Women Artists of Singapore

In Singapore many women artists are there. The year of 1980 saw the growth of many striking women artists including Chng Seok Tin, Eng Tow, Han Sai Por, and Lin Hsin Hsin.

Chng Seok Tin is one of the promising artists in Singapore who graduated from NAFA. She had long years of studying and working abroad. The artist was very famous in print work. Flowing was one of the examples. Her Man and Environment is a mixed media piece on the theme of society, man, and the environment. This work is the culmination of Chng’s experiments with different materials such as fabric, paint, paper pulp and plaster to produce reliefs, painterly qualities, and textures.

Eng Tow’s Kelong series and Shikoku Isle are the great works. These show the transformation of mixed media materials through casting, pressing, and shaping. She was a graduate of NAFA, Eng studied textile in Britain. She worked there as a lecturer and designer in textile. After that she returned to Singapore in the year 1981. In 1970 Eng’s work was mainly textile construction while in 1980s she also became interested in hand cast paperwork.

Han Sai Por’s Growth of 1985 is a famous work. It consists of five related forms. The five pieces are carved from marble that reveal Han’s sensitiveness in the handling of the material. Han has affected these stone surfaces through delicate sculpting with subtle and tactile nuances. Spirit of Nature which is a work of Han’s in the year of 1988 expresses the notion of a diverse unity. Each of the three pieces of carved marble displays both an essential difference and a unique identity. The existence of each piece is acceptable only as an element of the trinity. In 1992 she made a granite work and named it Object C. The canoe like sculpture has carefully modeled curvatures on the top surface with two tapering ends.

Lin Hsin Hsin’s In Appreciation of Time is provided in cobalt blue. This has become her signature color. The work is an inquiry into and also an expression of time.

Singaporean street art

Art is an inseparable part of Singapore. Every people in the country take interest in art and thus different types of artistic expression just flourish here in this country. Street art is also an important aspect as many people are related to this. Also the Singapore government funded stencil art classes for Singaporean junior college and high school students. Street art in Singapore is known as an international art movement but sometime it can be assumed that Singaporeans are not ready to adopt it. Kamal Dollah is an renowned artist in Singapore who also writes in different journals. He is a very enthusiastic man and also tries to teach Singaporean children to teach about shape, colors, form, some soft skills, calligraphy, etc.

It is a question that where we can see the legal street art in Singapore. So I am telling you all the legal walls are provided by a government agency. Government agency actually oversees youth activity. In Singapore you can spray anywhere in the skate park located in Orchard Road. The youth scape park is also open to all to tag. No permit or any application is necessary to do so. Concerts and exhibitions are usually held for youth. Most of the time street artist hang out there and also learn something from each other. Some of the visiting writers from abroad have done their excellent pieces there. You can see some beautiful pieces without any vulgarity at those walls. Artists are serious enough to own their space with magnificent expression of art.

There is also a commercial side of street art in Singapore. Some youth entrepreneurs are here who have tried to commercialize the craft. Haji Lane is a small narrow place with tiny shops where the items are available at reasonable rent. New ideas for label, crew and magazines are also welcome.

Development of Art in Singapore

It is often indicated that history should not be comprehended as a linear development. This can be said that because at any one point of time, there would have been multiple dynamics operating at numerous levels. Neither should art history be seen as a history of styles and formal influences. However, while documenting the development of Singapore art we see that only a single historical survey in monograph has been published. This is known as Ma Ge. It is deemed requirement to rely on a loosely sequential framework to thoroughly introduce selected artists and also their works. As the purpose is to stress many historical and artistic themes and issues, the addition of artists and works are not meant to be widespread or disapproving. In this respect, it is also important to state that the works exemplified are drawn almost entirely from the Singapore Art Museum collection.

One important topic of this survey concerns the emergence or materialization of modern art in Singapore. The term ‘modern’ in the sense of the contemporary refers to works of art which are mainly considered as a departure from the past. This recognition involves both a concept of the past and a concept of the present, and these notions naturally vary from person to person as well.

In terms of a ‘modern’ infrastructure for the visual arts, information is there that before the 1950s, there was no art gallery in Singapore. This mainly functioned as a focus for art activities and the art market. Prior to 1950, some art works were bought and sold, but the physical manifestations of an art market or else commercial galleries, promoters of art, art patrons and art events linked to a relatively constant venue, exhibitions with works for sale, all of these were absent until then.

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.

Cultural Changes in Singapore

Singapore used to be a traditional as well as conservative society in general. But this is not the case anymore. The society itself is shaped by western values and as a result of that the younger generation is very much inclined by western culture. This can be aptly called as east-meets-west country where the trend includes Korean and also Japanese fashion. The latest trend is to learn these two languages. Both the cultures are so popular that people automatically become inclined to it.

The youngsters love to look like Japanese or Korean. If someone is talking about wearing loose socks, I think there should be no problem as so many girls are doing so in Singapore and that looks like a Korean model. But it is not true that to become a Japanese model you should undress yourself. Sometimes Japanese models really look elegant and that should be the real feature.

One more issue that I would like to address is that dressing provokingly in Singapore will not get one into any trouble. You can see lots of girls wearing bikini on road and that’s really not a big issue. Guys can look towards them and pass some comments and that’s it. Nothing vulgar can be seen on Singapore streets. In pool, beaches an clubs, there are enormous girls decked up in bikini and that’s very common.

So I come into an inference that one cannot get into trouble by dressing provocatively. Singaporeans are very chilled out by nature. They earn money, spend it like a king, dress fashionably, eat outside and also do many such things. They usually get marries early. Tattooing is also very famous in Singapore. The girls and boys are often seen with a unique tattoo, smoke a joint, multiple piercing, and drive in a Ferrari that wins admiration. They often clad in full Louis Vuitton gear and the list goes on. All of these are very common in present days. These are mainly the ways to resist the usual pattern and the time goes like this.

Definition of Modern Art in Singapore

The emergence of modern art in Singapore is really interesting. The term ‘modern’ in the sense of the contemporary refers to works of some art. These are mainly regarded as the departure from the past. This recognition involves both the concepts of the past and the present. These notions or ideas vary from person to person and the ultimate result is really good.

While discussing about modern art three common definitions of ‘modern’ should be stated. Firstly, if we want to recapitulate, ‘modern’ means the sense of the emersion of art as an independent and individualist practice. It is a departure from the earlier monumental religious and public statue or sculptures, architecture, and also craft traditions.

The second point comes as an exclusive high point in the time being of the entire twentieth century development. The mid-point of the century i.e. the 1950s saw the height for Singapore. Here, ‘modern art’ takes on the meaning of a point of maturity in the half-century. At that time, the innovative efforts and environment stimulations came into a right mix to bring forth a distinct flourishing of artistic innovation in Singapore. After the Second World War, an earlier tension between Chinese nationalism and Nanyang regionalism had been resolved. And this eventually made the way for new impetus for innovation. Many seminal works by important Singapore pioneer artists such as Cheong Soo Pieng and Chen Wen Hsi were created during this period.

Thirdly, ‘modern’ term was used by the Modern Art Society in the 1960s. This was with the reference to a departure from the mainstream Chinese migrant art. By then, this had developed into a convention known by the term ‘Nanyang School’. In 1970’s a related meaning of ‘modern’ became popular and this was to indicate the formalistic aspects of art or ‘abstract art’. This topic was being discussed in relation to multiculturalism and internationalism.

Art and Culture in Singapore

Singapore can also be called as the hub of art and culture. Some of the examples are given below:

Sculpture Square: Sculpture Square organizes many modeling events throughout the whole year. Many artists of different age groups take part in the events. Sculpture workshops are also organized for aspiring artists and also students. Participants come not only from Singapore but also from the rest of the world. Participants also include some internationally famous artists in these events.

Dance in Singapore: A variety of dance forms enrich the tradition of Singapore. Singapore Dance Theatre, Odyssey Dance Theatre and Ecnad, The Arts and Fission Company, sponsored some on-going events in Singapore. You can enjoy many ethnic dance forms while visiting the place. The dance forms are of different kinds such as Indian, Chinese, Russian, Malay, European and also Japanese dances.

Singapore Art Museum: The Singapore Art Museum is very famous. It is an international standard art museum and it also displays great art works of Singapore of all times. This museum displays ancient to modern Singapore-Malay-Chinese regional art works. Arabian, European, south-Asian and many other artistic expressions are also displayed there.

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts: Mr.Huang Suiheng was a Chinese artist and he formed the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. In Singapore, this was the first school of its kind. The school attracted many international geniuses. They have given their effort and promoted the academy as a famed one. Many of its graduates became world renowned artists. Some of them also returned to the school to join as faculty there. The Academy carries courses on dance, 3D design, fashion studies, fine art, design & media, music and also theatre.

Wushu i.e. Martial Art of China: Wushu is a form of martial art. Wushu has also developed a form of sport and it looks like wrestling. This form of performance was used as a means of self defense. In later days it took the form of a modern sport and also executed as an entertaining show. Singapore National Olympic Council, Xin Ying Wushu Training Centre, Singapore Futsing Association, etc. usually organizes the performance of this art.