Travels with Zen-Aida » Events

Estonia: a frightening experience in Tallinn’s KUMU museum

zda — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 16:35:22 +0000

The KUMU contemporary art museum in Tallinn, Estonia, is one of those iconic buildings you don’t forget: clean lines, generous spaces, windows that catch as much light as possible. No wonder Finnish architect Pekka Vapaavuori’s design won the prestigious European Museum of the Year Award in 2008. So whenever I visit Tallinn, I always make a point of visiting the KUMU.

As part of this year’s European Capital of Culture program, I was especially intrigued with the “Gateways – Art & Network Culture” exhibit (until September 15, 2011, with the support of the Goethe-Institut). But I had no idea I would be frightened by some of the exhibits I saw: Not frightened in the sense of fear of my life, but in the sense of being met face to face with digital realities of today. Of course I use the internet, can’t think of life without it. Of course I am “careful” and think that I adhere to safety and privacy rules, but after seeing these exhibits, I realized that privacy as we knew it back in the 70s or even 80s is long gone. Big Brother is here to stay. Let me explain by describing the one “artwork” that really did it for me, and I quote its creator and artist, the Estonian Timo Toots:

“Memopol-II (click on the link for a virtual tour) is a social machine that maps the visitor’s information field. By inserting an identification document such as a national ID card or EU passport into the machine, it starts collecting information about the visitor from (inter)national databases and the Internet. The data is then visualized on a large‐scale custom display. The collection panel also shows the portraits of the visitors from their ID card.

The Cyrillic spelling of the installation’s name refers to George Orwell's concept of Big Brother from his 1949 dystopian novel 1984. Over the past decades, technological means have transformed the surveillance of society. When surfing on the Internet, paying with an ATM card, or using an ID card, people leave their digital traces everywhere. Internet and social networks gather and provide a great deal of personal information, and a person’s profile is no longer constituted by his or her physical being alone, but also by the person’s digital information, over which he or she sometimes has little control. Background checks through Internet search engines and social network sites have become routine when we meet somebody new or apply for a job. Memopol-II enables us to make a thorough background check of ourselves, mirroring back to us all the data about us that is accessible via the Internet.

Estonia is well ahead of other countries in governmental data collecting, storing citizen information online and making it accessible to different degrees to an individual person and to government agencies. It is a convenient means for electronic identification and for making various transactions by inserting it in to the different ID‐card readers. The harmless looking electronic card readers seldom bring to mind thoughts about malevolent third parties who might have unauthorized access to the protected information. By means of Memopol-II, Timo Toots tests either our trust or paranoia toward the machines that read the information.” A German friend of mine introduced his German driver’s licence into the Memopol. While not all the fields came up with information, it was astonishing that his Facebook connections and University records came up, along with basic information such as age, address, etc. Most surprising and disturbing: his projected date of death (using statistical averages for males of his age and country of origin). He was not pleased – he had 23 years to beat the odds.

Moving right along, there was the lovely digital Miss Maya Brush, a “homo virtualis”, a digital sculpture, right down to her virtual DNA, born February 4, 2011, the product of German artist Kirsten Geisler. Her pose and features are reminiscent of Botticelli’s Venus. Maya has a Facebook page and, to date, almost 900 fans: a fictional character who has stepped out of her digital world to interact with the media.

The artists Spanish Clara Boj and Diego Diaz have created the installation “Observatorio”, which visualizes the increasing density of wireless networks in urban spaces. In this case, wireless networks are registered within a ten-kilometer radius around the Kumu Art Museum and will be realized as a real-time projection in the museum. The otherwise invisible stream of communication is made visible. And it turns out to be very dense. Just because we don’t see something, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

On the lighter side, there is “Real Snail Mail”, where real snails are outfitted with an RFID chip containing a message. Should the snail come close to an RFID reader, the message is sent. It is up to chance and to the appetite of the snail if it wants to eat the salad leaf on the reader and thus have the mail sent. A subtle bit of whimsy by the British group boredomresearch.

A visit to KUMU is always worth it, you never know what you may find. And if for no other reason, a visit to the room with the “chatting heads” is always fun!

Japan: A visit to see the Snow Monkeys!

zda — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 11:34:31 +0000

When the baby monkey gazed up at me from the safe folds of her mother’s warm embrace, well, who wouldn’t melt? Ever since seeing a report on TV about the red-faced Macaque monkeys enjoying the natural volcanic hot springs near Nagano, I had wanted to visit them. And now I was here, communing mutely with furry mother and child.

The story goes that an adventurous female monkey decided to go into the hot waters one winter. Or maybe she fell in? After all, wet water is not a natural habitat for monkeys. She must have communicated the pleasure of her experience to the others in her group because ever since then, these monkeys have been known to seek out the warm waters as a social hangout. Grooming and dozing are their main activities. When they have had enough, they come out, shake themselves and the dense fur quickly dries and insulates them against the cold.

The Jigokudani Yaen-Koen - which means Hell’s Valley – nature preserve was established in 1964 within the Joshin-Etsu Kogen National Park. The 200-300 monkeys living there are said to be wild, but this is a relative term: true, they are not caged and run around freely; however, they are fed by staff and have no fear of humans. In fact, you have to watch your step as you may be in their way as they race up or down a pathway. They are also very used to being photographed, with lenses and shutters practically popping in their faces a lot of the day. Nevertheless, they are wild animals and unpredictable, so a skirmish with a lot of screeching and chasing can and does break out occasionally. By and large, however, they are a peaceful lot and will leave you alone if you don’t encroach on their personal space.

There is no guarantee that the monkeys will be in onsen (hot springs). But on the day I visited it was snowing lightly and there were about three dozen monkeys enjoying the waters and about as many visitors. Their seed lunch had just been distributed, so they were actively picking through the snow for food.

By the warm flowing river, a plastic pipeline had been laid (to feed the pool) and it was warm, too. Predictably, the pipeline was appropriated by the monkeys as a “heating pad”.

Altogether I would say that the humans behaved as well as the monkeys: each respected their space and went about their business – the monkeys enjoying their hot spring and grooming, the visitors quietly photographing and filming them. A perfect symbiosis?

Click here for a live webcam of the monkey spa.

See also my post about getting to Jigokudani Monkey Park.

Japan: Asahikawa’s Ice Festival

zda — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:44:26 +0000

Asahikawa in central Hokkaido will not win the “prettiest town” prize by a long shot, neither in summer nor in winter. Its main claim to fame is being a rail hub for the northern Japanese island, about 80 minutes by train from Sapporo. It also boasts an “Ice Festival” with snow figures and ice sculptures, held coincidentally to the similar events in Sapporo and Otaru.

On this Thursday evening, light snowfall muted the sound of the live pop acts on the main stage, and only a small crowd had gathered to view the works and eat local goodies such as grilled oysters, home made ramen noodle soup and the ever present yakatori grilled pieces of chicken.

An igloo labyrinth, several slides for the children, an outdoor log fire and an ice bar - where I gladly had a large cup of hot sake - rounded out the offerings.

The ice sculptures line the main pedestrian zone and, as with all these sculptures, are amazing in their inventiveness and intricacy of detail. I had read that there was a competition. Unfortunately, due to my lack of Japanese reading skills, I could not make out the winners. Not that it really mattered, they all merited “A” for effort.

Japan: Otaru’s lights and lanterns

zda — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 13:52:09 +0000

Once a flourishing port specializing in the herring trade, Otaru, on Hokkaido’s west coast and about an hour’s train ride from Sapporo, has found out that the tourist trade is far more profitable these days. Since Otaru has a picturesque canal lined with old warehouses, why not make an “Illuminated Night Path” with lanterns on the canal and candle-lit ice containers along the walk and have it take place the same week as Sapporo’s Snow Festival?

Add to it a burgeoning – mostly miniatures and beads - glass industry, local delicacies and good marketing and presto! A festival is born. I found the Illuminated Night Path far more charming and intimate than the big sponsored works in Sapporo. In Otaru, a bevy of volunteers made sure that all the candles were lit, the lanterns straight, were helpful with taking pictures and giving explanations, saw to it that each child got a chance at the snow-tube slide.

And it boasts one genuine contender for the Guinness Book of Records: the biggest and freshest cream puff ever! A whooping 15-18 cm in diameter, filled with delicious, not-too-sweet custard cream made with wholesome Hokkaido milk. A steal at 550 Yen (approx. $ 7, Euro 5). And oh yes, king crabs, hairy crabs, scallops, salmon, oysters and all kinds of fish I don’t even know the name of in all manner of preparation: dried, smoked, fresh, grilled. From the samples I tasted, all very “oichi oichi” (tell that to any Japanese cook and he/she will beam).

Japan: Sapporo’s 62nd Snow Festival

zda — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 13:20:12 +0000

What started out 62 years ago as a school boy fun pastime is now a full fledged Snow and Ice Festival in Sapporo, Japan during early February every year. Innocent snowmen with button eyes, a carrot nose and a shawl belong to the past. Now there is corporate sponsorship for monumental structures, intricately carved, fancifully lit at night and attracting about 2 million visitors to the city. The two main sites – Odori Park and Susukino Street – are a hub of activity for weeks before hand. After all, it takes tons of compacted snow and hundreds of hours to form and carve these pieces.

Hokkaido Tourism, for example, sponsored a complex snow sculpture depicting local fauna, including a life-like Blakistone fish owl and an Ezo red fox and her kits. Both these animals have come to symbolize the island of Hokkaido and its still largely pristine natural environment.

Because 2012 marks the 40^th anniversary of normalization between Japan and China, a half-size scale construction of the Temple of Heaven occupied a very central position.

And then there was the almost full size Hiunkaku of Hongwanji Temple in Kyoto. This building is considered a national treasure. The snow structure was produced by Hokkaido Television Broadcasting Co., the 18^th Infantry Regiment, 11^th Tank Batallion, 11^th Engineer Company and the 11^th Signal Company of the 11^th Division of the Ground Self-Defense Force – I am not making this up, these are the official credits! You can judge the scale of the building by the attendant fixing one of the lights.

Japan: Kyoto fleamarket around a temple

zda — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:35:45 +0000

Voices hushed, feet in socks shuffling softly on tatami mats, sandalwood smoke from incense sticks, heads bowed in ancestral prayer ... not so at the Kyoto temple fleamarket: a cacophony of voices, from shrill to shriller, boom to bass, everyone trying to overtrump the other and all with the same message: “buy me”.

Hundreds of dealers have set up their temporary stalls around the temple, sell everything from silk kimonos, plump and juicy orange sharon fruit, antique porcelain, wire-holders for bananas and other kitchen gadgets, mounds of exotic smelling dried fish, seaweed ribbons by the yard. And in their midst, a calligrapher calmly sweeps his brush with swathes of black ink over absorbent rice paper.

Thailand: Spending a day with tigers

zda — Thu, 06 May 2010 12:01:32 +0000

Poachers had killed the female tiger but left the new-born cub to fend for itself. Passing villagers found it whimpering in the bush and decided to take it to the newly established temple near Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Little did the Buddhist monks realize that they were embarking on a unique venture in 1994 with that very first orphan: today, the “Tiger Temple” is home to approx. 55 Indo-Chinese big cats and countless other animals.

Whether it can be called an animal sanctuary, petting zoo or conservation program is a matter of opinion – and every visitor will experience it differently. For cat lovers, seeing and handling these big felines is definitely an unforgettable experience: to pet these wild animals and sense the muscular build under the fairly coarse fur is surely a dream come true.

Different visiting programs are offered: the “early morning” includes feeding the youngest cubs – giving a milk bottle to a three-month old, playing with the teenagers in a large, sandy field with home-made toys and watching them cavort happily in a man-made water basin. The (considerably less expensive) afternoon program includes picture taking with the biggest of the animals, walking alongside them to the Tiger Canyon and seeing them at play in yet another water basin.

Although the Wat Pa Luang Ta Maha Bua is a fully operational Buddhist temple, it is the local staff and volunteers (mostly from Europe or the United States) that the visitor will get to intract with. It is they who control and direct the tourists around and generally make sure that both visitor and cat don’t get in trouble with each other. The monks, in their flowing saffron-colored robes, show themselves in the afternoon, walking the big cats.

Over the past few years, a new Tiger Island has been readied: a large, moat-bound area will give each animal generous space to freely roam in, while allowing visitors to view the cats from flyover pedestrian walkways. Much has been written about the implementation of these plans – why it has been taking so long to build, how the considerable income from the tourist programs has been used, how have the animals been kept in the meantime, whether this smoothly run commercial operation can still be called a temple, etc. Every visitor will have unique opinions and memories of this very special place, which can be enjoyed as a day trip from Bangkok.

Honeymooner’s paradise

zda — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:32:48 +0000

Honeymoons – what a wonderful time to explore a new country! And New Zealand is a place that offers it all: beaches, mountains, hot springs, culture, adventure. I don’t want to sound like the official tourism marketing agency, but it is true, this country does offer everything to honeymooners of all ages, by the way.

Thanks to the great honeymoon travel arrangements made by Liberty Travel, you can be enjoying fishing for trout in Lake Taupo (you can’t buy it, you actually have to fish it yourself), mountain biking through the Crates of the Moon, enjoying a thermal mud souffle treatment, or relaxing in a private pool with acidic mineral waters. Acidic mineral water is supposed to be great for the skin. Walking around the Lady Knox Geyser and last but not least, enjoying an evening’s entertainment – Maori style: For the indigenous people of New Zealand, the Maoris, night was an important time: it was then that the Sky Father Ranginui and the Earth Mother Papatūānuku lay in a firm embrace. Now if that isn’t a theme that goes with honeymooning...

China: “Turandot” revisited in Beijing

zda — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:55:21 +0000

Not planned, but welcome nonetheless: A quick week in Beijing, my old stomping ground. The occasion was a visit to a new production of Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Turandot” by the same directing/designing team that I had worked with in 1997/98 for “Turandot in the Forbidden City”: Zhang Yimou, Chen Weiya, Zeng Li and Gao Guangjian. Zhang Yimou has become a superstar in China in the last decade, what with doing the opening/closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games 2008 and blockbuster movies such as “Hero”, etc.

So now, as part of the People’s Republic of China 60^th anniversary celebrations, he was commissioned to do a new production of the iconic opera that, ironically, was composed in 1924 by an Italian who had never been to China. And true to form, Zhang Yimou created a spectacular extravaganza set in the Bird’s Nest Stadium. In a space for up to 80,000 spectators, half the space was used for the huge stage construction, two very large high definition side-screens, space for the orchestra, etc. I was told the costs were close to 15 million Euro, with almost 1000 performers, including a chorus of about 250. All of them wearing one or more exquisitely detailed, hand-made costumes. The set was primarily a raked stage with a gigantic white backdrop for a multitude of colorful and for the most part effective and atmospheric projections.

I attended the second evening on October 7 with Susan Foster as Princess Turandot and Warren Mok doing the role of Calaf, Yao Hong as Liu and Tian Haojiang as Timur. Janos Acs conducted the China Central Opera House Orchestra. To be honest, I cannot say much about the musical quality of the singers, chorus or orchestra because the amplification system was terrible: loud and loudest, without any thought to musical quality, echoes abounded. I am sure the producers realized that this is an area that needs to be greatly improved if the production is to be taken on tour as I have heard.

Of course, I did not only go to this performance on this trip – I revisited the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. More on this in separate posts.

Australia: The magic of the Great Barrier Reef

zda — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:31:05 +0000

When I dutifully booked an excursion to the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns, I did so more out of a sense of duty of having to visit this one of Australia’s most iconic destinations. I owed it to myself, I said, since I am in FNQ – Far Northern Queensland – as the locals call the area. But once I was on the boat, had reached the moored pontoon out on the Reef and had my snorkeling gear on, I really got excited.

There were about 15 of us who went on a small boat to visit an accessible reef area about a kilometer away from the pontoon. As soon as I jumped into the water, I turned on my rented underwater digital camera and, head underwater, snorkel on top, started shooting anything that came within my range of vision. What a wonderland! Different types of branch coral, mushroom top coral, all sorts of colorful fish, sea anemones. No turtles this time, unfortunately. The water was a pleasant 22 degrees or so and quite clear, although agitated because of light winds. Our guides took us around a special open outer reef area and kept a running commentary of what kinds of coral and fish we were seeing. Quite honestly, I did not hear much of what he was saying because my head was almost constantly under water, taking in the unfolding landscape as I swam with my flippers hither and yonder.

There are many day tours out of Cairns to chose from; I was recommended the locally owned and operated Reef Magic Tours and was totally happy with their service. The boat was a confidence inspiring size but not too large and it was not too crowded, either. I felt the young marine expert staff really enjoyed what they were doing and knew their business, too. On the pontoon, I was even able to get a massage (without the wet suit) to round out the relaxation experience. All in all, a very enjoyable and informative day! And my awareness of and respect for the fragile eco-system of the Reef was considerably heightened.