【WhatsartToday：2022.07.13 | 遺亡七月：芙烈達·卡蘿】
1954年的昨天，墨西哥女畫家芙烈達·卡蘿在家逝世。Frida一生經受的痛苦超越常人。用痛苦作筆，她在畫中留下對存在、性別、階級、權利發聲的信號。在2022年的今天，芙烈達身後的影響在今天也更加具有時代意義。
經歷車禍，35次手術，在病床上開始作畫。婚姻不幸，身體也放棄了自己。她召喚自己破碎身體中想像不到的力量，將自己經受的痛苦隱喻、具象地表達出來，這些作品也被稱為「圍繞在炸彈周圍的絲帶」。在超現實主義的作品「破碎的脊柱」中，她的身體被分成兩半，即使面上有淚表情依舊堅定從容。支撐她一世的金屬束胸，也在畫中影射她的小兒麻痺症。
不同於其他大部分的超現實主義自畫像，龜裂的大地上她孤身一人站著。成長在天主教的家庭中，她手握著的白布，和身體上的鐵釘，都是耶穌的圖解。她用自毀式的真誠，化身烈士，讓觀眾直面她的痛苦。我們需要這種真誠，更加需要這種獨立，不是要將傷疤當成勳章，而是將其中的不屈和勇氣帶在身上，奪回應有的權利和尊重。
芙烈達·卡蘿的畫作，是她的毫不妥協。她的痛苦、不屈、信仰，和她的藍房子，都是力量的種子希望。我們需要這份希望。
【WhatsartToday: 2022.07.13 | Un-lost July: Frida Kahlo】
On 1954’s today, Mexican painter Frida passed away in her home. The pain she endured was unimaginable. Through her pain, she voiced out signals questioning existence, gender inequality, social class, and human rights. In 2022, Frida’s legacy is more prominent than ever.
Tragic car accident, and 35 operations, she started drawing in her hospital bed. When marriage and her body gave up, she conjured a mirage of power from a broken body, expressing her pain through metaphorical and figurative symbols. Her words are considered “ribbons around the bomb”. In this surrealist work “The Broken Column”, her body is separated into two parts.
Different from her other surrealistic self-portrait, Frida stands alone on that cracked land. Growing up in a Catholic family, she interprets Jesus through the white cloth in her hand and nails in her body. This is her becoming a martyr through self-destructive candid, forcing the audience to stare at her pain. We need this very candid, and more of her independence, not parading scars as badges, instead harnessing the courage within which, and take back our rights and respect.
In Frida’s painting, her never-comprising, pian, and faith rise. Houses in her blue home, are the seeds of hope. We need this very hope.
【#ArtChat | 離得越近 看得越遠】
花，是藝術家筆下的課題，也是媒介。不同年月，不同筆下，不同眼晴看著的花，也隨著不同心境、不同國度，賦予不同的面貌。
在周肅磐的「花花」世界中（「芸芸 Scale G#」(2018) ），整體上看落，作品是一場顏色和生命力的慶典。對於畫家來說，花花是他成日、成月、成年的觀察。站在遠處將整幅畫盡收眼裡，是畫家對生活和自然的愛與欣賞。
慢慢走近，看到細節處靜態的顏色煙火在畫布上出乎意料地和睦，眼睛隨畫中的高光停留在中央，再跟著花瓣的形狀的顏色遊走到邊緣。成千的筆畫互相重疊，是畫家浸在世界中和時間的細膩和解。仔細觀賞究竟哪筆在前哪筆在後，這種Rothko問題也說明著畫作的精彩結構。
周肅磐的《花花》系列是一封邀請觀眾走近細看的請柬，承載畫家觀察自然的純粹的快樂，和看官不同角度遠近的欣賞互相成全，提醒著我們生命中還有美好的事情發生。這份美好，需要我們走近一點，再一點、再一點、再再一點，撥開花瓣錯綜的筆畫，看到遠處畫家描繪的伊甸園。
【#ArtChat｜“The closer you look, the more you see.”】
Flower, is both the message and vessel. In different days and ages, under different brushes, flowers shapeshifts through different eyes, and emotions.
Through the looking glass of “fafa” (Scale G#, 2018), the painting is a saturation of color and life. To the artist, these were marks of days, weeks, and on occasions months and years of observation, reflection and dialogue between him and the world around him. Taking the whole painting in from afar, love and appreciation for life from the artists welcome you.
Take a closer look, just a bit more. The static firework celebration of colours unexpectedly harmonize within each painting mastered by Charles Chau. It is the joy and freedom sneaking out and blowing the darkened mood away. Myriad of strokes overlap and hold onto each other, as the artist’s steeped dedication and observation make peace with time. Which pedal is at front and which is at back, the Rothko-liked question showcases the amazing composition of the painting.
Charles Chau’s “fafa” series is an invitation for audience to take a closer look, and experience the pure happiness of artist’s observation of the nature. It’s the relationship between flowers, and with the observers, reminding us that there are still beautiful things happening. Come closer, just a bit more, a bit bit more, a bit bit bit more, and find the Eden behind petals.
【#ArtChat｜熱到時間融化】
這個夏天，全球都經受著熱浪帶來的歷史性高溫。難耐的天氣扭曲視覺，融化時間。熱氣中的搖擺遠方的景象，似乎帶我們走入了達利的超現實主義作品《記憶的堅持》。
黎明中的里加特港灣上，軟化的鐘表平靜地垂在桌子、樹枝，和中央癱軟的形象上。達利畫中時常出現的螞蟻爬滿一隻合上的懷錶，中央的生物也平靜安詳地躺在地上，似乎是睡著了，邊界融化在黑暗中。畫的明處，陽光伴著岩石，親吻大海，海天一色。
癱軟的鐘錶在達利的作品中多次出現，成為特別的訊號。據達利本人所說，「添加軟錶的靈感來自於卡門培爾乳酪，取其柔軟，奢華，獨立與怪癖偏執之意。」記憶像乳酪，昂貴，怪異，跟隨時間的發展，不知道是時間讓記憶變的珍貴，還是記憶超越時間的存在。
達利將科學家視為心中的父親，從中汲取靈感， 在1958年的《反物質宣言》中提到，「在超現實主義時期，我想創造內心世界的意象──我父親佛洛伊德的奇幻世界。」冷色暖色形成對比，光的明亮陰暗，形成錯綜複雜的夢幻感。在超現實的題材中達利發揮著攝影的寫實主義，也引起了幻覺的真實感。
記憶繼續隨著夏日時間的模糊，又逐漸變得清晰，變得不像記憶。
【#ArtChat ｜It’s time-melting hot!】
The heatwave of this summer has brought the record-breaking temperature to the globe. The heated air wiggles your vision, and melts the times. In the mist, there is a mirage, as if we are in Dali’s surrealism work, The Persistence of Memories.
At Portlligat at dawn, softened clocks lay idle on tables, branches, and a creature in the center. Ants, a constant symbol in Dali’s work, crawl over a closed pocket watch. The creature in the center lay peacefully and serenely on the ground, seemingly asleep, and the boundaries of its body melted into the darkness. In the bright place of the painting, the sun is accompanied by the rocks, kissing the sea, the sea and the sky are the same color.
The melting clock is a constant and special symbol that appears in multiple works. Dali once mentioned, “… nothing more than the soft, extravagant, solitary, paranoiac-critical Camembert cheese of space and time.” Memories are like cheese, expensive, strange, and as time goes on, we lose track of whether time preserves memories, or whether memories exceed time.
Dali regarded scientists as his father, from whom he learned and collected inspirations. In his 1958 Anti-matter Manifesto, he stated, “In the Surrealist period I wanted to create the iconography of the interior world and the world of the marvelous, of my father Freud.” The contrast of cool and warm tones compliments the darkness and brightness of the light, and dreaminess of a kind is born. In surrealist paintings, Dali employed “the exactitude of realist painting techniques” to depict imagery more likely to be found in dreams than in waking consciousness.
Memories blur through the veil of summertime and claim a new form, a new reality.
【#ArtChat｜蒙娜麗莎，你，最近還好嗎？】
人們總是被閃光的東西吸引，內心深處的崇拜、嫉妒、欣賞讓這些名畫在觀眾的心中點燃一團火，熊熊燃燒。他們的火焰會不會侵蝕到畫作本身，就是另一件事了。111年前，蒙娜麗莎在羅浮宮被盜。今天，我們來和命途多舛的蒙娜麗莎，細數她經歷的種種不幸。
1911年的8月21日，曾在羅浮宮上班的商業藝術家文森佐走入無人的展館，將蒙娜麗莎取下，藏在自己的畫布中，又從樓梯井自如地離開現場，以前認識的保安也以為他只是來辦公事。當有人發現這幅畫消失時，已經是一整天之後的事了。綁匪帶蒙娜麗莎環遊義大利，兩年後才被藝術商販舉報帶回羅浮宮。
1974年，蒙娜麗莎在日本東京國立博物館展出，一名25歲的女性觀眾因為反對博物館以控制人流之名拒絕有障礙人士入內的規定，嘗試在展出的首日將紅色噴漆噴在畫作上。成功逃過一劫的蒙娜麗莎，只沾上了20至30滴顏料。最終，這位女士被控輕罪，罰款三千日圓，博物館也設立無障礙日。蒙娜麗莎成為了她行動主義的靶心，最終也一矢中的。
剛剛過去的5月29日，一名喬裝成老婦人的男子在羅浮宮參觀時，忽然從輪椅上跳下來，將蛋糕砸向蒙娜麗莎，被保安帶出現場時洒落了一地的玫瑰花，大聲叫著「想想地球吧！」蒙娜麗莎坐在抹滿奶油的防彈玻璃後安然無恙，或許這場行為本身也是一場表演，男子就是藝術家，蒙娜麗莎成了他的畫布。
除了以上這些故事，蒙娜麗莎也曾被石頭、茶杯砸過，被酸潑過，被藝術家以其為藍本進行創作。是本身的價值讓她成為別人的目標，還是多得這些傳奇的故事，讓她的價值連城，也只能等觀眾們自行去體會。說不定，她的神秘微笑，也暗湧著對下一次的期待。
【#ArtChat｜How are you holding up, Mona Lisa?】
People are always drawn by the shiny things, that light a fire of admiration, jealousy, or appreciation for the artwork. Whether the fire would consume them and the painting, we just have to wait and see. 111 years ago, Mona Lisa was stolen on the very day in the Louvre. Let’s take a trip down memory lane, and look through all the turbulence she rode on.
On August 21st, 1911, a commercial artist Vincenzo walked into the empty exhibition hall, took Mona Lisa down and hid her inside his canvas, and fled the scene via the staircase well with grace and ease. Security just thought it was a casual day and he was there for some official business. It had been a whole day when someone finally discovered the missing painting. Vincenzo took her on a tour in Italy for 2 years, and at last, she was taken back to the Louvre by the tip-off of an art dealer.
When Mona Lisa was on tour at the National Museum of Japan in Tokyo, a 25-year-old woman tried to spray-paint her beautiful face in protest of the museum denying the entrance of visitors with disabilities in the name of crowd control. Mona Lisa, who escaped the attack, only had 20 to 30 droplet stains. The attacker has been sentenced to a misdemeanor and a 3000 yen fine, with a silver lining being that the museum set aside a day for visitors with disabilities after the incident. Maybe we can say that Mona Lisa was the target of her activism, and she did hit the bullseye in one shot.
On May 29th of 2022, a visitor dressed up as an old lady in a wheelchair jumped out in the crowd and smeared cake onto the painting, though only made it to the bulletproof glass. He then left rose petals at the scene while being escorted out, yelling, “Think about the earth!” Mona Lisa just sit there and smiled through the incident. Maybe it was a show all along, with the man being the artist, and he just happened to choose a more expensive and guarded canvas.
Apart from the stories above, Mona Lisa was hit by a rock, a teacup, acid, and the subject of other artists. Whether the stories happened because Mona Lisa is Mona Lisa or vice versa, it is up to you to decide. Maybe behind her smile lies her expectation for the next time.
【#WhatsartToday：2022.08.06｜安迪·華荷：八月的風格】
94年前的今天出世的安迪·華荷，從手繪起家，將消費主義的概念用大眾容易接受的方式包裝，凸顯了藝術作為社會反射的意義。他的系列創作，直至今天都對藝術界產生撼天動地的影響。
他沒有像其他藝術家一樣掩蓋商業化的頭頭尾尾，作品從卡通漫畫到嚴肅主題，堅持持續同一的方法，通過明快的顏色將罐頭，名人，到車禍、災難紀錄在案。他自成一派，並創立藝術家基地The Factory，其幕後、電影、故事、和意外，都讓安迪·華荷的一生蒙上傳奇色彩。
究竟有沒有一個成為安迪·華荷的配方呢？或許其中不可缺少紮實的美感，不驚於全力表達自己的衝動，繁育一個社群的領導能力，堅持自我的格調，還有逃離不幸的運氣。他拒絕訪問，拒絕解釋自己，「你只需要看着我的繪畫、我的電影和我的樣子，這就是我。在這些表面之下什麼也沒藏着。」
他的作品是諷刺？還是實驗？和我們一起了解安迪·華荷的代表性畫作，並在評論中分享你最印象深刻的華荷時刻吧！
【#WhatsartToday：2022.08.06｜Andy Warhol: the style of August】
Andy Warhol, born on the very day 94 years ago, started his artistic career by illustrating. Packaging consumerism into a candy wrapper, his work represents the mirror of society that art holds. His series of works still make today’s art world quake.
Andy Warhol didn’t hide his intention of being commercial like other artists. From cartoons and graphics to serious topics, he records all the matters in his signature and consistent usage of pop colors, from soup cans, celebrities, to car crashes and doomsdays. Founding “The Factory” for modern artists, Andy Warhol defines Andy Warhol’s style. Secrets behind curtains, films and incidents all have made his life a mirage of legend.
Is there a receipt for Andy Warhol’s success? Maybe you need impactable aesthetics, impulses to express yourself unapologetically, leadership to found and grow a community, loyalty to your way of life, with that final touch of luck that helps you escape tragedies. He refused to be interviewed and explain himself, “If you want to know all about Andy Warhol, just look at the surface of my paintings and films and me, and there I am. There’s nothing behind it.”
What does he want to say through his work? Sarcasm or experimentation? Join us to learn about some of the most iconic pieces by Andy Warhol, and comment down below your most memorable Warhol moment!
【#ArtChat| 越笑就越痛】
諷刺藝術指出社會中的問題，以誇張荒謬的方式，打入大眾的群體。藝術是時代的見證者，藝術家將他們生於何時何地的時代背景融入作品。他們的反叛和拳拳到肉的誠實，都藏在藝術品每一步的執行中，以不同的方式逆流生長。
1743-1745年威廉賀加斯的作品Marriage à-la-mode用六張畫布講出上流階層舉辦婚禮的虛偽可悲，從純真到腐敗慢慢講述強逼的婚事到未清的帳單。作品首次在倫敦國家畫廊展出時惡評不斷，但也成為賀加斯最出色的諷刺作品之一。
有了痛感，活在世上的意識形態才會繼續成長。如果藝術是時代的見證，藝術家就是預言家。諷刺藝術覆蓋文字，圖畫，裝置，延伸到舞台劇，時裝，拍賣。杜尚的蒙娜麗莎明信片，反抗「藝術」的中心化和階級化。Johnathan Swift落筆A Modest Proposal，以貧窮的愛爾蘭人可以通過將自己的孩子當作食物販賣給富人減輕財務壓力為題，直面面對貧瘠卻無所事事的上流社會。Banksy反抗藝術的商業化，讓拿著氣球的女孩售出時自毀，也讓該藝術品的價值超越本身。
三年前的今天，香港藝術學院藝廊展出「我哋話俾你聽OK就得㗎喇」，通過不同的視覺媒介，嘲諷社會中的荒謬事件。當下，每個人都是諷刺藝術家，meme專頁的誕生，每個人的諷刺主義都在他們自己所在的時代滋養。時代需要諷刺藝術，諷刺藝術也定義時代。他們互相溝通，互相進化，生生不息。
【WhatsArt Today: 2022.6】GET YOUR PRIDE ON!
「不要小看你小看的。」每年的六月都是Pride month。酷兒理論的發展、性小眾平權運動和第三波女性平權運動的衍生和互相影響，在發展中都為性向平等、性別友善和反對的大眾做鬥爭。21世紀仍須見證Row V. Wade被嘗試推翻的荒謬，證明這場行動仍須我們堅持下去。「韓女獨有戲」電影展，聚焦韓國獨立女導演的電影作品，讓亞洲電影行業中的女力成為主角。特別介紹「逆權烈女」作為參展電影之一，紀錄韓國一個最積極最勇武的女性組織的歷史，和她們在韓國社會的女權運動，反抗反同厭女集權的霸凌。走入戲院了解這場戰役，就是現在。
As June is also known as pride month, we want to acknowledge the interlaced relationships and driving forces amongst the development of queer theories, movement of equality for sexual minority, and the third wave of feminism movements, pushing boundaries and rallying for equality for decades. The absurdity of witnessing Roe v. Wade being overturned warns us to keep fighting. Women Direct. Korean Indies! – Korean Women Independent Film Series highlights the work of independent female directors and their otherworldly talent. Boundary: Flaming Feminist Action is a Korean documentary retelling the history of one of Korea’s most active and radical feminist collectives. Shining a light on feminist fight in Asian context, fighting back the fanatic authority, this is your time to walk in the theatre and fuel the power in you with their fight.