Hidden Letters - a short review
Hidden Letters - a short review
and a Roundup of a few Arty things on my radar this week
Hello and welcome to An Artist’s Notes and what I’ll call (for lack of a better phrase) an “On My Art Radar” series of posts that I’ll pepper into the mix of weekly articles posted here throughout the year, starting with a short review of the film “Hidden Letters” directed by Violet Du Feng.
I have to admit I enjoy the Oscars season and try to at least watch all the best picture nominees before the big awards night. And even though “Hidden Letters” isn’t in the running, it came across my radar a couple of times recently (in an unusual way), and I decided to fit it into my watch list anyway.
(Aside) Notes on the 7 forms of art | Personally, I believe in the art of filmmaking as a part of a family of artistic endeavors I personally define to include 2D visual arts (i.e. painting, drawing, digital, mixed media, etc.), 3D visual arts (i.e. sculptural or plastic arts including ceramic, fiber, metal, and other materials), architecture, music (i.e. composition), literature, film, and performing arts (i.e. dance, theater, music). There are a few variations of this list which has evolved throughout history, but most of them typically comprise elements of the seven disciplines known as the “7 forms of art”1. And while I wouldn’t call all movies a form of “fine art”2, I am often surprised by people who will dismiss cinema as something pedestrian and unworthy of serious artistic consideration. Much like with other art forms, at its best, I find it emotionally and intellectually engaging and moving. And also like other art forms, there are artistic triumphs (as well as commercial triumphs), and also those ones that completely miss the mark.
Hidden Letters
I first came across this film while scrolling through Instagram. I saw a “Call to Art” being promoted by @HiddenLettersFilm. (Deadline is March 15 if anyone else’s curiosity is piqued). I honestly wasn’t sure based on the promo what the film was about or why it included a call to art. I decided to do a little research. I found the film had a 7/10 rating on IMDB with British Vogue’s Lisa Wong Macabasco summarizing it as a “… moving documentary [centering] on the ancient secret language called Nushu that women in China used to communicate within a strict patriarchal culture, bonding them in a clandestine support system. The film tracks two young Chinese practitioners of Nushu today as they struggle under societal expectations and strive to protect the language from the threat of commercialisation.” It also had a respectable 3.6 on Letterboxd with most enjoying the story as told through the interviews of the women tasked with preserving the language, but with several notes on wishing for more historical context and information about the language itself. With that, I decided it sounded interesting enough to invest my time (86 min) and money (I rented it for $3.99) in watching the film to understand the call to art.
I honestly don’t watch many documentary films and wasn’t expecting to be completely engaged in one which required me to read subtitles. However, I was. I found the women the film tracks to be authentic, thoughtful, endearing, and relatable in the sweetness and the struggles of their personal journeys. It was interesting to see their perspectives on the commodification of what is a sacred tradition passed from one woman to the next. It resonated with me how the art form and the meaning of the Nushu language combine to tell powerful stories of endurance much like how fiber arts traditions are shared and how the stories that they can encompass carry such beauty and power (such as Queen Liliuokalani’s “Queen’s Quilt”3 created during her imprisonment in 1895 and beautifully and boldly documenting Hawaiian history within its hand-sewn threads). And while I agreed, I could use more historical context for the language itself, I don’t feel it was necessary for the film. If anything, the film inspired a desire to learn more about the history of the language, which I think is a perfectly natural and beautiful part of a work of fine art, which for me, is how this film was received.
As for the call to art? I am still grappling with what I can submit. I hope to find something on my art table that I feel is relevant and meaningful to the story presented in the film. And I hope you have a chance to watch it (and maybe submit some artwork) as well!
A few other items “On My Art Radar” this week…
Have you seen the stir caused by the new MLK sculpture in Boston4 a couple weeks ago? I would highly recommend reading a recent TIME interview with the artist, Hank Willis Thomas as well as a recent podcast from Studio Noize “Embrace the Public, or Not” about the installation. While I find the sculpture quite beautiful, I appreciate the viewpoint of JBarber about paying attention to scale and the uncontrollable nature of public opinion.
The largest LAIKA exhibit ever is coming to the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle on March 17. I had an opportunity to see a Laika exhibit at the Portland Art Museum a few years ago, and can only imagine how amazing the new one will be.
On my local (Oregon) art radar
The Oregon Legislature announced a new Arts and Culture Caucus (story by PortlandTribune.com).
The Oregon Poetry Association has opened its Spring Contest - submissions taken via Submittable
Art in the High Desert, in Bend, Oregon, is BACK this year and accepting applications through Zapplication.org along with another renowned Oregon show, Art in the Pearl. Deadlines are quickly approaching!
I hope you are finding yourself engaged in the Arts in some way this week! And if you are so inclined - feel free to let me know what’s crossed your radar as well.
~ Jennifer
The more traditional 7 as described by Proactivecreative.com is painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, music, cinema, and theater. I find a mix of these forms (and my personal take on visual art) combined with those as described by Brittanica.com (visual arts, graphic arts, plastic arts, decorative arts, performing arts, music, and architecture) to be a more modern and inclusive list by not discriminating the decorative & fiber arts from the category of “fine art”.
https://proactivecreative.com/different-types-of-art/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/the-arts
“Fine art” is described by MyModernMet.com as “…traditionally [referring] to types of art that primarily serve an aesthetic or intellectual purpose. This usually applies to visual arts, such as painting and sculpture, but has also been used to describe other creative disciplines including music, architecture, poetry, and performing arts. In this case, the use of the word ‘fine’ refers to the integrity of the artistic pursuit. The definition of fine art excludes arts that serve functional purposes, most notably crafts and applied arts.” I would argue that fine art can also serve a functional purpose if the artwork includes an “aesthetic or intellectual purpose” or if the function is a reflection of that purpose.
https://mymodernmet.com/what-is-fine-art/
The Iolani Palace in Honolulu Hawaii currently houses the “Queen’s Quilt” as a part of their collection honoring the Queen’s palace and Hawaiian history.
https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/monument-honoring-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-coretta-scott-king-unveiled-boston-the-embrace/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h
Article Notes and Sources
Art/Artist Mentions: “Hidden Letters” directed by Violet Du Feng; @HiddenLettersFilm (Instagram)
Calls to Art: Hidden Letters; OPA; Art in the High Desert; Art in the Pearl
References: “The Arts” as defined by Britannica; 7 forms of art as defined by ProActiveCreative.com; VogueUK’s Here’s What To Look Out For At The 2022 Tribeca;
Resources: IMDB; Letterboxd; IolaniPalace.org; PortlandTribune.com; Zapplication.org; Submittable