Art and Dynamics in Singapore

In today’s world visual arts is an individualistic practice. In this art the artist may draw his or her inspiration and also refer from various sources. But the creation and execution of the work is obviously an individual act. It is included within the larger context of the visual arts culture e.g. scholarship, industry, aesthetic values, market, exhibition, etc. The act interplays and thus granting it layers of meaning. This process is different from the performing arts. In performing arts, a theatrical or musical work is the result of team effort. A visual art is also different from traditional craft which gives importance on collective work or at least shares collective processes and designs.

Sometimes it can be said that visual arts is a Western-derived practice. The reason of such comment is that historically, the practice of painting and sculpture in this part of the world had a definite Western origin. There had been a strong presence of Chinese migrant culture in the Singapore context. So, it should also be mentioned that, according to ancient texts individual creativity in China can be traced to the fourth century. At another level, personal expression is universal and paints and brushes are for individual enunciation.

The introduction of visual arts in Singapore dates back to twentieth century. The earlier religious such as craft, art, and colonial architecture are the artistic heritage of Singapore. However, for clarity of theme and concept, the mediums of painting and sculpture are really important. In the course of artistic development, fresher mediums such as performance and installation became popular. But the fundamental idiom remains as individualistic expression.

There is also a book on this topic which is a synthesis of the author’s articles and conference papers on Singapore art. This was published between 1991 and 1995. The work also contains discussions on art works in the Singapore Art Museum catalogue researched by Joanna Lee, Susie Koay, Chen Onn Mei, and Ahmad Mashadi.