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).
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
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.
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？
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.
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.
If you think it is boring,
please think again! You might get to hear classical music more than you
thought. Classical music often appears in movies and TV commercials. Are you
familiar with Mozart's music "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade No. 13 for
strings in G major)" ? Well…perhaps you have never heard of that title,
but quite likely you have heard the melody before. Now let's
listen to this popular serenade.
Happy 201st Anniversary to the Brothers Grimm's Fairy Tales! Have you read the Grimm's Fairy Tales in your childhood? Brothers Grimm wrote many popular stories, including Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and many more! Image from Franz Jüttner (1865–1925) 格林童話問世201周年快樂! 小時候有聽過童話故事灰姑娘、糖果屋、小紅帽、長髮公主、睡美人、白雪公主嗎？全部是格林兄弟的創作。
The first volume of Grimm's Fairy Tales(1812)
1812年出版的格林童話
Brothers Grimm： Wilhelm Grimm(left) and Jacob Grimm (right)
In his twenties, Beethoven began to lose his hearing. When the Ninth Symphony was first premiered in 1824 (age 54), it was a tremendous success. However, Beethoven couldn't hear the resounding applause and cheering from the audience for he was utterly deaf. Ode to Joy is the well-known finale of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. 貝多芬晚年失去聽覺，第9號交響曲首演結束後，他全然不知這首曲子獲得極大的成功，因為他已經完全聽不見舞台下熱烈的掌聲和歡呼。第9號交響曲長達一小時，其中的《歡樂頌》廣為流傳。
The Red Vineyard, painted in 1888. Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh sold one and only one painting in his lifetime. 荷蘭畫家梵高(又稱：梵谷)，生前只賣出一幅畫。 畫名:紅葡萄園 時間：1888
American songwriter Don McLean wrote a song "Vincent" in 1971. This beautiful song describes Vincent Van Gogh's deeply tormented life and his painting works. The first thing you notice, when you listen to this song, may be its opening line "Starry starry night" which is actually one of Van Gogh's most well known works. 1971年，美國作曲家唐•麥克林寫了一首歌《Vincent》紀念梵高(又稱：梵谷)，Vincent是梵高的名字。歌詞描述梵高的繪畫作品和飽受折磨的人生。有沒有發現歌詞開頭starry starry night(星夜)是梵高著名的作品？
Starry Night, Vincent van Gogh's famous painting, painted in 1889. 梵高的著名畫作：星夜 時間：1889
Dad: What is China and what is Japan? Son: Both are Asian countries. Dad: Bingo! But "China" and "Japan" carry different meanings in the art field.
china = Chinese porcelain japan = Japanese lacquer 爸爸：中國和日本的英文怎麼說？ 兒子：China and Japan. 爸爸：答對了。但是，英文中的China和Japan還有另外的解釋，china代表中國瓷器；japan代表日本漆器。
What happened that night? Night Watch is one of the most famous paintings by Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn(1606-1669). However, the name of the painting is misunderstanding to the people. Many people mistakenly think the scene is in the night due to the painting itself being darkened with age and changed in color. In fact, it depicted a daytime scene. 《夜巡》這幅名畫，發生了什麼事？為什麼夜晚要集合軍隊？ 實際上，荷蘭畫家林布蘭(倫勃朗)描繪的是白天的景像。 由於，這幅畫的顏色隨著環境和時間變化，導致光線和色彩變暗，讓後人誤以為是夜晚，因此取名為《夜巡》。
New look! Night Watch looks like a day scene after revamping. The painting has been on display in Netherlands since 2011. 《夜巡》經過修復後的新面貌，場景終於變為白天，2011年起在荷蘭展出。
How to find creative inspiration? Let's go for a walk! Beethoven liked to take long walks in a forest, and furthermore, he composed lots of music while walking through the Viennese forest. Let's listen to Beethoven Symphony No.6, known as the Pastoral Symphony, one of Beethoven most famous pieces. Ludwig van Beethoven(1770-1827) 如何找尋創作靈感呢？ 散步是一個好方法。
Why the ancient Chinese drink but not get drunk? Distilled alcoholic beverages first appeared in Southern Song Dynasty (12th and 13th century). Before this, the ancient Chinese drank a very low alcoholic homemade beverage- called rice wine. As we read the ancient Chinese poetry and stories, we are gaining an even deeper understanding of the amazing capability of ancient Chinese.
當今品酒的文化是淺酌細品，但是中國古代有許多詩詞形容千杯不醉，難道中國人的酒量特別好嗎？真相是北宋以前喝的是發酵酒，這類低酒精的飲品像是米酒、水果酒都能自家釀造，現今中國內陸、韓國仍保有這類酒品。直到南宋以後才出現高濃度酒精的蒸餾酒。
What do you like to order in a Chinese restaurant or in Chinatown? Fried spring rolls! A spring roll is one of street food in Asia nowadays, but it was a Chinese Royal dish in Qing Dynasty (17th-20th century).
春捲是亞洲的傳統小吃，看似平凡的春捲，竟然是清朝滿漢全席裡的宮廷佳餚。奇妙的是當今在北美洲、歐洲的亞洲餐館，吃到炸春捲的機率遠遠高過在亞洲本土的傳統餐廳。
Women wear high heels, should men also wear high heels? The first high heels were designed for horse riders. Because Louis XIV, King of France, was proud of his shapely legs, he fell in love with high heels and wore them. At that time, the high heel shoes became high fashion.
美麗的高跟鞋經常令許多女生為之瘋狂，為什麼現在的男人不穿高跟鞋呢？西方的高跟鞋早期被設計給男性騎士穿的，後來法國路易十四國王熱於展示自己的美腿，把穿高跟鞋的潮流發揚光大。
Look! Why Mona Lisa does not have eyebrows? Fashion in Mona Lisa's time was having a wide forehead. In order to achieve a fashionably high forehead, women might shave off eyebrows.
仔細瞧 蒙娜麗莎的臉上沒有眉毛，那個時候女性流行的美是擁有寬闊的額頭，當時的女人大多會把眉毛剃光，讓自己的額頭變大。
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