blog 17 - Second Eye Essay draft

The Hong Kong Museum of Art holds many beautiful pieces. Although it is not as large as some famous museums around the world, boasting only four floors of modest sized galleries, it is the most improtant museum in Hong Kong and located along the Victoria Harbor, a famous downtown location. Historical artifacts are kept on the first floor. There are delicate bone combs and ornate hair pieces which were worn by both men and women hundreds of years ago to display their wealth. These items are carved from precious sources like Jade and ivory. Some battle regalia are also preserved there; models from different eras show mild improvement in protection.

Photography is not allowed in the museum, perhaps because the flash will damage the items. Or perhaps this rule comes from a sense of respect for this ancient world, so treasured by its people. History is important; Chinese must know it well. It is a measure of a man’s honor as well as intelligence to be able to discuss his history. If you don’t know the past, how can you say you know your country today? Without an understanding of your country how can you say you love it?

            In the floors above, the ancient world of China is preserved in paintings. The strokes of the quill are delicate, yet forceful. The swish brush along parchment fills the quiet gallery. Large canvases show glimmers of a simpler lifestyle, recalling the days when families depended on their rice fields for provision. Other pieces are ornate scrolls, as long as 20 feet, decorated with ornate calligraphy. Calligraphy is a prized skill in China.  

One can sense the time the artist spent gazing at the world around him, desiring to transmit that to permanence. The pictures never reflect our world directly, but show another, hidden side to nature. Each exhibit includes a description of the artist. It is important to note his honorable background and training from a prestigious master, to add value to his work. A person does not exist independent of his own history, but is created, layer by layer, like a painting.

            There is a section of modern art on the second floor. It includes representations from a recently famous Chinese artist who paints walls to create 3 dimensional scenes. The scenes are of urban street life in Hong Kong as it may have appeared in the 70s and 80s. The stores and houses are fit tightly together; Hong Kong is a small, dense place. A small storefront is depicted, a red iron table painted in front does not fit inside the tiny space, and is instead set out on the sidewalk for customers. Below, in the real streets, things are not as rustic. Hong Kong’s streets today are shiny, polished, organized. They are always full, packed with its 7 million inhabitants, rushing from work to school  and to work again. They are proud to call Hong Kong their home and distinguish themselves from the “mainlanders” of China. These are considered dirty and unclassed.

The gift shop is filled with plenty of interesting things. Of course everything is very expensive, as in the rest of Hong Kong. The prices in the megamalls run in the hundreds and thousands of US dollars. The business people and other professionals must show off their wealth by displaying it. They should dress their families well and drive classy cars. The gift shop, however, is geared toward foreigners with stylized copies of the paintings and curious oddities that would not appeal to most locals. Some items could be bought at a street market for much less money, but the average tourist might not know that.

There are four floors in the museum to which shiny escalators run. Escalators run through most of Hong Kong, even in some of the streets.  Hong Kong island and its associated peninsulas are mountainous. Although it is one of the most populated cities in the world, about 70 percent of its total landmass is considered undeveloped parkland.

The entire southern face of the museum faces the Victoria harbor. The wide waterway runs directly through the urban region of Hong Kong and enabled easy access for shipping throughout history. Thus, it developed into a powerful trade center in the eastern hemisphere.

Through the window, boats designed like traditional “junks” carry tourists to and fro. Across the water epic buildings line the banks on ground reclaimed from the waters. They feature cutting edge architecture. Each dazzles in urban beauty, displaying the wealth and high class of the people of Hong Kong.

Just outside the museum the Avenue of Stars lines the waterway. Based on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the promenade honors celebrities who have gone forward to make the Chinese people proud and honored among the rest of the world. Their names are carved into concrete blocks of the walkway with their handprints pressed gently beside as if to say “this is my home, China.” Some of the names are unrecogniza ble to the younger generation in Hong Kong. Others are very familiar, especially to tourists, such as Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee.

On Saturday nights the museum itself becomes a piece of art from the outside. A light show decorates the entire harbor, each of the buildings on the northern shore coordinating its patterns with flashes in time to music. The museum responds to its sisters across the water by projecting colors along its own flank and even into the night sky. The harbor is full of the hearts of its people. They rejoice in the beauty, pointing out the lights in the sky, as if wishing for a star to come down. The show goes on and on, delighting its viewers while they gaze around this famous location, trying to remember that this same place saw battles and bloodshed, this place saw famous dignitaries sail in on colored ships. This place became one of the most important ports in the eastern hemisphere.