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October 23, 2004
Picasso's Parade
I was in Hong Kong last week for a couple of days. It was my third time there. Everytime I go, I am astonished at the change. Back in 1981, there were still junks in the harbor and The Peninsula Hotel was actually on the Peninsula. Since then, land reclamation has provided room for an arts center and science museum. Across the harbor, a convention center reaches out toward Kowloon. It is only a matter of time, I suppose, before reclamation finally unites the island of Hong Kong with the mainland.
By far the most stunning thing about Hong Kong, though, is the wealth. There are dozens of up-market - I mean really up-market - shopping centers. Hong Kong might have the highest concentration of Gucci stores in the world.
Whenever I go to Hong Kong, I try to visit places that did not exist before. This isn't easy, since properties are constantly being redeveloped. On this trip, I made it into the International Financial Center.
The International Financial Center is built by the ferry piers for the out islands. It consists of two office buidlings, and a shopping mall. It is easy to find since the taller of the two office buildings sits right on the harbor and looks like a very tall bullet. The shopping center itself is like most modern glitzy malls. However, this one features stores with products that 99% of the worlds population could never afford. As a walked along, I noticed a crowd ahead in an atrium. I went to investigate.
Something amazing was hanging in the atrium of this shopping mall: Picasso's Parade. There was a crowd on the ground floor where a ticket was required to get close, but by going up to the photography section on the second level I had an unobstructed view and no one to move me along.
When I travel, I try and see whatever Picasso's are on display in that particular city. Usually this involves a visit to the museum. Parade was something that I never, ever expected to see. And here it was, in this shopping mall, in Hong Kong, and there was no crowd blocking my view.
I found out later that the exhibit celebrates 40 years of diplomatic relations between France and China.
Posted by apc at October 23, 2004 03:32 PM