In this section new media technology is used to reinterpret and animate Giuseppe Castiglione's classics. This approach shall bring his static art to the 21th century to interact with the visitors.
A Peacock Made of Light: An Immersive Installation for the "Peacock Spreading Its Tail Feathers"
The work is inspired by"The Peacock Spreading Its Tail Feathers", and using multiple optoelectronic materials to modulate light transmitting and imaging. Combining the music from Qing court and spatial ambient sound, it simulates the scenery of day and night moreover transforms the two-dimensional painting into an interactive immersible installation situated within a multilayered, ever-changing spatiotemporal structure. The artists intend to map the new way of seeing and reconstructing the artistic space when contemporary viewers confronted with an interpretation of classical artwork with new media. In this way, they hope to explore the"visible, translucent, invisible of the Ideology, vision, context of human beings under the sublime authority of the triad of belief, power, history" and pay tribute to Castiglione with dynamic translucent illumination technique 300 years later. Quest’opera, ispirata a "Pavone che apre la coda a ventaglio", utilizza molteplici parti e materiali a effetto elettro-ottico che modulano l’opacità e l’esposizione della luce. Le scene diurne e notturne inspirate alle originali di Castiglione sono simulate e presentate in successione. Trattandosi di arte e nuovi media, l’idea originaria dei dipinti viene trasformata in qualcosa di nuovo attraverso un’installazione interattiva con una struttura multi-strato dove spazio e tempo sono in costante cambiamento. L’auspicio è quello di creare un nuovo modo di guardare e rimodellare l’arte tradizionale nel momento in cui l’osservatore usufruisce dei nuovi media. L’intenzione è quella di esplorare l’invisibilità/trasparenza/ visibilità della narrativa/visione/sensibilità delle persone sotto la suprema autorità del credo/potere/ storia e di rendere omaggio a Castiglione, 300 anni dopo, attraverso questo sistema "trasparenspettivo".
Artists
The National Palace Museum, Wang Lien-Cheng, Louis Erwin Lee, Chang Po-Chih, Xiao Zi-Xiang
Original work of art
Peacock Spreading its Tail Feathers by Giuseppe Castiglione
Dance video
"Spirit of Peacock" provided and licensed by world famous dancer, Yang Li-ping
Original work of art
Lang Shining (Giuseppe Castiglione, 1688-1766), Qing dynasty
Peacock Spreading Its Tail Feathers
- Hanging scroll, ink and colors on silk
- 328 × 282 cm
The male peafowl, or peacock, is renowned for its circular display of long and opulent tail feathers, which can reach several feet in length over five years. The feathers are usually kept folded behind its body, but when expanded for display, they shine with iridescent beauty and dazzling"eye" patterns. This painting is a scene in a palatial garden designed with"blue-and-green" rocks as well as magnolia, peony, and cherry apple blossoms, further conveying the traditional auspicious idea of"wealth and nobility in halls of jade."
In the sixth lunar month of the Qianlong 23rd year (1758), Kumul from the western regions presented peacocks as tribute, the emperor composing poetry on"Peacock Spreading Its Feathers," which is transcribed on this work. On the twelfth day of the seventh month of that year, the Ruyi Hall section of the imperial workshop archives records that Giuseppe Castiglione did a large hanging scroll painting on white silk of a peacock spreading its tail feathers with background scenery by the eighteenth-century artists Fang Cong and Jin Tingbiao. The Qianlong emperor's instructions for the painting explicitly state that it should represent a"fusion" of Chinese and Western painting.
The Making of "A Peacock Made of Light": An Immersive Installation for The Peacock Spreading Its Tail Feathers
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The surface texture of the light curtain depicting the peacock is created by sandblasting.
Peacock light curtain prototype B3 dynamic projection test
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Peacock light curtain prototype B3 dynamic projection test
Peacock light curtain prototype B3 project discussion
Peacock light curtain prototype B3 light adjustment script test
Stone installation production
When our creative team decided on Castiglione's The Peacock Spreading Its Tail Feathers as the subject matter for the exhibition piece, we were foremost attracted to the meticulous brushwork and realism used to depict every individual feather of the peacock in the original painting. Inspired by his artistry, we then outlined the layers of meaning that we hope our work will achieve:
- Extension of the original painting: Retaining the overall style, main objects, and scenes of the original painting, the team reproduces the painting as an immersive three dimensional space, capable of both static and mobile states and containing visual and auditory sensory stimulation.
- Artist background: Because Castiglione is not only a respected court painter during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, but also a Catholic missionary, the religious context and possible influence on his work should also be explored in this piece.
- Aesthetic Achievement: Castiglione combined the Western conventions of one point perspective and chiaroscuro, which at the time had already become commonplace in Europe, with traditional Chinese painting techniques. He also designed and supervised the building of European architecture in the Summer Palace, creating a new distinction in the artistic and cultural collaboration between East and West.
- The temporal intersection: Before Castiglione came to China, he served God as a member of the Catholic Church. Later, he spent half a century of his life serving China. Three hundred years later in the present democratic world, we explore the oppositions of day and night, east and west, past and present, refined and common with the possibilities of new media and allow the original works and spirit of Castiglione to return home.
With the above ideas in mind, our creative team researched the relevant information and gradually found their expression. We excerpted the Latin text of the Book of Genesis, using the contrasts of light and dark and "transparenspective" as the main method of expression. We named the piece "Traversing Reality and Time" and used the scene from The Peacock Spreading Its Tail Feathers as the main subject matter. The components of the final installation piece include a translucent peacock model with adjustable lighting, light sculpture projectors, dynamic stained glass, day and night situational animation, music of the Qing dynasty court and European Baroque music of the same period, perspective based spatial design, virtual surround sound system, interactive content, etc.
During process of construction, we also realized that the peacock’s translucent wings resemble lenses. From where we stand at the present moment, our lines of vision and consciousness travel through these lenses to view the painting as it was in the past. We are trying to create a new aesthetic experience as tribute to the original painter by using the creative influence of artifact, painting, music, and power to dissolve the constraints between time and space.
A Tour of the Imperial Garden: The"Immortal Blossoms in an Everlasting Spring" New Media Art Installation
Surrounding by the light columns feels like walking inside a blossoming back garden. This work consists of interspersed video columns made with LED light boxes and screens. The animating elements are inspired by Castiglione's Immortal Blossoms in an Everlasting Spring. The spacing of the columns evokes spatial depths from the viewer's standpoint while the videos on the columns' screens interconnect and move in the direction of the viewer, creating the sense of walking inside a painting. The front side of the work, viewed from a distance, appears to be a scene of a blossoming garden. Viewers are able to walk inside and enjoy the feeling of being surrounded by the flowers painted by Castiglione.
Artist
The National Palace Museum, Vick Wang
Original work of art
Immortal Blossoms in an Everlasting Spring by Giuseppe Castiglione
Lang Shining (Giuseppe Castiglione, 1688-1766), Qing dynasty
Immortal Blossoms in an Everlasting Spring
- Album leaf, ink and colors on silk
- 33.3 x 27.8 cm
This set of sixteen album leaves includes the following flowers, fruit, or plants: tree peony, peach blossom, herbaceous peony, flowering crab apple and magnolia, corn poppy and fringed iris, yellow prickly rose, carnation, cherry, poppy, purple and white lilacs, tiger lily and peony blossom, bamboo and morning glory, lotus and arrowhead, pea blossom and millet, cockscomb, and chrysanthemum. Eight of the leaves also include birds, the contents corresponding to a record of a painting entitled"Album of Flowers" by Giuseppe Castiglione in Third Edition of Treasured Boxes from the Stone Moat, one of the Qing court catalogues. The opposing leaves for each painting here are blank, the last one signed in"Song-script" as"Respectfully painted by Your Servitor, Lang Shining." Judging from the painting style, it would appear to be a masterpiece from the Yongzheng reign (1723-1735). Castiglione not only painted the sixteen leaves in this album with meticulous care and coloring, the compositions are also quite innovative. In particular, he was able to reach beyond the traditional portrayal of birds in Chinese painting to achieve fantastic results in Western perspective and shading as well. Many places in the depiction of the birds and flowers reveal touches of light and shadow, the artist showing adept skill at using white pigment to highlight bright areas. The style throughout again relates to Castiglione's early Yongzheng manner.
The Making of "A Tour of the Imperial Garden": Immortal Blossoms in an Everlasting Spring Art Media Installation
The concept behind "A Tour of the Imperial Garden" employs the three dimensionality of 3D animation to make a modern commentary on Castiglione's perspective construction featured in Immortal Blossoms in an Everlasting Spring. Dynamic camera work continuously guides viewers into the flowerbeds, immersing them in a magical garden filled with flowers and vegetation from Castiglione's original painting.
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The Brainstorming Stage
Director Shiwei Wang selected Castiglione's Immortal Blossoms in an Everlasting Spring and collaborated with the production team to begin writing the script. -
Model Making
The production team created the lamppost models of "A Tour of the Imperial Garden" to simulate lamppost position and proportion, taking care to ensure that the works will provide the best visual experience for viewers at the exhibition site. -
Exterior 3D Simulation
The team refers to "A Tour of the Imperial Garden" lamppost models to create the 3D lamppost installation diagram and the high definition exterior diagram.
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Director Shiwei Wang and the Italian exhibition design team discuss the design of "A Tour of the Imperial Garden" to be installed at the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Florence, Italy.
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Animated flower mold production.
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Director Shiwei Wang and staff from the design company for "A Tour of the Imperial Garden" discuss the hardware composition and production process.
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Director Wang Shiwei and the animation team discuss the visual presentation and individual scenes of "A Tour of the Imperial Garden."
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Director Wang Shiwei and the animation team discuss the special effects of "A Tour of the Imperial Garden."
The Emperor's One Hundred Horses: New Media Animation of the One Hundred Horses
Length 3'49"
Giuseppe Castiglione painted many horse farms. His horses are so life-like thanks to the shadows and fine details that brought realism to a new height.
To remain faithful to the original painting, the latest high-end animation technology was incorporated to render images of horses engaging in playful activities, wrestling, resting, galloping, and fording. Amazing images of the horses are vividly portrayed to the audience.
Artist
The National Palace Museum, Digimax
Original work of art
One Hundred Horses by Giuseppe Castiglione
Lang Shining (Giuseppe Castiglione, 1688-1766), Qing dynasty
One Hundred Horses
- Handscroll, ink and colors on silk
- 94.5 x 776 cm
This handscroll, completed in 1728, depicts a hundred steeds in various poses within a horizontally stretching landscape to create a majestic scene of pasturing. The horizon line for the landscape is maintained at a two-thirds height throughout, creating for a complete and contiguous sense of space across the surface of the painting and the scenery. The trees and other motifs are also shown in correct proportion to suggest a spatial effect of level distance. The technique in the painting differs from that of traditional Chinese art, with the artist, Giuseppe Castiglione, utilizing areas of light and dark colors for the forms to suggest their volumetric quality and to express a sense of light and shadow as well. As for the horses, though their forms are outlined with lines, they are mostly modeled with areas of color. Castiglione, however, consciously subdued the shadows for the forms to preserve their solidity but without creating a dramatic contrast between light and dark. This work can be seen as Castiglione's way of actively integrating the qualities of two disparate painting traditions.
Explore the Flora and Fauna of Castiglione (City University of Hong Kong)
Viewers explore two virtual landscapes created in the style of Castiglione by moving a TV screen along rails mounted on a wall. By exploring these panoramas, brilliantly imagined by two Hong Kong artists and populated with plants, birds and animals in the style of Castiglione, the viewer can discover the original paintings. The Linear Navigator technology was invented by Professor Jeffrey Shaw from the School of Creative Media at City University of Hong Kong.
Concept
Jeffrey Shaw
Painting
Zaffer Chan, Eunice Cheung
Application
Mo Luk, Huib Nelissen
Original Relic
From the works of Giuseppe Castiglione collected by the National Palace Museum.