Today in Hong Kong I went to the Museum of Art and the Space Museum. They are free on Wednesdays. The museum of art usually has a temporary show and, upstairs, a permanent collection of ceramic antiquities. Actually, this collection of ceramics is quite impressive, going back 4,000 years. There are fine examples of the various techniques that were used through the years: blue underglazing, various colored enameling (wucai, doucai, etc.). The are samples from the different areas that produced pottery for the imperial court or for export or for daily use: jingdezhen, yue, etc. All of the pieces are in good condition and one marvels at the fact that there are few cracks and that they have lasted in such condition for so long.
In the contemporary arts hall there were two installations about hair, of all things. http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Arts/textmode/english/exhibitions/eexhibitions_s_20060701_2.html
One guy, a native Hong Konger, got hair from the US and from Hong Kong – his two homes – to make a huge installation with the hair glued together to make sheets and on the sheets, using the hair in clumps, he wrote false language all over. The point is that even though we have different languages, different backgrounds, different cultures, but we all are humans, with hair, blond hair, black hair, whatever. It ties us together.
The other exhibit was about 1,000 little slippers made of hair. It was interesting because some had gray interspersed with dark brown, or even shots of dyed red; most were straight, but one was curly like bouclé yarn.
The space museum (http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Space/e_index.htm) is interesting and interactive- great for kids. They even have a flight simulator where you can feel like an insect flying through the Grand Canyon, using the controls to bank left or right. Most people definitely would have been smashed bug on the sides of the canyon. And there is a Zero-gravity “ride” that lets you feel what it would be like to walk on the moon. Actually it is 1/6th –gravity, like what you would experience on the moon. There are other simulators and knobs you can turn, buttons to push, things to learn at the Space Museum. So educational. There is also a 306 degree IMAX theater showing such scintillating titles as “Magnificent Desolation” and “Solar Small Bodies.” Actually, I am sure they are very interesting as “Magnificent Desolation” is narrated by Tom Hanks and is about walking on the moon.
For lunch my friends and I ate at a place called Serenade; it's right there in the Cultural Center where the museums are. Not bad dim sum and a great view of the cityscape of the Island.
In the contemporary arts hall there were two installations about hair, of all things. http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Arts/textmode/english/exhibitions/eexhibitions_s_20060701_2.html
One guy, a native Hong Konger, got hair from the US and from Hong Kong – his two homes – to make a huge installation with the hair glued together to make sheets and on the sheets, using the hair in clumps, he wrote false language all over. The point is that even though we have different languages, different backgrounds, different cultures, but we all are humans, with hair, blond hair, black hair, whatever. It ties us together.
The other exhibit was about 1,000 little slippers made of hair. It was interesting because some had gray interspersed with dark brown, or even shots of dyed red; most were straight, but one was curly like bouclé yarn.
The space museum (http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Space/e_index.htm) is interesting and interactive- great for kids. They even have a flight simulator where you can feel like an insect flying through the Grand Canyon, using the controls to bank left or right. Most people definitely would have been smashed bug on the sides of the canyon. And there is a Zero-gravity “ride” that lets you feel what it would be like to walk on the moon. Actually it is 1/6th –gravity, like what you would experience on the moon. There are other simulators and knobs you can turn, buttons to push, things to learn at the Space Museum. So educational. There is also a 306 degree IMAX theater showing such scintillating titles as “Magnificent Desolation” and “Solar Small Bodies.” Actually, I am sure they are very interesting as “Magnificent Desolation” is narrated by Tom Hanks and is about walking on the moon.
For lunch my friends and I ate at a place called Serenade; it's right there in the Cultural Center where the museums are. Not bad dim sum and a great view of the cityscape of the Island.
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