MCLC: Art Basel lights up HK

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: Art Basel lights up HK
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Source: China Real Time blog, WSJ (5/9/14):
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/05/09/hong-kong-lights-up-for-art-b
asel/

Art Basel Lights Up Hong Kong

The old adage goes something like this: The best thing about Kowloon is
the view of Hong Kong, a smug observation about the urban peninsula that
enjoys panoramic views of Hong Kong island’s dramatic skyline.

But for several days this month, the opposite view across Victoria Harbour
will be grabbing the attention. Two artists are taking over major landmark
buildings in Kowloon, using them as backdrops for large-scale light
installations.

The first began Thursday with British artist Tracy Emin’s work “My Heart
Is With You Always” emblazoning the 30-story tower of the Peninsula Hotel,
which is sponsoring the piece. Inspired by her series of works rendering
her own handwriting in neon, the installation is splashing the title’s
words with laser lights on the building for 10 days from 7 p.m. to
midnight.

And next week, German artist Carsten Nicolai, whose specialty is light and
sound installations, will take control of the International Commerce
Centre, the city’s tallest building. About two kilometers from the
Peninsula in West Kowloon, it is visible from most points around the
harbor. Mr. Nicolai’s work, commissioned by Art Basel Hong Kong, will make
use of the lighted facade of the 118-story, 490-meter building—commonly
called the ICC—during next week’s fair.

In an interview from his Berlin studio, Mr. Nicolai called the ICC the
city’s “most striking and impressive tower.”

While the Peninsula sought out Ms. Emin, Mr. Nicolai and the Art Basel
team pitched their art idea to the ICC’s management (the building is owned
by Sun Hung Kai Properties ), who proved keen on the idea of surrendering
control of the lights that line the tower’s length. Typically, they are
programmed with seasonal displays and text to promote the observation deck.

Mr. Nicolai’s installation, “alpha pulse,” will flash for two hours over
three nights, starting May 15. Rather than installing his own lights, the
artist said he will simply reprogram the existing ones to pulse
rhythmically. A student of the effect of frequencies on humans, Mr.
Nicolai said the lights are programmed to pulse at a low frequency to
elicit “more relaxing stimulations” among viewers.

The artist’s trademark is minimalist plays of light and sound. To
accompany his Hong Kong installation, he designed a phone app that acts as
the soundtrack. It will allow viewers to synchronize the pulsing lights
with Mr. Nicolai’s hourlong electronic track simply by holding their
phones up toward the tower. (The app works via the camera.)

Mr. Nicolai said he has never worked with a screen as large as the ICC,
but the building—designed by American architecture firm Kohn Pederson
Fox—didn’t pose problems. “The biggest challenge was the synchronicity
with the sound and light,” he said. “The app was quite technical. We had a
long time to brainstorm.”

Magnus Renfrew, the director of Art Basel Hong Kong, said he long thought
the tower, with its rectangular face, would be an ideal canvas and
targeted Mr. Nicolai as the artist for the gig. “We were looking to use
the tower as a platform,” Mr. Renfrew said. “Carsten jumped out as the
person for the job.”

Mr. Nicolai’s work comes just a year after Hong Kong was smitten by its
last major public-art installation. “Rubber Duck,” a large inflated yellow
duck by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, sat in the harbor for six weeks,
stirring a frenzy among tourists and locals, who packed the site daily to
take photos.

“It’s not catchy like that big duck, but it can still have a sublime
interaction with the city,” Mr. Nicolai said. “I hope to stimulate people.
This work isn’t for Art Basel—it is for all of Hong Kong.”