5 Things I Learned From the Duck
19-6-13
The Rubber Ducky created by Florentijn Hofman closed earlier this month but definitely left it's mark on the Hong Kong art scene. The pandemonium the duck caused on twitter and at Harbour City was legendary. People went crazy. When he was deflated for "maintenance" the tweets were so tragic; it was if a national leader had been assassinated. Pablo Picasso said that we have to learn from other artists and their experiences in our community. We can learn what to do and what not to do. Here are 5 things the rubber ducky taught me.
1. Accessible art is legitimate.
Anybody from any country to go and see the duck. It didn't matter what language they spoke, or what age they were. Kids loved him, the elderly loved him, 20 something fashionistas loved him. This made his demographic of audience HUGE! When you produce a play or a dance show your audience is very specific. But if you made a show that was very accessible, like the duck and had no barriers on age or language, it could open up huge possibilities of sales for you.
Now, did I think the duck was the most amazing piece of art I've ever seen? No. But was I impressed with his mass appeal? Yes. 4,000 tweets a day. That's impressive for anything- especially an art piece in Hong Kong. You can't deny that.
2. Be affordable.
The duck was free to look at. Everybody loves free stuff. With the economic downturn still affecting many of our brothers and sisters in the city I'm hoping that the duck will open the door to more free art being produced in Hong Kong. (Or at least more shows with discounted tickets.)
3. It's ok to make fluff.
Sometimes as artists we get this thing in our head that we have to be deep and prolific with every show we do. It's not true. It's ok to have fun and produce School House Rock or just make an entertaining cabaret show at a bar. All shows don't have to have these heavy themes. We don't have to try and change the world ALL the time.
Fluff can be fun and sometimes your audience just wants to see something happy and feel good for an hour. Escapism is a valid reason for wanting to attend the theatre.
4. Hong Kong people love cute things.
They love cats. They love the rubber ducky. They love cartoons and sparkles. Remember this when producing your next show. A little cute can go a long way. Advertise in a way that might help bring in some of that coveted local demographic. Cute power!!!!!
5. Quack. Quack. Quack.
This video has over 200,000 views on YouTube.
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