Tiong Ang

After seeing the exhibit, which included Tiong, and then listening to his talk, it took a while for my feelings on his work and his subjects to solidify an opinion with me. The idea of a global culture is incredibly exciting to me, and I've written a few small blurbs and a term paper over its coming into being. Tiong's ideas were expressed more within his work than his talk, I believe, as the lecture was a bit disjointed to fully grasp meaning from. I see this transference of meaning and existence of the pieces on many levels, as they comments on the levels at which they will be viewed. “Bandits” is multilayered with the cultural implications of covering one’s face as well as the practical, which both comment on the larger issue of pollution, which the entire planet is dealing with. Tiong’s story of his history drove home why a lot of his pieces comment on culture the way they do. Now, an individual can be influenced and influence any number of cultures from anywhere in the world with all of the new media outlets that are at their disposal. An example is how his badminton piece spoke to me about travel just as much as it did his heritage. The national sport’s symbol of the shuttle is bounced back and forth between countries in competitions, just as ideas and citizens are in reality. This travel is happening in such a scale recently that it has become largely overlooked due to exposure. Ang’s spotlighting of this magnificent happening is incredibly crucial in the commentary of the “Global Intimacies” that were shown in the larger exhibit. His interest in cultures also showed within his use of the soap opera in multiple instances, lastly to depict art school. Although largely overblown, his soap opera was entertaining. I feel as though it didn’t have much going conceptually, but his use of the soap is fascinating to me. Many cultures have their unique style and feel of soap opera, but they all still span the gaps, with their overly dramatic almost cliché portrayal of life. To me, that portrayal happens in much more than soaps, as we try to deal with the rest of the world as we all come to grips with how fast information can spread. The recent revolution in Egypt and the ongoing one in Libya can be seen as an example of how information can spread, and how soaps can be written. The media was instrumental in weaving the stories together as the harsh realities came pouring out over the web in Egypt, where as after the conflict was announced in Libya, much of the news coming from the people, which originally resembled Egypt’s in origin, has been kept under wraps, as it cannot be controlled to favor prevailing views.