JACKIE CHAN IS BORN: A Cut above Street Art

After 4 Monday week nights at Pine Sts A Cut Above Street Art with stencil extraordinaire Chris Tamm, I was exposed to this underground form of expression.

Chris introduced the intimate group of 6 to stenciling, pasting, tagging and graffiti art and the various “rebellious” ways that stereotypically street kids would express themselves through.

But the gist of street art is really any form of expression done in a public space, it is pretty much a poor man’s art or art that wasn’t sanctioned by the government.

Types of Street Art

Graffiti artwork: public markings on property

Stencil graffiti: makes use of a paper, cardboard, or other media to create an image or text that is easily reproducible.

Sticker art: image or message is publicly displayed using stickers. Below is Craig's a.k.a "Bunkwaa" red balloon artwork. He also teaches at Pine St Community Arts Centre.

Others include street poster art, Video projection, Art intervention, Guerrilla art and Flash mobbing  

BLAST FROM THE PAST: Click here to have a read of “Ninjas of Dawn” Flash Mobbing social experiment I coordinated with the Rumble Pictures and 9Lives Parkour crew in August 2008.

Im not too great at creating designs but I managed to come up with this little Jackie Chan Bear design of mine during the workshop.

 

This was the original done in free hand with a black marker, then it was scanned and fixed up in photoshopped. I made a felt bear from it, then took a photo of this and cropped it out, reshaped and with the help of Marie Setiawan a more experienced graphics artist, who did some touch up work of it.

Perhaps I might have taken the long way to get this done, but Im still content to get the final product in the end.

So in conclusion, Ive got 5 shirt giveaways across Australia. Just email me in with your details and tell me creatively, where you would wear your Jackie Chan shirt.

Click on the link for the vlog - Quest for Jackie Chan - How to Print on a Shirt - Maria Tran.

STENCIL GRAFFITI: Week 4 of the course and Chris gave us the low down of what stencil graffiti was all about and this inspired me to create the 60cm x 50cm giant Jackie Chan stencil that was permanently installed on that same night at the legal wall in Darlington.

Click on this link for the vlog Quest for Jackie Chan - Stencil Graffiti - Maria Tran

Quest for Jackie Chan via street art? Yes. I think that’s one aspect I will venture down, particularly when I am a poor woo ”man” fundraising my way for my August around Australia trip to extend this project and share it with the rest of Australia. You wouldn’t believe the amount of knock backs I’ve got from the richest law firms in Australia, top investors, business owners, entrepreneurs etc…I know, I’m not Baz Luherrman, Nicole Kidman or their Hugh Jackman nor do I hold a household name.

At the end of the day, I’m just a crazy “Lil Azn grl afta Jackie CHAN!!!!!”. Apparently its more marketable. Bla! Why I can’t be me not so chopsocky!!!

Until next time my followers….

P.S - Shout out to the people from my course!

And of course, other photos!

Be my first customer! Jackie Chan Fan shirts on sale!

All it took was less than 30 mins and now my Jackie Chan Fan shirt has gone worldwide! Just imagine people from all over the world can now log online and with their credit details purchase and sport this original in their country!

That’s the fast paciness of modern day digital living. And to think this morning I purchased 20 plain shirts, a silk screen printer, cutter and all the paints, not to mention 4 x 2 hour sessions of silk screening printing training to start up my hobby-slash business.

About Redbubble: Its sort of like a virtual community for artists (particularly in photography and graphic design) to share their works. That includes selling it too! These guys are responsible for handling all the hassles of making, printing and shipping of the shirts, while all you have to do is sit and wait for the payments to come in. All they need is a digital file and the rest is history! They do of course charge a simple (yet very large) base price but that’s ok if all you want is to get your stuff out there in the physical realm.

I’m still intrigue to find out who may first customer would be (age, gender, martial status, country…the lot!) and how long will I wait till the first virtual one rocks up.

Only $30 (excluding postage and handling) worldwide!

In the meantime, to check out my account click here.

P.S - Shout out to Marie Setiawan for cleaning up my design up. 

Quest for Jackie! companions sporting the design. 

Jackie Chan at Sydney: Lattice

I thought would make sense to trace the very beginnings of "Quest for Jackie Chan". I must pay homage to a particular event that connected with the right people that marked the very initial beginnings.

It was at Lattice: Collaborative Anarchaeologies of the City a collaborative workshop and exchange labs between UK based artists Proboscis with Western Sydney artists in early 2007.

In this workshop I had the opportunties to explore the ways culturally diverse communities engage with their environment and consider what “environmental sustainability” could mean. What happens when people come to a city? What knowledge is lost, or created? What are the impacts of migration and emerging new identities on cities? Proboscis and ICE will work together with the participants to develop new methods of sharing knowledge and creativity, imagining the city through the eyes of those who live in it.

It was through this project. my long time mentor Tiffany Lee Shoy and through our discussion of how urban Fairfield has become and how it is very supportive of community made feature film "Maximum Choppage: Round 2" and Parkour team "9Lives".

We spent an hour on utilising all things creative to build our idea space and Tiffany had created the one below.

I think she may have meant that she would like to see more culturally diverse faces in the Australian industry and what better place to start is in Western Sydney and the different communities there.

Its an outdoor cinema with "Jackie Chan" on the big screens and an audience of course! Yup, this was one of the instances when I realised how prevalent one Asian man Jackie Chan can be and how inspiring his works are that even today finds its relevance in a creatives workshop like this one.

MEDIA: They're after a hero

BY JENNY HUA

24 Feb, 2010 03:07 PM

WE'VE watched him kick villains' butts and we've laughed at his singing in Rush Hour, but how does an Asian girl from Sydney's south-west meet Jackie Chan?

Since Maria Tran came up with a documentary idea six months ago, she's been working hard to get it up and running by creating a Twitter campaign and a Facebook page and by uploading videos on YouTube.

Quest for Jackie! will be a reality documentary presenting messages from Jackie Chan fans across Australia.

Ms Tran hopes to spend a month filming and wants to fly to Hong Kong in August to meet Jackie Chan, who is a martial arts legend.

``Jackie Chan has got to have one of the most recognisable faces in the world,'' Ms Tran said.

``He's inspiring. He has made more than 100 films and broken 200 bones and is still making movies. Young people, particularly those in the west, see him as a multicultural icon.''

Ms Tran has been consulting several people for support.

She has interviewed people who have met Jackie Chan.

``The goal is to collect mail, personal messages or video clips from people who want to send a message to Jackie Chan,'' she said.

Although the final goal is to meet her idol, Ms Tran said the documentary was also about encouraging social change of ethnic representations in the media.

``He's still an outcast in Hollywood,'' she said.

``He plays characters who can't speak English properly.

``We want to push forward and empower culturally diverse people to tell their stories and to get mainstream representation.''

<> Ms Tran has coped with several rejections and people who say her project is ``over the top''.

She won't be giving up and she also has a back-up plan ready.

``People say I'm obsessed, but I call it passion,'' she said.

``Anything is possible.''

GIVEAWAYS: Jackie Chan’s Little Big Soldier @ Event Cinemas

Hi everyone!
I have 4 tickets to give away for the viewing on Jackie Chan's recent film "Little Big Soldier" out in EVENT cinemas in Australia for a short time. This is definitely a movie not to be missed and I found it personally inspiring and the character development of Jackie Chan was such a great watch.
For your chance to get your complimentary ticket, please email me back with the following details. Tickets will be drawn 25th of February @ 5pm.

Special thanks to Event Cinemas - Macquarie Park & Vendetta Films.

Name:
Age:
Nationality:
Describe yourself: (in less than 50 words)
E-Mail (Can be removed if requested):
Suburb/City/Country:
Homepage URL:
What Attracts you to Jackie & his films?
What do you admire the most about Jackie?
Name the 3 Jackie Chan films that come to mind?
What is your most favourite Jackie Chan film and why?
[Complete the sentence] Did you know, Jackie Chan…
Leave a personal Message for Jackie:

BLOG: Jackie Chan’s Little Big Soldier @ Event Cinemas
By: Marie Setiawan
Little Big Soldier starring Jackie Chan & Lee-Hom WangSaturday, February 20, 20109:30PM, Macquarie Centre Event Cinemas

The Q4JC crew (Maria Tran, Andy Minh Trieu, Steve Ada, along with Shaun Chang) headed off to Macquarie Park to watch Jackie Chan’s feature “Little Big Soldier” at Event Cinemas, Macquarie Centre. Known as one of the few cinemas to screen Asian Cinema, Macquarie Centre’s Event Cinemas is one of the largest complexes in Sydney.

From Maria Tran:

“One is an old soldier who only wants to survive. The other is a young general who is aspiring to conquer. After a bloody battle, the two are the only ones alive.When the soldier finds the injured general, he decides to kidnap him and brings him on a long journey to collect a reward, thinking by doing so he will no longer need to fight a war"

The general, feeling insulted, attempts suicide but is saved by the soldier every time.Somewhere along the way, the soldier and the general find themselves becoming allies in a fight against the real villains.The story of “Little Big Soldier” is mapped out by Jackie Chan who had conceived it for 20 years.

Chan told Sohu.com in an interview that he has talked about the story with many people. But director Ding Sheng was the only one who has translated the colloquial story into a screenplay.Ding Sheng also directs the comedic road film, starring Jackie Chan as the soldier and Lee-Hom Wang as the general. Jackie Chan, who supervises the production, says the film is about lives during wartime and is a strong message that peace is priceless.”

My (Marie Setiawan) thoughts on the film: I grew up watching Jackie Chan films, and this one didn’t disappoint. Famous for his action choreography mixed with comic relief, Jackie Chan delivered. The film was entertaining, but not stagnant that it would slow its pace. It wasn’t as punchy as his Hollywood counterparts, such as Rush Hour or Shanghai Noon, but it brought back the roots of Asian cinema again. It brought me back to the films I adored and loved as a kid. But what I really admired was the underlying message that was coming across through the entertainment. I agree that Jackie had successfully pulled it off and it came across so powerfully in the end.

Overall, what do I say about the film? It’s MARVELOUS!

Lip Dub Jackie Chan Acapella!

Sydney, NSW, Australia - 13th of February, 2010 – After considerable thought I (Maria Tran) decided to round up my merry friendship crew to attempt our first weekend experimental project as a part of Quest for Jackie!

This week we attempted what we found out to be a “Lip dub” – this is an online popularity of lip synching and audio dubbing to make a music video.

Prior to this and as my research into the social phenomena Chan man, I bumped into this song made by a group called InsideOut from their album “Experience” online.

So myself and a small fun loving crew of eight had fun collaborating on this ridiculous project.

“It definitely pushed my comfort zone. A new experience that can be slightly outrageous beyond what I’m use to. It has inspired me to try something different.” says Marie Setiawan.

“I’ve always wanted to be in a music video. Haven’t as yet so I think it’s wiser to just home make it.” says Maria.

Tips for Lip dubbing:
Spontaneity: It doesn’t look too planned, like someone has pulled the idea out of the blue and their mates together to do it.
authenticity: Everything about the clips appears real and down to earth
participation: It not about the lip syncing but more so about the dynamics of the people making the clip
fun: people in the film are having heaps of fun

Lib dubbing: was coined by the founder of Vimeo by Jakob Lodwick, 2006, in a video entitled Lip Dubbing: Endless Dream.

In the video's description, he wrote, "I walked around with a song playing in my headphones, and recorded myself singing. When I got home I opened it in iMovie and added an MP3 of the actual song, and synchronized it with my video. Is there a name for this? If not, I suggest 'lip dubbing'."

Click here to check out "Quest for Jackie Chan - Lip Dub Acapella

Jackie Chan Fan Meet Up @ EVENT cinema "Little Big Soldier"

Date: Saturday, February 20, 2010

Time: 9:00pm - 11:00pm

Location: Macquarie Shopping Centre Herring Rd, Macquarie Park NSW 2113

"Quest for Jackie Chan" vox pop artist Maria Tran and her camera crew will be at the EVENT CINEMA screening of Jackie Chan film "Little Big Soldier" at Event Cinema - Macquarie at the 9.30pm session.

Adult $17.00Child $13.00Pensioner $14.00 Senior $13.00 Student $14.00Seniors Club $8.00

An opportunity not to be missed!

This is your chance to deliver Jackie Chan a personal message!

One is an old soldier who only wants to survive. The other is a young general who is aspiring to conquer. After a bloody battle, the two are the only ones alive.When the soldier finds the injured general, he decides to kidnap him and brings him on a long journey to collect a reward, thinking by doing so he will no longer need to fight a war.

The general, feeling insulted, attempts suicide but is saved by the soldier every time.Somewhere along the way, the soldier and the general find themselves becoming allies in a fight against the real villains.The story of "Little Big Soldier" is mapped out by Jackie Chan who had conceived it for 20 years.

Chan told Sohu.com in an interview that he has talked about the story with many people. But director Ding Sheng was the only one who has translated the colloquial story into a screenplay.
Ding Sheng also directs the comedic road film, starring Jackie Chan as the soldier and Lee-Hom Wang as the general.Jackie Chan, who supervises the production, says the film is about lives during wartime and is a strong message that peace is priceless.

"Little Big Soldier"

Director: Ding Sheng
Cast: Jackie Chan, Lee-Hom Wang, Yoo Seung-Jun, Lin Peng, Xu Dongmei, Wu Yue
Genre: Action/Adventure/Comedy

Release Date (Chinese mainland): February 14, 2010