American Go E-Journal » Go Art

The Shanghai Restoration Project’s “AlphaGo” single

Sunday January 14, 2018

The advent of AlphaGo has inspired…well, many things. Chief among them, of course, is self-reflection among serious go players:2018.01.11_Alpha Go-SRP What is it like to be superseded by artificial intelligence? Conversely, what can AlphaGo teach us about being human? Google’s AI inspired a movie, a belief that future health care will be better, endless cartoons and the belief that soon Al will be able to create knowledge itself. But music? It seems so. The Shanghai Restoration Project (SRP), a contemporary electronic music duo of Dave Liang and Sun Yunfan, recently dropped their new album R.U.R., with a single entitled “Alpha Go.” The group tells the E-Journal that R.U.R. explores a world in where robots have supplanted the extinct human civilization that predated them. ‘Alpha Go,’ the musicians say, is both “a tribute and an elegy” to Ke Jie’s defeat by the Google AI; it mixes in human elements with decidedly artificial ones. The tune is an airy, abstract melody. It’s evenly paced but turns on a dime, delivered by Yunfan ‘s vocals, which are digitally manipulated. Both musicians played go growing up, with Ms. Sun playing briefly for her school team. The cover art for the album is currently on display at NYC’s Society Of Illustrators until Jan 27 as part of the Illustrators 60 exhibition. “Alpha Go” can be listened to on YouTube or the SRP website.
– Charles “Doc” Sade, with thanks to Santana Afton for the tip

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Your Move/Readers Write: Ukiyo-e at Shizuoka

Monday January 8, 2018

“I read your article about the Tokugawa Memorial Go Congress set for February 2017 in Shizuoka,” writes Erwin 2018.01.07_Ukiyo-eGerstorfer. “One additional bit of information that might be interesting to the readers of the American Go E-Journal is an exhibition of go-related Ukiyo-e — woodblock prints and paintings — in the Tokaido Hiroshige Art Museum of Shizuoka that will take place from February 6th to April 1st, 2018. There was a go related Ukiyo-e exhibition in Villach, Austria in 2007 in conjunction with the European Go Congress but this one will be bigger and more exciting and taking place in a dedicated Ukiyo-e museum.”

“I have met one of the Japanese organizers of the go festival at the European Go Congress in Oberhof last summer and my impression is that this event is well worth a visit. They are very dedicated to that event and especially interested in international participation. You can reach Shizuoka from Tokyo by train (Shinkansen) in about 90 min and there are several trains a day.”

Image: Kubo Shunman’s “Outfit for the Go Game” 

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Former Seattle Go Center manager launches antique go equipment site

Monday November 20, 2017

Bill Camp, former Manager at the Seattle Go Center, has surfaced in the world go community four years after moving to Australia. With his wife,2017.11.11-bill-camp-goban 2017.11.11-bill-camp-stonesMarian, he recently launched kimonoquilt.com, which offers refurbished antique gobans, stones, bowls and other go accessories, along with quilts Marian makes “from fabric used and loved and worn in another life.” Like the quilts, the go equipment merges old and new, as Camp uses his experience with fine woodworking to bring antique go equipment back to life.

“Renovating, repairing, sanding, re-printing, oiling and polishing has taken many months of detailed devotion,” says Camp. “Transformed from the years sitting in storage, the stains and dirt removed, each surface carefully and lovingly tended to, these bowls and boards once again approach their original condition.”

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Go Spotting: Art Institute of Chicago

Sunday November 12, 2017

by Greg KulevichFour Accomplishments

I have searched high and low for any mention of go at the Art Institute of Chicago, and I’ve finally found one (or two). Go is seen being Immortalsplayed in two Chinese scrolls in the new exhibition “As the Story Unrolls.” It’s interesting to note that the board dimensions in these scenes appear to be 25×17. I’m curious if anyone knows if this was just the artist’s choice, or if this was actually the standard size of the time?

If you want to see the scrolls they are at the Art Institute of Chicago in Gallery 134, but time is running out. They are only on view through December 3, 2017.

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Categories: Go Art,Go Spotting
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The Traveling Board: Painting connects players

Thursday November 9, 2017

“At this year’s U.S. Go Congress in San Diego, I had the pleasure of playing Steve Uhl from Sante Fe, NM (left in picture) in round 2 of the2017.11.07_eric-wainwright-painting Open,” writes Eric Wainwright (right). “We had a very close and exciting game.  Steve had also brought many of his go-related paintings he had created and was showing them to attendees outside the main playing hall.  I found one that would look perfect in my go room and bought it from him.  Steve and his family recently came up to Boulder, CO where we had a friendly rematch in my go room (with his painting overlooking).  And, as luck would have it, we had another close and exciting game.”

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Kiseido Holiday Season Sale

Wednesday November 8, 2017

Kiseido is having a holiday season sale, writes Richard Bozulich, with discounts on go books, go boards, and Japanese prints. Shop between now2017.11.07 Yurugi Motoharu and January 6, 2018 for a 10% discount on orders of 4 books or more, or a 15% discount on orders of at least 10 books. Both book offers include free shipping. The company is also offering a selection of Japanese prints (ukiyo-e) on go themes, suitable for framing. Players looking for a top-quality go board with legs may be pleased to find Kiseido’s tenchimasa Kaya board for sale now at about 13% of the regular price.
For more information, visit the company’s new website.
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xkcd: Computers vs Humans

Wednesday August 16, 2017

Latest from xkcd:  make sure you hold your mouse over the comic2017.08.16_xkkcg-computers_vs_humans

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Categories: Go Art
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Go Spotting: Misaeng (An Incomplete Life)

Sunday June 4, 2017

by Daniel Acheson2017.06.03_Misaeng
“Misaeng,” which means “an incomplete life,” is a 2014 South Korean television drama about 26-year old Jang Geu-rae and his struggles adapting to corporate life after failing to qualify as a professional go player.
Starting with the show’s title, which refers to the life and death status of a group of stones, “Misaeng” is suffused with go imagery and references. Flashbacks to Geu-rae’s go career pepper the storyline, and there are many scenes where the game is used to make analogous connections to his internship. In one episode, for example, Geu-rae adapts his go study system to completely reorganize his section’s shared files, which are a hopeless mess. While this may not sound like much, this early assignment, and the drama that surrounds it, becomes a pivotal moment in the story’s development.
Geu-rae’s corporate environment also mimics life on the goban: Among the interns and staff there is fierce competition for survival and promotion. Like the middle game, opening moves – education, internships, career choices – have determined certain relationships, and the characters must find opportunities to advance within (or in spite of) the constraints imposed by their past actions. In this respect Geu-rae is at a distinct disadvantage.
Due to the hermetic years spent studying go, Geu-rae possesses none of the educational or social advantages of his peers. He is armed onlyÀ±ÅÂÈ£ ÀÛ°¡ ÀÎÅͺä. ÀÌ»ó¼· ±âÀÚ. babtong@heraldcorp.com 2013.03.07 with a high-school equivalency exam certificate and an aptitude for undertaking difficult, thankless work. Nothing about his start with One International is auspicious. Geu-rae’s manager, Oh Sang-shik, regards this new intern as an unqualified burden and openly voices hopes that Geu-rae will fail. Among peers Geu-rae is known as a “bomb,” meaning someone who will explode under the pressures of the internship and thus fail. Yet Geu-rae surprises everyone with his fortitude.
In a similar way, I think “Misaeng” will also pleasantly surprise its viewers. Although the show starts slowly, each episode builds momentum and invests viewers more and more in the characters and their storylines. The data confirms this: Average ratings for “Misaeng” jumped fivefold from its premier in October 2014 to its conclusion in December of that year.
One reason for this popularity, I think, is that it is relatable. In 2012, when “Misaeng” started as a webtoon, its creator, Yoon Tae-ho, began with “countless interviews with real-life people who work for corporations.” “Explain it to me as if you were explaining it to a middle school student,” he would say to his interviewees. “If you really want to know about something, you have to have the courage to look like an idiot, the courage to say you don’t know anything about what they know.” As a result Geu-rae’s world, and with that of his contemporaries, feels real and lived in precisely because it is the world inhabited by so many in their personal and professional lives.
The struggle for complete life is as present on the goban as it is in the office or home, even if it is less evident. It’s also something that each player must face on their own despite being in the company of others. This is the essence of “Misaeng.”
“Misaeng” is available on Hulu Plus. Quotes from The Korea Herald and Korea Joongang Daily
photo (bottom left): Webtoon writer Yoon Tae-ho poses in his office prior to an interview with The Korea Herald on March 7. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)
Edited by Howard Wong
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Categories: Go Art,Korea
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“Surrounding Game” launches screenings worldwide

Thursday May 25, 2017

“The Surrounding Game” is coming to a theater near you! The documentary team has just announced a summer lineup of screenings in major2017.05.24_ScreeningTourList cities across the US and Europe. The screening tour includes stops in: Toronto (6/10), San Francisco (6/10-11), Boston (6/28), New York City (6/29), Barcelona (7/07), The International Chess & Games Festival in Pardubice, Czech Republic (7/14), Berlin (7/18), Amsterdam (7/20), the European Go Congress in Oberhof, Germany (7/24), and the US Go Congress in San Diego, CA (8/05).

2017.05.24_surrounding-24x36-laurels_smallTickets are on sale now and the filmmakers urge those interested to “get yours now before they sell out!”

If you don’t see your city on the list, don’t worry – you can sign up to host a screening in your community. The film is now available to screen in theaters and community spaces. “We’re offering two options for volunteers to host a screening on their own” explains director/producer Will Lockhart. “ If you have a venue in mind, you can order a community screening pack, which will provide all the tools to host a successful event. Or, if you’re keen on getting the film to play in a local theater, you can sign up with our partners at Tugg. If you gets enough RSVPs, they’ll arrange to put the film in a local theater.” The team reports that several community screenings hosted by local go groups are already in the works.

“We’ve gotten a really positive response from non-players so far,” says producer Cole Pruitt, “and we feel this is the best way to share Go with people outside the community – by not just teaching the game, but telling a story. So if your club is looking for a way to bring more people in, I encourage you to host! I believe this is our chance to bring the world of go to the world at large.”

If your club wants to host a screening of the film, click here or contact the team directly at screenings@surroundinggamemovie.com.

photos: Berlin venue, San Francisco venue, film poster

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Categories: Go Art,World
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“Surrounding Game” to premiere at Palm Springs docfest

Sunday March 19, 2017

The long-awaited premiere of the go documentary The Surrounding Game is less than a month away, reports 2017.03.14_surrounding-game-Poster_smalldirector/producer Will Lockhart. The world premiere of the film will take place at the American Documentary Film Festival in Palm Springs, CA, on April 3

AmericanDoc_2016_Laurels“I’m so grateful to the many hundreds of players in the community who have supported this project over the years” Lockhart, who has overseen the project since its inception in 2012, tells the EJ.   “We’re very excited to finally show the finished product, and we encourage anyone in the Los Angeles area who’s free on April 3 to make the trip!” Click here for tickets to the screening.

If you can’t make it to Palm Springs, don’t worry – the film team assures us that many other screenings around the country are currently in the works, including showings at this year’s US Go Congress in San Diego and European Go Congress in Germany. Check here for more screenings to be announced.
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