For the first half of the day we were on campus preparing our exhibition spaces and finishing our projects for printing. I like the way Lee's and my space turned out, its clean and simple. Also, I was able to scan and print my individual watercolor projects, both from Shanghai and Jinan, and seeing these in a larger scale was exciting.
In the evening a few of us treated ourselves to some very inexpensive massages at the parlour accross from the dorms. I've never had a foot massage and I have to say it was worth every quai!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
9/8/07
Today was a very, very long day on campus working on our projects. We arrived around 8am and didn't get back to our dorms until almost 11pm. However, much was accomplished and Lee and I finished our group projects. Lee was really great at working together and truly making our piece a collaborative effort. He made some great suggestions with the layout and color choices of my illustrations that I chose to take and I think our project is quite strong.
Communicating with Lee was difficult at times, but by the end of today we were able to express our ideas clearly to one another. This experience has shown me that one doesn't need words to connect with someone of a different culture. Hand gestures and visuals, like drawings, can go a long way. But, having an online translator on back up is never a bad idea.
Communicating with Lee was difficult at times, but by the end of today we were able to express our ideas clearly to one another. This experience has shown me that one doesn't need words to connect with someone of a different culture. Hand gestures and visuals, like drawings, can go a long way. But, having an online translator on back up is never a bad idea.
9/7/07
We spent the first half of the day on campus starting our projects and ours is off to a quick start. I really like Lee's photography and we chose to use one of his series that depicts blurry, noisy urban images. I plant to incorporate some digital illustrations on top of his photos that symbolize Chinese culture for me.
After leaving the campus we went to see a modern art exhibition that displayed different mediums, but mainly painting. There was one painting in particular that I enjoyed and it depicted a scene where a police man was writing tickets for a handful of girls. The girls in the painting were all sitting on a couch together and covering their faces in shame. The title of the piece was "Cracking Down on Prostitution," which slightly shocked me because I expected the piece to be making a deeper comment on the tradition of shame and losing face in Chinese culture.
After leaving the campus we went to see a modern art exhibition that displayed different mediums, but mainly painting. There was one painting in particular that I enjoyed and it depicted a scene where a police man was writing tickets for a handful of girls. The girls in the painting were all sitting on a couch together and covering their faces in shame. The title of the piece was "Cracking Down on Prostitution," which slightly shocked me because I expected the piece to be making a deeper comment on the tradition of shame and losing face in Chinese culture.
9/6/07
Today on campus we paired up with our Chinese partners. Everyone was really nervous about just picking someone out of a crowd or how well we would all work together coming from different mediums. My partner is Lee, a Senior digital photographer who is very friendly and doesn't seem to stop smiling. His sense of humor is quirky, so we get along well.
9/5/07
I opted for a free day today and was able to walk around the neighborhood and see some local sites. A few of the Chinese students met us and together we went to the mountainous park behind the dorms to walk the trails and see the gigantic golden Buddha statue. Around the Buddha is a large, open courtyard where people can buy ice cream, rent roller skates and just cruise around. For me, it doesn't get much better than golden Buddhas, roller skates, and a popsicle.
For lunch Katie, Drew, Joel and I wanted some "american" food so we hailed a cab to Pizza Hut. Here, Pizza Hut is somewhat "classy". It was a decent, but weird, lunch.
For lunch Katie, Drew, Joel and I wanted some "american" food so we hailed a cab to Pizza Hut. Here, Pizza Hut is somewhat "classy". It was a decent, but weird, lunch.
9/4/07
I know that the sites are very sacred for the Chinese so visiting Confuscious' Temple and Burial grounds were a huge honor. I enjoyed seeing the sprawling mansions that have hosted China's emperors for thousands of years. I found it very interesting that men and women, especially the servants, were kept in separate living quarters.
My favorite part of the day, however, was going up the cable car to Mount Tai. Until this visit, I always felt surrounded by so many people and buildings It was nice to be above it all and gain some perspective. The view was beautiful and the small village was quaint, all in all, a perfect trip.
My favorite part of the day, however, was going up the cable car to Mount Tai. Until this visit, I always felt surrounded by so many people and buildings It was nice to be above it all and gain some perspective. The view was beautiful and the small village was quaint, all in all, a perfect trip.
9/3/07
Today we met the Chinese students and toured around their new campus outside of Jinan. It was quite an intimidating experience being that they are expecting so much from our collaborative projects and exhibition. The exquisite corpse drawing project felt like a performance piece of sorts, with everyone watching and video taping.
The buffet dinner tonight was interesting due to all of the "gambes" that went on. Chugging your glass and then holding it over your head to prove that you've finished is something I've only seen in China!
The buffet dinner tonight was interesting due to all of the "gambes" that went on. Chugging your glass and then holding it over your head to prove that you've finished is something I've only seen in China!
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