Saturday August 1: Somerset House outdoor film: West Side Story

Somerset House* Summer Screen Outdoor

Art:
I organised a great night out at Somerset House in several steps (yes, you bet it was in my elaborate email to friends): first to start off with cocktail drinks at Bombay Sapphire Dusk Bar (www.somersethouse.org.uk/visual_arts/909.asp)on the river terrace against the sunset, then to grab some sandwiches and get a good seat at courtyard and have a picnic dinner in the summer breeze while shaking to the live music DJ is playing, then the amazing musical should start against the backdrop of historical Somerset House surrounding.

In reality, it was raining, and we couldn't get through to the Dusk Bar. So bought some healthy food take-away food from Leon nearby and settled on the Courtyard directly. However, me and my gang were still in high enthusiasm, influenced by the people surrounding us - apparently, I was the newbie to this kind of outdoor cultural event in British summer and didn't come completely prepared. People had proper picnic hampers with them, with wine glasses, picnic cloth, and some nice canapes! People also had huge umbrella to shield them from rain and wind. At that moment, I decided that I would make this outdoor cinema my annual cultural outdoor event and do it better next year!

The beauty of outdoor cinema is the informal setting and merging of natural landscape and the movie screen that brings you into a Neverland. Compared to an traditional public cinema experience in an constriained indoor environment, in an outdoor cinema, people are more expressive about their feelings and interact more actively in the viewing as well. This is especially true for a well-loved classic like West Side Story, whose verse and lines are all memorised by fans. There were plenty of spontaneous sing-alongs, finger snappings (whenver Jets were out), and rounds of applauses among audience throughout the screening. Discussions and chit-chatting with friends throughout the film are not frowned upon either and lying down on the ground is well allowed even by the British standard ;-)

Outdoor cinema is a proper night out with pre-cinema DJ playing in full swing, picnic calling and a very involved viewing experience, if you make it right. It's the cinematic magic at its best across all years against the eternal high summer night dark blue sky.

Almost forgot to mention, there are talks series before each screening as well called "Behind the Screen", which gives educational background to the film creation. This is really the forte of British cultural events - always attending to the educational need for audiences, be it young or adult. You learn till you die, as the Chinese saying goes.

Commercial:
I don't understand yet fully the commercial side of film copyright, but I do know Summerset House Summer Screen Festival is co-sponsored by Film4 Channel. Tickets are sold for about GBP12.95, which is higher than regular cinema tickets.

Due to the well-planned programmes and its popularity(www.somersethouse.org.uk/film/default.asp), almost all tickets are sold out beforehand. So I guess the season must be profit-making - profits would be divided between Somerset House and Film4? Wait a second, on Somerset House's page, two other partners listed are BAFTA and Shooting People ("the international networking organisation dedicated to the support of promotion of independent filmmaking"). Among the four organisations, SH would be responsible for the overall events organisation, scheduling, marketing and sales; Film4 copyright providing; BAFTA and SP probably help inviting VIP guests (Dev Patel and Freida Pinto arrived for Slumdog Millionaire) and organise the talks...

I would be interested in finding out more about the economies work here and will come back with an update!

China:
This type of event would have great appeal in China. In fact I do believe there are already outdoor cinema in China, but the unparallelled advantage Somerset House has is simply the stunning space. Most screenings in China I can recall are done in an open square in parks, so the scale and sense of belonging to an exclusive event is lacking. On the commercial side, I doubt if the Chinese events are making money out of it, but if better and stricter organisation is possible, they can definitely be turned into profit making as well.

Venue: I am scratching my head now - a venue big enough with enough historical appeal must exist in good old China. Now the question is, logistics and government approval... Hmmm I am very curious now - must find out when I visit China next time!

Saturday August 1: Hauser & Wirth - David Claerbout

Art:
On a rainy Saturday afternoon, I followed the advice of Time Out Last Chance (http://www.timeout.com/london/art/event/144465/david-claerbout) and went to see David Claerbout at Hauser & Wirth*.

I am most impressed by the film screening in the room upstairs. To call it a film might not do it enough justice - it's more like a moving oil canvas in the still life caught by a camera with a pair of acute human eyes. Every shot looks like a well framed picture. This singer takes forever to get ready to sing and this one single moment is magnified from all possible angles of audience, close-up shots of audience echoing the texture of American Presidents portraits. Against the backdrop of classical music the film almost has a unavoidable opera fatal sense attached to it; while the concept of time is stretched to its extreme. I sat in the dark, only light coming from the high window covered by curtain and the oil canvas in front of me, but my mind, my ears, and my eyes are stretched to their widest capturing the finest moment of cinematograhy and oil painting.

David Claerbout is challenging our predefined sense of time and perception.

Hauser & Wirth, 196a Piccadilly, London

Commercial:
* Hauser & Wirth: Gallery founded by Swiss art dealer Wirth in 1992, whose London branch opened in 2003. http://www.hauserwirth.com/

1) Profit-making?

How does the business side of showcasing such video installation works work for a commercial gallery? I don't expect the gallery to make money from selling the entire installation to any individual. As enticing and thought-provoking as the art work is, I wonder how often do galleries really take up projects like this? What constitutes galleries' decision making matrix? A balance between pure art and commercial value?

2) Educating audience

There was no introduction when you step in the gallery. You are immersed in this immense space with two side-by-side screens and typical high ceilings. You grab a headphone and start watching. Then you make an entrance and see a small info desk where there are sheets about the art works and David Claerbout.
I find this approach very liberating. Audience are left to explore the first piece of art works without any presumptions but are not thrown in complete darkness before they go on with the two other pieces (there are three video installations in total).

China:
Can I see Chinese audience going to events like this? Maybe.

What needs to be different:
Educating audience - I would set up an area introducting video installation as an art form as a mixed media. Doesn't matter if it's at the beginning of the show or the end, but Chinese audience would appreciate learning about the context, esp for such an untraditional form of art (well, maybe British audience too - but I guess the challenge to understand might stop a selected group of Chinese audience from fully engaging themselves). Again, using "Chinese audience" is too general a term. But it will be another blog entry before I can discuss different tiers of Chinese audience.

Venue? Would Chinese galleries be willing to take up an exhibition like this purely for art's sake? I honestly don't know.