Night(mare) Festival 2009
Another great event organized by the National Museum of Singapore, Night Festival 2009. Don’t get me wrong when you look at the post title and start thinking “it must have been a bad event”, not entirely ! I enjoyed myself with the boyfriend who was actually the one who initiated going for this since his girlfriend (aka me) is usually too lazy and tired to head out at night for anything. You can read his post here !
I think the main reason why the event turned out disappointing for us was mainly the rain. Surprisingly the rain did not chase the crowd away and people waited patiently for the delayed performances to start. I’m not sure what was the objective of these audience coming to the museums but I believe it’s a good start to encouraging and promoting the Arts here in Singapore. Night festival was one of the buzz worthy events during that week, along with other museums performances and workshop.
The Germany act “The Loop Of Fortune” (refer to picture) was not as fascinating as I was expecting – again, it might be due to the wet weather as I heard people raving about it for the first night. I hope the performer who fell is doing fine by now, silly me thought it was part of the stunt at first – well, until I see the panic faces of the people crowding around. Quite a Night(mare) !
The visual projection on the museum building was brilliant, I really liked the background artwork. Sadly,the music kinda annoyed me because it did not sound like it was part of the act, maybe it’s due to the poor sound system like what the boyfriend mentioned in his post.
Some suggestions to next year’s Night Festival organizing committee :
1) Will it be better if the performances can be held elsewhere instead of SMU campus ? I really think it was a bad choice of location – trees/buildings were blocking, people not knowing where to stand and the public sneaking into the school buildings to get a better view ? I honestly think the location kinda ruin the concept in a way.
2) I see that alot of people were equally lost during the event – would some sort of announcement or news flash projection on the building helps ? And again, like what the boyfriend mentioned – you really have no idea what is going on most of the time.
3) Overseas acts like “Loop of Fortune” was definitely the main attraction for the crowd. It’s a good start but will need more than this to educate the public on the Arts and Music scene !
I love the idea of Night Festival. I hope it’ll be bigger and better next year. Looking forward to it !
A Vision and Play Phantasy : Verner Panton
I was invited to view the Verner Panton exhibition at National Museum last Saturday, with a group of design enthusiasts. Despite being a museum junkie, the only museum tour I’ve gone on was in France (mainly because of how huge the Louvre is and how direction-blind I can be, I’ll probably take ages to find my way out.) I was rather skeptical about the tour itself since National Museum isn’t exactly “big” and how interesting can a curator’s tour be ? Oh boy, I was so wrong !
The group of 20 followed our curator (I’m sorry, didn’t quite catch her name) into this large room of Danish delights, I certainly made it sounds like some delicious snacks but no, welcome to a world full of color and futuristic style of 60s designs ! Verner Panton is known for his experimental designs and his wild usage of color that creates a 3D space/form. His designs encourage interaction between the user and the object, for example his “Phantasy Landscape” consists of various geometric shapes and textures. (You can even enter the area, hopefully you don’t have stinky feet because you gotta remove your shoes! *plastic feet wraps are provided*)
Phantasy Landscape
Even though I have taken alot of pictures, I shall not spoil the exhibition for those who wants to visit (you really should!). I thought the exhibition was well executed in the sense that the display was attractive and you feel almost like you’re in an IKEA showroom or Verner Panton’s villa itself. One thing that caught my attention was the interactive elements, such as the kiosks available at almost every other corner. 
It was a great way to engage the crowd instead of getting them to read the usual boring descriptions you can find on the wall (of course you can still find those on the wall). In fact, there are many workshops and additional programmes that comes with the exhibition. For example, on the 27th June, Jonas Ericsson of STYLE:NORDIC will be conducting this workshop called “Keeping it Real: The Art of Collecting Furniture”.
My personal favourite would be the “Flying Chair” as you can see in the picture. 
Verner Panton’s ideas are definitely beyond words (at his time,that is) and few designers can really capture the diversity of designs and contribute significantly to the history itself. I think this exhibition is indeed inspiring and a really fun experience for me. Although I have to say that I wish there’s a chance to really “feel” and touch the chairs, that’s probably gonna cost more than $6 admission fee ! HAHA (there’s discounts for NSF/Students/Senior Citizens/Family !)
Oh, one thing that really caught our eyes was this “how to undress in front of your husband” with the Panton Chair. (Raging Hormones? HAHA) It is a pictorial step-by-step how to guide…be sure not to miss it ! =)
Venue: |
Exhibition Gallery 2, National Museum of Singapore |
Date: |
FRI 15 MAY 2009 – SUN 12 JUL 2009 10:00am – 6:00pm |
Bravo,Christian Lacroix the Costumier !
Ping, the boyfriend and I headed over to the National Museum of Singapore to check out the Christian Lacroix the Costumier exhibition. The museum was rather empty, probably due to the H1N1 outbreak or the fact that the museum closes at 6pm. We got our complimentary tickets at around 5.30pm (on the dot for last entry) and we had the whole exhibition hall to ourselves ! 
I was really looking forward to immerse myself in this whole charming French fashion history – the amazing costumes and sketches by the genius designer Christian Lacroix (which the boyfriend laughed and called me a “Fake French” because I have no idea how to pronounce his last name properly. haha) The exhibition was alot smaller than I imagined it would be but the decor sets the mood and I have to admit (randomly) that I really liked the chairs in that display hall. I wish I have one of those at home ! If I’m not wrong, the museum decorated the display to look as though you’re in a theatre blackbox with the red lighting and moving mannequins.
Design wise, you will definitely be impressed by the details and depth of his work. His sketches were stunning to begin with and I love his dramatic use of color and fabric. In case you have no idea, he first began with ready-to-wear designs to the displays you see in National Museum which are his works for operas, theatre and dance. For example, you will probably know “Carmen” and Shakespeare’s “Othello”. I think it is quite a rare opportunity for Singaporeans to be in touch with this aspect of the Arts since Opera is not a very “hip” thing in town.
It was quite spectacular if you enjoy fashion or you’re someone like me, who thinks “anything French is awesome” (HAHA). I had fun at the hands-on area where the museum provided paper (of really good quality, to my surprise) for sketches and paper dolls for dress-up games. There are 4 wooden dolls for you to place fabric over and create your own masterpieces as well ! The boyfriend and I had a go at it and there’s a reason why we’re both from a management university ! (hur)
So what do you think ? Who do you think have a better sense of fashion (HAHA) ! If you think you can do a better job, go down to the gallery and snap a picture of your magnificent costume for me to see ! 
This gotta be one of the biggest fashion event of the year, so don’t miss it ! The ticket is priced at $8 but you get to enter FREE if you’re wearing RED from 9-10th May ! 
