For years I have adored hand-pulled Chinese noodles–how water and flour and a little magic in the hands of a master can become a tasty food. Many years ago a student of mine and I even went so far as to “intern” for a few months at a noodle shop in Beijing. Last weekend in Shanghai a friend took me to a nice hotpot restaurant in Shanghai. At the end of the meal a young guy in a white shirt with […]
Categories: Video clips • Tags: China, food
Every other year I teach a class, Museums, Exhibitions and Representation, which examines museums and display as socio-cultural phenomena. The course reviews a great deal of history and theory, and from the first time I taught it students were assigned a final project which would simulate an exhibit design process–a way to bring theory to bear on practice. On alternate years one of my colleagues, Brian Hoffman, teaches a historical archaeology class that has a large excavation component. The class […]
Categories: Teaching, Video clips • Tags: archaeology, collaboration, Hamline, museum, sociocultural anthropology
While out walking the streets of Nanjing last night I happened upon a little kid dressed up for the Lantern Festival (YuanXiao Jie). Cute as heck, if a bit confused why the big white guy was pointing a camera at him. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cc3LaC7jO4]
Categories: Video clips • Tags: children
One of my students came to visit me in my office this afternoon to share a Chinese animation that he found very interesting. The Adventures of Li Xianji (李献计历险记) was, in his opinion, amazing because it was a sophisticated animation done by a Chinese artist–most of the best coming of Japan. He also identified with the mix of popular culture references–and references to foreign films and video games. We had a very interesting chat about the way that some of […]
Categories: Video clips • Tags: China, media
In the summer of 2010 I was lucky enough to be able to make a visit to Gao Village. It was a rainy day, and we were behind schedule when we arrived. I didn’t take as much video or as many photos as I had hoped. Above is a small selection of photos, and the short Flip video below documents our arrival.
Categories: Books, China, Photo Essays, Video clips • Tags: Gao Village, Jiangxi
Late in the evening on June 3rd I was enjoying Sichuan hot pot in downtown Beijing. Twenty-one years later, rather than writing a reflection, I thought a video clip might be a better commentary.
Categories: Random Reflections, Video clips • Tags: hotpot, June 4
Last summer while in Xi’an doing research for a small project I am currently working on, I stopped for a break near a kiosk selling tourist trinkets. The tethered zebra and circling bicycle caught my camera-eye. (This is also intended as a test to post video on this site.)
Categories: Video clips
MUSEUM FATIGUE