Friday, December 09, 2005
Event plus One
Good morning to all,
Exhibition of Magnificent Rags?
How often do senior citizens, people over 60 years old,
visit places like museums, exhibitions, etc.?
And of those who did, what percentage do they comprise?
In the first place, it is probable that many do not know
where these places are.
And anyone who can remember the last time they visited
such an event deserves a congratulation.
Well, I myself count negatively.
Recently on All Saints Day, 1 November, I had the occasion
to visit the Singapore Art Museum.
It was by chance, not by choice.
Since I was giving a photographer a lift there,
the opportunity arose.
Admittedly, I did not know where it was nor what they
exhibited.
The event was an exhibition put up by the students of the
Raffles Design Institute.
The display comprised some 20 or so large photographs
of the clothes the students designed, modelled by professionals.
The students had been inspired by the works of the famous
Spanish abstract expressionist painter, Antoni Tapies,
who was born in 1923.
Beside each photo was the actual clothes worn by the models.
They were both suspended from the ceiling, side by side.
What was most striking was this:
casually, a viewer would not connect the clothing on display
to the one worn by the model in the photo.
The clothes looked like discarded drapes, or worn out tapestries,
or mutilated carpets, materials for the rag and bone man.
Yet, on the models they were very elegant and classy.
The superb photography also enhanced their magnificence.
As I was leaving the exhibition I witnessed an incident worth
narrating to share with you all. A culture like this do make
society pleasant. There was a young woman and a child of
pre-school age at the entrance. The woman was half squatting
kneeling before the girl, bringing herself to the same eye level.
She was explaining to the child how to behave when viewing
the exhibits in the gallery. She took time to brief her, making
sure that the child understood. Is this not heartening?
Where kids and grown ups nowadays misbehave and
say sorry at the same time, this was certainly a light shining
for good discipline and behaviour.
Visit a gallery and smell some roses.
Ronald
Exhibition of Magnificent Rags?
How often do senior citizens, people over 60 years old,
visit places like museums, exhibitions, etc.?
And of those who did, what percentage do they comprise?
In the first place, it is probable that many do not know
where these places are.
And anyone who can remember the last time they visited
such an event deserves a congratulation.
Well, I myself count negatively.
Recently on All Saints Day, 1 November, I had the occasion
to visit the Singapore Art Museum.
It was by chance, not by choice.
Since I was giving a photographer a lift there,
the opportunity arose.
Admittedly, I did not know where it was nor what they
exhibited.
The event was an exhibition put up by the students of the
Raffles Design Institute.
The display comprised some 20 or so large photographs
of the clothes the students designed, modelled by professionals.
The students had been inspired by the works of the famous
Spanish abstract expressionist painter, Antoni Tapies,
who was born in 1923.
Beside each photo was the actual clothes worn by the models.
They were both suspended from the ceiling, side by side.
What was most striking was this:
casually, a viewer would not connect the clothing on display
to the one worn by the model in the photo.
The clothes looked like discarded drapes, or worn out tapestries,
or mutilated carpets, materials for the rag and bone man.
Yet, on the models they were very elegant and classy.
The superb photography also enhanced their magnificence.
As I was leaving the exhibition I witnessed an incident worth
narrating to share with you all. A culture like this do make
society pleasant. There was a young woman and a child of
pre-school age at the entrance. The woman was half squatting
kneeling before the girl, bringing herself to the same eye level.
She was explaining to the child how to behave when viewing
the exhibits in the gallery. She took time to brief her, making
sure that the child understood. Is this not heartening?
Where kids and grown ups nowadays misbehave and
say sorry at the same time, this was certainly a light shining
for good discipline and behaviour.
Visit a gallery and smell some roses.
Ronald
# posted by chunmu @ 5:18 PM 
