Coursework (in progress) ;D

Tracing my progress on the 1.5m x 2.4m canvas...

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

Day 4:

Day 5:

Day 6:

Work in detail:

1. Really thick paint: when I say really thick paint, I mean really thick paint -> I've already used up 3 tubes of oil paint...and it's not done yet...(sry peeps who don't have paint to use...) :P
2. Straight from the paint tubes -> no turpentine or thinner, fresh paint on canvas --- impasto
3. Just slab on e paint :D : had the orignal photo beside me, but I didn't really refer to it, just went along with my instincts. While some browns were mixed on the palette, most were mixed directly on the canvas.

1+2+3 = FUN :DD

once I stayed in the art room from morning (~9:30am) to late afternoon (~5pm),

survived solely on breakfast [and painting]

didn't realise the time until I looked up from the canvas and saw the clock,

That was when my stomach (which was strangely quiet the whole day),

started growling like crazy and I had to stop...

Painting is addictive <3

Singapore Art Biennale 2011

DON'T WORRY

Before I even enter the room, an omnious yellow glow could be seen radiating from the door. The bright, neon-like yellow that usually signals danger and instills fear. I grew rather tensed as I neared it, yet at the same time excited with curiosity about what is in the room.

Upon entry, I was greeted by the huge lighted words, 'Don't Worry' sprawled across the wall. The talkative group of twenty or so died down almost immediately, creating a loud deafening silence. Everything else about the room presents every possible reason for the need to worry: the exposed wires, the still stuffy air, the ominous glow in the room, the tightly shut doors as if trapping one within and the eerie silence that fills the room when one steps in. The blinding yellow glow seemed to reduce the space in the room, while the empty walls threatened to enclose us within. This, together with the twenty people crowded in the room, sets a claustrophobic environment, which causes fear and worry in anyone who steps in. Yet the big, neon-yellow words of 'Don't Worry' screams out at you, as if demanding that you feel otherwise.

The irony of this contemporary piece amuses me. Indeed, words themselves mean nothing. It is the environment and setting in which it was said or displayed that determines the meaning that words convey to others. In this case, 'Don't Worry' only served to instill more fear within the viewers rather than to calm them down, which was its literal meaning. It seemed like a big mockery of the viewer's fear of the almost empty room.

When I stepped out of the room,  I was partially wet with perspiration. Taking in the fresh cool air outside, I was overcome with relief. This contemporary piece was one of the works that left a deep impression in my mind.



 (btw, I kind of forgot the actual name of this work as well as the artist. so if you know, do comment. thanks)

Posters for Earth Week: Theme: The Rainforest

"Let every individual and institution now think and act as a responsible trustee of Earth, seeking choices in ecology, economics and ethics that will provide a sustainable future, eliminate pollution, poverty and violence, awaken the wonder of life and foster peaceful progress in the human adventure."

— John McConnell, founder of International Earth Day

My original idea was to have a photo collage of the endangered plants and animals. But keeping in mind that this was supposed to be more of an information poster, I added a few lines of description below each photo, as well as introduction paragraphs for the endangered plants and animals. Photos were kept big and plenty so as to capture more attention.

                                             

 Had the most fun doing up this poster. Made with spray paint and masking tape, simple yet cool finish. It captured a lot of attention during the exhibition outside the school canteen and drew many to come forward to take a look at the other posters. Got my hands bloody red after finishing the poster, but it was fun and worth it. Besides, I managed to scare my mother into thinking that I had an accident earlier in school. An added bonus :D

After making the poster in the earlier photo, I thought that there ought to be some information about poaching to add to the severity of the whole situation. This is when this poster came in. Not as attractive, and there's too much white (negative space) making the poster rather dull and empty. But then again, this is the crucial information that had to convince people that poaching is a serious problem. Well, the earlier poster can do the 'attention-drawing', and this one will do the 'talking'.

 This is the wallpaper that I designed for the school computers. It shows the before and after photos of deforestation and poaching, two of the most severe problems faced by the rainforest. A stark and even shocking contrast between the two. The vast green forest reduced to a dead pile of chopped up tree trunks; the cute bear playing with itself on the field, reduced to the paws, skin and raw flesh. Many are aware of such threats faced by the forest and the animals living in it, but few do their part to prevent such cases from happening. It's sad and frustrating to know that it's impossible to stop this from happening myself, without changing the stubborn mindset of the masses who think that it is none of their business.

You would probably have guessed my intention for this year's Earth Week activities and exhibitions; to scare and make those who are guilty of wasting paper and buying real leather feel guilty. Indeed, when this was first displayed on screen for my class, several looked away and there was much commotion about the gruesome nature of the photos. But this is reality and it will remain a reality if everyone continues to be irresponsible and indifferent to such cruelty of mankind.

Beach Cleanup with Green Club :D

It's Earth Day:D. Thought that as the Green Club, we ought to do something for the environment, so I suggested a beach cleanup. We suffered, we melted, and we had fun:)

Big Foot? Some giant monster raiding East Coast Park? While walking from the bus-stop towards the coast area, I chanced upon this pair of 'footprints'. Well, actually, it's not that big, it's only slightly bigger than my foot. Didn't put my foot next to it as I didn't want to give it away so easily. That's probably how the Big Foot or UFOs come about, from people's imaginations. Found it interesting so I took it down.

Kind of expected to see this: the beach was sewn with all sorts of trash, from plastic bottles, aluminum cans to chicken bones and tidbit wrappers. Sigh, the trash is seriously an eye sore. Cleaned up the beach as best as we could. But even after a full 2 hours, there were still a lot of trash lining the beach. It's sad how the scenery of the coast can be ruined by those who can't be bothered to clear their trash properly.

Clouds disappeared and the sun appeared half way into the cleanup. It was really burning hot and humid, the worst and most common weather condition in Singapore. What's more, there're no trees along the beach, just sand and more sand. Didn't put sunblock either, so after the cleanup, I got the 'lobster' look and a terrible headache. Great.

Fond of the water, as always, especially when it's a really hot day. If only I could jump in and stay there all day, refreshing and cooling, the perfect remedy for the scorching weather. But then again, the water isn't exactly clean; straws, plastic bags and even dead fishes bob up and down in the waters near the coast. Would rather be cooked than to dive into those waters.

It's about 1 hour since we begun. Got a bid bored, so I wrote this with a random tree branch. Even though I was about half dead and melted, I still had much fun during the Beach cleanup. It's amazing how a simple activity of picking up litter can bond ppl together. It reminded me of the wonderful juniors and friends that I have in Green Club. Love you guys <3

Thought that it looked cool, with the shadows and close detail of the sand. In case you were wondering, the horizontal thing that cut across the photo is one of the tiles which we found in a huge sack buried under the sand (talk about the weird things people throw on the beach). Was trying to capture the earthworm on the tile but my camera isn't of high resolution and the worm turned out to be just that little pinkish dot on the tile.

The area that we cleaned. A sharp contrast to the earlier photo. Can't help but feel proud of ourselves for cleaning up this part of the beach. What can I say, it's worth the 'torture'. Blue sky, clear blue waters, clean coast......if only it could remain like this forever. But I doubt it. There will always be that one or two people who ruin the scenery. Enjoy it while you can.

Walking back to the bus-stop after the exhausting 2 hours of clean-up. The sun is still shining as brightly as it possibly can. Three clear and distinct shadows cast on the pathway. Air-con, a refreshing shower, ice-cream, here we come!

Chanced upon this cat sleeping under a car parked at the road side. It was probably already there when we first started the cleanup. Having a late morning nap, cooling off in the shadow of the car, while we stand under the hot sun all day, bending down to pick trash off the beach...Jealous...

The bus took forever to come. Bored, I took an interest in the tree behind the bus-stop. Who knew that a bark of a tree trunk would be so interesting. Frosty white, natural brown, burnt umber, nature's fascinating if you would just stop to look.

Sigh, what can I say after that 2 hours under the sun; I'm red, roasted and sore all over. Moral of the story? Leave nothing but footprints. Not plastic bottles, not aluminum cans and certainly not chicken bones or satay sticks!

Singapore Art - National Identity in Art?

Qns: With globalization, it is futile for Singapore to persist in establishing a national identity in art. Discuss.

Singapore is a unique society in which many different cultures and races congregate and live together in harmony. In such a cosmopolitan country, it is inevitable that these migrants bring along their cultures and practices to Singapore and influence the societal practices here. Therefore, Singaporeans are advantaged as they get to experience a variety of cultures, from food to clothing and definitely in art. However, the national identity of Singaporeans becomes blurred as result of such globalization and influx of foreign cultures. 'Uniquely Singaporean' becomes increasingly clouded and we ask ourselves, is there even Singaporean art in the first place? If there is, what is it?

Upon first glance, it may seem that there are no artworks that are undeniably Singaporean. The painting styles adopted by local artists are often either western-influenced or chinese-influenced (Chinese painting and calligraphy), renown sculptors, such as Ng Eng Teng, and artists, like Liu Kang, were mostly born in olden China and pursued an art education in London and France, graduating from art institutions overseas. As a result, the works that they created often drew inspirations from their motherlands as well as their art education. In this sense, these works would not be 'made-in-Singapore'.

Some may regard artworks done in the Nanyang Style to be Singaporean Art. Indeed, the Nanyang Style does seem to have the multicultural quality that Singapore possesses, the merging of both the western and eastern styles of painting. Our pioneer artists, Liu Kang and Georgette Chen, both adopted this style. However, it is important to note that the Nanyang Style only seeks to portray life in the Southeast Asia region, which included several countries other than Singapore.

However, if one ponders over it, the Singapore national identity does exist in art. A well-known example is the renowned artist, Chua Mia Tee, whose works are often referred to as underlining 'a vigorous search towards an anti-colonialist and nationalistic identity in art'. Indeed, famous works like the National Language class (1950) portrays the historical scene of Singapore in the olden days, where Malay was once the national language of Singapore, and students of various races and linguistic habits learn Malay from the cikgu: the bespectacled middle-class man of pressed pants and shoes, the working-class man in white cotton shirt tucked out of khaki slacks in loafers, the woman in white Chinese school uniform dress, the smiling nonya woman in capped baju Shanghai and so on. Workers in a Canteen (1974) is another notable work which acknowledges the hard-work and contribution of the working class to the then young nation's program of rapid industrialization and economic development.

Another example is First Generation, the sculpture depicting five kampong boys jumping into the Singapore River for a swim. This sculpture captures the simple and happy lifestyles of the people living along the Singapore River several generations ago.

From these examples, one can gather that Singaporean art is present, not in terms of the style and techniques of creating the artwork, but in terms of the subject matter depicted in the works, capturing the locals' living and working scenes of Singapore's past. These works act as a nostalgic reminder for the older generation of their childhood, when Singapore was still a fishing village moving into urbanization. Younger generations, on the other hand, may not relate to these works as they do not have the fond memories of Kangpong life that their parents possess.

One may argue that most of such 'Singapore art' are often based in the earlier years of the 1970s and 1980s, whereas 21st century artworks are often contemporary works that addresses general issues that people all over the world can relate to, such as obesity and poverty rather than subject matter specifically pertaining to Singapore. Indeed, globalization has made the world a smaller place and local artists are starting to target an international audience.

Yet there is a notable handful of 21st century local artists who draws inspirations from their daily lives in Singapore and creates works that Singaporeans can relate to. An example is the group vertical submarine, consisting of three artists, Joshua Yang, Justin Loke and Fiona Koh. One of their recent works is Foreign Talent (2007), which acted as a commentary on Singaporeans’ negative views of foreign workers.

Two statues were in erected for about two months in the Raffles Landing Site, and Little India – a known gathering place for many migrant workers. The heroic representation of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles in the form of a polished statue was placed in contrast to the archetypal figure of a migrant worker represented in raw concrete with a rough finish. Both pedestals of the migrant worker statues were fitted with plaques bearing the following words: On this obscure site and many others we landed on Singapore soil since time immemorial with our labour and toil changed your genius and perception from a mere idea to a concrete reality. Till now, the influx of foreign workers remains a worrying concern to many Singaporeans.

Your vote is our Secret (2011) is a recent work by local artists, Antz and Eeshaun, inspired by the just concluded General Elections 2011 in Singapore. Indeed, this year’s General Elections is, undoubtedly, the most exciting and heated battle between the People’s Action Party (PAP) and 6 other opposition parties, with newspapers, the radio and even twitter and face book covering any news about the elections. Therefore, it is no surprise when Antz and Eeshaun presented this work in the ‘Raw Art Face Off’ exhibition.

Besides, Singaporean Art is being promoted, and artists are encouraged to create works that reflect our national identity. MM I love you and Beyond LKY are exhibitions that displayed works reflecting the Singapore identity, which are held in conjunction with the National Day last year in 2010. Indeed, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew is a politician who all Singaporeans are indebted to. He has shaped this island from a fishing village to what it is today. Exhibitions like these spur Singaporeans to review their national identity, urging us to return to our roots and ask ourselves, “What makes us Singaporeans?” --- An important question in the globalization era.

As can be seen in the earlier examples, local contemporary artists do create artworks based on themes of much relevance to Singapore. Therefore, the Singapore national identity does exist in the local art scene. While it is hard to say for certain if a revolutionary Singapore art movement will be started, Singapore art is definitely developing with time and one should give the local art scene some time to grow instead of completely writing off the idea of establishing a national identity in art.

Yet answering the question “What makes us Singaporeans?” is not easy, for we are not of one ethnicity, but of a multitude of cultures. Our experiences as a nation are also limited to the 66 years after independence, considering that countries like Japan and England had centuries to bond and uncover their unique national identity. The search for our national identity continues and one should allow art to aid in finding that character that makes us unique.

Srikandi (1993) --- Lucia Hartini

Srikandi is a famous and well-known work by Lucia Hartini, an Indonesian female artist, showing the triumph over her own emotions and the male-dominant society in Indonesia.

The main focus of this painting is a female figure, of perfect likeness to the painter herself, standing with arms akimbo, as if in triumph. The figure is centrally located and seems to stand rooted to the ground, in firm, martial stance with her chin raised and eyes wide open at the group of eyes staring at her. She seems to be in full awareness of her own strength and ready to fight back.

In this work, two walls take up about two-thirds of the background; dividing the canvas into two regions, one dominated by the brick-red walls, the other dominated by the bright sky. The wall on the left of the painting is straight, symbolizing her confidence and clear mind. Whereas, the wall on the right is a dizzy, zigzag wall, symbolizes her previously confused and fearful feeling about being stared at fiercely by the eyes.

The use of space in Srikandi (1993) is also unrealistic as the female figure is juxtaposed against the brick walls and the sky in the background. Therefore, this composition is largely based on the artist’s imagination. For instance, the buildings and walls seem to be floating in mid-air while the eyes at the top-right hand corner of the painting are disembodied; both cases are highly unlikely to happen in reality. In this sense, Lucia Hartini’s work is considered as a surrealistic artwork, which is highly symbolic and unrealistic.

The use of bright colors, such as the yellow and light blue, for the sky also conveys the message of a clear mind, as if there is sunshine after a heavy thunderstorm. Shadows are also used to define the muscles on her slightly tanned skin, suggesting a muscular figure, fit to fight back any staring eyes, which symbolizes the societal expectations of her as a woman in a male-dominated Indonesian society. The lighter and darker shades of blue highlights and emphasizes the flow of the blue drapery, as well as her defined body shape, thus making the figure realistic and lifelike.

A sequel of Spying Eyes (1989), the group of eyes are confined to a small corner at the top right of the painting instead of being free to ‘roam’ around in the painting in Spying Eyes (1989). Such confinement of the eyes in the small space suggests that the figure is now in control of these stares of the society and is no longer subjected to the control of these eyes as portrayed in the previous painting.

Although the painting is based on the artist’s imagination, it is painted in a highly realistic manner. The brushwork of this painting is well-rendered and well-blended. Lucia Hartini took up the academic and traditional way of realistic painting, where the brushworks are so well-blended that no brushstrokes can be identified. For example, the arms and hands of the female figure are painted in great detail, where her veins and muscles can be easily identified. The blue drapery is also painted with a very detailed eye, with the shadows and highlights bringing out the elaborate folds and fluidity of the cloth. Even the individual strands of hair can be identified in the painting.

All in all, the painting is based largely on a surrealistic world, but the figures and objects are painted in a highly realistic manner, in great detail. The bright colors, on the other hand, bring out the emotion of triumph and confidence of the artist through the painting.

Influence 

There are several influences behind Lucia Hartini’s painting, Srikandi (1993).

However, the main influence of this artwork is her struggles in the male-dominated society in Indonesia, and her final triumph and control over her life. Lucia Hartini is a catholic woman living in a predominantly Muslim environment. In Indonesia, the society is male-dominated; this included the art world in the country. Females who chose the artistic career path, struggle in both art school and in society as they are looked upon with a critical eye and their works are not recognized. Instead, the societal expectation of a woman is to become a housewife and manage the house and the children.

While many female artists gave up their artistic career, Lucia Hartini continued producing artworks many of which reflected her struggles with societal expectations of her role as a female, many of which reflected the feminist movement. Since her work engages critically with inherited gender norms and her personal struggles in the confined society, her works are filled with symbols to reflect her struggles. In Srikandi, the disembodied eyes symbolize the society’s expectation and disapproval at her artistic career; the zigzag walls suggests her once fear and struggles in life, while the straight brick wall shows her triumph over her emotions and society with renewed confidence and courage. She also took a surrealistic approach instead of expressing herself in a straightforward manner so as to avoid criticism and uproar in society.

As suggested by the title of the artwork, the painting is also influenced by a favorite character from the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, well-known throughout Indonesia. Srikandi was originally a character from the epic, who was determined to become the wife of the Pandwa prince, Arjuna, despite the fact that she was already married to Dewi Sumbadra. Srikandi vowed to stand by Arjuna in battle, impressing him with her loyalty and courage.

Srikandi is the archetypical ‘Warrior Woman’ of South-East Asian legend. Lucia Hartini depicts her representation of Srikandi dressed in the blue cloth worn by members of the women’s armies who historically protected the Sultans of feudal Central Java. Lucia painted herself as Srikandi, with the female figure with perfect likeness to herself. This suggests that she has overcome her fears and stridently repels the critical and doubting eyes of the society which had formerly rendered many women prisoners of tradition. A sequel to Spying Eyes (1989), the female figure is no longer cowering in fear and insecurity from the eyes, but stands up strong and confident of herself against the group of eyes, possessing Srikandi’s courage and bravery.

The final influence is from that of the surrealist painters. Srikandi is similar to Dali’s surrealistic works, as both are set in an unrealistic environment in the artist’s imagination. The figures are also highly realistic and detailed such that they represent real life figures and objects. Such surrealistic approach seems to hide the main message behind the artwork, making it less straightforward. This is to prevent any uproar from the public as her personal struggles and pain are not accepted by the traditional society.

typography

I attended the graphic design course (mainly on typography) in AEP last year. We were given a list of words which we were supposed to come up with a design to convey it's meaning. Here are my designs:

 

victory

playful

 

positive and negative

 

fear

The works ought to be self explanatory and rather straight forward, so I shan't elaborate. (But if you don't understand any, do comment and I shall explain...) Anyways, after the course, I realized that a good design can be simple yet convey the intended meaning very well. It makes use of the minimalist concept, keeping every thing simple and straight forward, plus a little wit to interpret the design. I suppose that is the thing about graphic design that I found most fascinating.

The following are designs which I found inspirational:

 

notice the arrow between the 'E' and the 'x'? I wouldn't have spotted it if someone hadn't pointed it out to me... A classic:)

milk

this is an advertisement poster from play doh, to suggests a child's wild imagination. 

 Here’s another meaningful design; a brochure educating the public about domestic violence. The inner pages of the brochure are glued together so when the recipient flips open the cover, he tears off parts of the victims face, effectively suggesting lives torn apart by domestic violence.

Sec 3 BT Drawing and Painting paper

 

  The theme for the paper was play. My interpretation: play that hurts. In other words, I was addressing the issue of mockery and hurtful teasing that damages others self esteem. Notice that a human figure is crouched on top of the pile of toys, and that the three distorted faces are laughing in mockery at him. The pile of toys suggests the objects that we play with and become entertained by when we were younger. However, as we grow older, some begin to lose this interest and treat a fellow human being as a toy to make fun of.

...Preparatory Studies...

brainstorm, mind-map, sketches, tryouts, etc.

Like everyone else, when the theme was announced, the first thing that came to mind was toys; from soft toys to dolls to pets. So I sketched them ...

But something bothered me; my ideas were not original. Anyone would relate play to toys. It was not interesting or different enough. So I thought harder and came up with an idea: mockery and playing with someone's emotions and feelings. I have to admit that it was rather morbid. Nevertheless, it was unique and I loved it:) Here's the rest of my prep:

Next, I had a random idea of playing with nature, like flying a kite (playing with the wind). But it didn't really have much relevance to the theme, so I decided not to take any chances. I submitted it as my prep work anyways, because I put in quite a lot of effort in these paintings.

 

...Compositions...

 

What can I say? To paint a painting requires much hard work even before starting to paint the actual painting. But throughout the whole course of doing this paper, I did my best and enjoyed myself thoroughly doing the prep studies and painting the actual painting. I really quite pleased with the process and the outcome. Can't wait for the Sec4 coursework to start:D

Coursework in progress...

Who could have thought that coursework was so brain-wrecking. I've been thinking about the theme since the December holidays, from hope to death, from nature to artificiality......and I finally settled on deforestation. Not a very popular theme I admit. Deforestation is so common that it has just been accepted as a way of life.

Deforestation = more land = agriculture = more food
                                        = housing = population growth
                                        = factories = economic development
                                        = ......

For various reasons, politicians and developers claims that it is necessary for deforestation in order for a country to grow and have economic progress. Since the past, forests have been removed and trees have been chopped and burnt down on a large scale all in the name of money and development.
The way I see it,

Deforestation = loss of habitats = endangerment and even extinction of species
                     = desertification
                     = drastic climate changes
                     = Global Warming
                     =......

For our own selfish reasons, we have chose to neglect the detrimental harm and irreversible damage that deforestation has on the Earth and ultimately our way of life. Like animals, we are merely inhabitants of the Earth. What right do we have of changing the very land we stand for our selfish reasons and then affecting every animal and species? (be it pollution, deforestation for land for growing crops, grazing, genetically modified agriculture, etc.)

Having said that, I do realise that in order to keep up with the growing world population, agriculture and farming as well as more land is required for sufficient food and housing. However, man ought to realise the harm and damage that he has brought to the Earth and try to reduce or correct this damage. What struck me the most was the indifferent and 'heck care' attitute that some has to man's actions.

In my coursework, I would address this issue and deem deforestation as unacceptable and even immoral/inhumane. Therefore, I suppose the art work has to evoke shock and horror in the viewers and hopefully change the mindset and attitute of some to deforestation.

Wire sculpting

chanced across this metal wire sculpture of an escalator while googling for inspiration over the December holidays. At first sight, I thought it was a rough sketch of the escalator, but upon closer look, it's actually made of a bundle of metal wires, creatively and skillfully bent to that shape. This artwork is a wire sculpture of an escalator by Fritz Panzer. Indeed a very meticulous and amazing piece, to be able to create the frame of an escalator solely from wires.

I was reminded of the wire bookmarks that some bookstores sell, and was inspired to make some myself. And so I did...

I bought the metal wire at value dollar and formed these simple shapes of the flower, heart, leaf, fish, butterfly and star. It was really simple to make. But I suppose the thing with wires is that once it is bent, it will be hard to bend it back to make it straight again. In other words, the shape of the wires are permanent once it is formed. Therefore it is important to picture the product before starting on the project.


Making bookmarks are simple and great as simple gifts to friends. However, it can be a real trouble if the sculpture is done on a large scale, and due to the permanent nature of the wire, I believe that I would not be making a sculpture entirely of wires. Making bookmarks is one thing, doing coursework is another.