Erica Lai

[slaam]

Maybe, we all got gaga over Ms Lai because she was named 100 outstanding youth under 25 in Singapore by some bureaucrats. Should we? We should feel congradulatory for her being named as such, but that has nothing to do with her photographs. They must stand on their own merits. Ok, you said, she was so named because of her photographs. But then my rebuttal to you is, so? Does the bureaucrats knows better? Go to the street and show the photographs to the people. The masses is the ultimate jury.

lol always enjoy your postings and you are not afraid to be flamed. GReat!:thumbsup:

but i do wish to point out that although you are entitled to your own view and you are free to voice it out, there's a fallacy in your logic. First you are using numbers to side with you when there's no clue watsoever that the masses do not enjoy the photos.
heh even if they don't i like to rebutt you with a "SO???"
haha
dun take it to heart jus having animated discussion ok?
do the people know better?
its a misconception that an opinion held by masses cannot be wrong.
I am not saying her stuff is art cos i am qualified to judge.
but alot of artists are 'ahead' of their time. as they often produce works that outrightly invites alot of criticism or not appreciated at all.
so for me I tend to take a humbler approach by shelving it aside.
I am curious abt wat she's tryign to say in her photography but at the same time haha maybe she really doesn't have anything to say(disappointed)
aiya dun like dun like lor..
if you are that affected by it i think it actually touches you on some level. hahaha :sweat:

 

[Belle&Sebastain]

What to do Erica Lai with GENERAL, REVIEWS, TECH TALK???

Regards,
Arto.

review a NEW WEBSITE to you.

 

[Zplus]

Reading through the galleries and journal it seems that she is not too consistent yet. Some are nice while others are probably personal and just snaps of images without any attempt at being art. Well, maybe only on hindsight.

Ok but not quite consistent. Maybe a more well planned gallery would work better. Or maybe its supposed to be chaotic.. I dunno...

But seeing all the reaction in this thread, it has at least stirred up some emotions. Rather then just being technically correct but non-emotional pieces of work.

 

[vince123123]

I'm struggling to interpret this photograph - it appears to be a overexposed harsh flash shot of three figurines placed on a window sill apparently looking outwards into the scene beyond. The harsh flash can also be seen reflected in the window.

What if these sets of photos were posted in ClubSNAP by a "newbie" account? I wonder if we would see comments with terms like "deep", "nice", "deceivingly deep dimension" or even the mentioning of the word "art"?

Can the guys who appreciate her work please enlighten a layman like me what is deep, beautiful or appealing of this shot:

http://mugmao.thekitchenweb.com/ed4.htm


Thanks.

 

[Deadpoet]

lol always enjoy your postings and you are not afraid to be flamed. GReat!:thumbsup:

but i do wish to point out that although you are entitled to your own view and you are free to voice it out, there's a fallacy in your logic. First you are using numbers to side with you when there's no clue watsoever that the masses do not enjoy the photos.
heh even if they don't i like to rebutt you with a "SO???"
haha
dun take it to heart jus having animated discussion ok?
do the people know better?
its a misconception that an opinion held by masses cannot be wrong.
I am not saying her stuff is art cos i am qualified to judge.
but alot of artists are 'ahead' of their time. as they often produce works that outrightly invites alot of criticism or not appreciated at all.
so for me I tend to take a humbler approach by shelving it aside.
I am curious abt wat she's tryign to say in her photography but at the same time haha maybe she really doesn't have anything to say(disappointed)
aiya dun like dun like lor..
if you are that affected by it i think it actually touches you on some level. hahaha :sweat:

ha, finally, someone who rebtted me without flaming. Thank you.

I think your thoughtful rebuttal deserves a thoughtful response.

My number game, as you called it, is one rhetorical and two based on long experience how people react to art, and more specifically abstract art. May be Ms Lai is way ahead of her time, but I doubt it. I do not considered myself as well connected and well read with regard to photography as some of our CSers claimed to be, but I have seen a fair share of photograph in my life. I just do not see Ms Lai's portfolio as represented by the website to be inspiring. I don't understand it, I don't appreciate it, and I don't care about it, as I may do for others.

I did have some of that curiosity of yours with regard to Ms Lai's pictures, but that was lost soon after I got them. Hence, I can say, I think the picture sucks. The first of many words I used that draw so my flack, but would the word "horrible" be a better choice? I doubt it, because my detractors are there waiting, regardless of what word I used.

What I do not understand is, and I asssumed that Ms. Lai got her most outstanding youth recognition based on her photography, how she got there with the work she presented. I made another assumption that the work presented on the website is infact some of her better works. Now come the second word the got me lots of flack, bribe. Again it's rhetorical, and if my detractors cannot comprehend, so be it, I don't give a sh**.

Everyone here needs to understand one thing. Ms Lai was recognised for her photography, as one of the outstanding youth under 25, this immediately elevate the standard on which her works are judged. And my comments are based on this elevated standard. If this portfolio is from someone who is new to photography, my commentsw would have been slightly different.

Another thing I do not understand is, this is a feeling I got reading the comments before and after my original post, that because Ms Lai was named one of the 100 outstanding youth under 25 in Singapore, since she is so honored, we should not or could not criticised her. Hence, my criticism was in some way to many, sacrilegious.

My feeling is this, to be an artist, you will faced with lots of criticism. My criticism was mild compare to what Ms Lai will face, if this is infact a career path she is going to choose.

 

[student]

lol always enjoy your postings and you are not afraid to be flamed. GReat!:thumbsup:

.... there's a fallacy in your logic.

Don't take it to heart. OK?

Just a discussion.

Seeing that you appeal to logic and reason, pray, tell me, how was DP flamed in this thread? Your statement suggests that DP was "flamed" in this thread.

Can you show reasons and logic what was erroneous WRT the "flames"? Of course, logic says that if a person was said to be flamed, the comments against that person were not called for, and therefore, unjust?

I am just trying to understand why you said DP was flamed. Are you referring to DP "in general"? Or are you fererring to DP in this thread?

BTW, I do agree with the rest of your comments.

 

[Artosoft]

review a NEW WEBSITE to you.

Not a good review :bsmilie: .

Regards,
Arto.

 

[AngelZhou]

Does not work for me. If she get choose as outstanding youth based on her photography work - then whoever choose the 'outstanding' youth have different taste with me.

I guess I dont have what it takes to appreciate this kind of snapshot. Appears to me like a junk of images with a lot of emotional baggage and almost no strong appeal as a pictures itself.

Maybe one day i will understand - but not now.

 

[major_tom]

to cheem for me or maybe....i'm too shallow to appreciate such arty-farty shots.

 

[jOhO]

thanx for sharing gilbert..

some of the images are quite intriguing.. some aren't to my taste, but most of all, it does make me want to talk to her and find out more about her unique personality, or at least her unique "sense of sight".

 

[Stereobox]

My spelling had always been my achilles' heel. Too bad, CS uses vBulliten does not have a spell checker, I am lost. But, does a typo means my observations or comments are irrevelent?

As the audience to Erica Lai's photographs, we are free to draw any conclusions, make any judgements and commet on on the presentation. The audience is the masses, or unless Ms Lai had explicitly stated that, only art/abstract photographers and/or artists may appreciate and comment.

I am the audience when I open the website. I saw a vague attempt to do something, what it is, I still don't know. So, the images did nothing for me. Granted abstract is not my cup of tea, but still, there are abstract photographs that I admit are great photographs, but not these.

Oh, btw, the audience is responsible for making their own judgements regarding what is presented. As the audience, my responsibility is not to make Ms Lai feels good, or anyone feels good, but to myself, whether I like it or dislike it, whether I have any feelings for it etc etc.

Maybe, we all got gaga over Ms Lai because she was named 100 outstanding youth under 25 in Singapore by some bureaucrats. Should we? We should feel congradulatory for her being named as such, but that has nothing to do with her photographs. They must stand on their own merits. Ok, you said, she was so named because of her photographs. But then my rebuttal to you is, so? Does the bureaucrats knows better? Go to the street and show the photographs to the people. The masses is the ultimate jury.

By the way, please don't try to get under my skin by branishing the rights of free speech and the responsibility that comes with it. Unless I am yelling fire in a crowded theater, I stand by anyone's right to say whatever they want to say.

If I were to shoot from my mounth first and think later, I would have told you to "f*** off", rather than trying to enlight you!

Dear Deadpoet

my, my....

from the start, what prompted my response to your original post had nothing to do with the fact you find erica lai’s photography “sucks”, nor your inability to “appreciate it”, but with the context in which you chose to exercise the right of free speech. and to a lesser extent, the manner in which it is expressed (of which people like student and belle&sebastain had elaborately pointed out).

since you have pointed out the analogy of “yelling fire in a crowded theater”, coincidently i have an analogy of my own to express the impression i’ve got.

imagine a private screening of an art-house film in which the host had kindly invited audience to attend. in the middle of the film, a man jumped out of his seat and yelled “this film sucks! it sucks! i don’t understand it! i hate this film!”
prompts from the rest of the audience incited him to go on further “what? i can’t believe the director got nominated for the Oscars!” and so on (....occasionally dotted with broken english).

that would have spoilt the experience for some, wouldn’t it?

now, am i wrong to say in this case, that man had displayed traits and behaviour typical of people who "shoot off their mouths first, think later"?

similarly, i have chosen to excerise the right of free speech to speak up. i have kept my original response short for the sake of brevity (i wouldn’t like to make a scene in a theatre to ask a man to shush up) in the hope the man would realise what he had done.

student mentioned from time to time again in various threads, “A photograph is a mirror. If an ass peers into it, you cannot expect an apostle to look out?"

i appreciate the significance of that. i would like to take a step further by saying,

“The ugliness we see in others
is a reflection of our own nature”

what we do, what we say, ultimately is a reflection of who we are, how we think.

and THAT, is the responsibility i am referring to.