TRANSCEND 50 Y E A RS OF SI N GAPOR E MODE R N AR T
Chieu Shuey Fook Choy Weng Yang Ho Ho Ying Leo Hee Tong Lim Leong Seng Low Puay Hua
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 1
Sim Pang Liang Swee Khim Ann Tan Ping Chiang Tay Chee Toh Thang Kiang How Thomas Yeo
26/5/17 12:21 PM
Published in conjunction with the exhibition: Transcend - 50 Years of Singapore Modern Art, from 28 June to 11 July 2017, at the Visual Arts Centre Exhibition Gallery. Organiser & Publisher: Iola Liu ISBN: 978-981-11-3759-4
Š 2017 by the publisher, authors and artists Copyright of this publication and all content belongs to Iola Liu, and the authors Seng Yu Jin and Tan Ping Chiang. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any process without written permission from the publisher and the copyright holders. Please direct any enquiries to the publisher at iola@iolaliu.com
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 2
26/5/17 12:21 PM
TRANSCEND
历史
50 Y E A RS OF SI N GAPOR E MODE R N AR T
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 3
26/5/17 12:21 PM
Chieu Shuey Fook
Choy Weng Yang
Ho Ho Ying
Leo Hee Tong
Lim Leong Seng
Low Puay Hua
Sim Pang Liang
Swee Khim Ann
Tan Ping Chiang
Thang Kiang How
Thomas Yeo
Tay Chee Toh
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 4
26/5/17 12:21 PM
CONTENTS 6 11
历史
12
Timeline — Story of Modern Art in Singapore from the 19th century to 1988
14
Claiming the Modern: The Modern Art Society’s Inaugural Exhibition in 1963 within a Timeline of Singapore Art
22 - 66
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 5
Introduction
Artist Profile & Works 22
Chieu Shuey Fook
26
Choy Weng Yang
30
Ho Ho Ying
34
Leo Hee Tong
38
Lim Leong Seng
42
Low Puay Hua
46
Sim Pang Liang
50
Swee Khim Ann
54
Tan Ping Chiang
58
Tay Chee Toh
62
Thang Kiang How
66
Thomas Yeo
70
Poem — Self-transcendence in Modern Art
73
Acknowledgements
26/5/17 12:21 PM
6
INTRODUC TION by Iola Liu During the early 20th century, the Nanyang style of art emerged in Singapore. Chinese artistic traditions were combined with Western techniques, resulting in a unique and elegant artistic style. The artistic landscape at that time was dominated by a generation of immigrant artists who brought with them various artistic traditions when they arrived in Singapore.1 After the end of World War II, a new generation of homegrown artists emerged. Inspired by the previous generation of artists, yet freed from the shackles of tradition, they aspired to create art that was new and different. Their style was innovative, visionary, positive, and reflective of the changing times. Of particular note was the contribution of seven artists who met frequently to discuss the future of Singapore art. These artists were Ho Ho Ying, Wee Beng Chong, Tong Siang Eng, Tay Chee Toh, Tan Yee Hong, Goh Tuck Hai Johnda and Ng Yat Chuang. In 1963, they collaborated on the first modern art exhibition held at the National Library, which was described in its foreword as “a colourful artistic world reflected by thousands and thousands of unique hearts”.2 These artists subsequently founded the Modern Art Society in 1964, whose mission was to reinterpret the nature of art by redefining the concepts of beauty through abstraction and freedom of expression. In the foreword to the first Modern Art Exhibition, it was notably stated that “modern artists have finally found the depth and breadth of the human soul, and make full use of the new forms of art to express new feelings and thinking”.3 This artistic philosophy heavily influenced the young modern artists of the 1960s to constantly transform and transcend the boundaries of art. This exhibition, titled “Transcend”, pays homage to the works of twelve eminent second-generation Singapore artists. They are Chieu Shuey Fook , Choy Weng Yang, Ho Ho Ying, Leo Hee Tong, Lim Leong Seng, Low Puay Hua, Swee Khim Ann, Sim Pang Liang, Tan Ping Chiang, Tay Chee Toh, Thang Kiang How and Thomas Yeo. These featured artists were selected for their contributions to modern art in Singapore from the 60s to the 80s. They sought new forms of art as a response to their desire for expression and visual identity. These artists have continued their artistic endeavours to the present day and have influenced many younger generations of artists to explore and pursue their artistic visions. Transcend traces the development of each artist by showcasing works from different periods of the artists’ career. Spanning a period of 50 years, we seek to gain insight into the stylistic progression and artistic growth of each artist. Transcend aims to capture the spirit of modern art in Singapore and its development over the past 50 years.
1
T.K. Sabapathy, ‘The Nanyang Artists: Some General Remarks’ in Pameran Retrospektif Pelukis – Pelukis Nanyang, (Kuala Lumpur: Muzium Seni Negara Malaysia, 1979), p. 46.
2
Foreword, Modern Art (Singapore: Modern Art Society, 1963), unpaginated.
3
Foreword, Modern Art (Singapore: Modern Art Society, 1963), unpaginated.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 6
26/5/17 12:21 PM
7
A BOUT THE AR TIS T S
Chieu Shuey Fook was trained in the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. He sought to break away from his roots through constant exploration and innovation which led to the use of metal surfaces including copper and aluminum. Today, he is known for his unique use of space and his use of eclectic colors in his metal relief works where he bends and moulds metal as if it were clay. In “Demon Fish”, Chieu’s first metal relief work, metal is delicately arranged to create a threedimensional sculptural effect within the frame of a canvas.
Radiant Lotuses, 2017, Acrylic on canvas, 123 x 152 cm
Demon Fish, 1970, Metal Relief, 61 x 91cm
Choy Weng Yang was educated in Hornsey College of Art, London. He travelled extensively and drew from various influences including Mondrian, Monet and Cezanne. As an established curator, writer and artist, his passion for modern art was developed through his travels. Choy’s works embody a distinct style of abstract expressionism, melding line work and layers to create colorful awe-inspiring abstractions. In Choy’s work “River Rhapsody”, one experience the landscape rising out of the river’s depth as the intense colors seem to leap from the canvas. The work combines the influences of the European impressionists captured in the use of bright and ecstatic colour to depict the Singapore landscape.
Ho Ho Ying is a self- taught artist appreciated for his skillful and eclectic development of Avant-garde Chinese calligraphy. Known for his signature colours, blue, red and black, skillfully applied on the paper with precision and gravitas, Ho Ho Ying is well known for his ability to marry traditional ink painting and American expressionism. Along with establishing his own career as a full time artist, he was one of the founding fathers of the Modern Arts Society in Singapore. The Inspiration of Earth, 1983, Oil, 120 x 176cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 7
26/5/17 12:21 PM
8
Leo Hee Tong was exposed to the elements of modern art after his travels to Japan’s Ashiya Art College where he was introduced to the works of Van Gogh and Picasso, developing an appreciation for cubism in art, which can be observed in his practice today. Inspired not only by artistic endeavors of western artists, but by the visceral experience of natural phenomenon, like snow, Leo Hee Tong constantly innovates and reinvents his artistic practices, slowly and patiently treating and building upon each work, to perfectionism. Leo’s work ‘After the Ceremony’ perfectly depicts the cubist influences in his style along with his judicious use of colour, guiding the eye of the viewer across the painting.
Morning Garden, 2014, Acrylic on canvas, 89 x 89cm
Lim Leong Seng was trained in classical Chinese art, he is well known for his passion for multi-media art, including collage, mixed media, bronze and steel art works. Actively molding the landscape of Singapore, his works are prominently displayed in Singapore’s public setting, dominating the environment in which it is displayed. His works continue to be admired by Singaporean public and he retains himself as one of the most beloved sculptors in Singapore today.
Exploring The World Together, 2014, Bronze, Edition 3/9, 63 x 48 x 19cm
Low Puay Hua is an artist classically trained in the Nanyang style of painting, and is known not only for his beautiful water color works of the Singapore river but also for his confident abstract landscapes in oil, marked by a juxtaposition of strong colours and bold forms to create vivid and eye-catching abstract works. Maintaining both an appreciation for his traditional training and modernity, his works both meld the two practices together along with bridging the seemingly separate practices of abstraction and realism.
Composition, 2012, Oil on canvas, 122 x 92cm
Sim Pang Liang is an artist classically trained in NAFA, known for his beautiful abstract ink paintings infused with the influences of his former teachers in NAFA. His works are a delicate symphony that explores the relationship between the traditional and the modern, reinterpreting ink to transform his work constantly. Infusing his practice with abstract figures and beautiful ink washes his art is constantly growing and shaping it in accordance with the times. Keelung, 1962, Oil on canvas, 48 x 58cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 8
26/5/17 12:21 PM
9
Swee Khim Ang is a multidisciplinary artist with great proficiency in acrylic, watercolor, ceramics and sculpture. As an artist, he is self taught and trained by his experience and influences, making art as he saw fit, emboldened by the sheer beauty of the Singapore landscape, and empowered by the encouragement of those who knew of his inherit eye for exquisite colour and beauty. Today he continues to create and innovate in his painting practice. Living in the Mountains, 1974, Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 100cm
Tan Ping Chiang is also well known for his use of a veriety of media, including ink, oil paint and crayons. Influenced by theworks of Picasso, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, and first generation Singapore artists, Cheong Soo Pieng and Chen Wen His. Heavily influenced by Chinese ink painting, he was originally a teacher of art, in 2006, he decided to remove his practice from isolation and devote himself to his art, adorning the modern art scene with his multifacetted and prominent artwork, froged by a abundance of textures and characteriased by figurative abstractions. Love in May, 1991, Oil on canvas, 90 x 132cm
Tay Chee Toh, is a quiet, unassuming man, who prefers his art work speak in his stead. Known for assimilating traditional batik and woodcarving, from his formative training in NAFA, with his own artistic expeditions, his work is in constant flux, evolving and developing with the times, embodying the temperament and nature of modernity that is in constant motion and fluidity as is time itself. In Tay Chee Toh’s work, his batik influence can be seen in the designed ringlets that adorn his semi abstract human forms. The textured purple backdrop, laid together with the gentle ochre used in his abstract figures reimagines the beauty of the human body.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 9
Resting, 2015, Ink and pigment on paper, 100 x 100cm
26/5/17 12:21 PM
10
Thang Kiang How is an artist known for his airbrush painting effect on canvas. Inspired by the pure ecstasy of colours in galaxy, his works mimics the sensation of the sublimity of the universe. Self taught, he has been practicing painting for over 25 years, painting the quietness and beauty of nature from his own artistic perspective to create a concerto of colour.
Galaxy 4100, 2016, Acrylic on canvas, 102x115cm
Thomas Yeo is an artist trained in the Nanyang style who sought the vision of western Modern arts after his further education in Chelsea School of Arts and Hasmmersmith School of Art and Architecture. His inventive ability to create landscapes that exists beyond the minds eye, enthralled his audience and captured the hearts of those who were spectators of his work. His practice is well established in modern art and continues to be an inspiration today. Ocean Series 1 is a work that brilliantly showcases Yeo’s ability to use a single colour in a monochromatic work. With great simplicity and beauty he depicts the depth of the ocean and the creatures within.
Jigsaw, 1976, Acrylic on canvas, 81 x 102 cm
Each of these artists are a master in their own right, exhibiting vastly different and daring techniques, that have developed and transformed through the passage of time. These award-winning and beloved artists have fought through the challenges of a changing paradigm and laid out a path for the future of art in Singapore. In this manner they truly have and continue to embody an identity that Transcends.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 10
26/5/17 12:21 PM
11
历史
顾名
曾几
这些艺术
一定是不同于传统绘画而又超越传统的绘画形式
毕业
复前
绘画并无
就在此时
就这样
沈板
执着
邱瑞
从
雕塑
陈彬
65
就这样新
受到
现代
这些
历史
两年
发现
现代
郑志
这伙热血
1965
处在东方
就是
现代
“
此展览主
姚照
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 11
题材
陈彬
沈板
邱瑞
郑志
孙琴
蔡荣
刘培
26/5/17 12:21 PM
12
Story of Modern Art in Singapore from the 19 th century to 1988 by Seng Yu Jin The author would like to acknowledge the National Gallery Singapore and my colleagues, Hwee Koon, Joyce Fan, Patricia Ong, , Ong Zhen Min, and Low Sze Wee for their contributions to this timeline of Singapore art.
6 February 1819, Stamford Raffles, Temenggong Abdu’r Rahman and Sultan Hussein Shah of Johor signed a treaty to allow the British East India Company (EIC) to set up a trading post in Singapore. Establishment of the Botanic Gardens of Singapore in 1888
Pre-modern in the 19 th Century William Farquhar (1774-1839) commissioned drawings of flora and fauna of Melaka from Chinese artists. 1843 - Gason Dutronquoy establsied his studio at Coleman Street c. 1865 - Henrich Leutemann’s Unterbrochene Straßenmessung auf Singapore (Interrupted Road Surveying in Singapore) was made as a wood engraving and widely circulated that questions the role of the artist in image-making. 1867 – G.R. Lambert & Co was set up as a studio for photography, commissioned portraits and topographical prints 1886 – Chinese calligrapher, Zhong Dexiang sells his Chinese calligraphy works in Singapore.
The 1911 Chinese Revolution and the May Fourth Movement (1919)
Early Modern in the 20 th Century c. 1880s – The Singapore Art Club was formed Various art groups were formed by private initiative, such as the Amateur Drawing Association (1909). Many of these arts group were in turn influenced by the ideology behind politics in China. The 1911 Chinese Revolution and the May Fourth Movement (1919) introduces Western Art concepts to China. Many Chinese students go abroad to study Western Art with the view to bring modern concepts into their practice. In turn this trend informs the establishment of local art groups, such as the United Artists Malaysia (1929), formed to promote Chinese culture and the Arts. 1920s-1930s: Rise of Nanyang literature 1928: Richard walker was appointed as the Art Superintendent 1933: Le Mayeur exhibited in Singapore in 1933 and in 1937, and later in 1941, featuring Gauguin-inspired works of Bali
1934: Japan begins occupation of Northeast of China.
1935 1935: The Singapore Society of Chinese Artists was formed partially in response to the Japanese occupation of China. Members include Chen Chong Swee (who arrived in Singapore in 1931), exposed to the ideals of May Fourth Movement, drawing models from Western art. Members, largely from Shanghai academies, regarded United Artists of Malaysia as elistist in orientation.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 12
26/5/17 12:21 PM
13
1937: Eruption of Sino-Japanese War
1937-1938 1937: Chinese Art figures visit Singapore to raise funds for the anti Japanese efforts, including Xu Beihong. Artists like Liu Kang also migrated to Singapore. Richard Walker appointed Art Superintendent Singapore Schools, taught watercolour at Raffles Institution. Walker first arrived in 1923. 1938: Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts formed; founded by Lim Hak Tai based on models of art schools in Shanghai. Lim actively stressed the importance of establishing regional orientations and the need to reference art against realities and conditions of the times.
1942 - 1945: Malaya falls under Japanese Occupation. 1946: British Military Administration ends in April. Singapore returns to civilian rule as a Crown Colony, separate from Malaya.
1942-1945
1946 Post-War arrivals included Cheong Soo Pieng (1946), Chen Wen Hsi (1947) and Georgette Chen (Penang ‌, Singapore 1954)
1948: Outbreak of Malayan Communist Emergency on the Malayan Peninsula; British administration prepare to grant self-governance to Malaya. Rise of political parties and nationalist or independence ideology, which the British endorse to counter Communist ideology. Malay picked as the National Language by Malayan political parties with eventual self-governance in mind.
1948-1949
1954-1975: Vietnam War
1951-1956
1948: Xu Beihong became principal of Beijing Art Academy. Rise of Chinese social realist art. 1949: Multi-racial Singapore Art Society formed: Richard Walker, Liu Kang, Suri Mohyani, Dr Gibson-Hill. Society of Malay Artists was also formed in this year. Independence and nationalism is set as an alternative to the ideals of the Malayan Communist Party.
1951: Emergence of art market and collecting; Cheong Soo Pieng becomes one of the first professional artists in Singapore. Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic Development in South and Southeast Asia launched, donations were provided by Commonwealth nations for education, health aid and training programs among other things, allowing artists to study in Europe and North America. Liu Kang, Chen Chong Swee, Chen Wen His and Cheong Soo Pieng set a record of $9,800 in sales in a joint exhibition, Loke Wan Tho became one of the most influential collectors in Singapore during the 1950s 1952: Liu Kang, Chen Chong Swee, Chen Wen Hsi, Cheong Soo Pieng embarked on a sojourn to Bali. 1955: Singapore sends delegates to the Bandung Conference 1956: Equator Art Society is founded, together with the Arts Association of Chinese High School. Artists were sensitive to Post-war Chinese developments and the need to address societal conditions through realist depictions. Exhibition at Chinese Chamber of Commerce was accompanied by a catalogue featuring essays outlining relationship between art and society, and an attack against modernism.
1957: Independence of Malaya
1957-1958 1957: Singapore Art Academy was founded, with Mdm Sunyee as lecturer 1958: Debate between Ho Ho Ying and Chen Fan on Abstraction vs. Realism.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 13
26/5/17 12:21 PM
14
Claiming the Modern: The Modern Art Society’s Inaugural Exhibition in 1963 within a Timeline of Singapore Art 1 by Seng Yu Jin
‘When was Modernism’ in the history of art in Singapore is a question posed by art historian Kevin Chua as he excavates three moments of modernism in Singapore in three time periods: the 1300s-1890, 1920s-1960s and 1970s-2000s.2 Chua locates a moment of modernism in the 19th century in how the nature of the encounter between the colonial and the ‘native population’ changed from the picturesque comprising of representational forms such as images of booming ports that boosted the colonial discourse of bringing trade and civilisation to images of locals running ‘amok’, misunderstood as exhibiting irrational behaviour even though it was a religious and spiritual condition that unsettled the picturesque as a pictorial convention and ideology. Kwa Chong Guan in his essay, “The 19th Century ‘Origins’ of Singapore Art” compiled in the same publication, Charting Thoughts: Essays on Art in Southeast Asia provides locates hybrid forms of art that occurred between European and Chinese artistic practices in the 19th century as a moment of modernism that continues even till today in different ways.3 Both Chua and Kwa have proposed multiple moments of hybridity located in the 19th century that effectively pushes back the moment of modernism of Singapore art. This marks an important shift in the timeline of modernism in Singapore if aspects of modern art such as hybridity can be traced back to when movements and encounters of people and ideas produced shifts in how this part of the world was represented. Shifting the timeline of modernism to the 19th century was manifested with the inaugural exhibition of the DBS Singapore Gallery with the exhibition titled, Siapa Nama Kamu: Art in Singapore Since the 19th Century in 2015.4 The making of timelines that are usually chronological and diachronic inevitably impinges on the question of temporality that looks at either the longue durée from the French Annales School that searches for cultural continuities over a long duration, and the agency of specific moments that mark turns in the history of art here, which leads to the other issue of space. Can timelines break out of geographical constraints such as ‘Singapore’ as a geographical construct by including other ways of imagining Singapore through notions such as ‘Malaya’, and the ‘Nanyang’? Raising these issues of temporality and space reveal the limitations of timelines, including this timeline of Singapore art. These limitations notwithstanding, this timeline of Singapore art offers a way of looking at art historical events over an extended period from the 19th century to 1988 when notions of contemporary art and its practices that expanded beyond the art object and painting associated with performance, installation, inter-media gained traction in terms of how groups of artists were actively making and exhibiting these types of works, and the very notion of ‘contemporary art’ itself transforming from being a temporal notion of being contemporaneous to one that included art theories, practices and histories that delineated itself sufficiently from modern art.
1
The author would like to acknowledge the Modern Art Society Singapore and Mr Yeo Siak Goon for providing research materials used in this essay.
2
Kevin Chua, ‘When was Modernism/ A Historiography of Singapore Art’, in Low Sze Wee and Patrick D. Flores (eds), Charting Thoughts: Essays on Art in Southeast Asia (Singapore: National gallery Singapore, 2017) pp. 22-33.
3
Kwa Chong Guan, “The 19th Century ‘Origins’ of Singapore Art” in Low Sze Wee and Patrick D. Flores (eds), Charting Thoughts: Essays on Art in Southeast Asia (Singapore: National Gallery Singapore, 2017) pp. 22-33.
4
See Low Sze Wee (ed), Siapa Nama Kamu: Art in Singapore Since the 19th Century (Singapore: National Gallery Singapore, 2015).
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 14
26/5/17 12:21 PM
15
One of the aims of this essay is to address the limitations of the chronological timeline by scrutinising a specific event, the 1963 Modern Art exhibition in how it was received through the printed media, and proposing why this particular exhibition marked a turning point in both the history of modern art and its exhibition histories in Singapore as a movement and even ideology. This essay accompanies the timeline of Singapore art along the trajectory that questions, “when was modernism?” by focusing on one event, the Modern Art exhibition that lasted from the 12 October to the 27th October 1963. The actual making of a chronological timeline of Singapore’s art history has however, not been published before, and marks an attempt at constructing the history of Singapore art in a timeline comprising of significant art events such as exhibitions, movements, artists, artworks, societies and art writings within the broader social and historical contexts. This timeline5 provides the historical context in which we are able to situate the artistic practices of the 12 artists who work within the ambit of modern art and are participating in this exhibition, titled Transcend.6 On 12 October 1963, the Modern Art exhibition opened, displaying 70 paintings by 7 artists at the National Library.6 The 7 artists include: Johnda Goh, Tan Yee Hong, Ng Yat Chuan, Ho Ho Ying, Tay Chee Toh, Wee Beng Chong and Tong Siang Eng. The success of the Modern Art exhibition greatly encouraged these artists to form the Modern Art Society (MAS) in 1964 by registering with the Registrar of Societies. The 1964 MAS annual exhibition also expanded to include 5 more artists to 12 artists and also members of the MAS, evidence of the newly established art society’s appeal to artists who shared a similar desire for the modern as a mode of practice and ideology, which the reception of the exhibition reveals later in this essay.8 THE MODERN ART SOCIETY WAS FORMED AS A RESULT OF THE FIRST EXHIBITION OF MODERN ART HELD A YEAR AGO. THE AIMS OF THE SOCIETY INCLUDE THE PROMOTION OF MODERN ART IN MALAYSIA, TO BETTER THE STANDARD OF ART COMPOSITION, AND TO ESTABLISH CLOSER RELATION WITH ARTISTS AND OTHER INTERESTED IN MODERN PAINTING.9 In the foreword of the Modern Art exhibition catalogue, it was clear that sufficiently strong support by the public, media and the Singapore art world spurred the 7 artists who showed in the Modern Art exhibition to form an art society called the Modern Art Society to promote modern art. What is also noteworthy is the use of the term ‘Malaysia’ rather than ‘Malaya’ or ‘Singapore’ as a geographical signifier as Singapore was then part of Malaysia by 16 September 1963. This exhibition opened on 12 October 1963 after Singapore joined Malaysia, which would explain the use of the term ‘Malaysia’ and the desire of the MAS to travel the exhibition to other parts of Malaysia including Kuala Lumpur. The term ‘modern painting’ was also deployed in this foreword, which cohered with the Modern Art exhibition itself as an exhibition of 70 paintings and indicates an initial focus on the practice of painting in 1963, from which other practices such as sculpture, as well as forms of experimental works using found objects and even space itself as a
5
Please refer to the timeline, Story of Modern Art in Singapore from the 19th century to 1988
6
The 12 artists participating in Transcend include: Chieu Shuey Fook , Choy Weng Yang, Ho Ho Ying, Leo Hee Tong, Lim Leong Seng, Low Puay Hua, Swee Khim Ann, Sim Pang Liang, Tan Ping Chiang, Tay Chee Toh, Thang Kiang How and Thomas Yeo
7
The seven artists were Johnda Goh, Tan Yee Hong, Ng Yat Chuan, Ho Ho Ying, Tay Chee Toh, Wee 7Beng Chong and Tong Siang Eng. The Modern Art Society Singapore (MASS) was formally established and registered on June 1964 after its inaugural exhibition in 1963.
8
The 5 new artists who participated in the 1964 Modern Art Society exhibition include: Sim Pang Liang, Loo Pook Chiang, Tan Ping Chiang, Han Kuan Cheng and Swee Khim Ann.
9
Foreword, Modern Art (Singapore: Modern Art Society, 1963), unpaginated.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 15
26/5/17 12:21 PM
16
subject matter emerged.10 These experimental works fall outside the scope of this essay that is focused on the 1963 exhibition but deserves further study by scholars interested in the practices and ideologies of modern art here. Exhibitionary Discourse on Modern Art: The New The art historical significance of the Modern Art exhibition in 1963 can be attributed to its articulation of modern art as an ideology by deploying the art manifesto of modern art for the first time, transforming modern art into an ideology and giving it momentum as a art movement propelled by an artist collective like the MAS and manifested through their annual exhibitions. What is the profile of an art manifesto? The art manifesto is a rhetorical device, issued by an art group or collective of artists, usually associated with the avant-garde, posturing as militants, to a potential wide audience with the intention to shock, propagandise, revolutionise, and thus subvert the status quo defined by ideas, aesthetics, and systems. Art manifestos are a perennial occurrence in the history of Western modernism. Art collectives like the Futurists, Dadaists, Surrealists, Situationists, and Fluxus issued manifestos as public declarations of their artistic ideas and intentions.11 As a literary genre, art manifestos employ text to present their ideas on art within a social context, whereby art and society intersect. The relationship between the art manifesto and society can be traced to the art manifesto’s historical relationship with the political manifesto that preceded it. Political manifestos are ideological documents issued by various collective agents, and even individual ideologies with a political statement to make with the intention of changing society. Art manifestos could also carry political statements and ally with political groups.12 In the preface to the 1963 art catalogue, the MAS wrote its first art manifesto declaring: Strictly speaking, Realism has passed its golden age; Impressionism has done its duty; Fauvism and Cubism are declining. Something new must turn up to succeed the unfinished task left by our predecessors… We do not mean to belittle the achievements of traditional art, but we certainly do not agree with those who stick to the old course”.13 The MAS had, in a single breath, proclaimed the end of a successive styles of painting — Realism, Impressionism, Fauvism and Cubism — in the history of art, while legitimising their claim of being the preeminent avant-garde art society by declaring Abstraction as the “new” style of painting propagated by the Society. At the same time, the MAS had effectively set up ‘traditional art’ and the ‘modern art’ as binary opposites with its art manifesto. Modern art was exalted as the ‘new’ form of art produced from modernity conditioned by Singapore and Malaysia’s own social background. Every age has its own typical productions of art and literature conditioned by its special social background. Let us have a look at our era. In the field of contemporary fine arts, there are a variety of schools breeding artists of different styles. This is 10
Foreword, Modern Art (Singapore: Modern Art Society, 1963), unpaginated.
11
The art manifesto does not necessarily occur in a textual form. An argument can be made for art manifestos to exist in other sites of discourse such as artworks.
12
For instance, Marinetti, one of the leading Futurists joined the Fascists, and published political manifestos.
13
Ho Ho Ying, “Preface”, Modern Art, art catalogue of the inaugural 1963 Modern Art Society exhibition, inpaginated.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 16
26/5/17 12:21 PM
17
the natural course of human culture. As long as our minds keep operating, the field of creative art shall be improved and enriched.14 Modern art was conceived by the exhibition not as a singular art form but a field of cultural production that include literature and other creative practices creating a plurality of styles. The rethinking of modern art beyond ‘styles’ but as a movement with its own ideas and practices that are relevant, engaging and produced from its own social and cultural contexts was proposed by the Modern Art exhibition in its own texts or exhibitionary discourse, defined as texts produced by exhibitions including the texts in exhibition catalogues, and also writings such as exhibition reviews produced from the exhibition. The exhibitionary discourse produced from the reception of the Modern Art exhibition was substantial, especially the Chinese newspapers such as the Wan Bao, Nanyang Shang Pao, Xin Zhou Ru Bao, Xin Sheng Ri Bao, Kwang Hwa Ri Bao, Nanyang Wan Bao, and also art magazines such as Zhan Wang, and literary supplements such as the Nanyang Shang Bao Xinqi Kan, and the Xin Zhou Ri Bao Xinqi Tian Kan. The Straits Times was one of the English newspaper that covered the exhibition as a report. It was the Chinese newspapers that went beyond reporting the exhibition to giving exhibition reviews of outstanding paintings and providing commentaries on the notion of modern art itself. These Chinese newspapers were widely circulated to a broad audience and would have garnered broad readership and fuelled interest in the exhibition and produced a discourse on modern art as a practice and ideology. The relationship between the ‘new’ and youth was apparent in how many of the newspaper articles stressed on the youth and energy of the 7 artists who participated in the Modern Art exhibition. Wu Han Ming in ‘The Proponents of the Modern Art Movement’ attributed the experimental and boldness of the 7 artists to their youth: “Young people are passionate, open, and dare to dream, and even more so to create”.15 The dynamic energies of the youth would feed Malaysia’s appetite and desire for the ‘new’. The intersection between the youthful energies of the 7 artists and the collective optimism for a newly independent Malaysia freed from colonial rule opened up the field of cultural production by desiring notions of freedom, imagination and possibilities for a plurality of art forms and ideologies that could forge new cultural identities for this country. Exhibitionary Discourse on Modern Art: Freedom and Subjectivity While the discourse on the ‘new’ gained traction as an art form that represented the new era of modernity here, the question of what modern art is in practice and ideology remains. What is remarkable about the Modern Art exhibition in 1963 was it generated a discourse on modern art through the printed media that was highly influential and generally supportive of ‘modern art’. There was a series of commentaries on ‘modern art’ published in the Chinese newspapers that framed modern art as an art movement with its own concept and practices. ‘Freedom’ was one such concept that was proposed as a characteristic of modern art. In the newspaper article, ‘The Proponents of the Modern Art Movement’ by Wu Han Ming published in a literary supplement, he explained how the ‘modern art movement highlighted the individual freedom in thought, freedom in the use of any subject in art making, or in other words, an expression of
14
Foreword, Modern Art (Singapore: Modern Art Society, 1963), unpaginated.
15
Wu Han Ming in ‘The Proponents of the Modern Art Movement’, Nanyang Shang Pao Fukan, 9 October 1963
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 17
26/5/17 12:21 PM
18
one’s inner mind, a subjective reflexivity, and the use of one’s own experience and techniques to create a
new cultural product from this current period and to discover a new art form from this age’.16 Freedom in
how artists think about the world and his or her art making whether in subject, materials, techniques or
even styles was emphasised as a central tenet of the modern art movement that distinguished it from earlier
art movements that was restricted by a particular style such as Realism or Cubism. It appears that for Wu,
the modern art movement was not necessarily a particular style but a way of thinking about, imagining
and representing the world that engages with and emerges from its current social and cultural conditions.
He called for hybridity as the hallmark of the modern art movement, explaining that ‘The modern art
movement actually does not only draw from the various trends on contemporary Western art, at the same
time it absorbs the aesthetics of Chinese painting, and primitivism that embodies the spirit of abstraction
and authenticity.17 Freedom to draw from multiple sources of art making and cultures and conceiving
modern art as a new hybridised art form that emerges from the subjectivity of the individual artist was one
trajectory that an imagined community of modern art artists forming an art movement could adopt. His
emphasis on a ‘new’ era or age intersects with his call for freedom in the modern art movement as it is only
when artists have the freedom to think and make art beyond its current limitations and frameworks that a
truly ‘new’ art forms that represent the now or the contemporary emerge.
Wu Han Ming was not the only writer who identified freedom as the heartbeat of the modern art
movement manifested in the Modern Art exhibition. Wen Yi Jing, a writer for the art magazine, Zhan Wang
(
16
Wu Han Ming in ‘The Proponents of the Modern Art Movement’, Nanyang Shang Pao Fukan, 9 October 1963
17
Wu Han Ming, ‘Emphasising the Spiritual Freedom in the Modern Art Movement: Writing om the Modern Art Exhibition before its Opening’, Xin Zhou Ri Bao, 12 October 1963
18
Wen Yi Jing, ‘My Comments on the Artworld in October: The Seven Men Modern Art Exhibition’ Zhan Wang, 17 October 1963.
19
Bin Zhang, ‘Modern Art Exhibition: My Thoughts’ Wan Bao, 20 October 1963
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 18
26/5/17 12:21 PM
19
possible. The ideology of the modern art movement based on a constant search for the new had to thrive in an environment of freedom where the subjectivity of the individual was exalted. The confidence in the individual as the proponent of progress in all aspects of human endeavour was the underlying ideology of the modern art movement. The exhibitionary discourse of this nascent modern art movement should not be taken at its face value uncritically as necessarily desirable ideologies for the thinking and making of art, but should be considered within the context of a newly emerged country – Malaysia – freed from the yoke of colonialism in 1963 yearning for new forms art that could represent this new age of optimism and freedom in a geopolitical world order that was also changing. Contestations: The Act of Slashing The public interest in the Modern Art exhibition extended beyond the exhibitionary discourse. It was estimated that almost 5,000 people had visited the exhibition just 3 days before the exhibition was to end.20 The media’s hype on the exhibition was fuelled by important personalities like Han Suyin, a wellknown writer and physician who was the guest of honour for the exhibition and Frank Sullivan who was the then the first administrator of the National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur, and the former press secretary to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman. While the vast majority of the newspaper reviews were supportive and positive on the Modern Art exhibition, an incident regarding the intentional damage inflicted on one of the paintings in the exhibition was also registered in the newspaper articles revealing contestations over the constitution of art and its role in society. Just a week into the Modern Art exhibition, one of the paintings was reported in the newspapers as having been intentionally damaged by someone who visited the exhibition. The culprit was never caught or identified but at least three newspapers such as the Xin Sheng Ri Bao reported the incident.21 The artists who participated in the exhibition who were invited on Television Singapore that started television broadcasts on 15 February 1963 reported on the exhibition echoed the position of the artists’ calling for anyone who disagreed or who had issues with the paintings on display to either pose their questions to the artists themselves or to air their views in the press.22 Although the artist whose painting was damaged was not identifies in the newspaper articles, the artist was Tay Chee Toh whose painting was slashed while being exhibited at the inaugural Modern Art exhibition, allegedly by another artist whose artistic practices the MAS had rejected as outmoded.23 The act of defacing Tay’s painting was a gesture that signalled the rejection of what the MAS stood for, and a public challenge, for Tay’s painting was defaced while exhibited in a public space, a library, where vandalism (whether books or artworks) was not tolerated. The defacement of Tay’s painting was indicative of tensions surrounding the dominant mode of artistic practice (painting) within and without the Singapore art world. The act of vandalism represented a moment when the contestation of ideologies between modern
20
‘The Last Three Days of the Modern Art exhibition’ in Nayang Shang Bao, 25 October 1963.
21
‘Modern Art Exhibition has One More Week’, Xin Sheng Ri Bao 21 October 1963.
22
‘Modern Art Exhibition Audience: An Artwork that was Damaged by Someone and Hope for Criticisms to be Made in the Press’, Nanyang Shang Bao, 21 October 1963
23
Interview with Tay Chee Toh, 20/2/2006. See Ho Ho Ying, “Modern Art Society”, in Thang Kiang How et al., New Directions 1980-1987: Modern Paintings in Singapore, (Singapore: Horizon Pub., 1987), unpaginated for Ho’s documentation of how one painting (Tay Chee Toh’s painting) was slashed during the 1963 Modern Art Society exhibition. According to Ho, one of the reasons why the inaugural exhibition was a success was the defacement of Tay’s painting, which elicited public sympathy.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 19
26/5/17 12:21 PM
20
art and other ideologies emerged needs to be contextualised in relation to Realism as modern art’s apparent ideological opposite. The Singapore Chinese Middle Schools’ Graduates of 1953 Arts Association (or Yiyanhui for short) organised an art exhibition that propagated Realism. One of the essays by Lee Tian Meng compiled in the Yiyanhui’s exhibition catalogue titled, “Three Reasons Against the Ideas of Pablo Picasso” attacked Cubism, Picasso and other styles and ideologies that are deemed ‘anti-realist’. Lee, in his essay claims: The so-called Cubist art is actually a type, which denies the heritage of tradition, discards humanity and truth in art, and emphasises hypocrisy and anti-realism. Reason, progress, love for mankind, peace and harmony are forsaken and replaced by a decadent art which tries to propagandise bestiality, violence and anti-humanist ideas… As Malayan art workers, we should not only possess a keen eye for painting, but should at the same time have a sharp discretion for politics. Our criticisms should be unprecedented and closely committed to realism.24 Lee situates his art manifesto in both stylistic and political terms. Cubism was cast as anti-humanistic, false and violent as opposed to the harmony and truth of realism, held as the paragon of what art should be. Artistic styles were proposed as indices of worldviews and Cubism denounced accordingly as an exemplification of the “decadent culture” of the West that threatened the social and political fabric of Malaya.25 Realism was held as the only “true” art while demonising Cubism. Lee’s declaration qualifies as a manifesto not only in its rhetorical tone but also its privileging of an aesthetic ideal (Realism), while condemning another (Cubism). Art (or in this case, Realism) was declared political. The Yiyanhui was dissolved after its art exhibition held on August 14, 1956. The reasons behind the Yiyanhui’s dissolution could be linked to the increasing pressure exerted by the British colonial government on organisations they deemed as threatening to their authority.26 Some of its members subsequently formed a new art society in September the same year, the Equator Art Society, which continued its propagation of Realism when it was formed in 1956.27 Conclusion When was modernism in Singapore? It can be argued that there is a multiplicity of moments when modernism registered here. The Modern Art exhibition is proposed as one such moment for consolidating the very notion of ‘modern art’ through its exhibitionary discourse into a modern art movement with its own ideology entrenched in the new, freedom and subjectivity as desirable characteristics manifested in the
24
Lee Tian Meng, “Three Reasons Against the Ideas of Pablo Picasso”, quoted in Marco Hsu, A Brief History of Malayan Art, “Vibrant Artists C”, translated by Lai Chee Kien (Singapore: Millennium Books, 1999), p. 101.
25
Lee’s art manifesto should also be located within the anti-yellow movement that was a confluence of anti-colonial and anti-pornographic sentiments.
26
A connection between the Singapore Chinese Middle Schools’ Graduates of 1953 Arts Association and the Singapore Chinese Middle Schools’ Student Union (SCMSSU) that was formed in 1954 is possible. The SCMSSU was forced to dissolve in 1956 by the British colonial government, the same year the Singapore Chinese Middle Schools’ Graduates of 1953 Arts Association ceased to function.
27
The Equator Art Society officially registered on June 22, 1956. Art related activities organized by the Equator Art Society included art classes that was divided into three levels - beginner, intermediate and advance, exhibitions for its members, art theoretical research, study seminars, and even had possibly over 800 members at its height. Besides the fine arts wing of the art society, the literature, music and theatre wings were also active. However, the Equator Art Society de-registered on January 11, 1974 with 6 exhibitions held at various locations such as the Victoria Memorial Hall, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and its premises at 56 Geylang Lorong 32, Singapore 14.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 20
26/5/17 12:21 PM
21
individualism of the artist. The modern art movement’s aim to challenge existing aesthetic conventions and propose alternative ways of thinking about and making art that engages with the condition of modernism that is intrinsically hybrid as it draws from a multitude of cultural sources locates the Modern Art exhibition as a turning point in the history of art in Singapore.
A B O U T T H E
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 21
26/5/17 12:21 PM
22
CHIEU SHUEY FOOK
Born in Singapore in 1934, Chieu Shuey Fook is a second generation Singapore artist and NAFA alumnus. He graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts with a Diploma in Western Painting in 1953 and is known for his experimental and bold metal relief works. Chieu pursued a fulfilling career in advertising for more than 20 years before becoming a full-time artist in 1983. He served as the President of Modern Art Society in 1975, and from 1981 to 1983. Between 1984 and 1985, Chieu taught as an Applied Arts Teacher at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, while building his artistic repertoire at the same time. His contributions to the Singapore art scene are invaluable and he has continued working through the recent decades, where he was the Chairman of Black Earth Art Museum, Singapore from 2008 to 2010 and an Art Consultant of Black Earth Art Museum, Singapore from 2011 to 2014. Chieu’s art practice employs a variety of mediums, including batik, relief, painting, enamel and glass. Over decades of experimentation and exploration of various mediums, particularly in metals, Chieu has developed new techniques and used a combination of base metals such as zinc, aluminium, copper, and their alloys to produce highly sophisticated and magnificent metal relief works. His large scale murals and iconic metal works are considered to be a legacy in Singapore’s corporate collection and public commissions.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 22
26/5/17 12:21 PM
CHIEU SHUEY FOOK
23
Elation, 1967, Batik, 41 x 53cm
Making Noise for Art’s Sake, 2011, Clay, 36 x 25 x 20cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 23
26/5/17 12:21 PM
24
CHIEU SHUEY FOOK
Riverlife, 2011, Metal relief, 91 x 122cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 24
26/5/17 12:21 PM
CHIEU SHUEY FOOK
25
Bull Jump, 2014, Metal Relief, 122 x 152cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 25
26/5/17 12:21 PM
26
CHOY WENG YANG
蔡荣
蔡
荣
An artist, teacher, writer and critic, Choy Weng Yang majored in painting and graduated with a National Diploma of Art from the Hornsey College of Art, London in 1962. He later studied at the University of London’s Institute of Education where he graduated with an Art Teachers’ Certificate. From 1978 – 1985, he sat as the Curator of Art at the National Museum of Singapore. Choy Weng Yang’s first survey of the American art scene took place in 1973 when he travelled on the UNESCO fellowship grant to research into contemporary American art. The fellowship included a research stint in experimental designs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Centre for Advanced Visual Studies, directed at the time by esteemed Professor Gyorgy Kepes. While in the States, he also managed to meet important artists such as Josef Albers and Jules Oliski. Choy Weng Yang continued his interest in the avant-garde practices of American Artists when he journeyed across different states of America in the 1980s. These experiences in the States, coupled with his understanding of European Modern Art, propelled him in the direction of colour experimentation. In particular, the Abstract Expressionist concept of Colour Field exerted a great influence on his compositional approach toward colour relations in paintings.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 26
26/5/17 12:21 PM
CHOY WENG YANG
蔡荣
27
Red, Yellow, Black, White, 2010, Oil on canvas, 127 x 102 cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 27
26/5/17 12:21 PM
28
CHOY WENG YANG
蔡荣
Boat Quay Enchanting Atmosphere, 2017, Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 126cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 28
26/5/17 12:21 PM
CHOY WENG YANG
蔡荣
29
Radiant Lotuses, 2017, Acrylic on canvas, 122 x 152cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 29
26/5/17 12:21 PM
30
HO HO YING
b. 1936
Ho Ho Ying is a prominent pioneer of modern art in Singapore and the region. He is well-known for his visionary, unconventional and innovative approach to art. Ho is a self-taught artist who was inspired by Chinese culture and philosophy, and the American Abstract Expressionist movement. In 1962, Ho received his degree from Nanyang University, in Chinese language and literature. In the 1960s, Ho was amongst a group of seven young artists, including Wee Beng Chong, Tong Siang Eng, Tay Chee Toh, Tan Yee Hong, Goh Tuck Hai Johnda and Ng Yat Chuang, who often met up to discuss the development of the country’s fine art. In 1963,= they held the First Modern Art Exhibition at the National Library, Singapore, and in 1964, following the success of the first ever modern art exhibition, the seven artists jointly founded the Modern Art Society. Ho served as the President of the Modern Art Society from 1966 to 1974 and from 1976 to 1983. In 2012, he received the Cultural Medallion Award, the highest award for arts practitioners, for his invaluable contributions to the Singapore arts scene. For about 60 years, Ho Ho Ying has been painting passionately, expressing freely his inspirations from the world around him, making him one of the most successful and versatile contemporary artist around in Singapore. Ho is also a writer and scholar of Chinese language and literature, and has published extensively in newspapers and journals. Ho’s works are inspired and developed from his practice and learning of Chinese calligraphy and philosophy. In 1970s, Ho discovered the American painting movement - The Action Painters. He was then deeply inspired by the Abstract Expressionist artist Jackson Pollock. Combined with his in-depth study of Chinese art and philosophy, Ho created an impressive series of abstract paintings, characterized by its impulsive tension and raw visual vitality. It is Ho’s persevering passion and continued exploration that led to his significant artistic achievements.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 30
26/5/17 12:21 PM
HO HO YING
31
Silence, 2014, Acrylic on canvas, Size
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 31
26/5/17 12:21 PM
32
HO HO YING
Homage to Chen Wen Hsi, 2012, Acrylic on canvas, 122 x 122cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 32
26/5/17 12:21 PM
HO HO YING
33
Explode, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 80cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 33
26/5/17 12:21 PM
34
LEO HEE TONG
b. 194 0
Leo Hee Tong was born in 1940 and graduated from NAFA in 1960. He was mentored under the late pioneer artist Cheong Soo Pieng when he was studying at NAFA. In 1973, Leo won a scholarship awarded by the People’s Association to study fine art at the prestigious Ashiya College in Japan. This marked a turning point in his life. Leo was exposed to original paintings by famous Western artists such as Van Gogh and Picasso and acquired a love for Western Abstract art and Cubism. It is also during his time in Japan where he discovered a love for nature. The serenity and peace he experienced during the frosty winter days became a source of inspiration for his works. Leo’s work is profound in meaning and symbolism. One of his signature depictions - the pigeon - represents freedom from structure along with his desire to constantly evolve and break free from constraints. Other symbolic references in his work include the use of walls to represent human limitations and doors to represent mobility and transportability. Through the use of neutral colours and predominantly white colours and expressive strokes, Leo seeks to achieve a comforting spatial compositional balance and an ambient tranquility in his paintings. Leo has won many awards including four awards in Dr Tan Tsze Chor Art Award as well as nine Distinction Awards in UOB Painting of the Year Exhibition. His works are held in private and public collections including the Istana Singapore, Singapore Art Museum, National Art Council, Bank Negara, K.L Malaysia, Macau Culture Charity, Fukuoka Culture Foundation, National Library, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Singapore Airines, Singapore Telecomunications, Shell Companies and the United Overseas Bank.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 34
26/5/17 12:21 PM
LEO HEE TONG
35
Morning Fishing Village (Bali), 2015, Oil on canvas, 122 x 122cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 35
26/5/17 12:21 PM
36
LEO HEE TONG
Happiness, 1988, Oil on canvas, 98 x 164cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 36
26/5/17 12:21 PM
LEO HEE TONG
37
Peace on Window, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 100cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 37
26/5/17 12:21 PM
38
LIM LEONG SENG
b. 1950
Lim Leong Seng is a well-known second generation Singaporean sculptor and painter. Lim’s creative journey covers the broad spectrum of Chinese and Western art, painting, collage, sculpture, large-scale murals and three-dimensional works. Graduated from the Baharuddin Vocational Institute in 1970, Lim studied classical Chinese art under the acclaimed artist Zhumo from 1968 to 1969, and 1990. As a forerunner of the nascent modern art movement in Singapore in 1970s, Lim incorporated found objects in his sculptural work, imbuing social context and relevance into sculptural forms. In 1977, Lim showcased his sculptural work, Ravaged, a wooden sculpture shaped through burning, and received instant attention and acclaim for his daring and innovative artwork. Lim served as the President of the Modern Art Society from 2001 to 2002 and took on many important appointments within the arts community. A winner of the Tan Tsze Chor Art Award, Lim’s works have won many accolades and awards in Singapore and the region. From the late 1980s, Lim took on many public commissions including the Kallang Theatre Mural Design in 1986, and his series of family themed largescale outdoor sculptures all around residential areas in Singapore. Since the early 2000s, Lim has developed an interest in the life and culture of early immigrants to Nanyang. He launched a Nyonya and Baba series in 2010 and received much praise for his sculptural finesse and artistic talent. To date, Lim has transformed the Singaporean scenery with his commissioned sculptures, paintings and murals.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 38
26/5/17 12:21 PM
LIM LEONG SENG
39
United We Stand, 2016, Bronze, Edition 1/30, 56 x 27 x 24cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 39
26/5/17 12:21 PM
40
LIM LEONG SENG
Refugee, 1980, Silkscreen, 82 x 100cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 40
26/5/17 12:21 PM
LIM LEONG SENG
41
Striding Forth Together, 2016, Bronze, Edition 1/30, 43 x 38 x 32cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 41
26/5/17 12:21 PM
42
LOW PUAY HUA 刘培
刘
b. 1945
Low Puay Hua is an established second-generation artist known for his abstract oil and watercolour paintings. Born in 1945, Low graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Art in 1965. From detailed realism to complete colour abstraction, Low is known for his versatility in a broad range of styles and expressions. As an artist dedicated to the vision of creating modern art, Low’s art practice of more than fifty years is one that constantly evolves. Acclaimed for his talent as a watercolour artist, Low’s riveting works of the Singapore River series capture the atmospheric ambience of the 70s in its depiction of a picturesque scene of bumboats, toiling workers and old warehouses of that time. On the other hand, Low’s abstract oil works reflect a more philosophical side of the artist. Inspired by his visions of nature and society, the abstract works employ bold and contrasting colours overlaid with thick organic forms, creating a sense of balance and unknown depth beyond the picture. Various forms depict particles and substances - positioned in balance - within the void of space. Texture and light gives weight and importance to this juxtaposition. In his latest paintings, Low reinvents his signature Singapore River series by injecting elements of Cubism. With a monochromatic perspective, the monumental paintings trigger a deep sense of nostalgia. Low has won many awards for his watercolour paintings and his works are exhibited extensively in Singapore and the region.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 42
26/5/17 12:21 PM
LOW PUAY HUA 刘培
43
Dream, 2007, Oil on canvas, 110 x 110cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 43
26/5/17 12:21 PM
44
LOW PUAY HUA 刘培
Composition, 2012, Oil on canvas, 122 X 92cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 44
26/5/17 12:21 PM
LOW PUAY HUA 刘培
45
Reminiscence, 2007, Oil on canvas, 110 x 110cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 45
26/5/17 12:21 PM
46
SIM PANG LIANG 沈板
沈
Sim Pang Liang was born in 1940, in Singapore and was a graduate of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1961. Sim is one of the earliest members of the Modern Art Society. He is known for his ink paintings of Kampung life and his innovation in abstract calligraphy. His ink painting has broken free of the monumentality and constraints of the traditional ink painting conventions. Fluid lines, minimalist landscapes, and ink washes form a moving narrative, effortlessly depicting the lively yet peaceful life of people in the village - a past scene of bliss he hopes to capture in his paintings. Another fresh interpretation Sim brought to his ink painting was his abstract Chinese calligraphy. With his love for Chinese calligraphy, he reinvented an individualistic new method of calligraphy combining the qualities of “gong bi”,”xieyi” and Western Abstract Expressionism to create powerful, bold, dancing strokes of Chinese calligraphy. Sim is a winner of the Tan Tsze Chor Award and has won numerous awards for his calligraphy works.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 46
26/5/17 12:21 PM
SIM PANG LIANG 沈板
47
Abstract Calligraphy, 2016, Ink on paper, 140 x 69cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 47
26/5/17 12:22 PM
48
SIM PANG LIANG 沈板
Mee Goreng, 2016, Ink and colour on paper, 69 x 140cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 48
26/5/17 12:22 PM
SIM PANG LIANG 沈板
49
Fish Market, 2016, Ink and colour on paper, 69 x 140cm
Night, 1965, Oil on board, 122 x 61 cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 49
26/5/17 12:22 PM
50
SWEE KHIM ANN 孙琴
孙
b. 1935
Swee Khim Ann is a self-taught artist. He is known for his acrylic, watercolour and ceramic works. In his younger days, Swee was unable to pursue a formal education in fine arts due to his financial constraints. However, Swee was motivated by a deep interest and passion for art. He was determined to be an artist and forged a path for himself by constantly learning and developing his art practice on his own, with the support of other artists. Swee joined the Modern Art Society in 1964 and participated in the inaugural exhibition by the society. Even while holding a full-time job as a Senior Graphic Artist in the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation from 1962 to 1994, he never stopped painting. His paintings are highly recognisable - visually captivating with bold composition, vibrant colours and a multiplicity of textures. Swee’s works have been exhibited both locally and abroad. He has won awards which include the United Overseas Bank Painting of the Year Distinction Award in 1988. His works can be found in the collections of the National Museum Art Galleries in Singapore and Malaysia, the United Overseas Bank of Singapore, the Public Utilities Board and other offices in Singapore. to pursue a formal education in fine arts due to his financial constraints. However, Swee was motivated by a deep interest and passion for art. He was determined to be an artist and forged a path for himself by constantly learning and developing his art practice on his own, with the support of other artists. Swee joined the Modern Art Society in 1964 and participated in the inaugural exhibition by the society. Even while Swee held a full-time job as a Senior Graphic Artist in the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation from 1962 to 1994, Swee has never stopped painting. His paintings are highly recognisable - visually captivating with bold composition, vibrant colours and a multiplicity of textures.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 50
26/5/17 12:22 PM
SWEE KHIM ANN 孙琴
51
Red Forest At Dawn, 1975, Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 100cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 51
26/5/17 12:22 PM
52
SWEE KHIM ANN 孙琴
Majestic Lush Landscape, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 90 x 100cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 52
26/5/17 12:22 PM
SWEE KHIM ANN 孙琴
53
Soaring, 1985, Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 100cm
Undulating Mountains, 1989, Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 100cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 53
26/5/17 12:22 PM
54
TAN PING CHIANG
Tan Ping Chiang is an artist, sculptor, graphic designer and fine arts educator. An alumnus of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts,Tan headed the Applied Arts Department at NAFA from 1981 to 1992, and headed the Fine Arts Department from 1987 to 1991. He is known for his semi-abstract oils and unconventional ink paintings of people and society. While working as a full-time fine arts teacher, Tan continued to paint in his spare time, keeping up with his art practice to resume his passion as a full fledged artist later on. Tan impressed the art circle in the 1980s with his White Relief in the medium of painted wood. A hallmark of a fine work, White Relief showcased the artist’s precision, clarity, innovation and aesthetic appeal. In 2015, Tan held his solo exhibition ‘Kopi Culture’ after nearly forty years since his last solo showcase in 1966 at the National Library, Singapore. He is known for his thought-provoking ideas of art and society, revealed through the powerful narratives of his ink series. Tan’s works are collected in both public and private collections in Singapore and Malaysia. Institutions such as the National Gallery Singapore, National Museum Art Gallery Singapore, and the National Museum Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia have prominent collections of Tan’s works.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 54
26/5/17 12:22 PM
TAN PING CHIANG
55
Kite In Galaxy, 2016, Mixed Medium, 105 x 110cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 55
26/5/17 12:22 PM
56
TAN PING CHIANG
Abstract No. 6, 2016, Mixed Medium, 105 x 110cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 56
26/5/17 12:22 PM
TAN PING CHIANG
57
Coffee Orchestra, 2016, Mixed medium, 105 x 110cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 57
26/5/17 12:22 PM
58
TAY CHEE TOH 郑志
郑
b. 1941
Tay Chee Toh is a painter, sculptor, printmaker and co-founder of the Modern Art Society in 1964. Tay graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1960 and has been practising as a full time since then, constantly experimenting and developing in art practice. In the 1970s, Tay distanced himself from Realism and found greater freedom in Abstract Expressionism, giving rise to his semi-abstract batik paintings and seascape series in the 1980s. Throughout his long career, he has experimented with a wide range of materials, from two-dimensional batik, oil and watercolour works, to three-dimensional works of plastic, aluminium, stainless steel, bronze and brass. Tay continuously explores and innovates in his methodologies and mediums, and his practice pursues the free expressionism of modern art. His exploration on sculptural forms and kinetic motions gave rise to his signature biomorphic forms of mobile-art. The success of his sculpture exhibition Art in Motion: Hanging Mobiles in 2011 displayed his innovation and breakthrough in sculptural art. Tay is equally celebrated for his iconic batik paintings featuring the unique culture and livelihood of the indigenous Dayaks in Sarawak, Malaysia, which he found of local relevance to the Southeast Asian heritage. Tay’s works gravitate between abstraction and surrealism, emblematic of both representational and the figurative expressions. Over the years, Tay continues his endeavour to elevate his art practice. He is identified as a prominent Singaporean artist in the region and his works are exhibited widely in many countries. He was also awarded the Cultural Medallion Award in 1985 for his significant contribution to the arts.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 58
26/5/17 12:22 PM
TAY CHEE TOH 郑志
59
Three Sisters, 1971, Batik, 45 x 60cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 59
26/5/17 12:22 PM
60
TAY CHEE TOH 郑志
Serendipity, 2015, Ink and pigment on paper, 100 x 100cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 60
26/5/17 12:22 PM
TAY CHEE TOH 郑志
61
Dayak Lady, 2015, Ink and colour on paper, 50 x 100cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 61
26/5/17 12:22 PM
62
THANG KIANG HOW
Thang Kiang How is a self-taught painter, sculptor and photographer who is is known for his exquisite use of airbrush and acrylic paints to create a series of galaxies. Thang creates vivid and awe-inspiring imageries with controlled and expressionistic strokes through the use of acrylic and airbrush painting techniques. As a self-taught artist, his work is devoid of the influences of artists before him, taking on a life and expression of their own. Thang has won many awards including the Tan Tsze Chor Award in 1982, the UOB Painting of the Year Distinction Award in 1982 to 1987. In the late 80s to 90s, Thang was involved in several large scale public art projects, such as the wall murals at the Raffles and Orchard MRT stations and outdoor sculptures at Marina South. He has held positions such as the President of the Modern Art Society from 1982 to 1993 and the Vice President of the Federation of Arts Societies (Singapore) from 1990 to 1996. Besides his artistic pursuit, Thang is also heavily committed to community service. In 1981, Thang received the prestigious Public Service Medal from the President of Singapore for his contributions.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 62
26/5/17 12:22 PM
THANG KIANG HOW
63
Galaxy 23, 1985, Acrylic on canvas, 122 x 122cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 63
26/5/17 12:22 PM
64
THANG KIANG HOW
Galaxy 3209, 2016, Acrylic on canvas, 96 x 96cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 64
26/5/17 12:22 PM
THANG KIANG HOW
65
Galaxy 2978, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 96 x 96cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 65
26/5/17 12:22 PM
66
THOMAS YEO 姚照
姚
Thomas Yeo is a prominent second generation artist who is known for his avant-garde painting techniques and bold abstract compositions. He is an alumnus of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and furthered his education at the Chelsea School of Art (now Chelsea College of Art and Design) and Hammersmith College of Art and Building. During his time in London, he immersed himself in the vibrant art scene there, and was exposed to Western modern art. With a strong interest and zest to learn, Yeo continued his studies at the Hammersmith College of Art and Building and acquired knowledge on various crafts, mediums and techniques. Yeo’s ability and experience with a multitude of materials is seen across his oeuvre, comprising of diverse styles and medium. In his early works, Yeo painted beautiful visions of the natural landscape in great detail and artistic finesse. Later on, inspired by Western ideals and art styles, and with the new skills he hadacquired, he experimented and developed new approaches to abstraction. He became known for creating bold abstract works and using new methods and materials in his art practice. Yeo has won many awards in his career. In 1984, he received the prestigious Cultural Medallion Award for his contributions to visual arts in Singapore. His works have been exhibited widely in Singapore, Southeast Asia, Europe and other parts of the world and belong to many esteemed private and public collections.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 66
26/5/17 12:22 PM
THOMAS YEO 姚照
67
Ocean Series 1, 2011, Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 100cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 67
26/5/17 12:22 PM
68
THANG KIANG HOW
Construction in Motion 2, 2013, Acrylic on canvas, 80 x 100cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 68
26/5/17 12:22 PM
THANG KIANG HOW
69
Composition with Flower, 1992, Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 54cm
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 69
26/5/17 12:22 PM
70
岛国
而今
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 70
26/5/17 12:22 PM
71
Self-transcendence in modern art Written by Tan Ping Chiang (2017), translated by Gillian Lim
In the physiology of art, Self-transcendence is a form of elevating one’s arrangement of ideas, Beyond one’s comfort zone. Breaking through the rigid form is self-transcendence. Accepting new concepts is self-transcendence. Exploring new styles is self-transcendence. Dissatisfaction with existing achievements is self-transcendence. Progressing towards the avant-garde is self-transcendence. But above all … Is to transcend the “You” of yesterday. The concept of creativity requires detachment so as to transcend one’s artistic ability. Twelve of our island’s first generation of contemporary artists gather, A foundation of fifty years of modern art, Regardless of each one’s career path, Through successes and failures, We have consistently pursued the ideals of modern art. And now in this rare opportunity of collaboration, To commemorate our shared beliefs as artists, We present to you a showcase of our various styles and artistic innovations. Time and tide waits for no man, Half a century bygone, Yet the spirit of self-transcendence in modern art is steadfast in the mindset and hearts of our senior contemporary artists.
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 71
26/5/17 12:22 PM
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 72
26/5/17 12:22 PM
73
ACK NOWLEDGEMENT S This catalogue is published in conjunction with Transcend - Fifty Years in Singapore Modern Art.n. The exhibition organised and curated by Iola Liu, founder of Asia Art Collective art consultancy and the recently established visual arts space - Visual Arts Centre. On behalf of the participating artists, the organiser wishes to express our deepest appreciation to the following individuals and organisations who have rendered significant help in the organisation of the exhibition, as well as in the publication of the catalogue. First and foremost, we are indebted to Seng Yu Jin for sharing with us his important research work, for contributing an essay and the first ever published timeline of Singapore modern art, the “Story of Modern Art in Singapore’. The essay sheds light on modernity in Singapore and its identity, while the timeline traces the development of modern art in Singapore in relation to historical events. His in-depth research will be useful for future studies and surveys of modern art in Singapore. This endeavour was made possible with the generous time and effort contributed by Seng, with the support of the National Gallery Singapore. We will also like to extend our gratitude to Seng’s colleagues Hwee Koon, Joyce Fan, Patricia Ong, Ong Zhen Min, and Low Sze Wee, for their tireless dedication to this project. For the publication of this catalogue, we will also like to thank Seng Yu Jin and Andre Wang for their assistance in the editing of content, Teo Swee Huang for her elegant design work, and Alan Yeo from Refine Printing for his professional coordination and arrangement. We appreciate the unrelenting support of fellow participating artists, for providing us with valuable materials for the exhibition and the publication. They are Chieu Shuey Fook, Choy Weng Yang, Ho Ho Ying, Leo Hee Tong, Lim Leong Seng, Low Puay Hua, Swee Khim Ann, Sim Pang Liang, Tan Ping Chiang, Tay Chee Toh, Thang Kiang How and Thomas Yeo. We will also like to thank Choy Weng Yang, Ho Ho Ying, Lim Leong Seng and Tan Ping Chiang for their time and support in contributing additional research materials and writing. Lastly, we are most privileged to receive the generous sponsorship of the National Arts Council and the Arts Fund in support for the exhibition and this publication. We wholeheartedly appreciate the help and support of the arts community and various individuals who have made this publication possible.
With the support of:
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 73
26/5/17 12:22 PM
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 74
26/5/17 12:22 PM
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 75
26/5/17 12:22 PM
VISUAL ARTS CENTRE
Transcend_WorkingDraft3.indd 76
26/5/17 12:22 PM