Kuo Pao Kun exhibition

A fever is bringing my body to a boil, yet my bottom is still glued to an uncomfortable wooden seat. There's volunteering work tomorrow and great responsibility lies in the hands of my camera. I feel terrible as its owner. My body wouldn't be able to withstand 6.5 hours of walking from door to door singing and talking to the residents, but the issue of the camera remains unsolved. Perhaps I'll get myself to an mrt station and pass it to them.

Finally found the chance to visit the national museum this afternoon, since tomorrow's the last day of the Kuo Pao Kun exhibition. (perhaps that's how my condition got worse) I am impressed with the curation. Memories of the pieces from exhibitions are mostly disjointed, since they are exhibited in sections (for some, just a maze of pieces) and follows no particular timeline or order. Also, the maze is often so confusing as you often start without knowing where the destination is.

The Kuo Pao Kun exhibition's layout is of a simple square room, with a timeline printed on three sides of the walls (one side being the entrance). Openings on significant parts of the time line (as seen in the photo below) lead to small rooms with write ups about a particular play, videos of the play, commentaries, photos and props. The rooms are abit like magnifying glasses that zoom in on a significant portion of his life as an artist. I like how there are detailed write ups and information about a small number of pieces, rather than short write ups about a million pieces. It makes things more digestible.

A circular theatre-in-the-round structure lies in the middle of the room, reminding us of the form of his pieces. Come to think of it, I think this three sided room concept is built to remind us of the thrust theatre (three sided) as well. Audiences are free to sit on the steps and browse through copies of books related to Kuo Pao Kun.

I feel glad about having studied introduction to theatre last semester, for the background information about Bertolt Brecht and the different theatrical forms helped me understand his works much better. Similarly, I often get more excited when things I've learnt in art theory from h2 art appear in exhibitions.

 The only thing I can criticize is that the viewing space is far too small. Only a pair of headsets are offered (meaning only two people can watch the videos at a time). Perhaps this was done for an artistic purpose, but I believe a mass screening in the tiny rooms would've been more practical. I only got to watch one play in the end as I got too tired waiting.

A picture of this couple was taken because it's *sigh* so cute. I'd love to be able to go to museums/watch films with my partner in the future, without feeling the need to rush off due to his disinterest. But I guess real life isn't always so romantic, so I'll just settle for going for exhibitions alone.

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Despite the fact that going out made my condition worse (fever on raging rampant mood now), it's great to finally have some time alone outside. There's so much more I've thought about on the way home, hopefully there'll be time to write them down when I'm feeling better.