Appreciation to Art

In a email to Adam Tan. My photography mentor. A great photographer who I admire the way he lives his life. To share with all of you.


Recently, Tzuchi Magazine photographer 颜霖沼 came to give a talk. I went and learned that there are so much behind every picture taking. It really makes my day. Sometimes, I feel that photography, calligraphy, and music are all art. I feel there are always 3 stages in art learning.

Stage 1, you learn the basic. In photography, you learn the aperture, shuttle speed and the relation to the depth of view, and the how and do and don't, in music (singing), you learn the basic of how to make your sound, how to breath, how to sing correctly at the correct tone. And in calligraphy you learn the technic. （学好打好基础）

Stage 2, you learn to master the basic. So, in photography, you learn to look at the light, you learn to feel the sunlight, feel the light of leaves, feel the reflection of waters. In music, you master your skill by playing nicely, fluently, and in singing you learn to sing well with tempo, karaoke, accompaniment, etc. So, up to this stage you are good. You can do all the best thing that a beginners can't, and you are can perform, maybe. （把照片拍好， 把歌唱好，把字写好）
Stage 3. This is where you learn to indulge into the art. In photography, like you do, you have been to Ulu Selangor, I think at least few hundreds time, and to east coast the same place the same spot for many many times. And what you are trying to look for is just something that you have missed, or something that you think you might miss. I really respect that courage, and respect the striking-for-the-best and there-is-always-something

-better attitude of yours in photography. 拍好的照片。

As for singing and music, you really have to gone thru the pain, then you will sing the songs with broken heart very well. That's why I suppose Eva Cassidy sing Over the rainbow so well, because she is not famous, and always looking for a new sky somewhere, and she really sing the feeling into the songs. And so do Joan, though I do not know her, but I could feel that she is enjoying the singing, more of like telling stories to the audience that what she has gone thru, via her music. I would think this is stage 3. 唱好一首歌

A lot of people learn music, as music learner. But I feel learning an art is to learning the appreciating, and apply to appreciate and at the same time apply it to one's life. My brother used to comment that nowadays people learn piano because of grades, and to ensure one has a work even he or she fail SPM, still can teach piano. But they have forgotten about learning music, and appreciating music. 殷正洋 once told us that in order to sing 叶子的眼泪, you have to feel that the leave is leaving the tree, and drop from the tree. Feeling the leaving sensation, and feeling the dropping and at the same time sing it out as how you feel the leave should drop. This is how one should sing 叶子的眼泪.

I am lucky to have you that I can share. Hope that my long email does not scare you away.

Maybe I am engineering trained, that's why I always looks thing the engineer way, but I could not do any better engineering work, because i am tightened by the artistic. So, this is forever my struggle. :P .

I am always in stage 2, and hopefully, I could make myself into stage 3 one day.