Hong Kong Art & Music

One of my favourite illustrator, Yuko's artwork

Hong Kong Arts & Music

Lecturer:

Dr. Lau Leung Kwok Prudence

Dr. Lam Wing Cheong

This course looks into local arts of Hong Kong, analyzes the content and form of selected music and visual art genres in the sonic as well as cultural context.

Someone said Hong Kong is a 'cultural dessert', but some say Hong Kong is the place of 'east-meets-west'. Due to the colonial history,Hong Kong has been influenced a lot by the foreign cultures. So basically, Hong Kong is a place that has built from various cultures, both from east and west cultures. This raises a question: If Hong Kong is shaped by various cultures, do Hong Kong has her own charateristic?

I hope to have a deeper look into Hong Kong local culture in the aspect of music and visual arts during this course. And analyze certain arts or music in both historical and cultural context.

Expectation Before course

Cantopop: A reflection to 「昨夜的渡輪上」

Lecture: 'Cantopop: Its Development, Analysis, Creativity in Cultural Context'

This lecture had given a quick introduction of Cantopop's development and how it reflects the Hong Kong society in different period.

「昨夜的渡輪上」(lyrics written by馮德基 ,1981) was introduced in the lecture. After the influence by the Taiwan school-folk music in early 80s, various kind of songs had been inspired, few express feelings to country and Hong Kong,「昨夜的渡輪上」is one of an example.

This song mirrors people's loneilness in the Hong Kong city. Although 70s and 80s were the economic booming time for Hong Kong, people got lost in a big city where fulls of amusement and neon lights. Life was like a challege to them. In order to survive, they needed to 「披戰衣」, gear up. This reflects that the Hong Kong people were uncertain to their future.

Unlike of the other songs in early 80s, instead of expressing feeling to the 'root-country'far away, this song does not only evok the emotion towards the city, but also raised question related to Hong Kong's cultural identity.

It also reminds me of another song, 「借來的美夢」（lyrics written by鄭國江 ,1981）, which regards Hong Kong as a 'borrowed dream', inspired from the article named 'Borrowed time, borrowed place'. It also illustrates Hong Kong as a rich city and show confusion to the future.

昨夜的渡輪上 1981

夜渡欄河再倚　北風我迎頭再遇
動盪如這海　城在兩岸凝神對視

霓虹伴著舞姿　當酒醉如同不知
日後望這方　醉中一切無從找住

渡輪上　懷念你說生如戰士
披戰衣　滿載清醒再次開始

莫問豪情似癡　今天醉倒狂笑易
夜盡露曙光　甦醒何妨重頭開始

Installation Arts: A 'Transition Space' in 95

Transition Space 過渡空間 ( 1995 ) Bird cage, mire, solar powered bird, 330x80x125cm

I was inspired by this installation art presented by the second group in Lecture 8.

After the agreement of Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984, it is decided that Hong Kong would return to China in 1997. During the discussion of 97 issue, Hong Kong people seems had no way to express opinion between British and China; the feeling of powerless in deciding own future have been grown since 1984, and until now.

In 1995, Kum Chi Keung created this installation art to express his feeling towards the handover of Hong Kong in 97. During the colonial period of Hong Kong, the British governors ruled people. Although Hong Kong have achieved enormous success in economic aspect, general people had no power to change or voice out their opinion to the British government. This situation have not changed even the joint declaration had vowed. Again, Hong Kong people had no rights to express their opinion during the discussion of our city's future, even after the handover.

Hong Konger literally went from a cage to another one. Like a bird from this installation art, being transferred from one cage to another, at the end of the day, still inside a cage.

Graffiti: Arts or ruin to wall?

On 27 March 2015, our class went on a field trip to Mong Kong East. We explored different historic buildings and graffitis on back street.

In the end of the field trip, a graffit work done by invader, a famous french artist, was spoted on a buliding. This reminds me of his previous work in CausewayBay, which was already removed by the cleaner.

Indeed, graffiti is illegal in Hong Kong. However, it does not mean that every graffiti is a stain on wall. In foreign country, some artists are famous for their graffiti; for instance, the well known British graffiti artist, Banksy, their graffiti worth thousands of dollars and people generally feel honored if their walls have those artists' graffiti on.

In Hong Kong, it's a different story. Officers clean up all the 'dirt' on wall immediatly, people got upset when they know its done by a famous artist. If that graffiti was done by 'nobody', I am not sure if those people would have the same feeling or willingness to conserve the graffiti.

Invader's work in Mong Kok

I believe that the best way to nurture artists is a free enironment, which people can freely express their feelings or opinion with artworks. Especially after there were so many inspiring artworks in the unmbrella movement, which people had a free space to do whatever they want.