So … we’ve now had our first full session with both CLA (music) and RUFA (artists), which were both very interesting. Update on the music will have to wait a bit, but i attach some pictures from the artists. This was a first “warm up” session - mainly about getting to know each other, and for me to test how comfortable they are with more abstract concepts etc.
One of the tasks was to imagine that the Independence Monument in Phnom Penh (an iconic image) has disappeared, and they had to fill the space with a new public monument. It took a while to get them started, but some nice ideas came out of it, a few of which i include here.
Some are quite easy to understand, but two probably require a bit of explanation. The sheaf of grass is a reference to the way grass is bundled when it is fed to cows in the countryside. Creating a huge sculpture of this image was seen as a way to bring back the memory of the countryside (and a more rural past) into the heart of the city.
Another interesting (and somewhat surrealist) approach was the boat-in-trees image. In some parts of Cambodia, deforestation is causing huge problems for the rivers / lakes ecology (principally around Tonle Sap). So this image is intended to communicate the vital inter-relationship between boatmen and the adjacent forests.
In short - some interesting, intelligent work. It was quite a challenge for some students, they said it was a “very hard” class. But as we work together more, i think it will get easier. And this task definitely proves that they are capable, given a bit of encouragement. Next week, we’ll start thinking and planning the artworks in earnest….
