Art & about: Big bucks with Asean works
LUCIEN de GUISE
Older works from Southeast Asia also did well: RM4 million for Walter Spies
I Nyoman Masriadi broke more records at Sotheby’s
FALLING markets will not sound like news to anyone. The surprise feature of recent auctions is how Southeast Asia has stepped in as the saviour of Asian contemporary art.
The southeastern corner of the continent is usually seen by the big boys of Asia as inconsequential, a country cousin with some nice forests and beaches but no billion-plus population. China and India are where the money is, and until recently they were where everyone looked for the latest record-breaking art prices.
This time round it was Indonesian and other regional painters who got the applause in Hong Kong when the latest Sotheby’s auction produced a new world record for Southeast Asia.
Artists from China, on the other hand, are experiencing what auctioneers like to call “a levelling off”.
India’s hottest youngish artist, Subodh Gupta, has also seen his prices frozen.
In the case of China, it was long overdue. Enthusiasts of Chinese contemporary art are almost Maoist in their commitment. They will berate nay-sayers for failing to honour the natural supremacy of these artists.
Their biggest gripe has been how Western paintings can be worth 10 times as much as a made-in-China product. The tide of history is on their side they will say. And they can put on a better Olympics than anyone else.
Even when the good times were rolling with Chinese art, up to a few weeks ago, the prices were well short of Western artists but at least headlines were being generated. Every auction saw old records being toppled and there was less moaning about the unfairness of it all then.
Rising prices are not what collectors always like to see, unless they are planning to sell their babies. It’s speculators who like to see the sales graphs going up, and these lines have been almost vertical in recent years.
Chinese art could prove to be the biggest bubble of all, although there are at least some indigenous collectors.
At one time it was Western expats who created the market. Most Chinese buyers looked on in disbelief at what the crazy gweilos were wasting their money on.
A good old bird-and-flower painting was what the average connoisseur would like to grace his home with, and sure enough traditional Chinese art has been less badly damaged than the avant-garde. Imperial seals did exceptionally well at Sotheby’s, and there are few collectibles that shout “buy me, hedge-fund manager” as softly as these. Real collectors must have been present as that category ended up being 100 per cent sold.
The type of buyer is a crucial factor. For contemporary Chinese art, two of the top three paintings went to collectors from Europe.
For Southeast Asian art, every one of the top 10 buyers was from Asia. Sotheby’s decision to move its Southeast Asian sales away from Singapore and hold them in Hong Kong appears to be working. It is not only Southeast Asians who are buying. There are collectors from China who would like a break from the high prices, endless social commentary and Mao memorabilia that makes up art from the People’s Republic.
Southeast Asia seems be sitting on a goldmine. The regional artist pulling it all together is I Nyoman Masriadi.
Being Balinese seems to give him an edge over most of his Indonesian peers, and something much larger than an edge over artists from China. He tackles social issues with wit and a cartoon-like immediacy.
When I wrote about him a year ago, it didn’t look like his prices could continue to rise at anything like the rate they had done, which was many hundred per cent over a few years. A year later, the record has gone from RM900,000 to over RM3 million.
His painting technique is unique – for the moment – although other Indonesian artists are already knocking off the shiny three-dimensional look that Masriadi pioneered.
Another attraction is pithy titles in Bahasa Indonesia. So basic I can understand some of them. A recent record breaker featured Superman and Batman as they never appeared in DC Comics, with the title Sorry Hero, Saya Lupa.
After enlivening Sotheby’s Asian contemporary sale by setting a record with this work on Oct 4, two days later Masriadi beat his record and took three of the top 10 places at Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art.
Almost every lot was sold at this one. Malaysian artists such as Ibrahim Hussein and Ahmad Zakii Anwar were represented at the Southeast Asian sale, although not the pan-Asian. Their works fetched were about one twentieth of Masriadi’s show-stopping view of a boxing match.
Indonesia is not only way ahead of the Asean pack in terms of prices. It also seems to be taking regional art to a wider audience.
Jakarta-based Larasati Auctioneers is probably the first Asian auction house of any sort to organise a sale in Europe. This happened in June. Given the state of world markets, they might not be doing this again for a while.
• Lucien de Guise is curator of the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia. You may write to him at luciendeguise@yahoo.com
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Art therapy
Art therapy
VIMALA SENEVIRATNE
Associate Professor Stephen Jambunathan with some of the exhibits.
Anger raged
Rainbow
A unique exhibition shows how art helps to heal the emotionally injured soul. VIMALA SENEVIRATNE takes a journey into the mind of the mentally ill
PAIN, sorrow, fear, guilt, hallucination and delusion have found an outlet in something quite simple - paintings and sketches.
The collection of 100 artworks that brighten the otherwise plain walls of the Annexe Gallery at the Central Market in Kuala Lumpur is a window into the minds of mental health patients.
This first Malaysian Art in Psychiatry exhibition, themed “Journey into the Minds” is held in conjunction with the World Mental Health Day on Oct 10. It is organised by University of Malaya’s Department of Psychological Medicine and Janssen Cilag, a division of Johnson & Johnson.
The exhibition is an important milestone in mental health public awareness and showcases the positive results of art therapy in the treatment and rehabilitation of mental health patients.
The patients, whose ages range from seven to 53, are from Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, Seremban General Hospital, Selayang Hospital and Kuala Pilah Hospital.
According to the Malaysian Psychiatry Association, one out of every 10 people suffers from mental illness ranging from depression, bipolar disorders and schizophrenia. “There is still a stigma associated with those seeking psychiatric help. We hope to educate the public, that not all those suffering from mental illness are violent. Through this exhibition we hope to boost the self-esteem of the patients,” says Associate Professor Stephen Jambunathan, the main force behind the exhibition.
“Art is their tool to communicate their feelings through imagery, to connect with the outside world. As you can see, some of them are very good artists.”
Art therapy is used in most hospitals in treating or healing the mentally disturbed patients. “As art is a creative process, it allows the patients to focus on their creation which in turn helps to contain the turmoil in their minds. It helps them explore personal issues.”
As you browse through the exhibits, you cannot help but appreciate the imagination, the emotional tension and skill that emanate from the images produced by the patients.
One patient, a 40-year-old woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder, has several images of the sky, sun and rainbow as well as a portrait of a mother and child in bright colours.
A youngster has drawn a picture of his dream home - a peaceful and safe environment he longs for. “You can understand what this child is trying to tell you - the longing for a loving and safe home environment. The child comes from a difficult home environment and was found to have been abused by the maid,” says Jambunathan, a consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist.
There are also sketches of brooding figures, a single eye peering through dark surroundings, swirling lines in sombre colours, a self-portrait of a young patient with stitch marks running from her left forehead to her cheek - images that depict the turmoil, anxiety, anger and fear in patients.
“It’s not all doom and gloom for these people. There is hope for them that with the right diagnosis, care and treatment they can eventually assimilate into main stream society,” says Jambunathan.
Proceeds from the sale of the paintings go directly to the artist. There will be interactive workshops throughout the duration of the exhibition which ends on Oct 24. The free workshops today are at 11am and 4pm and from Monday – Friday at 12pm.
VIMALA SENEVIRATNE
Associate Professor Stephen Jambunathan with some of the exhibits.
Anger raged
Rainbow
A unique exhibition shows how art helps to heal the emotionally injured soul. VIMALA SENEVIRATNE takes a journey into the mind of the mentally ill
PAIN, sorrow, fear, guilt, hallucination and delusion have found an outlet in something quite simple - paintings and sketches.
The collection of 100 artworks that brighten the otherwise plain walls of the Annexe Gallery at the Central Market in Kuala Lumpur is a window into the minds of mental health patients.
This first Malaysian Art in Psychiatry exhibition, themed “Journey into the Minds” is held in conjunction with the World Mental Health Day on Oct 10. It is organised by University of Malaya’s Department of Psychological Medicine and Janssen Cilag, a division of Johnson & Johnson.
The exhibition is an important milestone in mental health public awareness and showcases the positive results of art therapy in the treatment and rehabilitation of mental health patients.
The patients, whose ages range from seven to 53, are from Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, Seremban General Hospital, Selayang Hospital and Kuala Pilah Hospital.
According to the Malaysian Psychiatry Association, one out of every 10 people suffers from mental illness ranging from depression, bipolar disorders and schizophrenia. “There is still a stigma associated with those seeking psychiatric help. We hope to educate the public, that not all those suffering from mental illness are violent. Through this exhibition we hope to boost the self-esteem of the patients,” says Associate Professor Stephen Jambunathan, the main force behind the exhibition.
“Art is their tool to communicate their feelings through imagery, to connect with the outside world. As you can see, some of them are very good artists.”
Art therapy is used in most hospitals in treating or healing the mentally disturbed patients. “As art is a creative process, it allows the patients to focus on their creation which in turn helps to contain the turmoil in their minds. It helps them explore personal issues.”
As you browse through the exhibits, you cannot help but appreciate the imagination, the emotional tension and skill that emanate from the images produced by the patients.
One patient, a 40-year-old woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder, has several images of the sky, sun and rainbow as well as a portrait of a mother and child in bright colours.
A youngster has drawn a picture of his dream home - a peaceful and safe environment he longs for. “You can understand what this child is trying to tell you - the longing for a loving and safe home environment. The child comes from a difficult home environment and was found to have been abused by the maid,” says Jambunathan, a consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist.
There are also sketches of brooding figures, a single eye peering through dark surroundings, swirling lines in sombre colours, a self-portrait of a young patient with stitch marks running from her left forehead to her cheek - images that depict the turmoil, anxiety, anger and fear in patients.
“It’s not all doom and gloom for these people. There is hope for them that with the right diagnosis, care and treatment they can eventually assimilate into main stream society,” says Jambunathan.
Proceeds from the sale of the paintings go directly to the artist. There will be interactive workshops throughout the duration of the exhibition which ends on Oct 24. The free workshops today are at 11am and 4pm and from Monday – Friday at 12pm.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Nurturing young minds through arts
Nurturing young minds through arts
2008/07/16
NORMAH Nordin, a cultural big gun, weighs in on the matter of deliberate parenting and also the importance of the arts.
“Yes, parents definitely have to be more responsible in the development of their children,” said Normah.
She added that “deliberate parenting is a style of bringing up children that acknowledges the importance of nurturing the minds of children by their parents. Children today are smart and gifted and it is our duty to see that they reach their full potential. I must also add that the arts is an important part of society that can complement deliberate parenting. Children can discuss issues amongst their peers by watching plays on matters that interest them, which parents do not necessarily discuss with them.”
Share
2008/07/16
NORMAH Nordin, a cultural big gun, weighs in on the matter of deliberate parenting and also the importance of the arts.
“Yes, parents definitely have to be more responsible in the development of their children,” said Normah.
She added that “deliberate parenting is a style of bringing up children that acknowledges the importance of nurturing the minds of children by their parents. Children today are smart and gifted and it is our duty to see that they reach their full potential. I must also add that the arts is an important part of society that can complement deliberate parenting. Children can discuss issues amongst their peers by watching plays on matters that interest them, which parents do not necessarily discuss with them.”
Share
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Picasso, like you’ve never seen him
Saturday July 12, 2008
Picasso, like you’ve never seen him
By ALEXANDRA WONG
How does a philistine appreciate art that has been called everything from revolutionary to downright baffling? Perhaps the key is in finding out what made him tick.
We cordially invite you to cover the Picasso exhibition, which has never been held outside of Europe.”
I reread the invitation, hardly able to believe my luck. Picasso in Australia — it’s a giant of a story. Yet I’ve never felt more like a blank canvas in my life.
Like most of the world’s population, I have never laid eyes on an actual Picasso. I have only a vague impression of him, culled from piecemeal anecdotes and layman opinions: his works are said to be so abstract and enigmatic, some baffled snarks have even likened them to a car crash.
How on earth would I, a philistine where art is concerned, be able to appreciate them?
Visitors admire the great artist’s private collection of artwork.
A day before I fly to Brisbane, I pose my conundrum to my cousin Justin, my family’s Unofficial Walking Discovery Channel: “How do you appreciate something you can’t understand?”
He thinks for a while, before saying, “Have you heard the legend of the Benedictine monk who discovered Dom Perignon champagne? He was so delighted he ran out of the cellar and yelled, ‘Come come! I’ve tasted stars!’ We all know that it’s a physical impossibility, but you get my drift, right?”
A departure from previous exhibitions
At the standing-room-only media preview, even the most veteran newsmen look unusually excited. Picasso & His Collection is more than an art aficionado’s wet dream come true.
Not only do we get to eyeball his most talked-about works, we are also given a rare insight into the artist’s aesthetic and personal influences. Hung alongside his paintings are more than 100 works from his private art collection and a massive catalogue of photographic and documentary material from his life.
There are paintings by 35 artists, including Chardin, Matisse, Renoir, Cezanne and Rousseau. There is a selection of Oceanic and African masks and sculpture dating from the 6th century BCE, which were critical in the evolution of Picasso’s work. There are intimate footage of the artist’s studio and candid photos from his personal life.
This emphasis on context underscores Picasso’s own view that perceptions and interpretations evolve with everyday experiences and interactions.
Anna Baldassari, director of Musee National Picasso, Paris, and curator of Picasso & His Collection, says, “Picasso had a very contemporary attitude. He believed in the knowledge of different perspectives. A painting is not just a painting: there is the context, the full story, things that happen around the story.”
The Gallery of Modern Art is not just for show and tell; visitors also get to leave their mark. Near the Children’s Art Centre there are walls for visitors to fill in the speech bubbles with their thoughts about the exhibition.
Tony Ellwood, Gallery of Modern Art director, adds, “This exhibition is a deliberate dialogue. Art should not be just self-referential. It should be informed by the world outside.”
Picasso & His Collection attempts to show what made Picasso the artist he was. For this reason alone, the exhibition ranks as one of the most important historical milestones in modern art. Coming hot on the heels of the hugely successful Andy Warhol exhibition earlier this year, it is expected to cement Queensland’s budding reputation as a cultural mecca.
An icon of modern elegance, the Gallery of Modern Art is a fine venue in which to pay homage to the Father of Modern Art.
Debunking myths
A first-timer in Queensland, I’m not really qualified to comment on Queensland’s reputation, but the exhibition does quickly overturn every preconceived notion I’ve ever held about the Spanish artist.
Cubism? Blue period? Surrealism? Forget high-brow concepts that would sail over most laymen’s heads. If before I’d only known him as the head-scratching painter of odd human figures with awkwardly juxtaposed anatomy, this exhibition reveals a startling range and versatility that is impossible to confine to any genre, or, for that matter, period.
Cheeky caricatures of men and women engaged in debaucheries abound but there’s a grittiness to them that suggests he wasn’t just a dirty old man. In Erotic Scene, a series of etchings inspired by the monotypes of Degas, the irreverent illustrations of brothel scenes possess an ambiguity that suggests they could also be a mocking nod to his own ageing self.
Even at its most enigmatic, his art is weirdly tactile. The befuddling human limbs invite the eye to search for an underlying logic and their reason for being. In La coiffure (Hairdressing), an oil on canvas of his paramour Dora Maar, one wonders what Picasso’s real motivation was, because he certainly wasn’t doing his model any favours. With her bulging, off-set eyes, narrow forehead, and exaggerated curving nostrils, her face can only be flatteringly described as a battlefield.
And when you least expect it, he throws a curveball.
What’s with Returning from the Christening, after Le Nain, a psychedelic riot of rainbow colours, that could have very well been a graffiti from the hippie 60s? It seems almost anomalous among his other abstract flights of fancy, and yet, there is a joie de vivre that tells us, yes, this is the same guy who drew that strange but compelling piece of naked women looking at the sky. (Bathers Watching an Aeroplane).
Talk about messing with our heads.
The artist and his life
All that eye candy invariably whets my appetite to dig up more about the man.
I head straight for the exhibition book shop, which features memorabilia and literature on the artist. Out of the rows of biographies, I pick out the one by Olivier Widmaier Picasso, simply titled Picasso: The Real Family History.
The Gallery of Modern Art also strives to foster arts awareness early through its Children’s Art Centre, which is running the programme “Yo Picasso Kids” to introduce children to Picasso and his ideas. — ALEXANDRA WONG & GALLERY OF MODERN ART, QUEENSLAND
Olivier’s grandmother Marie-Thérèse, I discover, was the artist’s muse and lover. To his credit, Olivier does not mince words about his grandfather’s way with the ladies, but points out that some of his most extraordinary portraiture were inspired by the women in his life.
“He listened only to his instinct — and his love. He loved like a madman,” Olivier declares. “He had a passion for other people. Without that, his work would be . . . empty of meaning.”
Olivier is an arresting storyteller. As I thumb through the heavy volume, I feel like I’m a fly on the wall in the artist’s working spaces in Horta, Barcelona and Lucia, while he paints his life before my eyes.
His life often as dramatic as his works. Marie-Thérèse simply called him “a wonderful terror”.
Art at its purest
Before finally leaving the hallowed halls of the gallery, I revisit a pen-and-ink self-portrait Picasso drew circa 1917-1918. It is one of his simplest yet most expressive works. In a few clean, deft strokes, he captured the spirit of his persona and life.
The caricature of the artist in a long coat, cigarette sticking out from the side of his mouth, is all at once irreverent, bold, visionary and unmistakably human.
As a layman, I realise that I may never be able to fully understand, or articulate, my appreciation of his work, but I have to say his work still possessed the uncanny power to move me. Perhaps that’s the source of his genius: his power doesn’t just come from a keen eye, or a knack for aesthetics, but because it draws from the deepest wells of human emotion.
And that, perhaps, is the greatest value of this exhibition. It showed me that Picasso was as much a human as he was a great artist.
As I stand there filling my eyes, I finally begin to understand what my cousin meant. This must be how the monk felt when he tasted “stars”.
o For more information on Picasso & His Collection, visit www.qag.qld.gov.au/picasso. The exhibition will be on display at the Gallery of Modern Art, South Bank, Queensland until Sept 14.
Picasso, like you’ve never seen him
By ALEXANDRA WONG
How does a philistine appreciate art that has been called everything from revolutionary to downright baffling? Perhaps the key is in finding out what made him tick.
We cordially invite you to cover the Picasso exhibition, which has never been held outside of Europe.”
I reread the invitation, hardly able to believe my luck. Picasso in Australia — it’s a giant of a story. Yet I’ve never felt more like a blank canvas in my life.
Like most of the world’s population, I have never laid eyes on an actual Picasso. I have only a vague impression of him, culled from piecemeal anecdotes and layman opinions: his works are said to be so abstract and enigmatic, some baffled snarks have even likened them to a car crash.
How on earth would I, a philistine where art is concerned, be able to appreciate them?
Visitors admire the great artist’s private collection of artwork.
A day before I fly to Brisbane, I pose my conundrum to my cousin Justin, my family’s Unofficial Walking Discovery Channel: “How do you appreciate something you can’t understand?”
He thinks for a while, before saying, “Have you heard the legend of the Benedictine monk who discovered Dom Perignon champagne? He was so delighted he ran out of the cellar and yelled, ‘Come come! I’ve tasted stars!’ We all know that it’s a physical impossibility, but you get my drift, right?”
A departure from previous exhibitions
At the standing-room-only media preview, even the most veteran newsmen look unusually excited. Picasso & His Collection is more than an art aficionado’s wet dream come true.
Not only do we get to eyeball his most talked-about works, we are also given a rare insight into the artist’s aesthetic and personal influences. Hung alongside his paintings are more than 100 works from his private art collection and a massive catalogue of photographic and documentary material from his life.
There are paintings by 35 artists, including Chardin, Matisse, Renoir, Cezanne and Rousseau. There is a selection of Oceanic and African masks and sculpture dating from the 6th century BCE, which were critical in the evolution of Picasso’s work. There are intimate footage of the artist’s studio and candid photos from his personal life.
This emphasis on context underscores Picasso’s own view that perceptions and interpretations evolve with everyday experiences and interactions.
Anna Baldassari, director of Musee National Picasso, Paris, and curator of Picasso & His Collection, says, “Picasso had a very contemporary attitude. He believed in the knowledge of different perspectives. A painting is not just a painting: there is the context, the full story, things that happen around the story.”
The Gallery of Modern Art is not just for show and tell; visitors also get to leave their mark. Near the Children’s Art Centre there are walls for visitors to fill in the speech bubbles with their thoughts about the exhibition.
Tony Ellwood, Gallery of Modern Art director, adds, “This exhibition is a deliberate dialogue. Art should not be just self-referential. It should be informed by the world outside.”
Picasso & His Collection attempts to show what made Picasso the artist he was. For this reason alone, the exhibition ranks as one of the most important historical milestones in modern art. Coming hot on the heels of the hugely successful Andy Warhol exhibition earlier this year, it is expected to cement Queensland’s budding reputation as a cultural mecca.
An icon of modern elegance, the Gallery of Modern Art is a fine venue in which to pay homage to the Father of Modern Art.
Debunking myths
A first-timer in Queensland, I’m not really qualified to comment on Queensland’s reputation, but the exhibition does quickly overturn every preconceived notion I’ve ever held about the Spanish artist.
Cubism? Blue period? Surrealism? Forget high-brow concepts that would sail over most laymen’s heads. If before I’d only known him as the head-scratching painter of odd human figures with awkwardly juxtaposed anatomy, this exhibition reveals a startling range and versatility that is impossible to confine to any genre, or, for that matter, period.
Cheeky caricatures of men and women engaged in debaucheries abound but there’s a grittiness to them that suggests he wasn’t just a dirty old man. In Erotic Scene, a series of etchings inspired by the monotypes of Degas, the irreverent illustrations of brothel scenes possess an ambiguity that suggests they could also be a mocking nod to his own ageing self.
Even at its most enigmatic, his art is weirdly tactile. The befuddling human limbs invite the eye to search for an underlying logic and their reason for being. In La coiffure (Hairdressing), an oil on canvas of his paramour Dora Maar, one wonders what Picasso’s real motivation was, because he certainly wasn’t doing his model any favours. With her bulging, off-set eyes, narrow forehead, and exaggerated curving nostrils, her face can only be flatteringly described as a battlefield.
And when you least expect it, he throws a curveball.
What’s with Returning from the Christening, after Le Nain, a psychedelic riot of rainbow colours, that could have very well been a graffiti from the hippie 60s? It seems almost anomalous among his other abstract flights of fancy, and yet, there is a joie de vivre that tells us, yes, this is the same guy who drew that strange but compelling piece of naked women looking at the sky. (Bathers Watching an Aeroplane).
Talk about messing with our heads.
The artist and his life
All that eye candy invariably whets my appetite to dig up more about the man.
I head straight for the exhibition book shop, which features memorabilia and literature on the artist. Out of the rows of biographies, I pick out the one by Olivier Widmaier Picasso, simply titled Picasso: The Real Family History.
The Gallery of Modern Art also strives to foster arts awareness early through its Children’s Art Centre, which is running the programme “Yo Picasso Kids” to introduce children to Picasso and his ideas. — ALEXANDRA WONG & GALLERY OF MODERN ART, QUEENSLAND
Olivier’s grandmother Marie-Thérèse, I discover, was the artist’s muse and lover. To his credit, Olivier does not mince words about his grandfather’s way with the ladies, but points out that some of his most extraordinary portraiture were inspired by the women in his life.
“He listened only to his instinct — and his love. He loved like a madman,” Olivier declares. “He had a passion for other people. Without that, his work would be . . . empty of meaning.”
Olivier is an arresting storyteller. As I thumb through the heavy volume, I feel like I’m a fly on the wall in the artist’s working spaces in Horta, Barcelona and Lucia, while he paints his life before my eyes.
His life often as dramatic as his works. Marie-Thérèse simply called him “a wonderful terror”.
Art at its purest
Before finally leaving the hallowed halls of the gallery, I revisit a pen-and-ink self-portrait Picasso drew circa 1917-1918. It is one of his simplest yet most expressive works. In a few clean, deft strokes, he captured the spirit of his persona and life.
The caricature of the artist in a long coat, cigarette sticking out from the side of his mouth, is all at once irreverent, bold, visionary and unmistakably human.
As a layman, I realise that I may never be able to fully understand, or articulate, my appreciation of his work, but I have to say his work still possessed the uncanny power to move me. Perhaps that’s the source of his genius: his power doesn’t just come from a keen eye, or a knack for aesthetics, but because it draws from the deepest wells of human emotion.
And that, perhaps, is the greatest value of this exhibition. It showed me that Picasso was as much a human as he was a great artist.
As I stand there filling my eyes, I finally begin to understand what my cousin meant. This must be how the monk felt when he tasted “stars”.
o For more information on Picasso & His Collection, visit www.qag.qld.gov.au/picasso. The exhibition will be on display at the Gallery of Modern Art, South Bank, Queensland until Sept 14.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Fine arts for all
Sunday June 22, 2008
Fine arts for all
THE article, “Seeking refuge in music” (StarEducation, June 8), makes readers in Malaysia and beyond realise how fortunate our children are as they can opt for an education in music or any other subject, without facing repercussions from militants or extremist groups.
Despite being exposed to music and some elements of the fine arts, not all Malaysian children have full access to them.
While music is part of the school curriculum, it is not offered in all schools. The subject is not given much emphasis and children keen on pursuing music have to do so on their own.
Parents who can afford it often have to fork out hundreds of ringgit each month to pay for their children’s music lesons and dance classes, while those who cannot, deprive their children, some of whom are very talented.
I have seen schoolchildren at both elementary and secondary levels who form musical ensembles ranging from pop to rock with their neighbours or classmates
It is not just a hobby for them; they compete in inter-school or national music competitions like the Battle of the Bands.
Without a fine arts education, we will only create philistines of our children. Do we want to emphasise the sciences and let our children think that all things associated with music and the arts are “useless”?
Studies have proven that children who are exposed to music and the arts often turn out to be more compassionate adults.
It is time we bring music and other elements of the fine arts back into the mainstream of education. By doing so, school choirs, orchestras and dance clubs will be revived, together with the marching bands and rock bands.
Such a move will also enable children from all walks of life, and not just a select few, to appreciate the subject.
Yinyang Via e-mail
Fine arts for all
THE article, “Seeking refuge in music” (StarEducation, June 8), makes readers in Malaysia and beyond realise how fortunate our children are as they can opt for an education in music or any other subject, without facing repercussions from militants or extremist groups.
Despite being exposed to music and some elements of the fine arts, not all Malaysian children have full access to them.
While music is part of the school curriculum, it is not offered in all schools. The subject is not given much emphasis and children keen on pursuing music have to do so on their own.
Parents who can afford it often have to fork out hundreds of ringgit each month to pay for their children’s music lesons and dance classes, while those who cannot, deprive their children, some of whom are very talented.
I have seen schoolchildren at both elementary and secondary levels who form musical ensembles ranging from pop to rock with their neighbours or classmates
It is not just a hobby for them; they compete in inter-school or national music competitions like the Battle of the Bands.
Without a fine arts education, we will only create philistines of our children. Do we want to emphasise the sciences and let our children think that all things associated with music and the arts are “useless”?
Studies have proven that children who are exposed to music and the arts often turn out to be more compassionate adults.
It is time we bring music and other elements of the fine arts back into the mainstream of education. By doing so, school choirs, orchestras and dance clubs will be revived, together with the marching bands and rock bands.
Such a move will also enable children from all walks of life, and not just a select few, to appreciate the subject.
Yinyang Via e-mail
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Go ahead, touch it
Sunday June 8, 2008
Go ahead, touch it
By CHRISTINA CHIN
In an effort to make art exhibitions come ‘alive’, visitors to ‘Other Stories’ are free to give immediate feedback on the works they see.
Unlike in London and Europe, most museums and galleries in Malaysia tend to be – well – “dead”.
While we have excellent, quality exhibits worthy of any international show, the way we present them really leaves much to be desired.
Often, exhibition openings are stuffy affairs and the shows themselves, quite unimaginative in their presentation. Thus, despite having a wealth of acclaimed talents, their works remain quite inaccessible to the average Ali, Ah Seng or Samy.
Hence, it was with much enthusiasm that I trotted to the Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah (MGTF) at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) recently to catch “Other Stories” – an audience-interactive exhibition that features artworks by prominent Malaysian masters and new talents.
This is the first time the museum and gallery was organising an exhibition encouraging visitors to share their immediate feedback and interpretations by posting sticky notes and jotting down their thoughts on acrylic plaques and whiteboards placed next to the exhibits.
Visitors leave their comments on sticky notes next to a painting. – RONNIE CHIN/The Star
Museum director Hasnul Jamal Saidon tells me that the museum and gallery is “getting back on course”.
“We are reaching out to the public – even to kindergarten-going children. At the end of the day, we are a university so we are education orientated. Somewhere along the line we lost track of that so now we must rejuvenate interest in the arts again.
“The best way to do this is to make art accessible and interesting enough for people of all ages to want to come. This audience-interactive approach is definitely something we want to continue. To educate people in the arts, we must first get them interested enough to want to come back to galleries.
“I wish I could claim full credit for this whole audience-interactive concept but the truth is, I got the idea from workshops conducted by experts involved in the running of international museums and galleries. Whatever inspired me, I adopted because I think it is important for exhibitions to be perceived as being ‘alive’,” he explains.
The works featured are recent additions to the USM Fine Art Collection.
Unfortunately (due to the apparent lack of space), only 88 works by 49 artists were featured during the exhibition despite the museum having acquired an impressive 136 pieces by 70 artists in the last five years.
Art lovers, however, will get a very rare opportunity to see some of the late Rahime Harun’s impressive collection. The artist, who passed away in March this year, has donated 35 of his prints – the largest collection ever presented to MGTF.
Among the other gems to look out for are Ibrahim Hussein’s Red & Purple Interludes – generously presented to the museum by AmBank Group chairman Tan Sri Azman Hashim recently.
Azman, who during the exhibition’s opening said he bought it more than a decade ago, has since seen the piece’s value soar to about RM500,000 in the market because Ibrahim rarely paints nowadays.
Red & Purple Interludes may just be one of the many paintings he has in his private collection of more than 200 local artworks but it must surely rank as among the most interesting with its bold and vibrant energy.
I like that the exhibition is systematically categorised into eight main themes or collections, namely MGTF Pioneers; Tribute; Self, Identity & Social Critique; Cult of the Young; Prominent Artists; Post-Formalist Abstraction; Figurative Tradition & The Picturesque; and The “Other” Artists.
Harun Mokthar’s Sidai 3 (2005), featuring a traditional Malay house, is recreated into a 3-D image and placed right next to the original. Quite a fun and novel way to appreciate the masterpiece, I must say!
Books and catalogues on these artists are left lying around for visitors keen on a little reading. The whole setting was rather informal – not something one would expect of an exhibition featuring some of the country’s brightest and most influential artists. But then again, that is exactly what makes this exhibition such a unique experience.
Hasnul tells me more than 70% of the visitors to the museum and gallery are children and young adults.
Children had a field day ‘writing on walls’ (actually, whiteboards). The ‘girl’ on the left is a life-size cutout of Anina, daughter of MGTF director Hasnul. She appears all over the gallery to let visitors know their comments are welcomed. –K.T.GOH/The Star
“That is what we want. With “Other Stories”, we acknowledge the opinions of our visitors no matter how young they are. By allowing them to record their thoughts, we are in a way validating their opinions.
“Instead of having a curator tell you about a painting, we let the visitors form their own interpretations of the artworks and we give them an avenue to share that thought with others,” he says.
Indeed, some of the jottings may simply say “saya suka – saya mahu datang lagi” (I like – I want to come back) or “lukisan ini membuat saya gembira” (this painting makes me happy) but these unpretentious comments by children (some as young as seven) are precisely what the art scene needs – refreshing honesty based on a true appreciation for arts rather than what the elitist society dictates as art. It made me smile to note that kids, if given the chance, can show much maturity in their acceptance of creative ideas.
Hasnul agrees.
“Children are very truthful. They either like it or they don’t. They don’t try to say the right things because they think that is what society expects of them. I was genuinely surprised that they could relate to video art – a relatively modern and conceptual media.
“That said, children do relate better to realistic images. One thing I have noted since we adopted an interactive approach was that instead of just walking through the exhibition, our visitors are now very responsive because they are given the chance to participate in the show. They are not merely observing, but actually participating,” he says, adding that all the feedback is collected and recorded for the MGTF archives.
Stacks of art paper are also on hand for inspired visitors. These are scanned into the MGTF website before they are put up in a special corner for all to see. Little jigsaw puzzles of the paintings featured are placed on the floor and visitors are encouraged to form a “new” piece of work by mixing and matching these paintings into different formations.
More than just an exhibition, I found “Other Stories” to be utterly refreshing – a fun-filled (and educational) way to spend the afternoon indeed.
This exhibition will appeal to the average Malaysian – not necessarily those formally schooled in the arts.
Indeed, “Other Stories”, while comprising some highbrow works, is not intimidating. It is for passionate art lovers who appreciate unbridled expressions of thoughts, philosophies and emotions through creative explosions of colour and sound.
But perhaps Ludwig Museum (Cologne, Germany) director Kaspar Konig sums up the “Other Stories” experience best: “I think a museum always needs a kind of historical distance. It’s not a studio. It’s a place of formal presentation where you are always aware that it’s a museum ? So it has a lot to do with a contentious medium of presentation, representation and display ? Showing art is a very decisive, responsible moment of taking something seriously. It is not the art itself. It is about showing the art.”
Other Stories is on until June 12 at Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. For more information, call 04-653 3261/ 2427/ 2137. Admission is free. Opening hours are 9am-6pm (Tues to Sun). The museum is closed on Friday from 12.15pm to 2.45pm.
Related Stories:
Collection groupings
Go ahead, touch it
By CHRISTINA CHIN
In an effort to make art exhibitions come ‘alive’, visitors to ‘Other Stories’ are free to give immediate feedback on the works they see.
Unlike in London and Europe, most museums and galleries in Malaysia tend to be – well – “dead”.
While we have excellent, quality exhibits worthy of any international show, the way we present them really leaves much to be desired.
Often, exhibition openings are stuffy affairs and the shows themselves, quite unimaginative in their presentation. Thus, despite having a wealth of acclaimed talents, their works remain quite inaccessible to the average Ali, Ah Seng or Samy.
Hence, it was with much enthusiasm that I trotted to the Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah (MGTF) at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) recently to catch “Other Stories” – an audience-interactive exhibition that features artworks by prominent Malaysian masters and new talents.
This is the first time the museum and gallery was organising an exhibition encouraging visitors to share their immediate feedback and interpretations by posting sticky notes and jotting down their thoughts on acrylic plaques and whiteboards placed next to the exhibits.
Visitors leave their comments on sticky notes next to a painting. – RONNIE CHIN/The Star
Museum director Hasnul Jamal Saidon tells me that the museum and gallery is “getting back on course”.
“We are reaching out to the public – even to kindergarten-going children. At the end of the day, we are a university so we are education orientated. Somewhere along the line we lost track of that so now we must rejuvenate interest in the arts again.
“The best way to do this is to make art accessible and interesting enough for people of all ages to want to come. This audience-interactive approach is definitely something we want to continue. To educate people in the arts, we must first get them interested enough to want to come back to galleries.
“I wish I could claim full credit for this whole audience-interactive concept but the truth is, I got the idea from workshops conducted by experts involved in the running of international museums and galleries. Whatever inspired me, I adopted because I think it is important for exhibitions to be perceived as being ‘alive’,” he explains.
The works featured are recent additions to the USM Fine Art Collection.
Unfortunately (due to the apparent lack of space), only 88 works by 49 artists were featured during the exhibition despite the museum having acquired an impressive 136 pieces by 70 artists in the last five years.
Art lovers, however, will get a very rare opportunity to see some of the late Rahime Harun’s impressive collection. The artist, who passed away in March this year, has donated 35 of his prints – the largest collection ever presented to MGTF.
Among the other gems to look out for are Ibrahim Hussein’s Red & Purple Interludes – generously presented to the museum by AmBank Group chairman Tan Sri Azman Hashim recently.
Azman, who during the exhibition’s opening said he bought it more than a decade ago, has since seen the piece’s value soar to about RM500,000 in the market because Ibrahim rarely paints nowadays.
Red & Purple Interludes may just be one of the many paintings he has in his private collection of more than 200 local artworks but it must surely rank as among the most interesting with its bold and vibrant energy.
I like that the exhibition is systematically categorised into eight main themes or collections, namely MGTF Pioneers; Tribute; Self, Identity & Social Critique; Cult of the Young; Prominent Artists; Post-Formalist Abstraction; Figurative Tradition & The Picturesque; and The “Other” Artists.
Harun Mokthar’s Sidai 3 (2005), featuring a traditional Malay house, is recreated into a 3-D image and placed right next to the original. Quite a fun and novel way to appreciate the masterpiece, I must say!
Books and catalogues on these artists are left lying around for visitors keen on a little reading. The whole setting was rather informal – not something one would expect of an exhibition featuring some of the country’s brightest and most influential artists. But then again, that is exactly what makes this exhibition such a unique experience.
Hasnul tells me more than 70% of the visitors to the museum and gallery are children and young adults.
Children had a field day ‘writing on walls’ (actually, whiteboards). The ‘girl’ on the left is a life-size cutout of Anina, daughter of MGTF director Hasnul. She appears all over the gallery to let visitors know their comments are welcomed. –K.T.GOH/The Star
“That is what we want. With “Other Stories”, we acknowledge the opinions of our visitors no matter how young they are. By allowing them to record their thoughts, we are in a way validating their opinions.
“Instead of having a curator tell you about a painting, we let the visitors form their own interpretations of the artworks and we give them an avenue to share that thought with others,” he says.
Indeed, some of the jottings may simply say “saya suka – saya mahu datang lagi” (I like – I want to come back) or “lukisan ini membuat saya gembira” (this painting makes me happy) but these unpretentious comments by children (some as young as seven) are precisely what the art scene needs – refreshing honesty based on a true appreciation for arts rather than what the elitist society dictates as art. It made me smile to note that kids, if given the chance, can show much maturity in their acceptance of creative ideas.
Hasnul agrees.
“Children are very truthful. They either like it or they don’t. They don’t try to say the right things because they think that is what society expects of them. I was genuinely surprised that they could relate to video art – a relatively modern and conceptual media.
“That said, children do relate better to realistic images. One thing I have noted since we adopted an interactive approach was that instead of just walking through the exhibition, our visitors are now very responsive because they are given the chance to participate in the show. They are not merely observing, but actually participating,” he says, adding that all the feedback is collected and recorded for the MGTF archives.
Stacks of art paper are also on hand for inspired visitors. These are scanned into the MGTF website before they are put up in a special corner for all to see. Little jigsaw puzzles of the paintings featured are placed on the floor and visitors are encouraged to form a “new” piece of work by mixing and matching these paintings into different formations.
More than just an exhibition, I found “Other Stories” to be utterly refreshing – a fun-filled (and educational) way to spend the afternoon indeed.
This exhibition will appeal to the average Malaysian – not necessarily those formally schooled in the arts.
Indeed, “Other Stories”, while comprising some highbrow works, is not intimidating. It is for passionate art lovers who appreciate unbridled expressions of thoughts, philosophies and emotions through creative explosions of colour and sound.
But perhaps Ludwig Museum (Cologne, Germany) director Kaspar Konig sums up the “Other Stories” experience best: “I think a museum always needs a kind of historical distance. It’s not a studio. It’s a place of formal presentation where you are always aware that it’s a museum ? So it has a lot to do with a contentious medium of presentation, representation and display ? Showing art is a very decisive, responsible moment of taking something seriously. It is not the art itself. It is about showing the art.”
Other Stories is on until June 12 at Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. For more information, call 04-653 3261/ 2427/ 2137. Admission is free. Opening hours are 9am-6pm (Tues to Sun). The museum is closed on Friday from 12.15pm to 2.45pm.
Related Stories:
Collection groupings
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Water color technique using chinese brush, Library Precinct 8
Next week on Sun 25th May 2008,Library Precinct 8 will start Art Class for adult. Class is open to all ( 13yrs and above) and its once a week,from 10.30am to 12.30 noon. Fees RM 30 for a three month session. Its so cheap and you will learn from me the chinese style water color technique. The place is so comfortable and you will miss all the fun if you do not join our art group.
Another lovely program is a day program called ,Kelas Seni Lukis dalam Taman, a unique session in a garden setting. Its on the 7th of June 2008 from 8.30am -5pm at Taman Botani.Will provide the info soon. This is full of fun as you will drawn into expressing lovely colourfull flowers onto your art block,your 'Masterpiece" personal collection. Please get your friends to join us. Also visit my Art Group Putrajaya Blog to post comment and messages,
Another lovely program is a day program called ,Kelas Seni Lukis dalam Taman, a unique session in a garden setting. Its on the 7th of June 2008 from 8.30am -5pm at Taman Botani.Will provide the info soon. This is full of fun as you will drawn into expressing lovely colourfull flowers onto your art block,your 'Masterpiece" personal collection. Please get your friends to join us. Also visit my Art Group Putrajaya Blog to post comment and messages,
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