Flying half way around the world (6739 miles to be exact) to present my paper in Birmingham, England, UK, the first stop was in London from July 17 - 28, 2008 before the conference from 28-31. After the conference, I returned to London and stayed till August 2nd, 2008 before flying back to Singapore.
One word to summarize my experience in London: communication. I thought that the British are well communicators and when they don't say it out loud, they say it with a sign. What seemed poignant was my visit to the London Museum where there was a leak on the roof and instead of ignoring the problem of water dripping on people's head, they placed a pillow on the floor to collect water with four barricades around the idea. Since it was a museum, they may also be getting a lot of curious onlookers of what the "exhibit" could be, hence a sign was neatly placed there to explain. Street artists are also forthcoming with in communicating their thoughts when I noticed that one wrote, "Is this funny I have to beg for a cigarette? Shall I just beg instead and forget about the picture? At Harrods, there was a sign showing a luxury toilet and I wonder how luxurious it could possible be. As money would have it, they placed an Arabic person there who seemed to only treat another person of his color well and was rather rude to me and other Asians? As for the whites? It goes without saying... The daunting Underground is well communicated through the usage of well-designed maps and eye-catching logos to indicate where the stations are.
I'm particularly impressed that there are areas set aside for graffiti maintained by a non-profit, blankexpression.org though some graffiti artist didn't seem to mind using just about any flat surface to express their art. The Portobello market brings warmth to the neighborhood with street vendors selling antiques, arts, skills and again, there was that sign telling the performer to go away or they'll be greeted with buckets of water. I really wonder if they'd do it. How could the changing or guards catch so many people's attention, I wonder? Is it because of clever marketing or is it because people have always been thrilled about protocols, performance, discipline, tradition all rolled into one? I was there and it seemed to confirm my suspicion that people just love to be entertained (for free, in this case).
The Brits did a damn fine job combining too...
Post Date : 2015-05-20
London, United Kingdom
Jul 17 - Aug 2, 2008
The traveling distance from my first-stop city, London to Birmingham was a little over 100 mile. The International Journal of the Arts in Society held its 3rd conference in Birmingham from July 28 - 31, 2008 and I was at the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design where the conference was held to present my paper titled "Opposites attract: Juxtaposing extreme of symmetry and asymmetry to generate visual ideas." Read about it here:http://www.yeoh.com/index2.php?section=academe . Jesvin, Yeo, colleague from another school within the same university was there to present her findings about discovering type through art. You'll notice that we share the same surname name but hers is spelled without an "h".
I deduced that the Brits are also doing a great job in this city whereby they manage to combine the old and the new architecture in a harmonious sort of way. It's all about understanding the characteristics of both era: One's ornate and the other... simplified.
At the Birmingham Museum of Art Gallery, Patrick Hughes (b. 1939), a Birmingham native's 2002 work titled "Superduperperspective" is one of the most elaborate reverse perspective I've witnessed. The optical logic is reversed to create a visual paradox. Close objects appear distant and distant objects appear to jut out into my face. My eyes and brain combine to force me to conform to the rules of perspective learned from an early age. As a result, the picture tends to move in relation to the viewer. Simply brilliant!
I left my heart in San Francisco (1 of 3)
Post Date : 2015-05-20
San Francisco, California, USA
Jun. 14 - Aug. 8, 2008
I left my heart in San Francisco in 1998. Back then, it was already a popular international tourist destination. Renowned for its chilly summer fog, steep hills, eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture, cable cars, and Chinatown, I've always held the city dearly in my heart for where this is the place where I earned a BFA and a MAIA before relocating to Arkansas, Texas and Georgia. More importantly, the city is on the forefront of liberalism, constantly pushing and nudging particularly, its gay population who has created and sustained a politically and culturally active community over many decade.
Arriving prior to a paper presentation at the One Voice International Conference & Forum for Educators in San Francisco, California from July 5 - 9, 2008, the agenda was pleasure first, business later. My buddy, Tony Wong and I drove to San Jose's HP Pavilion on June 19, 2008 for George Micheal's crowd-stopping concert and he still delivers. The backdrop of his stage design was filled with LCDs that animate various graphics that sync with his songs.
The trip was memorable for it has been almost 20 years since I saw Miang-miang, my childhood cousin who is a medical researcher and practitioner based in Adelaide, Australia. When I heard of the co-incidence, we arranged to meet in San Francisco and together with us was a distant who was also in San Francisco for business related ventures. My Chinese cookie where we had dinner in Chinatown read "A modest man never talks of himself." I couldn't stop myself as we had a lot to catch up...
I left my heart in San Francisco (2 of 3)
Post Date : 2015-05-20
My buddy, Tony Wong and I drove to San Jose's HP Pavilion on June 19, 2008 for George Micheal's crowd-stopping concert and he still delivers. The backdrop of his stage design was filled with LCDs that animate various graphics that sync with his songs. Tony commented that we were paying so much to stand most of the time but with an electrifying concert, it was hard to sit down as we ended up dancing to most of the songs. People were taking photos and the organizers didn't seem to mind except for when one brazen viewer went up close to the front row with a video camera and the device was immediately being seized by the security guard.
I left my heart in San Francisco (3 of 3)
Post Date : 2015-05-20
The headline in the San Francisco Chronicle read "Wedding bells to ring in a new era" while the Los Angeles Times cautioned "Gay couples are aware that voters are watching." Both were referring to the recently passed bill to allow same-sex marriage. My friends are I were at the City Hall of San Francisco to witness the historic event with wide coverage from the mass media. Everyone imaginable was there including a Franciscan priest who carried a sign reading "Franciscan for same-sex marriage." Luckily, there wasn't much trouble from the opposing sides because they know that they were seriously out-numbered.
It was great witnessing history in the making but it was unbeatable to be part of it when I attended friend Chandler and Erik's wedding on July 14. There was a sense of jubilation where both sides exchanged vows and most importantly, the family members were accepting and loving. The "gold rush" for me lasted from June 14 - Aug 8, 2008.
Hanfu from Shanghai
Post Date : 2015-05-20
Shanghai, China
Dec. 5 - 16, 2008
Shanghai was 4 degrees Celcius when the plane touched down on December 5, 2008. My purely pleasure trip lasted till the 16th and the protracted time was because of the kind generosity of my buddy's partner who let me stay at his nice apartment by the People's Park.
This trip was not strictly pleasure as I have been hunting for a Hanfu (Chinese costume from pre-Ching dynasty from the 17th century) maker. When I found a Hanfu shop (http://www.goodhanfu.com/), I ordered 5 custom designed ones and bought two pre-made Hanfus. (For more about Hanfu, click here: click here). They were impressed with my researched collection of images and sketched ideas I had made prior to the trip. When the costumes were done, they asked if I could pose for the website and I gladly did as it has become a mission for me to reclaim what has been lost since 1644 when the Manchurians from the North-east of China proclaimed a new Ching dynasty. Millions of Han Chinese lost their lives due to the "queue" law whereby men were forced to shave the front portion of their head. In those days, people didn't cut their hair as it is considered a gift from parents and doing so will be unfilial. People tend to misunderstand the costume as Japanese or Korean due to the cross collar. As the predecessor to Kimono or Hanbok, Han Chinese has suffered the worst social upheaval when the Ching dynasty was established. The name Hanfu literally means "costume of the Hans" even predates the Han dynasty (206 BCE - 220 BCE) and throughout every dynastic change, nothing much has changed but the Ching dynasty completely wiped out the costume by enforcing theirs on the Han Chinese. The current so-called Chinese costume is in fact, Manchurian, not Han's. Together with Hanfu enthusiasts in many parts of the world, there are slow movement to reverse this. I have to admit that it's an up-hill battle to correct what is wrong...
I left for Soochow on Dec 12, 08 and the best of English-tour despite the higher price was that there was only three of us. Looking at the new buildings sprouting left and right, I prefer old Chinese buildings that used to be designed from the inside, fulfilling the needs of the inhabitants first. According to the tour guide, the city of Soochow is 2500 years old and is considered the Venice of China. Our first stop was the tiger hill dedicated foe the first king of Wu during the warring states that lasted for 800 years. The kingdom itself lasted for 500 years. We left for the Lingering Garden at 1125. The garden is 400 years old. In some of the interiors, they placed a vase, pronounced 'ping' and mirror 'ching' and both sounded like the Chinese pronunciation of peace. Next, we visited Hanshan temple built over 1500 years ago in 1212. In Buddhism, there are 108 worries so there are 108 steps and they strike the bell 108 times before midnight. The one day trip ended after we stopped at an 80 year-old silk factory and my RMB2608 deluge took place there when I walked away with some silk comforters and pillow covers. We left for Shanghai after 3 PM to avoid the traffic jam. At a local mall near the People's Park, I noticed some affordable but fashionable underwear from China called Men's Union and I picked up some as memorabilia from this trip which lasted from Dec 5 -16, 2008.
Other travels in 2008
Post Date : 2015-05-20
Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia
Sep. 18 - 28, 2008.
YEOH'S JOURNAL
Read about things that interest me, matters that I care about, pictures and observations from my trips and stuff that I bother to share with the world.
