Newsletter No. 361

No. 361, 19.8.2010 攝 氏三十多度，炎炎夏日，新亞書院合一亭竟出現一 頭北極熊。可是全球暖化，冰川剝落，導致牠隨水 漂流，南來落戶香江？ 答案是「是」，也是「否」。這件呼應自然的雕塑，是藝術系 導師莫一新在香港雕塑雙年展2010展出的作品。本屆以 「靜觀奇變」為名的雙年展，由中大藝術系、香港雕塑 學會和藝術公社合辦，展覽的「當代篇」和「中國篇」於 2010年5月30日至7月11日在新亞書院許氏文化館和戶外 空間舉行，展出香港雕塑家和廣州美術學院師生的作品。 莫一新的雕塑名為《紀念碑：生命再造》，他說：「我 很怕熱，所以對全球暖化問題的感受特別 深。」除了他的作品外，黃國才的《森林的 記憶》、甘志強的《野生》等都以人與自然 的關係為題。莫一新補充：「香港雕塑 家的社會意識愈來愈強，對環保議題 尤其關注，不少藝術家以此為創作 方向。」 新亞書院提供戶內外場地支持本屆 雙年展，凸顯了不少雕塑的特色。合 一亭的海天一色，作為北極熊寄居之 地，可說只此一家；圓形廣場的石階 也充分配合了藝術系校友王天仁的 作品《死蛇爛鱔》的形態。莫一新希 望日後有機會把整個中大校園都變成 展覽場地，他說：「我們可以繪製一張地 圖，列出中大的名勝和放置藝術品的地 點，讓觀眾一邊欣賞藝術品，一邊遊歷 校園。」 現在藝術系的雕塑課是選修科，每年六至 十名學生左右。莫一新解釋：「藝術系女生 比例較多，做雕塑過程並不輕鬆，燒焊時火花四濺，鑿木 時又木屑飛揚，所以選修的學生從來就不多。」 儘管雕塑不是熱門科目，但藝術系還是為香港培養了一代 又一代的雕塑家。這次參與「當代篇」的二十一位藝術家 中，就有一半是中大人，有畢業很久的藝術界中堅，有剛畢 業幾年的新進，還有楊承謙和董永康兩位在校學生。 A s the mercury rose to over 30 degrees Celsius in the summer, a polar bear appeared at the Pavilion of Harmony at the New Asia College campus. Did this visitor drift to Hong Kong on an iceberg that broke away from the Arctic glaciers? The answer is both yes and no. The polar bear is a nature-themed sculpture created by Mr. Mok Yat-san, an instructor at the Department of Fine Arts, for the Hong Kong Sculpture Biennial 2010. The biennial’s theme this year is ‘Echo’. In fact, from 30 May to 11 July 2010, New Asia College turned into a sculpture garden as the ‘Contemporary’ and ‘China’ sections of the biennial took place there, featuring works by sculptors from Hong Kong and the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. The biennial was jointly organized by the CUHK Department of Fine Arts, the Hong Kong Sculpture Society and the Artist Commune. Mr. Mok’s sculpture is named Monument: Reproduction of Vitalization . He said, ‘I can’t stand hot weather. That’s why I’m especially concerned about global warming.’ In addition to his work, Memory of the Forest by Kacey Wong, The Wild by Kum Chi-keung, etc., are all about the relationship between human beings and nature. Mr. Mok added, ‘Hong Kong sculptors are more and more socially conscious. They care a lot about environmental issues. Many artists create their works around this theme.’ New Asia College’s support for the biennial has been instrumental by providing indoor and outdoor settings most appropriate for the exhibits. What better place but the Pavilion of Harmony can one find to accommodate the polar bear? The steps of the New Asia Concourse also proved to be the best habitat for Dead Snake Moray created by Wong Tin-yan, alumnus of the Department of Fine Arts. Mr. Mok hopes that someday the event can expand to the whole CUHK campus. He said, ‘We can make a map, listing all the attractions at CUHK and venues for displaying art so visitors can combine campus tour with art appreciation.’ At present, sculpture courses are offered as electives by the Department of Fine Arts, with an enrolment of six to 10 students a year. Mr. Mok explained, ‘The department has a high proportion of female students. The process when making sculptures might be tough for them because you do welding, sparks fly off in all directions; when you do wood carving, you sent wood chips flying everywhere. So, we usually don’t have many students in sculpture classes.’ Though sculpture is not the most popular subject, the department continues to nurture generations of sculptors. Of the 21 artists taking part in the ‘Contemporary’ section, half were from CUHK. They included veteran artists who graduated a long time ago, upcoming young artists who graduated a few years ago, as well as students Yeung Shing-him Bernard and Tung Wing-hong. 中大變身雕塑園 CUHK Turns into Sculpture Garden 藝術系導師莫一新 Mr. Mok Yat-san, Instructor of the Department of Fine Arts 王天仁 《死蛇爛鱔》 Dead Snake Moray Wong Tin-yan 黃國才 《森林的記憶》 Memory of the Forest Kacey Wong 莫一新 《紀念碑：生命再造》 Monument: Reproduction of Vitalization Mok Yat-san