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POPSBeijing National Stadium (bird's nest) designer didn't get an invitation to the Opening Ceremony ?!!
Q: You’ve coined the phrase, “pretend smile,” as a label for China’s Olympic effort. Why? Ai: I did say it’s a “pretend smile.” I was questioning whether it’s possible for a society that doesn’t have democracy to excite the joys and celebrations of its people. Q: What disappoints you about China’s Olympic effort? Ai: The biggest disappointment is that China has fallen short of its promises, which is, “One World One Dream,” or to show the world a “New China, New Beijing, New Olympics.” I doubt there’s anything new here. What we’re seeing are the deep-rooted lack of courage and confidence, and the want for real happiness and civil participation. Instead, we see more of inept management and a blind sense of self-defense. Q: How can China benefit from the Olympics? Ai: Maybe China and its people will further realize that today’s world cannot be divided. China has common political, cultural and economic interests with the rest of the world. The only way for it to produce wonders is
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POPSAre Ancient Chinese Characters Lost in Computers (?!!) Wang's father, a professor, passed the love of characters on to him. But Wang grew up under Mao, when workers were glorified and scholars were considered bourgeois - so Wang spent his life as a repairman. Now, he's back to his first love. He gives free calligraphy lessons to any passer-by who's interested. Wang: "These people who always use computers, their handwriting is sloppy, and they even forget which strokes go where." Liu: "Computers can also help us understand our culture. For instance, we can read traditional Chinese literature online, and get whatever information we want about Chinese history. I don't think handwriting Chinese characters is the only way to value our culture."
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POPS"invisible man" chinese artist Liu Bolin camouflage Liu says: Chameleon has the unique property of changing hues to match the color of the surroundings for self-protection. Rattlesnake can bury most of the body in sand soil. This can not only protect itself but also have a better access to food. There are also many animals, such as gecko, beetle etc., which have learnt to deal with the environment and the enemy in the longtime fight of life and death. In order to survive, good concealment has become the most critical factor.
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POPSDan - female impersonators in Chinese opera the lack of actresses gave rise to female impersonators. They dominated the stage and were the big stars of Beijing opera, especially between the 1920’s and the 1940’s. divisions among Dan roles: Qingyi is the faithful wife or devoted daughter; Huadan is the wily and seductive female; Wudan is skilled in martial arts; Caidan is the comedian; Laodan is the old woman.
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POPSChristian Dior & Chinese artists : 1st Haute Couture Exhibition On first seeing the masterpieces by Dior and Galliano on show, I was afraid the whole exhibition was going to be unfair to the Chinese artists, who wouldn't stand a chance when placed beside these two designers of genius. But, amazingly, they not only held their own but, with only a few exceptions, responded to the challenge with works of art that more than measured up to the formidable visual competition. And their art strikes me as representative of the kind of work being done in contemporary China. Just as in the 18th and 19th centuries Chinese artists developed an export market for their porcelain by adapting their designs to accommodate Western taste, so modern Chinese artists respond to Western design not by challenging or dismissing it, but by making it their own.
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POPSBoutique Hotel by the Great Wall "Modern-day China - its architecture, its quickened cultural pulse - is defined by such mixed messages, a sign that the country's ambition to create a unique capitalism "with Chinese characteristics" may be realised. One part bird's nest, to one part brave new world."
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POPS"World needs a vacation from USA" He called for immediate technology transfer from the West to the Third World, to allow development based on clean technology — stressing the need to “reject intellectual property rights”. funds should not be distributed through the World Bank, which was trying to regain legitimacy by portraying itself as a “climate bank” while continuing to push fossil-fuel-driven development. Confronting global poverty and climate change means confronting US power. “I don’t think the world needs US leadership”, he said. “They should be more humble.” Whether the US achieves its goals “is where we, as civil society come in”, Bello said, suggesting that, by making intervention costly for the US, civil society could encourage a “new US isolationism”. The struggle is, he stressed, global. “The world needs a vacation from the messaianism of the US … A few decades of a self-absorbed US would be very good for the world.”
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POPSSYNTHETIC TIMES – Media Art China 2008 "Works in the exhibition explore the trajectory of unruly visions from the desire to transcend the corporal to the construction of synthetic worlds, from telematic dreaming to transgenic hybrids, challenging the very notion of what we know as reality and what is perceived as being human."
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POPSFrom Jenin to Beijing "It's killing me," she continued. "Do you know how the pool in Beijing will look to me after swimming in such a tiny pool once a month? Like an ocean. And the PA doesn't care, as long as I'm there representing Palestine. They won't even get me special permits from the Israelis to go from Jenin to Jerusalem, to practice in a long pool, as if it's solely my problem."
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