Chinese

Coming Exhibition: The Great Terracotta Army of China’s First Emperor

“The Great Terracotta Army of China’s First Emperor”

The Great Terracotta Army of China's First Emperor

Who:

Tokyo National Museum

When: Oct. 27, 2015 – February 21, 2016 (Usually open Tuesday through Sunday until 5:00 PM)

Where:

Tokyo National Museum
13-9 Ueno Park, Taito-ku,
Tokyo, 110-8712, Japan

More Information: Here.

About 2,200 years ago, Qin Shi Huang succeeded in unifying China and became its First Emperor. His legacy is preserved in a vast terracotta army, the discovery of which is considered the greatest archeological find of the 20th century, and which continues to arouse wonder and provide new knowledge. With assistance from institutions such as the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center, this exhibition brings together artifacts with connections to the First Emperor while exploring the “everlasting world” of his terracotta army and its mysteries

7 Times Someone (Accidentally) Ruined a Valuable Work of Art

“7 Times Someone (Accidentally) Ruined a Valuable Work of Art”

by Olivia B. Waxman via “Time”

Whoops.

Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) reports that security camera footage appears to show a young man falling into and punching a hole through a painting said to be worth $1.5 million. Flowers, a 17th century oil painting and one of the few signed works by Italian master Paolo Porpora, was on display at “The Face of Leonardo, Images of a Genius” exhibition at Huashan 1914 Creative Park in Taipei, according to CNA.

Below is a glimpse at other reports of tourists being clumsy at museums:

• In May, two tourists reportedly broke off the crown atop “Statue of the Two Hercules,” which sits in Piazza del Comune, a medieval square in Cremona, Italy, when the pair allegedly tried to climb it and take photos.

• Also in May, the Greek Culture Ministry said a tourist tried to touch a prehistoric, Minoan-era vase at the Museum of Iraklio and knocked it over, suffering a minor leg injury.

• Last March, a student reportedly climbed onto a 19th century statue depicting a “Drunken Satyr” at Academy of Fine Arts of Brera in Milan, Italy, to take a selfie and broke it.

• Last July, an American student got stuck inside Pi Chacan, a stone sculpture of a vagina by Peruvian artist Fernando de la Jara, which sat in front of Tübingen University’s Institute for Microbiology and Virology in Germany.

• In 2006, a man was arrested for smashing three 17th century Chinese porcelain vases said to be worth £500,000 (about $789,000) at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England. . . . .

Stairway to heaven: Artist creates stunning 1,650ft ladder in the sky with FIREWORKS

“Stairway to heaven: Artist creates stunning 1,650ft ladder in the sky with FIREWORKS”

by Edward Chow and Emily Chan via “Daily Mail“

Cai Guoqiang used metal and gunpowder for the show in Quanzhou, China
The ladder, which measured 18ft wide, was taken up using a hot air balloon
Artist drew a draft of the show 21 years ago when he visited Bath, England
It was a labour of love for Mr Cai’s elderly grandmother who raised him
Same artist designed the spectacular fireworks to open Beijing Olympics

A Chinese artist has found a unique way to express his love to his grandmother: a gigantic staircase in the air.

These stunning photographs show the 1,650ft ladder, which was made with fireworks, stretch right up into the sky in Quanzhou, south-eastern China, on Monday.

This is the work of Cai Guoqiang, an artist who is originally from the city and now based in New York, reported the People’s Daily Online.

Sky Ladder: A Chinese artist has created this incredible burning ladder that stretches for 1,650ft into the sky

Lit up: The artwork, called ‘Sky Ladder’, is the artist’s way of thanking his grandmother who raised him

The ladder, which was made of metal wire and aluminum, was filled with gunpowder and attached to the bottom of a hot air balloon.

The balloon, which was made with special material, was launched from a boat off the shore of nearby Huiyu Island.

Called the ‘Sky Ladder’, the project started off as a dream for Mr Cai 21 years ago when he was visiting Bath, England. He designed the performance by drawing a draft of the design on the window of an art gallery.

He said he wanted to put on a spectacular fireworks show to thank his grandmother for supporting his dream of being an artist.

‘My grandma was born in a small fishing village in Quanzhou and sold fish to help her grandson realise his artistic dream,’ the artist revealed. . . . .

TaiwanFest showcases culture, art, and paper cranes

“TaiwanFest showcases culture, art, and paper cranes”

by Alison Shouldice via “The Star“

For Harry Chen, a folded paper crane is a hope for many things: freedom, democracy, world peace — and his own good health.

Chen, a Taiwanese-Canadian, has recently made a habit of folding small origami paper cranes.

He has also spent the last two years living with kidney cancer.

“When I was in the hospital, I started to fold those things,” he said, but it’s a skill he’s had for some time. At six years old, his kindergarten teacher first taught him origami to stop his crying.

After undergoing surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, Chen’s cancer is now under control. In July 2014, when he was out of the hospital but still recovering, he began folding more cranes in his spare time: on the bus, in the doctor’s waiting room and while out shopping with his wife.

He was inspired by the story of Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who famously attempted to fold 1,000 paper cranes in 1955 for good health. Sasaki developed leukemia after she had been exposed to radiation from the Hiroshima atomic bomb as a young child.

With Sasaki in mind, Chen kept folding, and just 10 months later, he stopped at 2,345: a representation of Taiwan’s 23.45 million population.

Chen is displaying his cranes, attached onto mobiles, at TaiwanFest this weekend at the Harbourfront Centre. On Friday evening, a crowd had already gathered around Chen’s display.

Organizers expect up to 50,000 people to pop in between Friday and Sunday for the festivities.

In addition to Chen’s mobiles, there are several other art and cultural pieces on display throughout the Harbourfront grounds. The festival is multidisciplinary, incorporating art, music, culture and food.

It’s held for two weekends back to back: this weekend in Toronto the next in Vancouver. The guests tend to be Taiwanese-Canadians coming from all areas of the city, according to the festival’s managing director Charlie Wu.

But the event is also for Torontonians who may not know a lot about Taiwan.

“It’s important for TaiwanFest to be in downtown venues,” Wu said. “We always feel that Taiwanese-Canadians and Asian-Canadians like to share their cultures in a more mainstream environment where other Canadians get to see it.”

Diverse programming is the key to attracting non-Taiwanese Canadians to the festival, he said. For instance, this year, they are hosting a fashion designer whose heritage is of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples, who dwelled on the island for thousands of years before the now-predominant Han Chinese began arriving in numbers in the 17th century. It’s hoped that presence of the designer, known simply as Andre, attracts Torontonians with a general interest in fashion or indigenous peoples’ culture and art. . . . .

Now THAT’S delicate work! Artists carve intricate portraits onto egg shells in quirky new art trend

“Now THAT’S delicate work! Artists carve intricate portraits onto egg shells in quirky new art trend”

by Qin Xie via “Daily Mail“

Yunnan born Zhao Zexi is the artist behind the egg carvings.

The 27 year old revealed in an interview that he’s been carving egg shells for around 10 years and has worked with everything from hen’s eggs to duck and ostrich eggs.

He said: ‘I liked drawing from a young age. When I went to Hangzhou to train as a chef, my main job was food carving.’

‘I stumbled across egg carving by accident after seeing it on television. Since then I’ve been obsessed with the idea so started learning to do it.’

Initially he found that every egg shell he tried to carve collapsed as soon as the blade touched its surface.

Zhao Zexi creates human portraits, like Abraham Lincoln above, as well as Chinese landscapes and plants

Egg art created by Zhao Zexi start from 500 Yuan (£50) for hen’s egg and 6,000 Yuan (£600) for an ostrich egg

But with hard work, determination and a little help from other egg carving artists, he soon progressed from carving words to landscapes to human portraits.

The work is extremely time consuming.

Carvings on hen’s eggs require one or two days to complete while goose and ostrich eggs need 10 to 15 days.

However, he is able to charge 500 Yuan (£50) for a finished hen’s egg and around 6,000 Yuan (£600) for an ostrich egg.

Last year, he quit his job as a chef to concentrate on egg carving.

Speaking of his decision, he said: ‘There’s people who ask about my work every day. I’ve already received 10 commissions from art collectors.’

Zhu De featured in the egg shell carving by Li, above, was one of the pioneers of the Chinese Communist Party

Li’s work include Chinese leaders such as Mao Zedong and Soviet figures like Carl Marx and Joseph Stalin

Zhao Zexi is not the only egg shell artist to emerge recently.

A 29 year old woman in Jiangsu, eastern China, named as Han Liping shared her work in January this year.

Han normally works at a fast food restaurant but started egg carving as a hobby.

She empties the eggs of their content before starting work but says that every stage of the carving throws up challenges.

The shells breaking is the most obvious concern but if she makes any mistakes, she will have to start over again as there is no way to repair the damage. . . . .