Nha Trang, Vietnam- 'Towards the
Complex-For the Courageous, the Curious and the Cowards', (2001) is a video project by Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba.
Research this project to identify the ideas behind the work. Can you connect some of the concepts and ideas from the renaissance, Enlightenment or Modernism with the work. Discuss your answer.
Discuss how do you think the title of the work reflects
the artists' intentions?
'Memorial Project Nha Trang, Vietnam: Towards the Complex—For the Courageous, the Curious, and the Cowards' (2001). Single-channel video projection. Image courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York and Mizuma Art Gallery, Tokyo.
This is some information about this project from the website http://www.nyartbeat.com/nyablog/2008/07/for-the-courageous-the-curious-and-the-cowards/
Progress is slow, due to the weight of the cyclos and the sheer volume of water impeding the fishermen. Often the men and carts alike bob and hover, suspended mid-stride like moon walkers. The cyclos bounce to the floor in eerie silence, the only sounds being that of bubbles from scuba-diving Nguyen-Hatsushiba, and the mix of ambient electronica, flute and bell sounds that put the viewer into a submarine trance. The calm does eventually break, however, and the music, composed by the artist himself, becomes darker, the sense of urgency stronger, and the pedaling and pulling faster and more desperate.
The need to breathe impedes the fishermen whose faces remain calm until the moment they must abandon their cyclos and kick to the surface for air. Changes in music reflect these dramatic moments of surrender when several men will swim up at once, while one pair shoots ahead. The consequences of the dire circumstances are clear: For some, getting ahead is only achieved by denying or transcending even the most vital human needs and physical limitations.
This work is concern with the cyclo, the bicycle-taxi, which was once represents Vietnam culture’s identity now are banned further production by the government. Cyclos were not only the icon of Vietnamese street but also the only source of income for the many unemployed. Cyclos are now considered as old-fashioned and slow in today’s modernized Vietnam. By using the cyclo, Nguyen-Hatsushiba wants to create the mode of good –old day’s things fading away.
This video work has shown the progress philosophy emerged in the Enlightenment.According to Hamilton,P. (1992), progress is the idea that the natural and social condition of human beings could be improved, by the application of science and reason, and would result in an ever-increasing level of happiness and well-being. The government's discouragement of cyclo is a social change to uplift Vietnamese city's conditions. However, paradoxically the progress the government proceeding can result side effects like loss of a mean of living for the poor. This suggested in video when the driver abandoning cyclo in the need for a breath.
I think the title "Towards the Complex- For the Courageous, the Curious and the Cowards" suggests the artist's intention of the different perspective towards the social change that Vietnam undergo now. The complex, the changes that will bring different complicated outcomes and our response can be courageous, facing the new without fear. The Curious, keeping eye on the change while thinking about some implications and the Cowards, who can not accept the new scared to step out from the comfort zone.
Reference
http://www.nyartbeat.com/nyablog/2008/07/for-the-courageous-the-curious-and-the-cowards/ Retrieved 24 May 2010
Hamilton,P(1992). The Enlightenment and the birth of social science, in Hall,S & Gieben B.(eds.) Formations of Modernity
Adding to the information,
ReplyDeletefrom http://listart.mit.edu/node/533
For the Mizuma exhibition, Nguyen-Hatsushiba designed and produced several new cyclo models and an advertising campaign for them that included portraits of many cyclo drivers. The slick graphics of the ads provided a startling contrast to their texts which outlined the youthful dreams of the drivers as well as the current realities of their lives.
Your post is good for my understanding this works. Good informations.
ReplyDelete(Interview with Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba
Miwako Tezuka, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art, Asia Society Museum)
Miwako Tezuka: You were first trained as a painter. What inspired you to begin working in video?
Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba: Honestly, it happened by chance. I was planning to do a performance in which I was going to pull a cyclo suspended in a large water tank. To make a long story short, that idea developed into my directing and shooting this video [Memorial Project Nha Trang, Vietnam: Towards the Complex—For the Courageous, the Curious, and the Cowards] under the sea. It was the right medium to turn my idea into a reality.
MT: How long have you been interested in cyclos and cyclo drivers?
JNH: I have been looking at cyclos and their drivers since I arrived in Vietnam back in 1994.
MT: Are all or most cyclo drivers in Vietnam elderly people? Do they still have jobs?
JNH: As the cities expand and develop, fewer streets will allow cyclos. As modern means of transportation, such as taxis, become more popular with modern business, cyclos become less and less in demand. In the near future, we may see them only as tourist attractions.
MT: How did the cyclo drivers initially react to the proposal of your video project?
ReplyDeleteJNH: They didn't understand it as art, but they thought of it as an interesting project and a challenge.
MT: Are the drivers going anywhere specific, and for any purpose?
JNH: In a simple narrative sense, they are moving toward the "complex," the place where we had stretched some thirty mosquito nets under the sea. It is a pilgrimage, an offering.
MT: What do mosquito nets symbolize? Do they represent rest, repose, security, comfort, or do they mark social and historical boundaries?
JNH: They can be all of above and surely more. I use them when I go to sleep every night.
MT:You have also used the motif of cyclos in sculptural works. You have created remodeled "cyclos of the future." What about these cyclos sets them apart from traditional models?
JNH: My models function the same way as traditional cyclos. But I wanted to revitalize the design by accenting some areas like the front section. I used more curves to make the cyclos sportier. Also, with one of the new cyclos, I used stainless steel bars for the frame.
MT: Are cyclos still made in Vietnam? Are they only used by tourists or are they objects only preserved in museums? Have they already become a thing of the past?
JNH: At one time, I wanted to create a cyclo museum. That idea actually led me to this video. Not many people value the old. Colonial houses are destroyed for new multi-story apartment buildings. Even old trees are cut to broaden streets. Cyclos are still refurbished if anyone needs them fixed; however, this happens less and less. I once owned one to study it but eventually gave it to someone who was looking for a job. I wonder where he is now.
MT: What equipment did you use to film Memorial Project Nha Trang, Vietnam—a waterproof digital camera?
JNH: I used a Sony single CCD miniDV video camera with an underwater camera housing. I guess this would be considered a toy by today's filmmaking standards. But that was what I had purchased a year ago and it was waiting to be put into action. The quality of equipment that I use has improved since the first video. The second and third videos were shot with similar cameras to the first. For the fourth video, I upgraded to a 3CCD camera. The recent video in Laos was shot with a Sony HD (but not yet full HD). Technology keeps moving forward and sometimes it can get in the way.
MT: How long did it take to prepare, shoot, and edit Memorial Project Nha Trang, Vietnam?
JNH: It took several months to figure out what I was really going to do. Remember that I was planning to do this in a large water tank in the beginning. It took one week of diving lessons to get a basic and then an advanced certificate. Two weeks later, I began the shoot. The video was shot in nine or ten days I believe. The editing process lasted less than two months.
MT: How did you come up with the music? Does it have any specific meaning or source of inspiration?
JNH: I used to want to be a musician. I used my 4-track from graduate school to record most of the music for the video. I also worked with pop composer Quoc Bao, who is a friend of mine, to develop some parts.
MT: Do you feel any spiritual connection to the works that you create? Your newest video work has a Buddhist motif, while some have found Taoist themes in your minimalist approach to the Nha Trang video.
JNH: I think I feel a spiritual connection to many things beyond my work. During the filming of Memorial Project Nha Trang, Vietnam, I remember getting goose bumps looking down at the bottom of the ocean where we had placed the mosquito nets. I interpret goose bumps as an interaction with the supernatural.
http://sites.asiasociety.org/arts/nh/interview.html
"This video work has shown the progress philosophy emerged in the Enlightenment.According to Hamilton,P. (1992), progress is the idea that the natural and social condition of human beings could be improved, by the application of science and reason, and would result in an ever-increasing level of happiness and well-being."
ReplyDeleteI also agree your point of view about Enlightenment with this work.
hey, great blog. I was intrigued by the fact that the fishermen's faces stayed calm while actually putting their body through that much stress. To hold their breath it just amazing! i can't even hold mine longer than one minute, even thats a mission to conquer. Although the video of this has sound effects, I can not hear them but your description's good, to me, it describes the picture. I also liked the title. its kinda like, explore, step out of your comfort zones, and if not, you're a coward. i like it, as its simple.
ReplyDeletegreat blog there eunice