Art Attack: Alternative Art and More Films (Green, Student and Animated)

The depressing state of Beijing’s air makes for a great backdrop to the city’s annual green film festival, doesn’t it? Coincidence? I think so. Apart from tree-hugging cinema, we’re also giving you the skinny on some unique art exhibits and more films hailing from laptops all over the world.

ART SHOWS

White Box Museum is running an exhibit called 15 days, in which 15 rather exciting contemporary artists each takes 24 hours to craft and complete an original artwork taking up one square meter of assigned space in the gallery. The coolest part? You can go watch the artists install their works at the museum.

The exhibit started a little over a week ago, but if you visit anytime between now and Nov 11, you'll still get a chance to watch an artist at work. The completed grid of works will "open" on Nov 12 and continue until the 18th.

Arrow Factory also installed a new work in its unassuming storefront a couple weeks ago. Art collective Diao Dui has covered the interior (ceiling included) of the humble space with a large-scale mural, so the viewer is ensconced in an inky display of drawings playing on both the mythical and contemporary.

As leery as we all might be about corporations sponsoring art exhibits (and vice versa), the blend of art and commerce is really pretty unavoidable, and it's not always all bad. (Sixty percent of the time, it works every time.)

Ogilvy's O Gallery just opened a show last night, exploring six young Chinese artists' childhood dreams in painting and sculpture. If you're in the Wangfujing area and want a sampling of the more sentimental side of Chinese art, stop by. Curated by Han Tsungwoo, who also helms H.T. Gallery in 798, the works range from simple and melancholy to the digital and fantastical.

FILM FESTIVALS

The annual Greening the Beige film festival kicked off yesterday at The Veggie Table, but you've got three more screening sessions to look forward to. When we asked organizer Peter Sallade which films were “must-sees,” he replied:

“Cultures of Resistance! If you missed it the first time [at the BIMF], see it now! Of course China does not have such an upheaval of social issues or failure to assimilate minority cultures, so it is interesting to see how other countries’ lack of peace and harmony makes for an unsettling environment! This is an important documentary to help Chinese tourists know which countries to avoid visiting.”


Wow, such snark. Sallade also recommended Mayon: The Volcano Princess, and indie Peruvian film El Perro del Hortelano, which the director discusses at length in our earlier post about the GtB festival.

Another highlight is A Wedged Tale, a documentary about a photographer trying to capture a rare act of predation: an eagle hunting a kangaroo (successfully). We asked director Adam Hermans what it's like filming someone trying to photograph something trying to catch something else?

"'Filming someone trying to photograph something trying to catch something else', as you cleverly put it, is actually less difficult than filming 'something trying to catch something else.' This is because I can tell that someone [the photographer] to sit still for a second, or even to recreate an event or moment. If necessary, I can even go so far as to create one, e.g. 'Hey Simon, why don't you go catch a goat?'

"The filming "something trying to catch something else" is so difficult that both my subject, Simon, and I spent most of our time trying to do just that. This is because you can't talk to that something, so it rarely does what you want, hope, or expect. As difficult is just the 'catching something', in this case a kangaroo. A wedge-tailed eagle is only successful in 1 out of every 10 hunts."

All the info you need about the GtB festival is right here.

Also, the Beijing Film Academy is running their 10th International Student Film & Video Festival. Participating schools include UCLA, USC, CalArts, the London Film School and other institutions with fine film programs around the globe. Tickets are cheap too (RMB 3 or 4, depending on the film). Check this website for more info on films and screening times. All screenings at the Beijing Film Academy.

Also this week: Jiang Wen's Devils on the Doorstep, awesome Franco-Belgian animation Kirikou and the Sorceress, the Taming of the Shrew in ballet form and lots more. See details below.

EVENTS:

Until Nov 18
15 Days
Watch 15 different artists at work constructing individual one-square-meter pieces that coalesce into a giant mosaic. Completed opening Nov 12, but go between now and then to see the works being crafted before your eyes. Free. White Box Museum of Art (5978 4800)

Until Dec 1
Grotto
In a nod to Buddhist cave paintings, art collective Diao Dui plasters the walls and ceiling of Arrow Factory's storefront with a hand-drawn yet modern mural. Free. Arrow Factory

Nov 4-Dec 31
Fantasy of Childhood
Six young Chinese artists share their childhood dreams through painting, sculpture and photography. Also enjoy Ogilvy's ongoing Digital Lab. Free. O Gallery (8520 6000)

Nov 4
Book Talk: Learning How to Breathe
Writer and musician Linda Neil discusses her latest memoir. RMB 30, RMB 20 (members). 7.30pm. The Bookworm (6431 2108)

Nov 5
Film: Devils on the Doorstep
Jiang Wen’s comedy about two Japanese prisoners, with soundtrack by Cui Jian. Reservation required: contact@cultureyard.net. RMB 25 (includes soft drinks and popcorn). 7pm. Culture Yard (8404 4166)

Nov 9
Film: Kirikou and the Sorceress
A Franco-Belgian animation tells the story of a small African boy who saves his village. RMB 30 (includes coffee or tea). 7.30pm. Riverbank Bar and Café (6506 8277)

Nov 10-12
Ballet: The Taming of the Shrew
Shakespeare’s Kate and Bianca leap their way through relational mishaps. RMB 100-680. 7.30pm. NCPA Opera House (6655 0000)

Piano: All Mozart: The Piano Sonatas
Russian pianist Alexander Paley takes on every last sonata in a three-night series. RMB 30-380. 7.30pm. Forbidden City Concert Hall (6559 8285)

Nov 10
Book Talk: Startup Asia
Rebecca Fanin discusses her new book about Asia’s whirlwind of tech development. RMB 30, RMB 20 (members). 7.30pm. The Bookworm (6431 2108)

Photos: Sinopop.org, Arrow Factory, Ogilvy China, GtB organizers