatorial statement and an academic writing was produced. In addition, two artist talks and a public seminar called “Revisiting the Early Hong Kong Travel Activities from Travel Guidebooks” by Dr Yuen Chi and two sketching tours were arranged. At the end of the project, a website (https://www.hereandthere.hk) serving as a digital version of the project record, the exhibition and the catalogue was produced. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Potential for further development of the research and the proposed course of action: |
This project showed an example how to investigate the use and reinterpretation of the local landscape aesthetic in contemporary Chinese art and the correlation between landscape aesthetic and contemporary society. For the further development, other proposals can extend the research to other places other than Hong Kong, such as Taiwan, the Mainland China, Japan/ Korean or even Europe and the US are highly potential and viable. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Layman's Summary of Completion Report: | This project aims to transform the research into an inquiry on the relationship between landscape, identity and the contemporary re-imagination of place and space. The vital part is to build up a research archive and share it with the artists for their artistic investigation imagination. The artistic inputs in the artworks by the six artists successfully showcase the under-researched values of the six scenic spots of Hong Kong, widening the understanding of Hong Kong history and culture. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Research Output | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Peer-reviewed journal publication(s) arising directly from this research project : (* denotes the corresponding author) |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| Recognized international conference(s) in which paper(s) related to this research project was/were delivered : |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| Other impact (e.g. award of patents or prizes, collaboration with other research institutions, technology transfer, etc.): |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| SCREEN ID: SCRRM00542 |