J-term in Shanghai: George Nienhuis’s entries

GEORGE NIENHUIS writes:
We started today by meeting Xhingyu (our tour guide) in the French Concession of Shanghai. This was an area set aside for the French community in the mid 1800s by the imperial Qing court. This area was set aside for the French community as they pressed for the same generous rights which the British had gained in 1843 following the aftermath of the First Opium War. While the French Concession as it stands today is almost completely refurbished, and is more of a tourist site than an area of undisturbed historical structures, the low-rise buildings, narrow streets, and closely planted trees communicate a strong sense of French colonial-era town planning.

Following the visit to the French Concession we walked through a traditional middle-class “Lo-tai” neighborhood of Shanghai. The neighborhood provided an interesting contrast to the newer, more modernized architecture of Shanghai, and contained a number of French and European architectural characteristics. The alleyways between neighboring houses were narrow, telephone and electrical wires were low to the ground, and houses were often wall to wall although technically unconnected. Not only was the architecture and configuration of the neighborhood intriguing, but the approach to living taken by the residents of the neighborhood was as well. It seemed the difference between personal and public space in these neighborhoods was nearly nonexistent. Windows and doors were left unlocked and wide open, cooking was done near the alleyways, and on one particular occasion, we even witnessed a woman washing her hair on the street. As such, it was not only the close placement of the houses adjacent to one another which diminished the boundaries of privacy, but the unabashed ideologies of residents themselves, residents who refused to isolate themselves in their homes and who would rather branch out as a means to connect with their neighbors.

After the visit to the traditional Shanghailese middle-class neighborhood, we broke for a short lunch of dumplings and attended a presentation on the 2010 World Expo Center by the chief architect of the project himself. The presentation was extremely interesting, as it focused not only on the architectural plan for the World Expo Center, but the Shanghai ideology surrounding the approach to building and designing of the various venues. As with much of Shanghai, many of the World Expo Center’s venues will be renovations of existing structures, or completely new structures taking the place of old ones. This follows suit of much of Shanghai’s architectural history in the sense that old structures (many of which may contain historical value) are either razed or completely redesigned in order to accommodate for the coming of the new wave of architecture and technology.

Even as the chief architect spoke of designing and implementing the newer structures, he noted that an entire two thirds of the venues designed specifically for the 2010 World Expo will be removed following the event, specifically stating that “the space cannot remain as an Expo forever.” This approach to construction and refurbishment is characteristic of the Shanghai approach to such a matter, and has been seen throughout much of Shanghai’s recent and not so recent history.

After the presentation we briefly attended a gallery opening at Bizart composed of experimental video installations, and went out as a group for dinner at a local hotpot restaurant. The food at the hotpot restaurant was excellent, and was a great sort of “bonding” experience for our group, as we were forced to share our food, and eat communally as opposed to individually. In addition to the companionship brought about by the dinner, the food was pungent with flavor, and you were almost certain to fish out something spectacular from the steaming pot of broth, vegetables, tofu, and meat each and every time your reached for replenishment. Today was full of great experiences, and dinner was a perfect ending to the already wonderful evening.

George Nienhuis is a sophomore in the film & video department.

George Nienhuis (film + video) writes:
We began our day by visiting the Yu Gardens, a Taoist temple, and a marketplace. The market, however, was not the average Shanghainese market where produce goods are sold alongside fish and meats; this market was an insect market! It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Crickets were sold alongside grasshoppers, and goldfish were sold alongside rabbits and hens.

All sorts of insects and animals were up for sale in this dilapidated-warehouse-based market. By the time we visited the insect market, the sun had already set on Shanghai, and the only light illuminating the bazaar came from a combination of sparsely scattered, green-tinted fluorescents and blue moonlight, which seeped through gaps in the plywood and aluminum-panel roof. There were potholes in the dark, cold concrete flooring, and collapsible tables scattered about as makeshift kiosks throughout the warehouse.

I have been working on gathering footage for a video piece, which I am planning to prepare as a final project for this class, and the insect marketplace provided what I felt to be an ideal setting for the acquisition of interesting and even bizarre visuals.

After the insect market, our group walked across the street to another market, which was nearly equally interesting. This market was referred to as the “antique market,” which was outdoors, and similar in ambiance to the insect market. The antique market specialized in selling various ornaments and trinkets; it could be described as a Shanghainese flea market.

While at the antique market, Sean Dunder, one of my fellow classmates along with me in Shanghai, noticed a Chinese fighter-pilot helmet of Soviet stylistic resemblance up for sale. Sean found the unwieldy green helmet so fascinating that he began bargaining with the seller of the helmet as a means to get the price of the item within his affordable boundaries, which are rather low. After giving various disgusted facial expressions in response to the numerous unaffordable asking prices of the seller, Sean was able to get the price of the helmet within his range of spending, and purchased the item.

Mere minutes after his purchase, it became apparent that Sean’s decision to acquire the fighter-pilot helmet was the best choice any Westerner could have made in the Far East. When Sean placed the helmet on his head for the first time, he became an instant star in the city of Shanghai. People flocked from all directions to catch a glimpse of the most amazing person to visit Shanghai since Yo-Yo Ma commenced his latest world tour in October of 2007. Cameras were flashing, wives were leaving their husbands, people were cheering, and some even burst into tears of joy.

A few days back, I sat next to Sean on the bus which picked us up from the airport, at which point his hand accidentally touched my jacket. I told this to the man standing next to me, and he viciously attempted to tear the jacket away from my back. I personally did not care, as I was in ecstasy that such a highly coveted figure as Sean actually knew my name. A large swarming crowd of Shanghailanders soon formed around Sean. People were pushing and shoving just to catch a glimpse of the man; it was pandemonium. Yet in the center of all this madness, Sean remained calm. Little did I know some quite irregular was soon to happen.

As the crowd’s anticipation grew with ferocity, Sean raised his arms toward the heavens, and for a split second, the dark, polluted sky of Shanghai parted at its middle, and the most wonderful ray of golden sunlight seeped through the opaque clouds and kissed Sean on his forehead (which was actually the top of the helmet). A smile appeared on Sean’s face, and on the face of each and every Shanghailander. At that very moment, traffic in the streets came to a halt, birds in the trees began to sing with joy, a taxi driver helped a cyclist off the pavement, dogs and cats embraced, and the people of Shanghai started to rejoice in song. The song they sang was by great Shanghai native Cah Mun, a song entitled “The Food” (a rough translation of course). It is a song which embodies life. A song which identifies life as a struggle, but a beautiful struggle nonetheless. More appropriately, it is a song which embodies the existence of Sean and his helmet.

After all that jazz, we got some really great dinner and went back to the hotel.

George Nienhuis is a sophomore in the film & video department.

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.