M A D N E S S, THE GRAND FINALE

Last Wednesday we had our craziest MADness, the grand finale that confirmed that our little event might not be as little as we thought anymore, MADness has grown up and turned into a mature show.

This time we used a new venue, a shooting gallery with homonymous name ¨The Shooting Gallery¨ and it was just perfect. We were able to project in the whole wall and the quality of the projector was amazing. The right lighting and other little but very important things took MADness one step forward. Wine, beers, food and extremely delicious cakes did the rest…   

But continent is nothing without content, and here comes the best part, this time the speakers poured their enthusiasm on an audience that packed the place and didn´t aloud anyone to divert their attention with the variety of speeches. I want to thank them all for the well prepared they were and for not using ppts, thank you!!!

In 7 minutes Alex Joly did a dj session out of magnetism and objects, Tom de Peyret showed his enthusiasm on The Nouvelle Vague, Gerhard Seizer showed us in images his one year creative trip in Eurasia and connected it with design. Simone Casatti explained dynamic architectural systems and after the break, Uma was hidden in the crowd to spontaneously start dancing. Her performance did not leave anyone indifferent.

We also had a poet, you might think that a poet doesn´t feet this kind of events, but if you think so, then you are wrong. Richard Watkins brought the tension into scene and then he softened us again. He also showed us some Chinese poets in town. Our last participant was Jasmine Chen, have you ever heard ¨Corcovado¨ in Chinese?

MADness is not about giving a speech in 7 minutes, but expressing all that moves you in live in a limited time. It is not easy to condense all you want to express in 7 minutes, but these people always leave you with the desire to know more, it was fun to hear people talking about what speaker hooked them the most.

If you would like to participate send me an e-mail and we talk.

Thanks Sanjay and Claudia to make the perfect team!!

Thanks to all of you, mad people, that came to the event on a rainy and cold day…

More to come in 2012.
 

Public

Uma during the Q&A

Jasmine Chen

Uma

 Images on the top by Marcin Gajewski.

 Setting up everything

 Alex Joly´s table

Control comanders

 Simone Casatti preparing his presentation

 Alex

Gerhart Seizer

Richard Watkins

 Tom de Peyret thinking

G A O S H A N

GaoShan is a discrete artist. Sculpts on yellow sponges with a knife from Ikea. The fact that she works with sponges is pure coincidence, it happened one day when drinking tea with friends meanwhile her fingers dismembered a small sponge. As usually comes, she did her best to get the most realism of her figures, but now she opts for a more abstract art, giving center stage to the matter. Her series of round figures are irresistible to the senses by its roundness and lightness, something difficult to achieve and that GaoShan does with great naturalism when adding pink powder paint, silicone and some hair, so that somehow our intrinsic self can recognize itself in these forms without ever fully identify them with any part of our body. End feeling: curiosity, bewilderment and beauty.

GaoShan es una artista discreta. Esculpe sobre esponjas amarillas con un cuchillo de Ikea. Lo de trabajar con esponjas es fruto de la casualidad, se le ocurrió un día cuando bebía té con amigos mientras sus dedos descuartizaban una pequeña esponja que tenía entre manos. Como suele ser habitual, puso todo su empeño en sacar el máximo realismo de sus figuras, pero ahora opta por un arte más abstracto, concediéndole todo el protagonismo a la materia. Su serie de figuras redondas son irresistibles a los sentidos por su rotundidad y ligereza, algo difícil de conseguir y que GaoShan trata con sumo naturalismo cuando añade polvo de pintura rosa, silicona y algunos cabellos, por lo que de alguna manera nuestro yo más intrínseco se puede reconocer en estas formas sin llegar a identificarlas por completo con parte alguna de nuestro cuerpo. Sensación final: curiosidad, desconcierto y belleza. 

                                                                                          Images by Xepo Walter

V I D E O M A D N E S S

Here is a video from the last ¨MADness¨ event, where creatives in Shanghai inspire the audience during 7 minutes at Kin space! 

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/heAfw7vadco/

Join us on November the 30th (date tbc) and if you want to participate send me an e-mail!

Thank you Yiqing Zhang for the video.

Y A N G Z H E N Z H O N G

Together with photographer Xepo Walter, we interviewed and photographed the artist Yang ZhenZhong in his Studio in Shanghai.

ZhenZhong is a well-known artist abroad for his video art but now he is moving more into painting, photograph and installations

I extract a few sentences from the interview: 

¨I studied Fine Arts at China Academy of Art in Hangzhou (Note: This is one of the most prestigious Fine Arts Schools in China) where I was only taught how to paint and sculpt. I had to learn new forms of expression from the international books and magazines found in our libraries, there were not many, but enough to be inspired¨

¨I looked to the works of Bill Viola and Gary Hill, but I also saw movie tapes that they were not easy to find in China at that time but I got them from my friends (...) ¨

¨Since 1998 I started travelling abroad, the possibility of seeing the real works of other artists on live opened something in my mind because until then, I was used to see a copy of their work. I also saw art works of different themes than those ones I could find in China (...)¨

M A D N E S S // 26 o c t 2011

MADness is a space in the independent scene of Shanghai where creatives inspire the audience during a limited time.

This event is organized monthly, it usually coincides with the last Wednesday of every month and it is hosted at Kin Café (65 Maoming Bei Rd near Yan'an Rd / 茂名北路65号, 近延安路).

Sanjay Kothary (whom initiated the whole thing), Claudia Colucci and myself are the curatorial team organizing the event.

This time we had 7 great speakers: Jin Shan (artist playing the bufoon), Yi Zhang (introducing her VJ box), Yiqing Zhang (futurogly researcher talking on China trends and future brands), Igor Peraza (Project Director at EMBT Architects presenting Chang Dai-Chien´s Museum in Sichuan) and the writers Linda Neil, Alma Brami and Cristina Rascón, who are doing a residency in town!

 

P A S T I M E

4 F R E E L A N C E R S !

Shanghai and its old French Concession has some of the most amazings spaces where you can install your little office and work. Here are two of my favourites.

Scultping in Time Café //@ Nanchang Road

1984 // @ Hunan Rd. This one is a Chinese book store where you can order drinks but by the way it looks, it could also be a cabinet of curiosities... Beside what its name suggests when thinking of Orwell´s omonymous novel, this place is inspiring and you can feel the good vibrations from the people working there. Not yet you can find many foreigners there! I am showing you some pictures.