Singapore Biennale 2006
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Saturday, April 09, 2005
Tzee-trospection: A Decade of Sarkasi is a collaborative effort between Beatty Alumni and The Arts House. The event hopes to raise funds for the Beatty Secondary School Development Fund. With the school’s move towards developing the Creative and Media Arts it is also noteworthy that it is contributing a portion of the proceeds towards the Arts House’s Budding Artists Fund.
The ARTIST
Known in Singapore as the “Baron of Batik”, Sarkasi was a student at Beatty Secondary in the 1950s.
Sarkasi’s works have toured Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, New Zealand, USA, Japan and France. They have also found their way into many distinguished public and private collections including the National Museum of Singapore, Her Royal Highness Sultana of Johore, Her Royal Highness Pengiran Hajjah Mariam Brunei Darussalam, the Singapore High Commission in Brunei, Kuala Lumpur and the President of the Republic of Singapore.
HIS ACCOLADES
In 1974, he won the Pingat APAD, from Angkatan Pelukis Aneka Daya or APAD, a local art group. This was followed by a string of other awards, including
Best Foreign Entry Sarasota Art Society (USA) (1981)
8th UOB Painting of the Year Award (1989) (First Prize -Abstract Category)
IBM Art Award (Highly Commended) (1990)
Sarkasi has contributed to numerous charitable events and even holds a record in the Guinness Book of Records of having painted the world’s longest Batik painting of 103.9 metres.
The Beatty Alumni, in association with The Arts House at The Old Parliament, is organising a unique fund raising event entitled Tzee-trospection: A Decade of Sarkasi Said.
The solo exhibition cum sales of specially commissioned pieces from the well-known batik master and former Beattyian, Mr Sarkasi Said Tzee features the 5 themes of:
Mother & Child
Floral
Kampung
Abstract
Urban Landscape
Exhibition cum Sale and Auction Details:
Exhibition Dates:
30 March - 18 April 2005
Time:
10am to 8pm Daily, Free Admission
Venue:
The Arts House atThe Old Parliament.
Official Launch with Auction:
2 April 2005, 5:30pm to 8:30pm
Guest-of-Honour:
HE President SR Nathan
(Proceeds will go towards the Beatty Development Fund & The Arts House' Budding Artists' Fund)
LOCATION OF VENUE
We are located at No 1 Old Parliament Lane Level 2 Annex Building Singapore 179429.
By Car:
Enter via 1 Old Parliament Lane. Parking spaces available at the current Parliament House, The Adelphi and the road side along Empress Place.
By Bus:
North Bridge Road (Opposite Funan Centre or Outside MITA Building): 32, 51, 61, 63, 80, 103, 124, 145, 166, 174, 195, 197, 603, 851, 961
Collyer Quay (At, or Opposite Clifford Pier; Fullerton Square; Opposite Singapore Cricket Club or outside Victoria Concert Hall): 10, 70, 75, 100, 107,130, 131, 162, 167, 196, 605, 607, 608
By MRT:
From Raffles Place Station, take exit H and walk across Cavenagh Bridge. From City Hall Station, take exit B (in front of capitol building), turn left, walk towards Funan Centre and turn left again upon reaching the present Parliament house.
From Clark Quay Station, take exit E, cross the road in front, then turn left, upon reaching the Singapore River, turn right and walk towards the Victoria Memorial Clock Tower.
BEATTY SECONDARY SCHOOL
With the backing of a 51 year history, Beatty Secondary School has been the cradle of success for many illustrious Beattyians like Professor Shih Choon Fong (President and Vice Chancellor of the National University of Singapore), Mr Lim Siam Kim (Chairman of the Board of the Asian Civilization Museum, Mr Colin Goh (General Manager of The Old Parliament House) and Mr Sarkasi Said (Baron of batik) and many others.
Beatty Secondary School recognizes that each student is a unique individual with the potential to excel. The academic and character development programme offered at Beatty are specially tailored to ignite students’ passion and interest and designed to develop and stretch their abilities and talents to the fullest. Undergirding the experience is also the care the school provides for the physical, mental, social and emotional well-being of each of its members.
Beatty’s professional team of committed and caring teachers take much pride in their innovative approaches to teaching and learning. They play a pivotal role in creating an enriching and supportive learning environment for the school community.
The school recognizes that each student is a unique individual with the potential to excel and is committed to providing quality Academic, Character Development, Creative and Media Arts Programmes.
For further information, please visit http://www.beattysecondaryschool.net
The BEATTY SECONDARY SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT FUND
The fund was set up in 2004 to provide for additional infrastructure, resources and programmes that will enhance teaching and learning. A significant portion will also go towards the needy students.
ABOUT THE BEATTY ALUMNI
The Beatty Alumni’s objectives include the following:
To provide a platform for Members to renew their old ties with former schoolmates through the numerous
Alumni-organised social activities.
To foster in Beattyians a sense of pride and identity with their Alma Mater.
To provide an avenue for networking among Beattyians
Members of the Alumni include politicians, judges, professionals, businessmen and people from all walks of life.
Other prominent Beatty Alumni members include:
Professor Shih Choon Fong, President & Vice-Chancellor of NUS
Mr Lim Siam Kim, PPA(E), PPA, Chairman, Asian Civilisations Museum
His Excellency Pehin Dato Isa bin Dato Haji Ibrahin, Special Adviser to His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam
Goh Joon Seng, retired High Court Judge
GP Selvam, retired High Court Judge
Sarkasi Said Tzee, Artist
For further information, please visit http://www.beattyalumni.org.sg/
ABOUT THE ARTS HOUSE
Opened on 26 March 2004, The Arts House is Singapore’s newest arts and heritage venue. Built in 1827, the former Parliament House is the only gazetted government building which has been designated as a performance space. It seeks to connect audiences with artists and arts organisations through a broad spectrum of contemporary arts and entertainment events which will fully engage them. The Arts House is managed by The Old Parliament House Limited, a not-for-profit full-service arts management company limited by guarantee.
For further information, please visit http://www.theartshouse.com.sg
ABOUT THE BUDDING ARTISTS’ FUND
Initiated by The Arts House, the Budding Artists’ Fund aims to provide opportunities for less privileged children aged between eight to 16 years to nurture their artistic talents. Professional artists will provide extensive training and mentorship leading up to performance-oriented presentations of the young artists’ skills. It is hoped that through this scheme future generations of artists will be identified and given opportunities to grow.
Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong addressed an audience of more than 200 global business leaders at the Singapore Conference, held on 15 March 2005, at the Millennium Hotel, London Mayfair, as part of the Singapore Season in London.
"We are encouraging the development of our arts and culture landscape. This is not just to make Singapore a vibrant and fun place. It is also recognition of the link between creativity in the arts and the overall vibrancy of an economy and society. It is "art for art's sake" but also art for Singapore's sake. Our new national performing arts centre is called the Esplanade but affectionately known to locals as the "durian" because of its spiky exterior. Jose Carreras, who performed on its stage in 2002, called it "the world's best modern hall and one of the world's top concert halls of all time". Some of Singapore's promising art practitioners will be performing in this Season in London and I hope you will have the opportunity to experience a slice of Singapore."
Exchange05 is a series of discussions focusing on issues and new
developments in the arts. The first in the series starts this
forthcoming Friday 15 April at 7.30pm at p-10, 10 Perumal Road, looking
at how the Performing arts are collaborating with the Visual arts.
Exchange05
a joint event by p-10 and Wita
Collaboratives - Working with the Visual Arts
Friday 15 April
7.30-9.30pm
at p-10, 10 Perumal Road
Co-ordinated and moderated by Urich Lau
Invited Speakers:
Aaron Khek Ah Hock
Founder, Executive Director, Choreographer, Dancer Ah Hock and Peng Yu
Alvin Tan
Founder, Artistic Director The Necessary Stage
Noor Effendy Ibrahim
Katak Kudung Theatre
Collaboratives brings together some of Singapore's performing artists,
who have worked with visual artists, to discuss ways & methods from the
two disparate forms. When individual methodologies collide, do we see
greater experimentations, better understanding, friction, and/or a more
cohesive practice?
Collaboratives hopes to open up discussion on:
- How the diverse art forms reveal the subjective nature of aesthetics
-The choice of platform for presentation and the possibilities of
displacement from one presented form to another.
- Diverging interpretations of general concepts, themes or subject
matters (space, time, body, movement, composition, etc)
- The dynamics of interpersonal and artistic influences.
- Holding on to individual forms while being part of a totality.
- The challenge of meeting the objectives of all sides
Upcoming sessions (Friday, 7.30 - 9.30pm)
on 20 May - Documents & Documentation
on 24 June - Enquiries in Art & Technology
on 15 July - Artists, Artworks & Audiences
For enquiries
Web: www.p-10.org/exchange/
E-mail: ahengln@yahoo.com.sg Tel:+65-6294-0041
Exchange 05 is a collaborative art event conceptualised and organised
by p-10 & WITA.
The Working team: Lee Sze Ching, Amanda Heng, Jennifer Teo, Urich Lau,
Ida Lee, Woon Tien Wah, Shirley Soh, Cheong Kah Kit, Margaret Tan, Chia
Chuyia, Lim Kok Boon
Supported by National Arts Council, Singapore
The Speakers
Aaron Khek Ah Hock
AH HOCK and PENG YU (AHPY) is a Singapore based contemporary dance
company founded by Aaron Khek Ah Hock, a Hong Kong trained
dancer/choreographer and Ix Wong Thien Pau, former dancer with the City
Contemporary Dance Company (Hong Kong). Both were formally from the
Arts Fission Company working as choreographers, rehearsal directors and
dancers. Aaron’s choreography [Bowl of Containment] is one of the
finalists of the Young Choreographers’ Platform in 2002 in
collaboration with the Singapore Dance Theatre. AHPY mission is to
rekindle; explore; reinvent multi-disciplinary/genre arts/dance
collaborations. Marking the beginning of a new era of contemporary
movement in both art and dance making, Ah Hock and Peng Yu aim to
connect people with movement called Moving Now.
Alvin Tan
Alvin Tan is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Necessary Stage
(TNS). Under Alvin, The Necessary Stage has grown from a society in
1987 to one of Singapore’s most prominent and respected theatre
companies. He initiated the Company's Theatre For Youth Branch, the
annual M1 Theatre Connect (previously called M1 Youth Connection) and
the Marine Parade Theatre Festival. He has a BA from the National
University of Singapore, a Diploma in Education from the Institute of
Education, and an MA from the University of Birmingham. Alvin has
directed more than 40 plays, which have been staged locally and at
international festivals in Glasgow, Cairo, Busan, Seoul and Melbourne.
Some of these landmark productions include Lanterns Never Go Out, Still
Building, Pillars, Galileo, Koan and godeatgod. Most recently he was
invited to participate in the World Culture Forum Alliance in Sao Paolo
and the Conference of Asian Foundations and Organisations in Barcelona.
Noor Effendy Ibrahim
Noor Effendy Ibrahim is a director and playwright and has worked
prolifically in Malay Theatre with Teater Kami, Teater Ekamatra and
Teater Artistik since 1991. Effendy is also a performance artist and a
body-based performer since 1994, having performed extensively as a solo
artist and in collaborations with various artists in Singapore, Kuala
Lumpur, Chicago and Poland. He initiated and co-founded a Chicago-based
performance collective Broken Cello with both degree and graduate
students and faculty members while pursuing his Bachelor of Fine Arts
at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Effendy now practices
theatre and performance under the name Katak Kudung. Currently, Effendy
is the Artistic Director (since 2001) as well as the Producer/Manager
(since 2003) of Teater Ekamatra.
Artist Feature
Tan Chin-Chn
Kites
Kites is an intricate work of art designed by Tan Chin-Chin, an Philip Morris Aean Art Award and UOB Painting of the Year award-winning Singapore artist. Comprising two separate pieces which are almost similar in theme and design, Kites illustrates a harmonious fusion of cultures in our multi-racial Republic. Traditional fabrics and textiles, indigenous to the four ethnic races in Singapore are artfully assembled together to form a beautiful piece of work. Each measuring 20 feet x 32 feet, the works are vibrant in colours and engaging in details. Kites is displayed on the second level of Conrad Centennial Hotel in Singapore.
Door Screen
Door Screen is part of the permanent collection of the Singapore Art Museum.
Artist Feature
Joel Seah was born in Singapore and is a University Fellow at Syracuse University, New York where he is completing his Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking. He was a visiting artist at The University of Alaska in Anchorage, and artist-in-residence at the Victorian College of Arts in Melbourne, Australia and LaSalle College of the Arts in Singapore.
Domestic Partners
His show Domestic Partners that was held at the Substation Gallery between 20 - 29 Jul 2004. Currently, the United States is in a time when domestic gay life is being brought to visibility through the debate of same sex marriages, the process of which could change the social meaning as well as the representation of domestic life.
In a series of 6 new large format digital prints, Seah brings to this discourse the notion that homosexuals need to assert their own identity into domestic imagery. Catalogue pages from IKEA, Ethan Allen and Pottery Barn have been scanned and enlarged, then re-configured. In each of these prints, a unique repeating pattern of male silhouettes has been super- imposed over the catalogue image, creating a scrim through which these domestic settings can now be re-evaluated and re-interpreted.
Reclaimed 2004
Joel Seah: Reclaimed was shown between August 23 - Thursday, September 23, 2004 at Western Illinois University. The exhibition featured prints and interactive mixed-media installation art by Joel Seah. The exhibition embraced notions of re-building personal identity and community through active individual and group involvement. The exhibition was held in conjunction with and in support of Western Illinois University's "American Democracy Project" and the 2004-2005 Campus Theme: "Now is the time… Civic Engagement."
Rediscovering Marco Polo
Joel Seah created an exhibition inspired by Marco Polo’s journey to the East, exploring his identity as an Asian artist travelling in Italy. He processed, cut up, collaged, and re-printed images collected during a month-long study tour of Italy to form a travel diary. In his attempt to reconstruct the dualities of East and West, and the aspects of spiritual and physical space, he showed the way our lives are increasingly connected, despite an increasing sense of dislocation in our global hybrid culture. His works were at Temasek Junior College’s The Scope Gallery in August 2004.
On His show Rediscovering Marco Polo, Joel Seah stated:
Growing up in a Chinese family in Singapore, where emphasis was placed on occidental thought, my work has evolved as the ideal process through which I can interrogate the dichotomies of "Eastern" and "Western" that have shaped my outlook, both personally and artistically.
As my knowledge of Chinese culture comes from research rather than first hand experience, I identify with the Chinese-American playwright David Henry Huang's observation that the paradox of "being Chinese today means rediscovering what it means to be Chinese today." However, it can also be observed that the ethnicity in this statement may be substituted for any other.† The continuous displacement from and reconnection to the sense of belonging is a journey that most people undergo, in one form or another, in an increasingly globalized society. I realize it is certainly not unique to being ethnically Chinese.
I am building a vocabulary of images and symbols that will allow me to reconstruct this universal experience from what is particular and specific to my own experience in "discovering what it means to be Chinese today." My studio practice has involved collecting found, video taped and photographed images relating to the idea of Diaspora from widely disparate sources, and then juxtaposing these images in different contexts. By manipulating the images in this manner, I seek to reassess through visual dialogue and interaction, their associated meanings and their relation to the reconstructions of place and space. The French philosopher Gilles Deleuze states: "only that which is alike differs and only differences are alike." In my work, I want to redefine, rather than resolve, the disparities of identity difference.
Formal training as a printmaker has influenced my exploration into digital technologies including high resolution scanning, video capture, digital image manipulation, as well as a variety of print output and transfer methods. I wish to explore the ways in which these can be used to reconstruct the process of documentation and memory as it pertains to the ideas of immigration and dislocation. Translating and transforming imagery through different media over a period of time, conceptually mimics the physical process of migration. Transporting imagery between virtual and physical states, graphically and metaphorically maps the changes that occur.
To this end, I have been particularly drawn to a gelatin-coated paper on which archival pigment dyes or vegetable dyes can be printed using ink jet printers. The printed images on this paper are transient and upon placing a receiving damp sheet of paper over the image on the gelatin-coated paper, the image re-hydrates and transfers to the receiving sheet. This monotype process allows the perceived sterile aesthetic of digitally produced work to obtain a surface that is organic, tactile and marked by human touch and accident.
In continuing to reconsider and confront my own perceptions towards methodologies and attitudes in creating, I wish to pursue the ideas and processes outlined in this statement as well as other questions that emerge as I develop as an artist both critically and professionally.
Biography
•Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking, 2001
•Artist-in-Residence, The Victorian College of Art, Melbourne, Australia, 2002
•Artist-in-Residence, The LaSalle College of Art, Singapore, 2003
•Shaffer Fellow in Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking
•Syracuse University, 2002-2005
About the un-titled gallery
Established in 2004 and based in 800 sq feet premises in the central business district un-titled gallery caters to new, emerging and established art and artists, and to providing a venue for visual art events in Singapore. The un-titled mission is to provide an outlet for up and coming artists to showcase their work. un-titled aims to give a face to the exciting and exuberant art talent that is developing rapidly in the vibrant arts scene in Singapore.
un-titled encourages young artists and established, professional artists to come together through group exhibitions at the gallery. un-titled strongly believes the coming together of youth and experience can be mutually inspirational.
All types of artwork are welcome at un-titled including painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, and new-media art etc. un-titled unequivocally advocates freedom in all forms of expression.
Execution
Art displayed in the gallery is under either ‘Rented Space’ or ‘Themed Work’. Rented space allows an individual artist or group of artists to rent the entire gallery for a period of time.
Themed work refers to work that is displayed from artists who have been invited by the gallery to exhibit. In a themed space there is a common connection that ties all the works together by either subject or artistic movement.
For both rented space and themed work, the artist is generally present at the gallery. This is to encourage interaction between the artist and the viewer of the art.
To avoid a museum type environment the un-titled gallery will be kept fresh and dynamic through the presence of different artists and with varied styles encompassing a wide range of artistic expression.
#B1-21 China Square Central Marsh & McLennan Centre 18 Cross Street Singapore 048423 Tel: +65 6538 7050
www.un-titledgallery.com
Blink!
28 October 2004 – 1 January 2006
Sam Galleries 2.6 (Waterloo) & 2.6 (Queen)
Curator: Jean Wee
This exhibition presents a perspective of the physical and social changes during the major nation-building years in Singapore just before 1965 to the present. Through the eyes of the local artists and earlier generations of Singaporeans who lived to capture their time through their art, blink and experience a step back into the past. In a blink of an eye, their lifestyles are almost gone. Almost in a blink of an eye, landmarks of social history have changed. Consider the nostalgia and charm weighed against the agents of irreversible change that have taken the country from "third world to first" * Blink, and take a look at people, life and places and pause to think how we have changed and the pace at which it has occurred.
THEN...
Blink Again!
February 2006 – August 2006
Sam Galleries 2.6 (Waterloo) & 2.6 (Queen)
Curator: Jean Wee
This collection of art works follows from the first instalment of BLINK! and similarly presents a perspective of the physical and social changes during the major nation-building years of Singapore just before 1965 to the present. Visitors embark on a visual journey of Singapore’s history, seen through the eyes of our artists. In looking at the past, the exhibition also provides a platform for reflection on the changes in our lifestyles and habits, as well as changes in our environment and cityscape.
Presenting Singapore Art Museum Collection
ART OF OUR TIME
9 April 2005 – End July 2006
FIRST MAJOR LONG-TERM SHOWCASE OF HIGHLIGHTS FROM
SINGAPORE ART MUSEUM COLLECTION OF 20TH-CENTURY SOUTHEAST ASIAN ART
(1 April 2005) Singapore Art Museum (SAM) is proud to present Art of Our Time, a long-term exhibition programme of Singapore and Southeast Asian art culled from its permanent collection of 6,500 works. Instead of the traditional chronological order, the Collection is arranged into thematic groupings that reflect social concerns as well as visual arts development in the region. The exhibition will display close to 100 key artworks by significant artists from Singapore and the region. Comprising two components, Art of Our Time is an exhibition that provides a major long-term showcase of SAM permanent collection. The Southeast Asia component entitled Of Tides and Times: Encounters with Southeast Asian Art features iconic works from renowned artists such as Montien Boonma and Heri Dono, who have drawn critical international acclaim. Of Tides and Times: Encounters with Southeast Asian Art will first open for a special preview by collectors and art lovers on 8 April 2005 while the Singapore component entitled Unyielding Passion: 8 Masters of Singapore Art will open in May 2005. Collector’s preview-cum-launch will be held on 8 April, 7.30pm at the Singapore Art Museum, with Associate Professor Kwok Kian Woon as Guest of Honour.
The Singapore section – Unyielding Passion: 8 Masters of Singapore Art – will display a selective range of iconic works that reflect artistic developments in Singapore from mid 20th century to the present, from pioneer artists to younger contemporary artists. Eight important artists, each with differing artistic practices and unique styles, will be highlighted. They are Chen Wen Hsi, Cheong Soo Pieng, Liu Kang, Georgette Chen, Chua Mia Tee, Tan Swie Hian, Tang Dawu and Iskandar Jalil.
The Southeast Asian section - Of Tides and Times: Encounters with Southeast Asian Art - explores the region’s art through the themes of nation-building, social commentary and notions of identity with significant works by renowned artists from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, The Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Through the display of artworks representative of the artistic developments of the six countries, the audience is introduced to the local art histories and cultural diversities of the region. The thematic display, while aimed at bringing out the cultural diversities in the region, also highlights social and political events that similarly affected the countries in the course of the 20th century. The artists featured include luminaries such as Hendra Gunawan, Amorsolo, Le Pho and contemporary practitioners like Montien Boonma and Heri Dono.
Says Mr Kwok Kian Chow, Director, SAM, “SAM plans to show more of its collection and we invite the audience to share with us the experiences of history and living in our part of the world through Art of Our Time.”
In conjunction with the exhibition, SAM has lined-up two public programmes, namely, forum on Rediscovering Lee Man Fong in Mandarin, jointly presented by SAM and Art Retreat, and talk on Balinese Painting Today by I Wayan Bendi in Bahasa Indonesia. Rediscovering Lee Man Fong forum will take place at SAM auditorium on 9 April at 2.30pm, while the talk on Balinese Painting Today will be given at SAM glass hall on 10 April at 6pm. Attendance is Free for both events. Full listing of programmes is appended.
Sponsor: Suntec Singapore
Official Outdoor Media: SMRT Media
Supporting TV Station: MediaCorp TV12 Arts Central
Supporters: Gleam Media, GreenHouse, Singapore Tourism Board
For media interviews, images and further information contact:
Lynn Tan DID: 6332 3219
Marcom Executive FAX: 334 7919
Singapore Art Museum Email: Lynn_Tan@nhb.gov.sg
Suenne Megan Tan DID: 6332 3215
Acting Assistant Director, FAX: 334 7919
Marketing and Corporate Communications Email: Suenne_Megan_Tan@nhb.gov.sg
Singapore Art Museum
For more information, visit http://www.singart.com/
Exhibition opens to public : Art of Our Time
9 April 2005 to End June 2006
Southeast Asian section
Of Tides and Times: Encounters with Southeast Asian Art
Opens 9 April 2005
SAM Galleries 2.1 – 2.4
Singapore section
Unyielding Passion: 8 Masters of Singapore Art
Opens May 2005
SAM Galleries 1.1 – 1.4
Mondays to Sundays : 10am to 7pm, with extended hours and FREE
Admission on Fridays from 6pm to 9pm
Singapore Art Museum is located at 71 Bras Basah Road, Singapore 189555
General enquiries, please contact Front desk at 6332 3222.
About Singapore Art Museum Collection
The Singapore Art Museum (SAM) has been actively collecting Singapore and Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary Art since its establishment in 1995. Since its opening, the Museum's permanent collection has grown from under 2,000 art works to over 6,500, making it the world's largest and most important public collection of 20th-century Southeast Asian art. Dedicated to the display of modern and contemporary Southeast Asian art within the broader Asian context, the museum also features a range of international blockbusters and temporary exhibitions alongside a selection of iconic artworks by renowned local artists such as Liu Kang and Georgette Chen from its permanent collection.
Appendix
I Rediscovering Lee Man Fong
Jointly presented by SAM and Art Retreat
This forum is held in conjunction with the upcoming Lee Man Fong: A Pioneer Southeast Asian Artist Exhibition (Art Retreat,10 Apr - 25 Sep) Lee Man Fong left a rich legacy through his works. Increasingly sought for their distinctive style integrating traditional Chinese and modern European elements, his works depict the life of Southeast Asia. In his unique Southeast Asian oil paintings, he succeeded in creating a style few had achieved or equaled.
The forum is in Mandarin. Participants are invited to the exhibition opening at Art Retreat following the forum at SAM.
FORUM. 9 Apr (Sat), 2.30pm – 5.30pm, SAM Auditorium, Free. (71 Bras Basah Road)
II. Balinese Painting Today
By I Wayan Bendi
Learn more about Balinese Painting in this talk by the artist, I Wayan Bendi, who paints in the Batuan Style. I Wayan Bendi's works include commissions by the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum(Japan).
The talk is presented in Bahasa Indonesia with interpretation in English by Garrett Kam.
Talk . 10 Apr (Sun), 6.00pm - 7.00pm, SAM Glass Hall, Free. (71 Bras Basah Road)
Over One Billion Served - Conceptual Photography from the People's Republic of China
3 Feb to 9 May 2005
Asian Civilizations Museum, Armenian Street
This unique exhibition examines present-day China through the medium of conceptual photography. The collection of over 55 photographs documents China 's shifting social landscape following the impact of ideas from the West. These comprise intriguing personal interpretations by several key photographers, who explore the underlying realities of rapid social and cultural change that are taking place amidst China's dramatic economic growth. One of the photographic artists is Wang Qing Song.
Rediscovering Lee Man Fong
Jointly presented by SAM and Art Retreat
This forum is held in conjunction with the upcoming Lee Man Fong: A Pioneer Southeast Asian Artist Exhibition (Art retreat,10 Apr - 25 Sep) Lee Man Fong left a rich legacy through his works. Increasingly sought for their distinctive style integrating traditional Chinese and modern European elements, his works depict the life of Southeast Asia. In his unique Southeast Asian oil paintings, he succeeded in creating a style few had achieved or equaled.
The forum is in Mandarin. Participants are invited to the exhibition opening at Art Retreat following the forum.
FORUM. 9 Apr (Sat), 2.30pm – 5.30pm, Auditorium of Singapore Art Museum, Free.
Friday, April 08, 2005
2004 Patron of the Arts Award
Sponsorship for the arts reached an unprecedented high in 2003 despite the challenges posed by an uncertain economy and SARS. A record 252 sponsors comprising 198 corporations/organisations and 54 individuals rallied behind the arts community, contributing $77.7 million, the highest ever, in cash and kind.
At the presentation ceremony, Dr Lee Boon Yang, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, will confer on arts sponsors the following awards:
•15 Distinguished Patron of the Arts Award
•7 Patron of the Arts Award
•38 Friend of the Arts Award
•35 Associate of the Arts Award
•157 Arts Supporter Award
Mr Lee Suan Hiang, Chief Executive Officer of the National Arts Council remarked “We are very pleased that more partners have come onboard to support the arts. The private sector is an important component in the arts ecosystem. It is a significant contributor to overall funding for the arts, where it plays an important role alongside government funding and community support. Arts sponsorships go beyond providing opportunities for companies to raise their corporate profiles and market their products, they are mutually beneficial partnerships between arts and business that could help add new value to the development of arts in Singapore. As the economy recovers, I hope that more sponsors will join us in developing Singapore into a distinctive global city for the arts.”
The 2004 Patron of the Arts Award recognises contributions received from 1 January to 31 December 2003. There are 98 first-time recipients across all five categories of award and highlights of each category are as follows:
Distinguished Patron of the Arts Award
One of the most notable examples of arts sponsorship in 2003 was the $25 million donation by the Yong Loo Lin Trust to the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore in August 2003. In kind sponsorship was also boosted by the donation of art works to the Singapore Art Museum. The family of the late pioneer artist Liu Kang contributed more than 1,000 oil paintings, pastel works, charcoal drawings and sketch books. The third new recipient of the Award is art collector Kwee Swie Teng who started Art Retreat, a private art museum open to the public with free admission.
These three new recipients join the ranks of 12 other long-standing Distinguished Patrons such as Lee Foundation, MediaCorp Pte Ltd, DBS Bank, MobileOne, Singapore Airlines Limited, The Shaw Foundation, TIME Magazine, Raffles Holdings Limited, OCBC Bank, Singapore Press Holdings Limited, NTUC Income Insurance Cooperative Limited and Shell Companies in Singapore.
Patron of the Arts Award
There are seven recipients under the Patron category. One new recipient architect and art collector Koh Seow Chuan donated cash and art works to the Singapore Art Museum. Other recipients include Cultural Medallion winner Lim Tze Peng who donated his own works to the museum and HSBC for its Youth Excellence Initiative.
Friend of the Arts Award
38 corporations and individuals will receive the Friend of the Arts Award, the highest since the award was established in 1993. Among the six new recipients are Eu Yan Sang International Ltd which supported the Singapore Repertory Theatre’s musical Forbidden City: Portrait of the Empress; Sonata Rainbow Dancewear Pte Ltd, which contributed costumes to dance companies and assisted in the setting up of the information and resource centre for I Dance Central; and Singapore Technologies Telemedia which contributed to the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore. The other new recipients are Yuji Inoyama, M.A.C. and Geneva Master Time/Patek Philippe.
Associate of the Arts Award
There are 35 recipients under the Associate category of which 11 are new. They include Nikon Singapore Pte Ltd which contributed cash and equipment to the ClickArt-World Photojournalists Meet 2003; Vertu Pte Ltd which contributed to the Singapore Repertory Theatre; and Alcatel Singapore Pte Ltd which is a sponsor of The Esplanade.
Arts Supporter Award
157 individuals and corporations will receive the Arts Supporter Award, the highest since the award was inaugurated in 2000.
Lee Man Fong: A Pioneer Southeast Asian Artist Exhibition Opening and Book Launch
April 9 Exhibition through Sept 25 2005
Art Retreat
10 Ubi Crescent Lobby C #01-45/46/47 Ubi Techpark Singapore 408564
Lee Man Fong is considered to a master who integrated traditional Chinese and modern European elements. He was skilled in ink, pencil, water color, charcoal, pastel, gouache on paper, oil on canvas and on hardboard. He created graphic works with etching and wood cut. His themes varied from plants, flowers and landscapes to objects, old buildings, animals and humans.
The exhibition of 40 works of Lee Man Fong at Art Retreat is held in conjunction with Asian Arts Week in Singapore and jointly organized by the Singapore Art Museum and Art Retreat. The show is embellished by the launch of a book written by art critic Agus Dermawan who highlights the significance of the artist in the Asian, Indonesian, and Singaporean context. A forum titled Rediscovering Lee Man Fong will be conducted.
Art Retreat is a private museum owned by Indonesian collector Kwee Swie Teng, who received the Distinguished Patron of the Arts Award from the National Art Council last September. In 2003, $700,800 was raised through a well-publicized Sotheby's auction in Singapore for the Art Retreat institution.
Lee Man Fong
(Chinese, Guangzhou, Canton, China, 1913 - Jakarta, Indonesia 1988). Lee was three years old when he immigrated to Singapore. He was schooled in Singapore. Although his artistic yearnings began at a very young age, he could dedicate himself full time to painting much later because of the financial situation of the family.
In 1932 he moved to Jakarta where he started an advertising agency and worked as a commercial artist. In 1936, the head of the Dutch East Indies Association in Batavia invited Lee Man Fong, then a self-taught artist, to participate in a painting exhibition which was previously exclusively a Dutch painters affair. This invitation was the considered unusual, special, and outrageous by the local art community at that time.
After 1940 however, he devoted himself full-time to painting. He visited Bali, where he worked briefly, and held solo exhibitions in Jakarta and Bandung. His solo-exhibition in Jakarta was in May 1941. He was then interned by Japanese during World War Two.
In 1949, he was awarded a grant scholarship from the Dutch government to study painting in Holland for three years, where he held several solo exhibitions.
On his returned to Indonesia, President Soekarno actively supported his work. In 1952, Lee Man Fong became the official painter of the Presidential Palace. In 1955, he founded the Yin Hua Artists Association, and became the chairman. In 1964, Lee Man Fong, together with Lim Wasim, compiled a 5-volume edition of the Soekarno Collection, which also featured many of his works.
During this time he received the Indonesian citizenship. In 1967, when Soekarno fell from grace, Man Fong, who was considered close to Sukarno, and alleged to have communist inclinations, took refuge in Singapore. In 1985 he returned to Indonesia, where he died in 1988 from liver and lung ailments.
More space for South East Asian art at the Singapore Art Museum
Over the next three years, the Singapore Art Museum, which holds the world's largest public collection of Southeast Asian art, will use its galleries to showcase its Southeast Asian collection.
The collection was started in 1967 and comprises 6,500 pieces of work estimated to be worth over $30 million.
Low Sze Wee, Acting Assistant Director of Collections at the Singapore Art Museum, purrs at the idea of the relocation to the Supreme Court: "With our move to City Hall and Supreme Court, it will provide a lot more gallery space, in fact up to four times more gallery space. It would mean more opportunities for us to share our collection with the public and for us to do more greater in-depth research into Southeast Asian art. I hope that visitors will treat the museum as a window into another world, instead of say, spending hundreds of dollars travelling overseas, why not spend $3 to come to the museum, and you can gain an idea of Southeast Asia through the eyes of Southeast Asians."
We would like to thank all of the patrons and viewers who helped make our recent exhibition, "Abstraction on the Road to Kashmir" such a success!
The exhibition has been extended through April
Open Saturdays 1-7 or call +65 9424 8411 to set up a private viewing
B2G
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Art Sentral Manila
presents
PORTAL SHIFTS
@The Substation
featuring the works of artists from the Philippines -
Alfredo Esquillo Jr, Mark Justiniani and Jose Santos
III.
Opening on 7 April, 6.30 pm.
Exhibition runs from 8 - 17 April
Gallery hours 11 am to 9 pm daily
The Substation Gallery
45 Armenian Street
Singapore 179936
There is also an Artists' Talk on Filipino Art, at The
Substation Gallery on 9 Apr, 6 pm. Meet the artists in
the exhibition and find out more about the art scene
in the Philippines.
More at: www.substation.org or
www.artsentralasia.8m.com.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Who are The Sunseekers?
The Sunseekers is a post-New Age music band founded in 2001 by Jeremy, Kai Lam and Woon Tien Wei. Like Joseph Beuys who claims in his social sculpture theory that 'everyone is an artist', The Sunseekers believes that everyone is a musician for the rhythm and beats come from within. The band is the resident band of The Artists Village.
What is the E-noticeboard?
The E-noticeboard is jointly produced by Singapore-based The Artists Village and Danger Museum. It is an email digest condensed with information on art deadlines, employment opportunities, artistic opportunities, training opportunities, networking opportunities. Aided by website Topica, the digest is distributed through email to an international network and serves to form a community of artists and art professionals around the world. This is one of the more extensive network based in Southeast Asian for Asian arts professionals. The E-noticeboard hopes to create awareness of the region's events.
The E-noticeboard is published on a monthly basis. A printed version of E-noticeboard is in the pipeline. The E-noticeboard is currently in its 15th issue. It serves more than 250 International subscribers. E-noticeboard is actively looking for submissions. You may submit through their email: Type enoticeboard and followed by @dangermuseum.com.
The Exhibition : The Art of Seeing
Presenter : Reuters
Auction by : Christie’s Auction House
Venue : Photo Gallery
Date / Time : Exhibition: 4 – 17 May 2005 / 10.00am – 10.00pm
Auction: 11 May 2005
Tickets : Free admission
Synopsis : To celebrate the opening of its global pictures desk in Singapore, Reuters presents “The Art of Seeing”, an exhibition and auction of 30 award-winning news pictures taken by Reuters news photographers. All proceeds from the auction will go to The Arts House’s Budding Artists Fund and The Straits Times School Pocket Money fund.
Tickets available from:
The Arts House Box Office : 1, Old Parliament Lane, Singapore 179429
Mon – Fri : 10am – 8pm
Sat : 11am – 8pm
Sun : Closed
Cats and the City
Safaruddin's first solo painting exhibition
Thursday 7th April 2005 7 pm
Utterly Art Exhibition Space
208 South Bridge Road 2nd Level, Singapore 058757
Tel: 6226 2605
Mon-Sat 11.30 am - 8 pm Sun 12 noon - 5.30 pm
The exhibition runs till Sunday 24th April 2005
The painting exhibition Cats and the City marries two of local artist Safaruddin’s (Dyn) visual iconographies that fuel his creative preoccupations. While the subjects might seem like an incongruous pairing, they reflect the artist’s underlying sentiments of nostalgia, and the sense of loss brought about by change.
The city paintings, portrayed in flat graphic silhouettes and outlines, act as place markers in Dyn’s mind’s eye. They represent buildings of the past, or even new buildings in old locations that the artist finds resonance with. The cat is Dyn himself, his personal symbol of nostalgia. As a territorial creature, the cat is an apt metaphor for the artist as he experiences territorial encroachment and violation each time another childhood landmark goes missing or is replaced.
Dyn’s nostalgia is neither mawkish nor overly sentimental. While his sense of loss drives the artistic impulse, his sense of regret is not overwhelming or overt - the artist accepts change as inevitable to Singapore’s urban landscape. While his paintings are essentially personal re-imaginings of his connectedness to a recollected past, in their haunting visual economy they may yet find broader resonance to all who have felt disquiet with their own situational displacement.
DESIGN FOR PASSION
Design takes centrestage at The Arts House!
Whether we are conscious of it or not, Design affects every aspect of our lives from the chairs we sit on, clothes we wear, cars we drive and the environment around us. Every moment, deliberate decisions are being made to mould our environment to suit our spiritual and material needs to effect almost every aspect of the human condition – that is Design!
In Design for Passion, Australian designers in studio glass art, contemporary homeware, fashion and cinematic arts not only demonstrate their passion for design but ultimately create objects of desire, powerfully infusing their work with a rare energy and force of life. In turn, they inspire local emerging artists to express themselves through the unique medium of body art, where skin becomes the canvas for design.
We invite you to live and breathe Design this June.
Design For Passion is in conjunction with the Singapore Arts Festival and is jointly presented by the Australian High Commission, the Australia International Cultural Council and The Arts House at The Old Parliament.
Highlights
Dinosaur Design
Gallery, 26 May to 7 June 2005, 11 am to 9 pm
Admission free
Dinosaur Designs was formed in 1985 by Louise Olsen, Stephen Ormandy and Liane Rossler and has forged an important place within Australian design history as one of the country’s most exciting, innovative and creatively intuitive design teams.
Producing a diverse body of work including contemporary jewellery, homewares and individual objects, Dinosaur Designs straddles the intersection between art, craft, design and fashion. Their work takes inspiration from both art and nature and has a distinctively Australian character. Much of their work reflects the colours and forms of the Australian landscape, simple organic forms, polished river stones, monumental rock formations and coral clusters. Other works reflect their interest in contemporary art, taking inspiration from British sculptor Henry Moore, the abstract ‘colour fields’ paintings of Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock’s mid-twentieth century action painting. This current exhibition has been curated by Brian Parkes, Associate Director, Object – Australian Centre for Craft and Design and features Dinosaur Designs’ recent contemporary jewellery and homewares. Showcasing Dinosaur Designs’ commitment to experimental and diverse creative practices, the exhibition presents more than twenty separate works exhibited in custom designed modular display units. Works in the exhibition include glass vases, ceramic tableware, silver jewellery and many varied objects cast in resin.
"Supported by the Australia International Cultural Council, an initiative of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade."
Gaffer Glass Studio Gallery
Gallery, 9 – 19 June 2005, 11 am to 9 pm
Admission Free
Gaffer Studio Glass acts as a “gaffer” or a master craftsman in charge of a team of hot-glass workers, responsible for the promoting of studio glass artists in Hong Kong.
Where previously high quality glass could only be produced in large commercial factories, the emergence of studio glass as an art over the past 30 years has allowed to form to integrate the medium with the creative vision and spontaneity of a single-artist studio setting.
Gaffer Studio Glass specializes in the modern, contemporary sculpture and functional vessel studio glass. Gaffer promotes limited series editions but focuses on exhibiting the most original and innovative glass by the world's leading glass artists, primarily from Australia
Gaffer's aim is to broaden the audience by encouraging the education and recognition of glass as an artistic medium, as well as being visual theatre for established and emerging glass artists.
Akira Isogawa: Printemps et Ete
Gallery, 21 June to 6 July. 11 am to 9 pm
Admission Free
Rather than being an exhibition which presents just garments in their completed state, Printemps et Ete focuses on the creative process of Akira Isogawa, one of Australia’s most distinctive and recognized contemporary designers as he works towards the realization of a collection. Printemps et Ete was the Spring/ Summer Collection for 2005 which was unveiled in October 2004. For the viewer, the exhibition will be an immersive voyage through a five month creative process where as the individual moves through the space, abstract ideas achieve concrete manifestation culmination in the finished garments. The creative process, which is not normally accessible to the public will be revealed through garments, paper and calico prototypes and objects of inspiration.
Akira Isogawa was born in Japan but immigrated to Australia. He began designing garments in 1986 and the first collection, inspired by the avant garde Japanese dance movement Butoh was launched in 1994. Isogawa’s work received major attention and he became one of the pivotal forces in Australian fashion after his spring/ summer 1996/97 range was shown at the inaugural Mercedes Australian Fashion Week in 1996. Isogawa has received numerous awards from the Australian Fashion Industry including Womenswear Designer of the year and Designer of the Year awards in 1999.
Raise The Red Curtain: A Retrospective of the films of Baz Luhrmann.
Screening Room, Please check www.theartshouse.com.sg for more details
Baz Luhrmann is recognized today for being one of the leading lights of the film industry today because of his artistic vision and the strong role that design plays in his films. Breaking away from the conventions of typical Hollywood movies, Luhrmann has created a unique aesthetic in his film making which draw in the audiences into the lush world of heightened passions and heightened realities in what is now known as the Red Curtain Trilogy - Strictly Ballroom, Moulin Rouge and Romeo and Juliet, two of which will be screened at the Arts House. Also included is the premiere of the documentary on making of a short 3 minute film promoting Chanel No 5 with Nicole Kidman.
Also included in the season of films are “Priscilla Queen of the Desert”, “The Piano” and “Oscar and Lucinda”, all of whose designers have been nominated for Oscars. Special pre-show talks by leading experts on film design will illuminate the topic of design in film.
For detailed listing of shows and times, please log into www.theartshouse.com.sg
"Supported by the Australia International Cultural Council, an initiative of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in partnership with the Australian Film Commission."
Body of Art
Chamber, 17 June, 3 pm – 9 pm
Body painting is the ultimate expression of the appreciation of the beauty of the human form. Unique and colorful, the art form embodies subtle eroticism and is a form of expression used by people who like to communicate feelings and ideas about the human body by using the body itself as the canvas.
Body painting is an ancient art, widely practiced by primitive and aboriginal tribes in pre-Christian days in both Eastern and Western Cultures. Today it is used to entertain, amuse inspire and inform audiences. Come and watch local artists create live works of art on models in front of you and then watch a parade of colorful bodies in motion in our final climatic finish.
FOR A LISTING OF ALL SHOWS IN “DESIGN FOR PASSION” AND ALL OTHER SHOWS AT THE ARTS HOUSE, LOG ONTO WWW.THEARTSHOUSE.COM.SG
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Pacita Abad
The Alkaff bridge over the Singapore River is painted in all colors of the rainbow by the late artist Pacita Abad. The gentle arch of the bridge with its bright hues is a spectacle to look at to some people, but a little too psychedelic and contrived for others. At the Caltex and Raffles Hotel’s SingArt "A Brush With Lions" exhibit for charity, she was one of a group of artists, icons and personalities tasked to decorate lion sculptures eventually displayed all over the city. She named her work "Simba," and painted the lion in her bright colors trademark.
Little India Studios Draws Enormous Attention
Perumal Road is home to a karung-guni man, a Chinese medium, hotel cleaners and foreign workers, food caterers and provision-shop operators, and unsurprisingly, also haven to a group of young artists who many in the industry perceive to be the nexus of the new generation of Singapore artists.
Lee Wen, 46, a Singaporean performance artist based in Japan and Singapore, thinks this may be the birth of Singapore's Soho (formerly of London and New York) a vibrant cosmopolitian cultural hive for people of the arts. In his view, there are not many alernative cheap studio spaces in Singapore where an artist can find a community to count on for emotional and intellectual support. Artists are usually poor, so they are drawn together when there is cheap housing, just like at the emergence of the first Soho.
The 21-strong group comprising Perumal Studios, a group of art teachers from different secondary schools, occupies five apartments in the Premas International Agency-owned building at Perumal Road and about a same number of artists also occupy spaces at the red-light Rowell Road (The Other House and Artist Village) and the flea market enclave of Jalan Besar (Nog Studio). 13 of the 21 artists at Perumal Road are art educators, and seven are Ministry of Education scholars who had recently graduated from London's elite art schools such as the Goldsmith College where Tang Da Wu and Damien Hirst paid their dues.
The teachers bring their students to visit as they want their students to learn what it is like to create art in Singapore. Sometimes the studios are open to the public. The location is central and a few steps away from Farrer Park MRT.
Grace Kwa, 24, the Yishun Town Secondary School Art Teacher, exclaims: 'Students get to experience actual working spaces and see what it's like to create art in Singapore.'
Cheong Kah Kit, 28, a LaSalle-SIA graduate, teaches an art elective at Republic Polytechnic during the day but spends six hours every night in his studio before returning home.
Mr Lim Kok Boon, 27, an Art Elective Program educator at Nanyang Girls' High School, has a three-bedroom apartment shared with five other teacher-artists.
Premas International Agency rents out these 1,000 sq ft units for $1,000 a month, and it is not known what would happen when the leases expire in December 2006.
Feature
JWT has announced the appointment of Singaporean Tay Guan Hin as Regional Executive Creative Director for South East Asia.
A graduate from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, he started at Kresser/Craig in Los Angeles in 1991 after winning the Best of Show in the first ever Los Angeles Creative Club Student Competition. Guan is one of those creative talents who knows how to inspire his people, create great work, win new business and make clients laugh. He was named as one of the region’s top ten creatives for the past four years by Campaign Brief Asia.
Previously, Guan worked at Leo Burnett as Creative Director of the Singapore office from 2001 to 2004.He was formerly Head of Art and Deputy Creative Director with Burnett. Prior to that, he worked at Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore in 1995 as a Senior Art Director.
In 2003, Guan was elected Chairman of Singapore’s 2003 Creative Circle Awards, making him only the second Singaporean to receive this honour since the 1960s.
JWT, which celebrates its 140th anniversary this year, ranks as the largest advertising agency brand in the US and as the fourth largest full-service network in the world. Its parent company is WPP.
Former Singapore Ngee Ann Polytechnic lecturer Tan is digital art lecturer at Rutgers-Camden
Artist Tan Li Qin is a Rutgers-Camden art professor and a leading artist and advocate for digital art. Tan earned diplomas and certificates in fine arts and art history from the Hengyang Teachers' College, the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and the Hunan Normal University in Changsha. After working as an art instructor and art editor, he decided to leave China in 1987. He trained at Concordia University (Master of Arts) and at Sheridan College (post-graduate certificate in computer animation). While studying at Sheridan, Tan discovered the computer. He graduated with high honors and a degree in computer animation in 1996 and then taught as a lecturer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore before he received a position at Rutgers-Camden in 2000.
Amalgating the ancient artistic traditions of his Chinese homeland with the latest computer technology, the Rutgers professor creates a digital vision of the natural world. About two years ago, Tan decided to experiment with printing digital images on wood and rawhide and using animation to reinforce the images he created of the natural world. He tries to break and stretch the boundaries of the two-dimensional plane in a way that enhances the textures and form of his work.
Tan divides the world of digital animation into two parts — industry and fine arts. The industrial part — the world of computer games and animated films — is where digital artists earn a living.
In 2004, Tan displayed his synthesis of Taoism and digital animation for the first time in an exhibition at Rutgers' Stedman Gallery, and showed his work at Union 237 Gallery and the Da Vinci Art Alliance in Philadelphia.
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