Blending the Past and the Future
The modern developments in architecture that China is known for are not evident in the Hong Kong Museum of Art. It is a simple building of gray concrete, crowded in by the busy downtown district of Tsim Sha Tsui. Despite this, the museum is well valued by Hong Kong’s citizens, for their past is tucked away in the quiet hallways.
On the first floor of the museum, historical artifacts are preserved. There are delicate bone combs and ornate hair pieces, carved from precious things like jade and ivory. Men and women hundreds of years ago wore these to display their wealth. Some battle regalia are also kept there, with antique swords and scabbards laid out beside. A security guard stands nearby, keeping the overly-curious from getting too close. High-tech sensors keep the items beneath the thick glass casing safe from peoples’ intrusive touch.
Visitors are also not allowed to take photographs, regardless of the flash. Perhaps the proctors are concerned about the images of the pieces being stolen. Or perhaps the rule comes from a sense of respect for this ancient world, so treasured by its people. These items aren’t simply paintings and sculptures, decorative bowls and tea sets. They are the history of the Chinese people, contained in physical form. Chinese value their history deeply. 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 your country’s past, how can you say you know your country today? How can you love your country if you do not know her?
In the floors above, this treasured history is preserved through paintings. Laid out gently beneath thick glass, some sheets of parchment are several feet high and wide. The sound of the brush’s stroke fills the quiet gallery, delicate, yet forceful. Scrolls with ornate calligraphy fill other cases, some as much as 20 feet long. Calligraphy was, and still is, a prized skill in China.
Through the images, glimmers of a simpler lifestyle show through. One can sense how the artist spent much time gazing at the world around him, desiring to transmit that beauty to permanence. 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.
On the top floor, the reminiscing ends abruptly with a collection of modern and contemporary art. This section is titled Hong Kong Art to distinguish from the Chinese historical and fine art. It is clear from the variety of expressions that today’s Hong Kong artists draw their inspiration from many places. Some pieces are simply colorful remakes of the pieces below while others reflect the European influences the island has felt in recent times. Still others bring a unique approach that is more reflective of modern art as a genre. Although differences exist, there is something about the delicacy with which these pieces appear created which hints at the nationality of their artist.
One piece in particular shows this contrast well. It is a colorful oil painting of a “junk,” a traditional type of boat used often on the harbor waters hundreds of years ago. The ship sails ahead of a block of horizontal bars, as if trying to keep ahead of time itself. Above, vertical bars press a ceiling down on the scene below. These bars imitate the advanced high rise buildings of today’s Hong Kong, which surround the museum itself. The colors throughout the painting are bright, textured, and flecked. The ship seems to move forward, yet is contained within the swirling designs. This reflects the culture of Hong Kong today, which is modernizing and changing, yet is restrained by the strong ties to its history.
The gift shop is filled with plenty of interesting things. Of course all of these items are very expensive, like the prices in the rest of Hong Kong. The nearby mega-malls sell only the most elite brands, costing in the hundreds and thousands of US dollars. Those who can afford to must show off their wealth by displaying it. In ancient days, golden hair combs and jewel-encrusted tea sets made clear who was of a higher class. Today, fine clothing and sophisticated cars are used for this purpose.
The entire western front of the museum faces the harbor through a glass window. The wide waterway runs directly through the urban region of Hong Kong and has enabled easy access throughout its history. Thus, the city developed into a powerful trade center in the eastern hemisphere. Outside the museum, 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.
One the museum’s side, the Avenue of Stars skirts 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 in gently beside as if to say “this is my home, China.” Some names are unrecognizable to the younger generation of 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 opposite 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 people rejoice in the beauty, their hearts filling the harbor itself. 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 and famous dignitaries sail in on colored ships. It is a place filled with contrasts, striving to portray the values of the society that Hong Kong was built on, as well as the society it is becoming today. The museum holds this balance with a sense of delicacy, gently blending the past and future as they blend in the world outside her.
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