Two weeks to go and I am back in Hanoi for the final push. I met with all the participants and realised its going to be a very busy week. Hazel also has problems with her computers both crashing at the same time. It's good to be back though and for the first time I have a real sense of how the final book will look. It's exciting!
Labels: D J Clark
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
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
When I started this project I was keen to avoid what I saw were popular visualisations of Vietnam. I had spoken of lawyers in the workshop to try and get the group to look beyond the poor and eccentric characters in Hanoi.
Linh had clearly got it and and found a
fascinating story to follow. We met Son in the afternoon and went with him to the art school he longed to join. We had talked of mixing fiction and fact but as I spoke to Son it soon became clear there was no need for much
imagination.
Son was quiet at first but as the day unfolded he opened up and we found much in common. He
surprised me with his knowledge of English football and his love for sport. While waiting for the
exhibit to start he took me on a tour of the old city. This was my first outing in Hanoi and I enjoyed the warm evening and soft light on the old buildings around the city.
At the exhibition in the evening Son looked lost at first but slowly built up courage to approach the gathering crowd. In the mix he pointed out artists he liked and disliked and spoke of the day he held his first exhibition. It was almost dark in the gallery and I struggled to get a frame, but I could feel the story was strong. Linh and me will continue in more depth when I return.
Labels: D J Clark
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".
When I started this project I was keen to avoid what I saw were popular visualisations of Vietnam. I had spoken of lawyers in the workshop to try and get the group to look beyond the poor and eccentric characters in Hanoi. Linh had clearly got it and and found a fascinating story to follow. We met Son in the afternoon and went with him to the art school he longed to join. We had talked of mixing fiction and fact but as I spoke to Son it soon became clear there was no need for much imagination.