Category Archives: Mind Philosophy 艺门

Sotherby’s Hammering It Hard 猛力下锤

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Price Over The Moon 欣喜月亮

A blue and white moonflask, Ming Dynasty from the Yongle period inspired in shape and decoration by Middle Eastern models was hammered for a cool USD12.7 million. Although the hammered price exceeded a lot from the high estimatation of USD4.5 million, the complex geometric design had no precedent in Chinese art making this piece very unusual and rare.
明朝永乐年间的蓝与白“抱月瓶”,造型和设计受到中东影响,很酷地被敲定价格1270万美元。虽然敲定价格比估计的450万美元高出很多,但是其复杂的几何设计,在中国艺术创作中史无前例,显得不寻常及罕见。

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Sold for a Song 宋朝买卖
An outstanding ‘Guan’ octagonal vase from the Southern Song Dynasty was sold for USD14.6 million to the Long Museum in Shanghai, China. This is the third highest price for any Song ceramics at auction.

中国上海龙美术馆以1460万美元买下了南宋官窑八角花瓶,这是拍卖会上第三高价的宋朝陶瓷。

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Sealed and Sold 印玺出售
Bearing the inscription “Revere Heaven and Serve thy People”, this most powerful seal carved for the Kangxi Emperor was sealed during auction with an impressive sales price of USD11.9 million. This result is also a world record for a Kangxi imperial seal in auction.
康熙皇帝的“敬天勤民”玺,拍出惊人的1190万美元,这也是康熙皇帝印玺的世界拍卖纪录。

 

Shirley Temple’s… Blue Diamond Ring… Pass! 秀兰邓波的蓝钻戒…
Highly anticipated Shirley Temple’s 9.54-carat ‘Fancy Deep Blue’ diamond ring was failed to be sold in Sotheby’s recent auction in New York. The ring was bought by the actress’s father in 1940 around the time of her 12th birthday and was estimated to worth up to USD35,000,000. The bid started at USD19,000,000 and went quiet at USD22,000,000 that was below the reserve price. The auction house later issued a formal statement saying that it is confident to find a buyer for this magnificent piece.
备受瞩目的秀兰邓波9.54克拉“花式深蓝”钻戒未能在苏富比最近于纽约的拍卖会脱售,这枚戒指是由女明星秀兰邓波的父亲在1940年买给她的12岁生日礼物,估价高达3500万美元。投标从1900万美元开始,并于2200万美元静止下来,低于底价。苏富比拍卖行随后发表正式声明,表示有信心找到这个高贵精品的买家。

Smiling & Crying Countries

Switzerland used to be the world’s happiest country according to United Nation World Happiness Report, but in the latest 2016 report, Denmark has again topped the happy list. The ranking was primarily based on six key categories, namely a nation’s gross domestic product per capita, social support, healthy-life expectancy, personal freedom, charitable giving and perceive corruption with 157 countries being evaluated.

The report found that inequality strongly contributed to unhappiness. Hence, rich countries such as United States, where rising contrast in health, wealth and income have created political discontent. However the survey also showed that countries like Japan, Ireland and Iceland were able to maintain their happiness levels despite external shocks such as the 2011 earthquake and the post 2007 financial crisis, mainly because of its strong social support and solidarity.

The western countries with strong social society nets filled the top spots with Denmark leading followed by Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden. On the other hand, the war-torn countries such as Syria, Togo, Benin, Guinea, Liberia, Tanzania, Afghanistan, Rwanda and Madagascar were the least happy country with Burundi finishing last. Many of these nations are politically unstable mostly due to war and conflict. Not to mention already impoverished and disease-stricken.

Other powerful countries such as Russia is ranked 56, China 83 and India 118. Smaller South East Asian countries such as Singapore is at 22, Thailand 33 and Malaysia 47 respectively.

This survey was conducted between 2013 and 2015. A lot have changed since, especially when it comes to issues of corruptions and terrorism but overall still a good indicator.

根据联合国世界的幸福感调查报告,瑞士曾是世界上最幸福的国家,但在最新2016年的报告中,丹麦却再次高居榜首。这项排名是基于6项关键类别,列表中的国家人均生产总值(GDP)、社会支援、健康寿命、个人自由,慈善捐赠和贪腐感知,以157个国家状况进行评估。

该报告发现,社会的不平等摧毁了幸福感。因此,即使富裕国家如美国,由于在健康,财富和收入的对比差距也酿成政治不满。而日本,爱尔兰和冰岛等国家尽管受到外部冲击,如2011年大地震和2007年后金融危机,依旧能够维持幸福水平,这是因为强大社会支持和声援的基础。

拥有坚固社会支援网络,幸福感领先的西方国家依次是瑞士、冰岛、挪威、芬兰、加拿大、荷兰、新西兰,澳大利亚,瑞典与丹麦。而叙利亚、多哥、贝宁、几内亚、利比里亚、坦桑尼亚、阿富汗,卢旺达,马达加斯与布隆迪这些饱受战争蹂躏的国家,却是最不幸福的国家,上述国家常年战争和政局冲突,加上受到贫困和疾病缠绕。

至于其他强大的国家,如俄罗斯排名56位,中国83和印度118。至于较小的东南亚国家,如新加坡是22位,泰国33和马来西亚分别47。

这项在2013与2015年间进行的调查,虽然已产生变化,尤其涉及贪腐课题与恐怖主义,但总体还算是最佳指标。

Clash of the Titans 泰坦之战

aww-masthead.jpgTwo very different characters who came from two different centuries and both very influential art figures in the world art and social scenes. No one in their wildest dream in the art circle would have imagined to have the opportunity to witness a joint exhibition of Andy Warhol and Ai Wei Wei until National Gallery Victoria in Melbourne Australia presented more than 300 works, including major new commissions, immersive installations and a wide representation of paintings, sculptures, film, photography, publications and social media.

A one of its kind exhibition that has successfully collaborated the artist, Andy Warhol that symbolised the 20th century modernity and the ‘American century’ and on the other hand having the ‘Chinese century’ artist from the 21st century, Ai Wei Wei.

Among the exhibits, Ai Wei Wei’s installation of 1500 bicycles from his Forever Bicycles series is definitely one that cannot be missed by any visitors as the two wheelers standing tall with a powerful demand for attention upon entering the National Gallery of Victoria.

DSCF2441_final.jpgBlossom – 2015, Porcelain

The Blossom 2015 is another of Ai’s installation depicting a large bed of thousands of delicate, intricately designed white porcelain flowers. Interesting enough is that the only exhibits that both artists had in similarities is the Andy Warhol’s Absolut Vodka created in 1985 and Ai Wei Wei’s Tang Dynasty Courtesan in Bottle (Absolute Kurant) 1994. The former having the liquor bottle design silkscreened into typical Warhol’s presentation whereas the latter used the bottle as a representation of modernity of Chinese being influenced by the Western culture whilst reminding the public of Chinese cultural artefact that survived China’s history.

DSCF2434.jpgThe original bottles that Warhol designed for the Absolut Warhol campaign in 1986

DSCF2438Clay sculpture dating from the  Song dynasty (960 – 1279) in glass Johnnie Walker Red Label bottle.

谁从两个不同的世纪,世界艺术与社会的场景在这两个非常有影响力的人物艺术来到两个非常不同的字符。没有人在艺术圈他们最疯狂的梦想会想到能有机会亲眼目睹联合展出安迪·沃霍尔和艾未未,直到国家美术馆维多利亚州墨尔本的澳大利亚提交的超过300件作品,其中包括主要的新佣金,身临其境的装置和绘画,雕塑,电影,摄影,出版和社交媒体广泛的代表性。

同类展览的一个成功合作的艺术家,安迪·沃霍尔象征着20世纪的现代性和“美国世纪”以及具有21世纪,艾未未的“中国世纪”艺术家另一方面。

DSCF2407_fianl.jpgAndy Warhol’s screen prints from his Campbell’s Soup II series (1969), with Ai Weiwei’s Coloured Vases (2015)

展品中,从他永远自行车系列艾未未的安装1500自行车绝对是一个不能被任何游客的两轮车在进入维多利亚国家美术馆矗立了强大的需求为关注错过。

在2015年花是另一种爱的安装描绘了一张大床十万细腻,错综复杂的设计白瓷花。足够有趣的是,这两个艺术家们在相似的唯一展品是在1985年,艾未未的唐代名妓的瓶(绝对Kurant)1994年前者具有酒瓶设计丝网印刷成典型的沃霍尔的表现,而安迪·沃霍尔的绝对伏特加创建后者用酒瓶由西方文化的影响,同时提醒中国文化假象的幸存中国历史上中国公众的现代性的表示。

DSCF2386_final.jpgForever Bicycles – 2015, Stainless steel bicycle frames