GEORGE NIENHUIS writes:
We began our day with a visit to the Shanghai Museum. Visiting the actual Shanghai Museum building was an experience in itself, as it was designed by architect Xing Tonghe, the chief architect of the 2010 World Expo, who we met earlier on in the trip. Having personally met the individual responsible for creating the building which we visited was a great experience, and something which we all appreciated.
As far as the actual exhibits of the museum, we began with a reasonably thorough tour of various artifacts from the ancient Chinese Dynasties, artifacts which dated as far back as the 20th century B.C. Many of these artifacts were food and drink vessels, and were representative of the artistic and cultural trends during the various time periods at which they were designed.
Following a quick lunch at another fabulous Chinese restaurant (I had the dumplings), we took the bus to the Zendai Museum of Modern Art in Pudong. While the bus ride was extremely long due to the traffic, the museum was well worth the trip. The Zendai Museum was not open to the public during our visit, and it was in between exhibitions, but we were still able to get a good idea of some of the art which the Zendai Museum displays.
During our visit, Zendai Museum was in the process of putting on a solo exhibition featuring work from (American) artist Julian Schnabel. I found Schnabel’s work to be quite interesting. The colors and shapes he uses have a way of creating playful yet meaningful images. My favorite painting by Schnabel was an image of a woman in front of a red background looking straight ahead. What interested me most about the painting was not the subject matter (although the subject matter remained interesting), but the approach which Schnabel took to creating the image. The entire image was compiled from several broken dinner plates covered in various colors of paint. As one might imagine, the texture of this painting was rather rough, yet it was this roughness in contrast to the smooth colors and soft expression of the woman which caused me to enjoy and appreciate the image as much as I did.
After having a chance to explore the Zendai Museum, and a meeting with one of the museum’s curators with regard to modern art in Shanghai and the history of the Zendai Museum, we took the bus to Bandu (a café near Bizart which often features live music) to hear a live musical performance. The performance was great, and featured a solo musician who specialized in playing a traditional Chinese instrument referred to as the “Guzheng.” The musician was extremely talented, and played both traditional and contemporary songs for us.
When the musical performance came to a close, the students and I went out to a night club at which Xhingyu (our tour guide) reserved us a table. Xhingyu really did us a favor by reserving us a table, as we received a sort of “VIP” treatment, and had a chance to meet with the owner of the club as well as various performers who provided the musical entertainment. I was especially happy about meeting renowned Chinese rapper, “Jin.” Jin has released a few hit singles in the United States, but is more popular in China than the U.S. He seemed really nice in person, and he performed a great show.
Overall, I really enjoyed our day in Shanghai. We started off with some interesting museum visits, and ended the day on a high note.
George Nienhuis is a sophomore in the film + video department.
George,
I really enjoyed reading your entries describing the trip you went on to Shanghai, China! I attend Rufus King High School and I am friends with your younger brother, Arthur. To see a writing sample of a former Rufus King students' on the front page of the "J-Term in Shanghai" was very inspiring. Keep up the good work!
