Williamstown - Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) is pleased to present Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba Memorial Project Vietnam on view in the Media Field gallery June 12–September 6, 2004. Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba creates lyrical, graceful, and spellbinding films that explore Vietnamese history and identity in a profound manner.
The exhibition includes Memorial Project Nha Trang, Vietnam: Toward the Complex-For the Courageous, the Curious, and the Cowards (2001) and the most recent work, Happy New Year-Memorial Project Vietnam II (2003). These two videos are linked by a common underwater setting, vivid, saturated color, choreographed movements, and hypnotic soundtracks.
The work of Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba has drawn international attention since its first major appearance in the 2001 Yokohama Triennial. Memorial Project Nha Trang, Vietnam: Toward the Complex-For the Courageous, the Curious, and the Cowards (2001), his project with Vietnamese cyclo (bicycle-taxi) drivers and fishermen, has resulted in a poetic merger of these two traditional modes of work, which are among the most economically disenfranchised of a country undergoing rapid social transition. In this video, cyclos, driven by fisherman, slowly race each other along the ocean floor.
The languid motion and arduous progress of the rickshaw-like contraptions at the bottom of the sea are a compelling symbol for an entire nation discovering its identity after a half-century of political turmoil. With direct reference to the impact of the Vietnam War on his country, Nguyen-Hatsushiba's beautiful camerawork deconstructs the fate of those who are caught between old and new modes of existence. As the divers strain to hold their breath long enough to propel their vehicles a few feet farther, additional tension is created between graceful movement and precarious mortality.
In Happy New Year-Memorial Project Vietnam II (2003), a traditional New Year's dragon puppet, carried by seven divers, twists and turns beneath the waves in a dreamy evocation of the pandemonium of street festivals. The dragon's sinuous movement is contrasted with that of the Fate Machine, a giant orb that shoots small balls at random intervals toward the water's surface. As the balls reach the air, they burst into clouds of colored powder, signifying a sudden release from a state of danger. Like its predecessor, Happy New Year uses water as a metaphor for Vietnam, from the more literal reading of a peninsular country with a considerable coastline to the historical resonance of the "boat people," who fled the country by the tens of thousands when the war ended in 1975.
The adaptation of the Lunar New Year celebration as the basis for this work is a direct reference to the 1968 Tet Offensive, which took place in the form of a series of surprise attacks by North Vietnamese forces during the year's most significant holiday. In this work, Nguyen-Hatsushiba affirms his position as one of the most innovative young Southeast Asian artists on the international scene, and as a forceful interpreter of themes of cultural identity and its unfolding dialogue with history.
About the Artist
Nguyen-Hatsushiba earned an M.F.A. from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 1994 following his B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1992. His work has been included in the Yokohama Triennale and the Kwangju, Sydney, and São Paolo Biennials. Raised in Japan and educated in the United States, the artist now lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City.
Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba’s Memorial Project Vietnam is toured by UC Berkeley Art Museum. Generous support for the production of the exhibition is provided by The Rockefeller Foundation and the LEF Foundation. Happy New Year-Memorial Project Vietnam II was produced by the MATRIX Program with assistance from the New Museum, New York. The MATRIX Program at the UC Berkeley Art Museum is made possible by the generous endowment gift of Phyllis C. Wattis.
Additional donors to the MATRIX Program include the UAM Council MATRIX Endowment, Ann M. Hatch, Art Berliner, Christopher Vroom and Illya Szilak, Eric McDougall, and Glenn and April Bucksbaum.
Publicity Images Available
Publicity images for Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba Memorial Project Vietnam and other current exhibitions are available for use. Images include video stills from Memorial Project Nha Trang, Vietnam: Toward the Complex-For the Courageous, the Curious, and the Cowards (2001) and Happy New Year-Memorial Project Vietnam II (2003). They can be found at www.wcma.org/press.
The Williams College Museum of Art is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free and the museum is wheelchair accessible. Contact: Suzanne Augugliaro, Public Relations Coordinator 413.597.3178; WCMA@williams.edu; www.wcma.org.
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Lanesborough Town Meeting to Vote Budget, Bylaws & Vehicle Purchases
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Tuesday's annual town meeting includes a $14 million operating budget, new short-term rentals, accessory dwelling units and sign bylaws, and free cash article appropriations.
Voters will gather at Lanesborough Elementary School on June 9 at 6 p.m. to decide on 20 warrant articles.
The fiscal 2027 budget is up a little over 10 percent. Some of the main increases are the Mount Greylock Regional School District and McCann Technical School: the McCann assessment is up more than 30 percent based on factors including enrollment and the school renovation project, and Mount Greylock's is up 11 percent.
Article 11 is for the town to vote to approve from free cash the sum of $16,298.48 for the McCann Technical School roof and window replacement project so as not to impact the budget. Article 3 is appropriate $7,586,284 for Mount Greylock Regional School assessment.
Another notable increase was in life and health insurance, showing an increase of about 26 percent.
Ambulance Director Jen Weber is planning 24-hour coverage, which means more staff and a hike in her budget. One of the articles asks the town to appropriate $234,100 to operate the Ambulance Enterprise Fund for salaries and expenses.
Many town departments are looking for new vehicles. The Fire Department is looking to replace its outdated 1996 fire engine. There are two articles related to the truck at a total of $813,366. Article 12 would transfer $225,000 from free cash into the Fire Truck Stabilization Fund; Article 13 would transfer $605,000 from the fund and authorize the borrowing of $208,366.08.
The total includes a $100,000 contingency cost to cover any additional costs if a 2026 model-year chassis cannot be secured before new emissions standards go into effect in 2027.
The board at its last meeting moved the $225,000 transfer to come before the borrowing article, changing the stabilization number. If the $225,000 is not voted on, then they will amend the next article's number on the floor, subtracting the $225,000. This shows the borrowing number significantly lower.
Article 17 asks for the transfer of $80,000 from free cash to replace a police cruiser.
Police Chief Rob Derksen's aim is to replace one vehicle every other year, meaning the oldest vehicle gets replaced about every 10 years.
He stressed that if delayed this year, the town may have to double up in a future year to get back on schedule, and that paying later usually costs more. The article will ask for $80,000 from free cash, the vehicles used to be funded by the BHRD.
Lastly, the Highway Department is looking to replace a 2014 International dump truck that will be a total of $330,000 and will take two to three years to receive.
Money will be used from last year's approval of $250,000 from free cash for the replacement of a 2012 highway front-end loader that was underspent $49,261. Town meeting is being asked to approve a transfer of $53,274.85 from free cash and the use of $227,464 from funds from the Sale of Town Real Estate to fund the balance.
Other free cash proposals include $1,200 to purchase software to support tracking and ongoing maintenance schedules of town-owned vehicles; $42,000 for the replacement of the Highway Department's storage shed roof, $200,000 to reduce the tax levy.
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