Art Galleries and Blue Fabric (4/15/2012)

Sunday, April 15, 2012
Returned to Huaihai Fang, the longtong or lane housing, this time with some specific addresses.
Number 59:

Former residence of Chinese writer Ba Jin, who lived here in 1937. He also spoke and advocated the language of Esperanto.
One of the lanes:

Coats hanging to dry:

Number 64: 

Former residence of Xu Guangping, wife of the famous writer Lu Xun, who lived here 1936-1948 while she edited "The Complete Works of Lu Xun." (Since all the places look similar, I didn't put in the picture of the gate!)
These chickens were being hand-fed:

Number 76:

Kent stands in front of a lane house that is now the FQ Projects Gallery, which promotes new Chinese artists.
Exhibits included the works of Zhang Xianyong, who puts himself in his photo collages (http://www.fqprojects.com/html/zhangxianyong_en/). Yang Yongliang, who makes traditional scenes with modern images (http://www.fqprojects.com/html/yangyongliang_en/), and Dai Mouyu whose works are tiny detailed pen and ink designs (http://www.fqprojects.com/html/daimouyu_en/). Unfortunately you cannot see all the detail on the websites.
Number 27:

Former residence of Zhu Kezhen, considered a founder of modern Chinese meteorology. He lived here in the 1920s. He received his PhD from Harvard in 1918.
After running into Kent's work colleagues (in a city of 18 million people!), we headed to Xiangyang Road. The former Russian Orthodox church was open, so we entered:

I think I can safely say the ceiling of the dome has been untouched:

The space is being used as an art exhibition hall:

The exhibition is "Five Times Five," and the venue/church is called "E-SPACE."
"Lost Way" by Gong Xinru:

Lighted boots by Liu Bolun:

Costumes?

Rubber wontons:

Part of "The Metamorohosis Series" by Shi Shaoping: 

Using oils, glue, and genuine frog skin!
"OK? Or not OK?" by Gong Xinru:

Kent tests the depth of the bowl:

We tried playing pingpong on this table, and as long as you hit midrange in the center of the bowls, you can keep up a volley.
Shaking hands:

Further along Xiangyang Road is Yasmine's Butchery:

Great posters in there, like of Ghandi saying "I have known many meat eaters to be far more nonviolent than vegetarians."
On Changle Road:

Are those coffee choices or coffee attributes?
Number 666:

A villa called Bao Li Tang was the residence of of Shanghai businessman Pan Zongzhou, who collected books. His home became the meeting place for Chinese book collection circles. (It isn't clear if the valuable collection is still here.)
An unusual building:

The Chinese Hand Printed Blue Nankeen Exhibition Hall:

I had been here to photograph the courtyard.
Although really a shop, more than a "museum," there were some antique items:

A Japanese woman, Kubo Masa, collected items of this handwoven cotton fabric that is hand-printed using stencils. Together with the Shanghai Textile Import and Export Corporation, this place was opened.

The indigo-dyed fabric is used for table linens, handbags, toys, clothing and accessories, and shoes:

A display of patterns: 

On Huating Road, astroturf used as exterior cladding:

Hand-refinishing of furniture:

Three guys work on a scoring a cement wall:

Who brought the chair?

They are going to scrape out between the two lines so that this wall matches the one on the right.
A wrought-iron gate: