Going Green
New Environmental Art from Taiwan
Sponsored by
Council for Cultural Affairs, Taiwan
Taipei Cultural Center of TECO, New York
Presented in Partnership by
The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education
and Asian Arts Initiative, Philadelphia
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Recently, I met two very talented installation artists named Chao-chang Lee and Ping-yu Pan who both create art in environmental settings in Taiwan. These two very humble and amazing artists were invited to the U.S. to create installation works at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education for the "Going Green New Environmental Art from Taiwan" Exhibition which has works at the Schuylkill Center and also the Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia. I thought this would be a great opportunity to test my new Metabones Contax G SNAP! Gear setup so I volunteered to document some of the performances they were both having at their installations. Because we would be out in the woods, I decided to really be low profile so I took only my indiRAILSpro MP which has a built-in follow focus and monopod. I also brought just two lenses, my Contax G 90mm and 28mm lenses. Because I was afraid the 28mm was not going to give me the full coverage I needed I also decided to be adventurous and I attached a Raynox HD-6600PRO55 .66 wide angle adapter to the 28mm making the lens approximately an 18mm lens.
One of the great things about using Contax G glass is that they are very sharp lenses and one of the challenges is that they are also very sharp lenses.
So with the GH1 this can be a problem. The screen is just not good enough to find critical focus especially in some outdoor environments like a wooded setting. Since I started to notice that I was having trouble with critical focus, I decided to play it safe and I opened up to f/4 through f/8 in order to get more depth of field in the hopes of covering myself and getting more in focus than out of focus shots. In many cases, the documentation shows some of the challenges when you have such sharp lenses. You'll see a few out of focus shots here and there so its always a learning process. Having said that when the exposure and focus was on these lenses really do now how to shine.
Most of the shots I've seen with Contax G glass have been from still photographers so seeing moving images with Contax G glass is really wonderful and very exciting. I was also just floored at how well the Raynox HD-6600PRO55 wide angle adapter did. I basically had the adapter on the 28mm lens most of the time and it was still fairly sharp with a little vignetting and softening on the corners. I've used the Raynox on a few different lenses and the vignetting and softness is much more pronounced on my other lenses. I'd say using the Raynox wide angle adapter on Contax G glass produces some very good usable footage. Overall, I really see a lot of potential for Contax G glass especially in narrative filmmaking where you have much more control over your shots. I still want to see if I can get more comfortable and use them in more of a documentary run and gun style setting but for the second time at using these lenses I think this was not a bad effort.
I'd like to thank Chao-chang Lee and Ping-yu Pan for the opportunity to meet them and to film their work.
Here are their two pieces:
Ping-yu Pan's installation, "Ark for Plants" is made up of fallen branches and pine cones tied with natural twine in the shape of an ark. Her boat-shaped sculpture is designed as a deer fence to protect a young native dogwood tree.The film clips capture Ping-yu Pan's live performance at the installation where visitors are invited to cast a handful of soil into the place where the tree is planted.
Chao-chang Lee's installation, "Everything is Buddha" uses found natural materials near the grounds of the Schuylkill Center to create a large earth drawing of a seated Buddha figure.
This film captures Chao-chang Lee's live interactive performance where visitors are invited to place their own natural objects as offerings in his installation.
For more information on the exhibition please visit:
schuylkillcenter.org
asianartsinitiative.org
Filming details:
Panasonic GH13
Contax G 28mm f/2.8
w/Raynox HD-6600PRO55 .66 wide angle adapter
Contax G 90mm f/2 lens
Metabones Contax G adapter and indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gear
To commemorate this Thanksgiving weekend. I thought it would be appropriate to send this beautiful music video out to the world called "Lovely to Me (Immigrant Mother)" by New York based artist 
Last April of 2009 for the grand opening of the Asian Arts Initiative we had a number of amazing artists bless the new space with their artistry and community spirit. Taiyo Na was one of those amazing artists. When he got on stage with just his voice and guitar he moved me to tears with his song Lovely to Me (Immigrant Mother) from his debut album Love is Growth. For weeks after I had an idea of trying to do a community arts project that would combine both documentary and music video elements together with this beautiful song and to set it in Philadelphia's Chinatown and Love Park. 
We were fortunate enough to have Taiyo perform again for the Asian Arts Initiative banquet and fundraiser later that month and I mustered up a bit of courage and asked Taiyo if he had anyone put visuals to this song. He tried but it didn't pan out at the time so I talked to Taiyo about the possibility of creating something special and Philly based for this song and that it would be shot using the Panasonic GH1. I told Taiyo as soon as that little camera comes in we'll shoot it. A few months passed as I waited ever so patiently for the GH1 to arrive. It wouldn't come until mid summer so everything was on a holding pattern. As we waited, I was concurrently working on another project with David Lin, an artist and director friend of mine from Los Angeles. We were in the process of collecting stories for a short documentary on 
I approached David with the idea of being a producer on Lovely to Me because of the community element that is both shared with the Jook Songs documentary that we were working on and he was all for sharing his resources to create this new piece. With our GH1 and gear in place, I approached Taiyo again at the end of the summer in order to deepen the concept of the piece. 
I wanted to bring that feeling for me growing up looking at old 8mm film footage of my family when they first came to Los Angeles from the Philippines. It was that faded slightly dirty look with those tints of green and deeper saturated blues and red that I remember from those old pictures and film reels that captured a distinct memory of family and our own immigrant stories.
I called up the owner who said it was his father's old camera and he had held on to the camera in it's original box for a few years after his father passed away. His father was a camera collector and loved photography and filmmaking. He sold many of his old lenses and gear but this was one of his fathers last pieces from his camera collection. Though he was hesitant at first to do a cross country sale, he loved the idea of the project and sold me the camera because it would be used in this film and go back to the East Coast where his dad was originally from. The idea of passing the camera from one person to the next, is the idea of passing on our individual histories in order to create a collective story, this is a touch point of the piece and why Taiyo at the end passes the camera to the next generation. This idea for the film was inspired by this cross country craigslist sale. 
He loved to hear stories of the "Old Country" and honored the Filipino elders (manongs) in much of his life and work. Definitely Curtis Choy's old footage of Al at the I-Hotel from "Manilatown Is In the Heart" is such a huge inspiration for the look of this piece. I thought it would be a nice tribute to pay homage to Al Robles by having Taiyo as a kind of community filmmaker who carries his camera in his guitar case. And begins, the community story telling process with the opening of his guitar and filming through the lens of his camera.
In our conversations about how to deepen and push the concept of this piece Taiyo expressed to me that it was important that the piece begin in Chinatown and start from a personal Asian American experience but that by the end of the music video it should be a song for everybody. That upon ending in Love Park that this personal immigrant mother tribute not just be for Asians but for all peoples. 
And this is where the Asian Arts Initiative comes in. A call was made for people to come to Philly's Love Park, to bring your mother, grandma, or person who raised you. If not in person, you could bring an old photo of your mom or even a picture of your mom in a cherished picture frame. 
So many people came out. Just filming each person standing in front of the Love Park sign with their old photo of their mom or with their mom in person was so moving, simple, and real. 
There was one moment at Love Park that I knew was going to be an ending moment for the film. One of the Asian Arts Initiative's youth, Kaitlin Dugan was holding her mother so lovingly. Unrehearsed and in the moment she closes her eyes and hugs her mom deeply and says, "I love you mom." In the film we don't hear her say it. It is just the way they held each other in that moment that said it all to me. It was beautiful. 
I think this was not just a music video it was a community coming together to reflect, share, and pay tribute to all our mothers. In a way, Taiyo's song brought a community of people together to create a living breathing piece of art. It gave us all an excuse to have permission to break away from the everyday routine of our lives and to take a deeper moment to remember where we all came from. Our mothers. To bring different folks together, asian, black, young, old, mixed heritage, buddhist, muslim, and everything in between, to share both our love and our struggle is rare and a powerful act of courage and hope. I hope this film captures a Philadelphia that is here and now, growing, loving and always ever changing. 
This was a community arts endeavor that I nor Taiyo could not have done with out the support of the Asian Arts Initiative and the Chinatown community. I am so grateful to them and could not have done it with out them. Please take the time after you see the piece to look at the credits below and see that so many people were involved in making this piece possible and then make a contribution to support the 
And lastly, I hope that everyone who sees this piece can appreciate and reflect on our own mothers, grandmothers, aunts, or that special someone who raised you. I hope that you share this with your closest friends and people who you have disconnected with over time. I think it is my hope that this song and this film can touch people's lives in the same way that this song first touched me. Please enjoy the final cut of Taiyo Na's Lovely to Me (Immigrant Mother) "Lovely to Me (Immigrant Mother)" Artist: Taiyo Na Album: Love Is Growth Label: Issilah Productions Director: Gary San Angel Additional Credits: Featuring the Asian Arts Initiative and the larger Philadelphia Community. Additional Vocals: Vudoo Violins: Jason Kao Hwang Electric Bass: Mas Yamagata Additional Instrumentation: Taiyo Na Producer: David Lin Co-Producer: Asian Arts Initiative, Gary San Angel Chinatown & Love Park, Philadelphia First Assistant Director: Jeff “Slope” Cylkowski Second Assistant Director: Eric Law Camera Operators: Kaitlin S. Dugan, Loc Nguyen Mom & Grandma Everyday Life Movie Clips Camera Operator – Mom / Grandma Victoria Chau – Anna Hang Lai Har Cheung – Lau Fong Lo Eric Law – Wai Man Ip Loc Nguyen – Loc's Mom – Loc's Grandma Linda Saroeun – Linda's Mom Love Park Community Participants Aditi Vilayphonh & Catzie Vilayphonh Aleyamma Mathew & Annamma Mathew and Mathew Varughese Asdy Wan & Viola Kung Andrea Pien Barney Seng & Mary Seng & Sangvuth Ly Betty Nguyen & Tina Huong Nguyen Charles Ramirez & Cornelia K. Ramirez Cheryl Tse Chon Phoeuk & La Phoeuk Eric Law Gary San Angel & Fe San Angel Gayle Isa & Hazel Isa Jes Vu & Hao Vu Le Jordan Coates & Inja Coates Kaitlin S Dugan & Lynne T. Dugan Keiko Kubo Lai Har Cheung & Yuk Kan Lo Lauren Harris & Nya Harris & Cathy Harris & Mildred Carter Linda Saroeun & Linda's Mom Loc Nguyen Michael Lu Myong Pok McCloud & Vanessa McCloud & Victor McCloud & Michelle Myers & Myong Pok Myers Husayn al-Jamil & Sham-e-Ali al-Jamil & Juhi Nayeem Sovansuny Uy Ratha Chea & Sarin Sek Taiyo Na & Taiyo's Mom Toni Dang & Can La Chinatown, Philadelphia Chinese Culture and Arts Inc. Wai Man Ip QT Vietnamese Sandwich Karen Tha & Mai Phan Annie Tran & Trieu Le Philly Chinatown Murals “Furious Style” by Jeff Cylkowski 1219 Vine St. at Asian Arts Initiative “History of Chinatown” by Arturo Ho, Giz, N. Phung, H. Tran 10th and Winter St. “Colors of Light” by Josh Sarantitis 12th and Vine Street Caterer QT Vietnamese Sandwich Special Thanks Tim Ovel, Studio 4 Productions Frederic Cheung, Wondlan Steve Serota, Classic Camera Workshop Asian Arts Initiative Chinese Culture and Arts Inc. Eric Law & Wai Man Ip QT Vietnamese Sandwich Karen Thai & Annie Tran Gayle Isa Toni Dang Randy Hecht Lai Har Cheung DVXUser Yellow Rage © 2009 Taiyo Na & Gary San Angel