Blue sponges

What do sponges remind you of? Scrubbing?
How about using sponges to create your own artwork?
French artist Yves Klein (1928-1962) made many sponge sculptures, and the sponges were impregnated with blue pigment during the process. 

海綿會讓你聯想到什麼？
試過把海綿做成藝術品嗎？

法國藝術家伊夫•克萊因(1928-1962)把海綿變成雕塑。

Yves Klein and blue sponges 

伊夫•克萊因和藍海綿雕塑

This blue pigment is named International Klein Blue (IKB).

伊夫•克萊因把海綿染成藍色。這種顏料稱為：克萊因藍

Chinese "Shui diao ge tou" + Irish "Down by the Salley Gardens"

Have you ever been asked to memorize a poem in school?

It is easy to remember a poem if you could attach a melody to the poem and sing it. Here are two good examples: 

Chinese "Shui diao ge tou" from Asia and Irish "Down by the Salley Gardens" in the western culture.

學生要背詩詞，如果每首詩詞都能變成歌曲，有助於記憶，該有多好！

兩個很棒的例子：

中國的詩《水調歌頭•丙辰中秋》北宋，蘇軾/蘇東坡(1037-1101)

愛爾蘭的詩《走在莎莉花園》威廉•巴特勒•葉芝/葉慈(1865-1939)

《水調歌頭•丙辰中秋》北宋，蘇軾/蘇東坡(1037-1101)

明月幾時有？把酒問青天。不知天上宮闕，今夕是何年。我欲乘風歸去，又恐瓊樓玉宇，高處不勝寒。起舞弄清影，何似在人間。

轉朱閣，低綺戶，照無眠。不應有恨，何事長向別時圓？人有悲歡離合，月有陰晴圓缺，此事古難全。但願人長久，千里共嬋娟。

When Will The Moon Be Clear And Bright

Written by Su Shi (1037-1101)

When will the moon be clear and bright?

With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky

what season it would be up the heaven for tonight.

Oh Moon, how I wish to get closer

By riding on the breeze.

Yet I fear your crystal and jade chateau,

Are much too high and cold.

So, let me just dance here with my moonlight shadow.

Rounds and rounds, my red mansion, till you shine on my silk pillow,

Sleepless, but bearing no regrets

Blame not the full moon when people has to apart

Sorrow or joy, be near or far,

Things happen like that, and we still believe in fate.

Toast to you, we are all be blessed

Though distant away, we look at the same moon

And in that way, we have never been apart.

Down by the Salley Gardens

Written by William Butler Yeats ( 1865-1939 )

Down by the salley gardens my love and I did meet;

She passed the salley gardens with little snow-white feet.

She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree;

But I, being young and foolish, with her did not agree.

In a field by the river my love and I did stand,

And on my leaning shoulder she lay her snow-white hand.

She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs;

But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.

《走在莎莉花園》

作者：威廉•巴特勒•葉芝/葉慈 (愛爾蘭詩人，1865-1939 )

在莎莉花園深處，吾愛與我曾經相遇。

她穿越莎莉花園，以雪白的小腳。

她囑咐我要愛得輕鬆，當新葉在枝椏萌芽。

但我當年年幼無知，不予輕率苟同。

在河邊的田野，吾愛與我曾經駐足。

她依靠在我的肩膀，以雪白的小手。

她囑咐我要活得輕鬆，當青草在堤岸滋長。

但我當年年幼無知，而今熱淚盈眶。

Eating fish balls or sitting on it?

Have you ever sat in a fish ball chair?

Fish balls actually are common and popular food in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and so on. Yet a Singaporean designer Jason Goh created an interesting chair called Moyee Chair, inspired by childhood memories. Jason Goh said, "I had a habit of playing with my food when I was young, especially the fish balls." His grandmother used to tell him, "If you keep messing with them, the fish balls will turn into a big hairy monster and eat you up."

你可能吃過魚丸(魚旦)，但你有坐過魚丸椅子嗎？
新加坡設計師Jason Goh製造一個有趣的魚丸怪物椅，靈感來自於童年的回憶：因為小時候愛玩食物，祖母說魚丸會變成怪物把他吃掉。

Fish balls

魚丸/魚旦

Image from 21food

Here is Jason's comics depicting his childhood memories of fish ball.
魚丸椅的漫畫故事

Then, take a look at the funny chair "Moyee".
魚丸怪物椅

Image from Jason Goh

Konstantin Korovin ( Константи́н Коро́вин ): Russian Impressionist painter

We may often see beautiful night scene photos but why do we rarely see night scene paintings?

1. The light bulb was invented in the early 19th century. 

2. It is difficult to paint night scene in oil paints.

But Russian Impressionist painter Konstantin Korovin(1861-1939) had a great talent in painting Paris at night. Konstantin Korovin was born in Moscow. He was not only a painter but also a writer and stage designer. 

為什麼經常看見捕捉夜景的照片，卻很少看到描繪夜景的繪畫？

由於1.電燈的發明在19世紀初。2. 夜景畫很難畫。

然而，俄羅斯印象派畫家康斯坦丁•柯羅文(1861-1939)卻擅長畫夜景，特別是巴黎的夜晚。康斯坦丁•柯羅文出生在莫斯科，身兼多種身分：畫家、作家、舞台設計師。


Boulevards of Paris / Les grands boulevards à Paris

巴黎大道

Portrait of Konstantin Korovin 

Painter: Valentin Serov

康斯坦丁•柯羅文的肖像畫

畫家：瓦倫丁•謝羅夫

Moreover, his paintings are excellent examples of the mastering of color. Take a look at his choice of colors.

康斯坦丁•柯羅文的畫作，他的色彩運用傑出，一起來學習他使用的配色。

Chinese calligraphy: How do you feel if everyone can read your text message?

How do you feel if everyone can read your text message?

Many Chinese calligraphy wordbooks actually are originated from letters that the ancients scholars sent to friends and family.

想像一下，你傳送的簡訊被公開，你將會有什麼反應？
中國書法臨摹的字帖，許多都是古代文人寄給家人朋友的書信。不曉得他們知不知道自己的私人信件會被公開，內容讓人傳誦，字體讓人模仿？

Environmental artist: Andy Goldsworthy

Are you eco-friendly? Looking for a simple eco-friendly way?

Andy Goldsworthy (British, 1956- ) is an environmental artist. He always makes the best use of natural resources for creating natural artworks, those natural materials include stones, snow, branches, etc. Even though his works cannot be saved, photos will show that we can appreciate Goldsworthy's amazing artworks.

Let's get a special treat from Andy Goldsworthy’s artworks.

如何擁抱綠色生活？

英國的大地藝術家Andy Goldsworthy(1956-)，「真正」運用大自然創作藝術。總是拾起當地的樹枝、樹葉、雪、石頭等，就地取材進行創作。作品全都保留在原地，雖然無法保存，卻充滿環保意識。來欣賞Andy Goldsworthy作品的影像記錄。

Rowan leaves laid around a hole.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park. 25 October 1987

Carefully broken pebbles scratched white with another stone. 

St. Abbs, Scotland. 1 June 1985
鵝卵石與石頭

Icicle Star, joined with saliva.

冰柱星

Andy Goldsworthy
藝術家本人

The Chinese invented golf?

The Chinese invented golf?

The painting of Emperor Xuande playing Golf in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) appears to depict a game called Chuiwan, which looks similar to modern-day golf. An ancient account of the sport, written during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), stated the Chinese were playing golf as early as the 10th century. It seems that the Chinese already took on golf over one thousand years ago.

中國人發明高爾夫球？
這幅繪畫，描述明朝皇帝明宣宗正在打中國古代的高爾球，當時稱作：捶丸。遊戲規則是運用10支不同的球杆（像是現代高爾夫球杆）敲擊地面的小白球，當時的球杆都鑲有黃金、玉、寶石的裝飾。目前最早出現捶丸的記載在中國南唐時期（西元943年），距今1000多年了。

St Andrews Links, Scotland, is regarded as the "home of golf".

Image from St Andrews Links, Scotland

蘇格蘭的聖安德魯斯被稱為：高爾夫故鄉