Newsletter No. 275

TH E VISUA L DETECTIV E H a v i n g s p e n t 1 2 y e a rs o n a r a n c h i n C o l o r a d o, s u r v i v e d b o a r d i n g s c h o o l i n L o n d o n , p u r s u e d s t u d i e s a t C o l o r a d o C o l l e g e , D e n v e r U n i v e r s i t y a n d Harvard University , the n travelle d 5 2 c o u n t r i e s a s a c a m e r a - w i e l d i n g a r t i s t a n d v o y e u r , L o s A n g e l e s - based architectura l photographe r and artis t Elizabet h Gil l Lu i i s no w in Hon g Kon g as artist-in-residenc e a t t h e C U HK D e p a r t m e n t o f Architecture. He r four-mont h visi t t o t h e U n i v e r s i t y ha s b e e n m a d e p o s s i b l e b y an A s i an C u l t u r a l C o u n c i l g r a n t , s u p p o r t e d b y t he Cy p r e ss G r o u p o f H o ng K o n g . Teaching and He r Chinese Project L u i teache s a course on 'Visua l Thinkin g and Design' in the department to student s w h o w i s h t o e x p a nd t h r o u g h photography thei r creativ e an d intuitiv e approach t o visualization, cognitio n an d de s i gn. Th e res t o f her s c hedu l e is s p r i n k l ed w i t h shootin g excursion s t o rural areas of south-easter n China. Thes e trips ar e part o f a decade-long project, i n collaboration w i th Prof. Ho Pua y Peng o f the department , t o documen t change s i n China's villag e culture . L u i mad e he r firs t shootin g t r i p t o China when she accompanied Ho an d hi s students o n thei r annua l f i e l d t r i p in December 1995 . Th e t w o h a d me t si x months earlie r wh e n L u i wa s invite d b y the Ho n g Kon g Institut e o f Architects t o stage her exhibitio n 'Close d Mondays' a t Exchange Square . In the following years , L u i ' s s hu t t e r ha s w i n k e d a t r emo te villages i n Xiamen , Hangzhou , Suzhou , Sh a o x i n g, Fu j i a n , a n d G u a n g d o n g , among othe r place s in China . Her image s capture aspect s of Chin a that ar e quickly disappearin g — no t w i t h n o s t a l g i a, b u t w i t h 'respec t f o r th e Chinese spiri t an d h o w Chines e cultur e has endure d an d adapted' . 'On e canno t be too romantic abou t the past. Things ar e b o u nd t o change . Globalizatio n starte d w i t h th e s c i en t i f i c r e v o l u t i o n , ' L u i remarked. 'Three's a Charm: Selecte d Works o n the Photograph y o f Traditiona l Chines e A r c h i t e c t u r e' w i l l b e f e a t u r e d i n an exhibition opening on 27th of this mont h at Uma Gallery , Wanchai . Elizabeth Gil l Lui , Artist-in-Residence, Department o f Architecture Philosophical Approach to Art L u i ' s ar t a n d lif e ar e i n f u s e d w i t h a lifelong interes t i n religio n an d culture , i n particular , indigenou s people s an d t he ir belie f systems . Sh e ma j o r e d in comparative religio n at Colorado Colleg e and ha s a graduate degre e i n America n Indian Studie s f r o m Denve r University . Her interes t in Asian culture began in th e early 1970 s w h e n sh e wa s expose d t o Buddhist teaching s a t Colorado College . I n he r senio r year , sh e spen t a semeste r i n Japa n o n a Ford Foundatio n gran t t o s t udy te a ceremony . 'T o me , th e idea s behind ar t ar e mor e importan t tha n th e art object . Th e i n f l uen c e of philosophy o n my wo rk ha s been lifelong and profound . I a m i n t e r e s t e d i n t he u n i v e r s a l n a t u r e o f s p i r i t u a l i ty i n al l cultures , s u c h a s t he s i m i l a r i t i e s b e t w e en n a t i v e Am e r i c a n religion an d Chines e religion , the connectio n thes e people s have w i t h th e earth, ' sai d Lui . She believes a s an artist tha t he r craft i s her spiritua l path . From Art to Photography A fin e arts minor a t Colorado, Lui's earl y wo r k s wer e dominate d b y lithograph y and engraving , bu t b y he r lat e 20s , sh e was usin g a lot o f photograph y i n print - making. Sh e discovered the power o f thi s m e d i um an d we n t o n t o d o graduat e w o r k i n architectura l p h o t o g r a p h y a t Harvard. Bu t in fact, Lui's lifelong passion i n thi s ar t f o r m ha d bee n k i nd l ed mu c h e a r l i e r , w h e t h e r c o n s c i o u s l y o r unconsciously. Eve r sinc e she was 10 , she has had her own camera , her firs t photo s b e i ng o f the Tu d o r b u i l d i n g s o f the boarding school she attended in London . L u i 's earl y seriou s p h o t o g r a p h i c works feature d abstract, geometric forms . This fascinatio n fo r th e aesthetic s of m a t h e m a t i c s l e d h e r t o e x p l o re architecture an d th e urba n environmen t as a source fo r creatin g images , an d thi s eventually progresse d t o a n interes t i n 'great' architecture . Museum as an Art Form in Itself 1 decide d t o d o w o r k o n 20t h centur y museums afte r a n ar t sho w I p ut o n i n Ch i c a g o .' T h a t wa s t h e 1980s . L u i subsequently receive d a grant f r o m th e G r a h am F o u n d a t i o n f o r A d v a n c e d Studies i n th e Fin e Art s fo r he r projec t 'Closed Mondays' (Nazrael i Press, 1999) . The project too k he r an d her daughte r t o different part s o f th e US , Europe , an d Japan; a book o n the wo rk wa s publishe d i n 1999 . Why museums ? 'Th e museum i s a symbol of culture , an iconic building o f 20th century architecture that is dedicate d to aesthetic s a s a n en d i n itself . Grea t a r c h i t e c ts ar e c omm i s s i o n e d t o do mu s e ums. A n d w h e n architect s ge t commissioned t o desig n a mu s e um a s opposed t o a bank , fo r example , the y make a n artistic statemen t o f themselve s as architects, ' L u i explained . Ov er th e cours e o f 10 years , sh e photographed ove r 7 0 world-renowne d museums o f differen t sizes , i n c l u d i n g museums dedicate d to a single artis t an d museums founde d b y a single collector . Together, L u i believes , the y represen t a cross-section o f th e signatur e style s o f famous 20t h century architects . Diplomatic Buildings as a Cultural Construct L u i ' s ne x t p r o j e c t t o o k th e mo t h e r - d a u g h t e r t e a m t o over 5 0 c oun t r i e s around th e w o r l d t o captur e America' s d i p l o m a t ic p r o p e r t i e s . ' D i p l o m a t i c b u i l d i n gs ar e a metapho r fo r nationa l identity. Th e United State s has a histor y of onl y 20 0 years. Diplomati c buildings , of a l l t h i n g s , h a v e b e e n o u r mo s t consistent f o r m o f cultura l export. ' Th e b o ok o n th e project , entitle d Building Diplomacy ( Co r ne l l Un i v e r s i t y Press , 2004), begin s w i t h th e c oun t r y ' s firs t embassy i n Tangier , Morocco — th e firs t c o u n t r y t o r e c o g n i ze th e U S a s an i n d e p e n d e nt n a t i o n 一 to its lates t embassies i n Nairobi, Kenya , an d Da r e s Salaam, Tanzania , built t o replac e thos e destroyed i n th e bombing s o f 1998 . Th e embassies f e a t u r e d i n the b o o k ar e reflections o f th e geopolitic s o f differen t eras. For example, those built afte r Worl d War I I wer e pun c t ua t e d b y a hope fo r peace an d democracy ; glas s wa s use d generously t o giv e th e buildings a n ope n and i n v i t i n g feel . Afte r th e b omb i n g o f t he U S Emb a s s y i n B e i r ut i n 1983, congressional laws were passed in favou r of more secure embassies. N ow o f course , ma n y believ e tha t on e canno t b e to o v i g i l an t . ' C i v i l i an s an d d i p l oma t s ar e c u r r e n t ly th e targe t o f t e r r o r i sm, s o embassies need to be secured. There hav e been mo r e ambassador s k i l l e d t h a n generals.' As a n a r t i s t a n d a p a c i f i s t, L u i believes tha t diplomac y i s something al l countries shoul d be seriously committe d to financially , politically , an d culturally , and hope s tha t he r boo k w i l l b e a ste p towards revitalizing diplomacy in the 21st century. Lui lives in Los Angeles. America stil l remains her favourite country of residence, w i t h th e Sout h o f Franc e a close second . She has her own production company fo r d o c ume n t a ry f i l m s a n d p u b l i s h i n g . A m o n g othe r things , i t helps y o u n g architects an d artist s t o ge t published . Wh en he r artisti c commitment s d o no t send he r trottin g aroun d th e globe , sh e practises Taich i and dreams of having he r own organi c far m and vineyard . Piera Chen 中大通訊 CUHK NEWSLETTER 網 址 website http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/iso/ 1.本刊逢四日及十九日出版。 2. 來函或投稿請寄沙田香港中文大學資訊處《中大通訊》編輯部（電 話 2609 8584/2609 8681 ，傳真 2603 6864， 電 郵 pub2@uab.msmail. cuhk.edu.hk) 。 3. 投稿者須附真實姓名、地址及聯絡電話，文章則可用筆名發表。 4. 編輯有權刪改及決定是否刊登來稿，不欲稿件被刪者請預先聲 明。 5. 本刊所載文章只反映作者之觀點和意見，並不代表校方或本刊立 場。 6. 所有內容未經編者書面准許，不得轉載。 7. 本刊每期發行三千九百份，免費供校內教職員索閱，部分郵寄本 地教育機構及與大學有關人士。私人索閱，請致函本刊查詢。 1. The Newsletter is published on the 4th and 19th of each month. 2. A l l contributions and suggestions should be sent t o the Editor, CUHK Newsletter, Information Services Office, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (tel. 2609 8584/2609 8681; fax. 2603 6864; e-mail pub2@uab.msmail.cuhk . edu.hk) . 3. Contributions should bear the writer's name and contact telephone number, and may be published under pseudonyms. No anonymous letters will be published. 4. The Editor reserves the right to reject contributions and to edit all articles without notice for reasons of clarity, length, or grammar. Those who do not want to have their articles amended should indicate clearly in writing. 5. The views expressed in the CUHK Newsletter are those of the authors, and are not necessarily those of the University or the Editor. 6. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced without the written consent of the Editor. 7. This publication has a circulation of 3,900 and is primarily intended for staff members of CUHK. Copies are also sent to local educational institutions and individuals associated with the University. Those who wish to be included on the mailing list please contact the Newsletter direct. 截 稿 日 期 Deadlines for Contributions 期數 Issue no. 出版日期 Issue date 截稿日期 Deadline for contributions 276 4.4.2006 21.3.2006 111 19.4.2006 2.4.2006 278 4.5.2006 19.4.2006 279 19.5.2006 4.5.2006 280 4.6.2006 30.5.2006 281 19.6.2006 5.6.2006 香港中文大學資訊處出版 高級主任：梁素珍 編輯：左冠輝 助理編輯：陳思祥 陳偉珠 蔡世彬（執行）製作：梅潔媚 Published by the Information Services Office, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Director: Conita S.C. Leung Editor: Chor Koon Fai Assistant Editors: Florence Chan, Piera Chen, Lawrence Choi (Executive) Graphic Designer: May Mui 印刷：新輝印務有限公司 Printing: Sunshine Press Ltd. 4 No. 275 19t h March 200 6