Go Art « American Go E-Journal

The Art of Propaganda: North Korea’s Mansudae Art Studio

Tuesday November 4, 2014

This oil painting depicting a go game between a young Korean girl and an older western man is featured in an October 31 ArtNet News report about North Korea’s Mansudae Art Studio. Perhaps the world’s biggest art factory, “It employs around 4,000 laborers of which under a quarter are artists who mostly graduated from the Pyongyang University of Fine Arts. The studio churns out propaganda for the Kim family leadership, producing everything from trinkets to murals and gigantic Soviet-style monuments.” This piece, entitled “Confrontation” is by Kim Hyon Myong.

Thanks to David Fruchtenicht for passing this along.

Categories: Go Art,Go Spotting,Korea

Go Stamp Collection on View This Weekend in St Louis

Friday June 27, 2014

If you’re in the St Louis area this weekend – or maybe just passing through the airport – you’ll want to stop by the stamp show at the Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel. Longtime go player and philatelist Les Lanphear will be showing his award-winning stamp exhibition “Go, The World’s Oldest Board Game,” which uses brilliantly-colored stamps from around the world to tell the story of go, from its’ origins through development of the game, the people involved, as well as various related historical developments, including go’s transmission to Japan, Europe and the United States. “The last time I showed the exhibit was around three years ago,” Lanphear tells the E-Journal. “About 50% has been changed with many new items. I am getting it ready for an international exhibit on Korea in August.” The hours of the show are 10a to 6p Friday and Saturday and 10a to 4p Sunday.
photo: Lanphear at the 2008 US Go Congress in Portland, OR; photo by Chris Garlock.

Categories: Go Art,U.S./North America

Subtitled “Tokyo Newcomer” Available Online

Wednesday March 26, 2014

German go journalist colleague Tobias Berben recently sent a link to an English-subtitled online version of Tokyo Newcomer (New Go Films: Tokyo Newcomer & Weiqi Wonders 5/7/2012 EJ). In Jiang Qinmin’s 2012 film, Chinese go genius Yoshiryu (Qin Hao) comes to Japan to hone his skills in the game, but finds he’s too busy earning a living to study go at all. One day, he meets an old woman hawking vegetables, who turns out to be a descendant of a prestigious go family. “Written and directed by a Mainland Chinese, but utterly Japanese in look and feel, ‘Tokyo Newcomer’ is an engaging light drama centred on a young Chinese guy’s passion for the board game of go and his assimilation into the country which has made the (Chinese-invented) game into a national expression of its mindset,” writes Film Business Asia’s Derek Elley.

Categories: Go Art,Go Spotting

Go Spotting: Blanket Love Story

Wednesday December 18, 2013

Frequent Go-Spotting contributor Zhiping You came across this amazing go blanket online, which turns out to have a fascinating story behind its creation, which includes a love story, Hikaru No Go, learning how to crochet and instructions on how to make your very own go blanket.

Categories: Go Art,Go Spotting

Go Art: Andrew Cole’s Game-Based Art

Saturday November 30, 2013

Novice go player and artist Andrew Cole designs images based on specific games of go. “Quiet Garden” (right) “was based on a game played by Todd Blatt and Jianbo Liu on 9/21/06,” Cole tells the E-Journal. “I found the game in the 2007 AGA Yearbook.” Another image, “1573” (at left) “is based on a game played by Kashio Rigen and Honinbo Sansa in 1573, with an interesting seki at the lower end of the board. This game was included with my SmartGo application.” Cole says that “this is a hobby for me. I love playing go, and this is a different way for me to enjoy the game when my skill level limits me.”

You can find more of Cole’s images of go games on the moca.virtual.museum website: Point of Contention, 1786 and Korigatachi.

Categories: Go Art

Go Spotting: New Korean Movie “The Stone”

Thursday November 28, 2013

Coming to grips with the truth that he will never earn a living playing baduk, a young man’s chance encounter with a local gangster finds him with a new pupil in Deo Seu-ton – The Stone – the 2010 Korean drama about the vastly different past and future of the two men. Check out the trailer here.
Thanks to Devin Fraze for passing this along. This film made the rounds of international festivals last year but we’re not sure if it’s been released in the US; if anyone has info on where it can be seen, let us know.

Categories: Go Art,Go Spotting

Go Art: xkcd’s latest

Thursday November 7, 2013

Go makes another appearance in xkcd, “A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.” Thanks to our many readers who tipped us off. “Don’t forget to hover over the comic (on the xkcd site) for more joke,” says Steve Colburn.

Categories: Go Art

Go Author Raising Funds for Graphic Novel Project

Wednesday October 23, 2013

Go author Jonathan Hop is working on a new project about Chinese culture and language. “I am trying to get funds to do a graphic novel,” Hop tells the E-Journal. In “Journey to the Middle Kingdom,” three modern-day kids travel back to ancient Chinese fairy tales. “The main character’s grandfather plays go and owns an antique shop,” Hop, a 4-dan from Ann Arbor MI and author of the “So You Want to Play Go” series says. “Go will make an appearance in the first book and I’m definitely going to have it in several others because the book series is a celebration of Chinese culture. I also may even teach the readers a little bit about go (because that’s what I do) if the series gets underway, but I gotta get the first book going.” With just 14 days to go, Hop’s Kickstarter campaign has raised nearly $1,200 toward the $10,000 goal.

Categories: Go Art,U.S./North America,Youth

Go Spotting: Videodrome & Mishima

Tuesday October 1, 2013

“I recently spotted the appearance of go boards in two films, ‘Videodrome’ and ‘Mishima'” writes Deke Gould. “Here are screenshots and approximate times in each film.”

32:00 in David Cronenberg’s “Videodrome”: there appears to be a folding go board buried on Max Ren’s coffee table, partially exposed.

23:28 in Paul Schrader’s “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters”: during the “Temple of the Golden Pavilion” segment.

Categories: Go Art,Go Spotting

Go Spotting: New xkcd Comic

Wednesday September 11, 2013

Go was just featured again on xkcd, a popular web comic among mathematicians and physicists. Thanks to everyone who passed this along.

Categories: Go Art,Go Spotting

American Go E-Journal » Go Art