I've always been intrigued by culture, particularly how certain cultures influence art styles. To explore more about this, I went to the Singapore National Gallery, known for Singaporean and Southeast Asian Art. I primarily observed art from Singaporean and Chinese heritage.
Evidence of visit:
To be honest, I expected to only see abstract art at the gallery because whenever I go to a building--say a hotel or restaurant--I always see abstract paintings. I was under the perception that abstract art is given more importance, in a way, than realistic paintings about everyday life. To my surprise, the gallery had a great mix of local and abstract art that was pertinent to the time period. During the tumultuous 1950s, art advocated nationalism and independence, as Singapore moved towards self-governance. Influenced by developments in realism in China, Russia, and Europe, artists believed that art should reflect everyday adversities and work toward the betterment of humanity. I was very happy to see paintings about local life portrayed as an integral part of art history, and that changed my opinion about abstract art getting more attention. In fact, I learned that these styles emerged under the influence of other countries and their cultures, so it's not that abstract art is considered more meaningful by many; rather, abstract art must've blended in with the modern culture that restaurants or hotels want to showcase.
Along with the time period, the level of modern abstraction increased. I always thought abstract art was independent of its time period; however, when I saw the abstract modern art, I was able to appreciate it more as I realized it was a part of the culture of different nations and a marker of advancement in ideologies and in the nation as a whole. I gained a new perspective on abstract art as I understood how it conveyed meaning poignantly and expressed features of the time period in question. Calling for a fresh perspective on what painting or sculpture could mean, some artists sought to reflect the modern industrialized age while others focused more on personalized experiences:
This piece, titled Barren Land, mimicked the metallic effect of machinery and reflected upon the effect of growing industrialization, where the greenery of land before slowly gets replaced by metal and machine-like shapes. This one, particularly, helped me appreciate modern art more, as I realized that realism here wouldn't express the message intended as purposefully and impactfully as this piece did.
This oil painting by Georgette Chen in 1963 titled Singapore Waterfront, isn't a completely abstract piece but does involve many abstract factors of modern art, like the repeated strokes to represent the movement of water. This, too, draws a contrast between the urban density across the waters and the two workers in the foreground appearing at rest, suggesting a different temporal space and more tranquil rhythm. Again, in order to contrast the two environments, it was important to highlight the difference between chaos and tranquility, and the use of patterns to show movement effectively drew that contrast.
This piece by Goh Beng Kwan in 1963 titled Black Afternoon was created on the day President Kennedy was assassinated. In this early experiment with abstraction, Goh creates tension between the geometric shapes and expressive brush strokes. The somber palette of brown, black, white and grey reflects both the influence of American Abstract Expressionism and the turmoil of the time.
I also observed that the textures, painting style, and colors of the pieces varied for certain purposes or moods. Commonly used styles were realistic and detail-oriented, stroke-like and bumpy, and uneven amounts that produced cracks. These all fit into the time period of the people as some explore the detail of people's lives, some show the movement for their lives, and others show the emerging questions from self-searching. I was having a conversation with my mom specifically about how the artists were able to create textured work. Rarely did we find art that was completely smooth, unless purposeful. As we looked closer, we noticed a lot of the beautiful metallic, antique effects that brought subtle textures were actually using lacquer. I have also heard about plaster of Paris that is mixed with paint to create extreme textures. This got me thinking about how I can incorporate textures into my own artwork.
This oil painting called Potong Pasir Dairy Farmer exemplifies the realistic painting style by revealing the artist's meticulous attention of the appearance of his sitter. The farmer's weather-beaten skin, wrinkles, distinct facial muscles and pronounced veins running down his neck reflect the difficult realities of his social and economic conditions.
Around the tumultuous 1950s, art became a form of nationalism and independence. It is understandable, then, the depiction of stoic figures to reflect individual identity in times of social upheaval. There is a bumpy texture formed by the small and thick strokes of paint. This stroke-like style of painting brings out movement and chaos, or lack of clarity: pertinent to the time period.
This piece titled Horizontals by Choy Weng Yang is a look into modern art. It demonstrates the artist's ongoing search for a precise vocabulary of colors to express emotions, using juxtaposition, color harmony, and different textures and intensities. The expressive and uneven treatment of paint is, to me, indicative of his emotive and intuitive, rather than scientific, approach to color, and the different vibrant colors themselves seem to represent their relations with one another (clashes and points of harmony).
Finally, I noticed that some art was used less for aesthetic purposes but more as a statement that varied with each artist.
These pieces of wood were cleverly composed by Matthew Ngui, titled Chair. Ngui seems to challenge the validity of a single point of view, and the chair falls apart and reconstructs itself in an optical illusion. As I think deeper about the possible purpose of constructing a chair, I felt like the chair represents stability, which constantly changes according to our position in life. This was one of my favorite pieces.
This pencil and watercolor work is by Zai Kuning, titled Still Performance. For historical context, in 1994, the Singapore Government withdrew funding for performance art. In response, Zai produced a series of repetitive and oversized self-portraits grimacing down at the viewer. The title of the work is a clever play on words: a performance has been stilled, but will still continue nonetheless. So while the body in each portrait is stationary, together they create a sense of measurement, a different kind of performance. This brought about a message of passion and almost a sense of rebellion: how one can never silence art.
