I posted a new video last week (story number three). It took me a few days to work out how to edit it but finally got there. Linh will tweak it before the final deadline as I don't understand the song, but I am pleased with the visuals as my understanding of the subject and her environment.
See it at Video - Art School number 3 video
Labels: Art School, D J Clark
Sau 2 tuần mất tích, cuối cùng chú Quân cũng xuất hiện, chú nói với tôi có chút "sự cố" nên "biến mất" một thời gian. Thôi thì cũng đành quen với cái kiểu thất thường cuả các bác "nghệ".
Anh Jamie biết tôi đi một mình nên hứa sẽ đi cùng tôi chụp ảnh chú Quân và giúp tôi với chiếc máy ảnh nếu có vấn đề gì. Thật tuyệt khi có hai người vì ngoài việc một người có thể chú tâm hoàn toàn vào những cuộc trò chuyện sâu sắc với các nhân vật thì người kia có thể bắt được những khoảnh khắc rất tự nhiên mà họ không để ý tới. (Hay có lẽ chỉ là kinh nghiệm cuả tôi sau hôm làm việc cùng anh Hoằng)
Ngày hôm sau, chúng tôi hẹn chú ở trường và đó là một trong những ngày mưa âm u và thời tiết xấu vô cùng. Chúng tôi ngồi nói chuyện ở quán nước chè nơi chú hay ngồi nhưng không được đón tiếp nồng nhiệt lắm khi cô bán hàng thấy "máy ảnh" và "phỏng vấn". Chuyển sang một quán khác, mọi việc có vẻ khá hơn khi tất cả mọi người xung quanh đều rất vui vẻ và thân thiện. Chúng tôi trò chuyện một lúc và dần thì chú cũng cảm thấy tự nhiên hơn với sự xuất hiện cuả chiếc máy ảnh...
Dù cho đến gần cuối buổi cái máy ảnh cuả tôi bỗng dưng dở chứng nhưng anh Jamie đã có những bức ảnh rất thú vị. Cuối tuần này chúng tôi sẽ gặp lại chú Quân trong một buổi làm mẫu vẽ cuả chú. Có lẽ sẽ có nhiều điều bất ngờ, lần này thì tôi phải chuẩn bị máy móc kĩ hơn và mong là trời không mưa.
Labels: Art School, Tuong Linh
Tôi mất nhiều thời gian để gặp được anh Hoằng hơn mong đợi, nhưng câu chuyện về một người rất thực tế này có lẽ sẽ thật hoàn hảo cho toàn bộ những câu chuyện xoay quanh trường mỹ thuật.
Hoằng, như anh luôn tự nhận mình chỉ là một người rất bình thường và đôi lúc từ chối tất cả những cách người ta hay gọi anh như "nghệ sĩ" hay "dân nghệ". Có lẽ đó cũng là một phần lý do tôi cho rằng câu chuyện cuả anh thú vị một cách hết sức giản dị.
Anh vẫn làm việc rất chăm chú khi tôi tới. (trong khi đó ở căn phòng bên, một vài người bạn của anh đang chơi bài và nói đuà về nhiều chuyện trong cuộc sống việc này cũng khá thường xuyên đặc biệt là sau Tết ở Việt Nam khi người Việt luôn quan niệm tháng Riêng là tháng ăn chơi). Ngôi nhà nhỏ của anh cũng khá ấm cúng với những bức tranh sơn mài khắp nhà.
Hoằng cũng chơi nhạc cụ dân tộc như một sở thích - đặc biệt anh chơi đàn đáy trong nhóm nhạc hát Ca Trù. Hôm nay tôi sẽ tới xem một trong những buổi tập của nhóm anh.
It takes me longer to approach Hoằng than I first expected, but the story of this down-to-earth man would fit perfectly to the whole stories of the art school. Hoằng, as he refered himself to be just an ordinary man and refuses all the "tittles" such as "artist" or "being artistic".
He was still working very deligently when I arrived (next room some of his friends were playing cards and joking about life and stuffs as men always do in VN esp after Tet holidays, coz for them Tet lasts for months). It was interesting to see his little house.
Hoằng also plays traditional instrument - đàn đáy so today I'm going to see Ca Trù - a Vietnamese Traditional music with him and hope can capture some of these moments.
Labels: Art School, Tuong Linh
Edit days are not the most fun but we managed to get two videos finished in two days.
Linh and I found a
rhythm and started to work on the words and images together. We will each work on a
separate story as well while I am away till March which should be interesting. I want to try and do something different with the installation story and with
Linh's help with the words I think we can achieve it.
Linh's fourth story I am suggesting should be close to the heart of the Art School. It seems with
Linh studying there this is a great chance to get very intimate and show aspects of life I would never be able to get to as an outsider. I am away now for a couple of months and after I come back there will be little time to shoot so am hoping it will all come together at the end.
Labels: Art School, D J Clark
I think
Linh is going to kill me. She had set up the day with an artist who had recently returned from studying in Italy. I had met her at the exhibition opening we went to with Son a few weeks ago and something just was not right. Everything
Linh told me about her did not fit a normal story and there was something wrong about following her with a camera in the same way as the other stories.
"I have a new idea" I announced once I finally found
Lihn outside the apartment. "This needs to look like and installation" I went on.
Linh agreed and we set about the apartment taking pictures of the small details. I had seen a recent Andy
Warhol exhibit in Scotland within which was this series of videos of people just looking into a video camera. "I want her to talk, just talk about Hanoi, her art, about life",
Linh (the other one
that is
the subject) agreed but
said she only had an hour and she also had to eat. We talked anxiously as she prepared food and ate. I was worried about time, but
knew I could come back. We snapped into action and began working, it was simple but neither
Linh or I had any idea whether this was going to work. I kept saying to myself, sometimes the simplest ideas work best. We will see on Sunday when we start to edit.
Labels: Art School, D J Clark
Le
Huy Hoang was very different to how I had imagined him. Born during the war he had lost his father at the age of three and then later when he was just thirteen he was sent to a military training camp. His father was Cambodian and mother Vietnamese but
Hoang was clear about his
nationality. "I am a human" he told me, "simply a human".
After years as a soldier, then a refugee and then finally returning to Vietnam it seemed
Hoang was finally happy. He had taken up art and was advised to use his life
experience to influence his work. After 20 years since leaving Cambodia as a refugee he returned to
participate in a large scale group exhibition with other artists who were dealing with their
experiences under Pol Pot.
Hoang however showed no bitterness to his life. Now happily
married with a four year old daughter he was now settled. Settled with his family as well as with his occupation. It was an interesting day which once again
Linh had set up perfectly. Through
Hoang we were exploring the past and linking it to now, to me we were re-imaging Hanoi.
Labels: Art School, D J Clark
Tôi mất nhiều thời gian để gặp được anh Hoằng hơn mong đợi, nhưng câu chuyện về một người rất thực tế này có lẽ sẽ thật hoàn hảo cho toàn bộ những câu chuyện xoay quanh trường mỹ thuật.
the subject) agreed but said she only had an hour and she also had to eat. We talked anxiously as she prepared food and ate. I was worried about time, but knew I could come back. We snapped into action and began working, it was simple but neither Linh or I had any idea whether this was going to work. I kept saying to myself, sometimes the simplest ideas work best. We will see on Sunday when we start to edit.
Le Huy Hoang was very different to how I had imagined him. Born during the war he had lost his father at the age of three and then later when he was just thirteen he was sent to a military training camp. His father was Cambodian and mother Vietnamese but Hoang was clear about his nationality. "I am a human" he told me, "simply a human".