Filed under: Writings | Tags: bandung, hendra gunawan, liu kang, model, oil on canvas, sea of fire, seated, subject matter
Liu Kang, Seated Model (1953, Oil on canvas)
a) Describe the subject matter of these paintings.
In Liu Kang’s ‘Seated Model’, painted in 1953 in Bali, Indonesia, the subject matter of the work is a semi-nude Balinese woman. It is a full body portrait of her. The woman seems to be middle-aged. Her hair is neatly pushed back to the top of her head and held together by a red hair accessory. She is wearing a pair of relatively large and round white earrings. Her eyes are closed in a clam and peaceful manner while she rests on a black chair. Her left arm is placed at the top of the chair and her left hand holding onto her right shoulder, while supporting her head. Her right arm rests on her thighs, and she is clutching a small buch of white flowers in her right hand. Her sarong is red in colour, with thin gold and green strips at the bottom. She has a white band wrapped around her waist. The woman appears to be relaxed and at ease in her half-seated, half-slouching position . The model is painted against the background of an architectural structure on the left with plants all around.
In Hendra Gunawan’s ‘Bandung as a Sea of fire’ painted in 1972 in Bandung, Indonesia, the main focal point of the painting is on the Indonesian man in the centre of the painting. He is lying on the ground among what it seems to be charred ruins, with his legs bent, left arm over his stomach and right hand clutching his chest, at the position where the heart should be. There is bright red blood on his shirt and where the heart is located. His mouth and eyes are open, which gives viewers a sense of pain, agony and helplessness that he is going through. Above his head, there appears to be another woman peering over him with her two hands and face smeared with blood as well. In the background, there are many people, some depicted quite accurately and some are just mere silhouettes. They all seem to be running away from a fire in the middle of the background. Black smoke is emerging from the fire as well.
b) Analyse and interpret the artists’ intentions.
In Liu Kang’s ‘Seated Model’, he has painted the woman in a calm manner, using brushstrokes that are almost invisible, but there is proper modelling of the subject matter through the use of tones. The colours are naturalistic and non-exaggerated, he paints what he sees. The ‘cloudiness’ of the painting gives a soothing and relaxing feel to the painting.. Liu Kang wants to depict the calmness and peaceful life of the natives of Bali, Indonesia. He wants to capture the simple life of the Balinese, with no serious problems to distract them from their peaceful state of mind. His intention can be further emphasized in a similar work done in 1954 titled ‘Artist and Model’, where through his simple depiction of Bali shows he simplistic nature of the Balinese lifestyle. In Hendra Gunawan’s ‘Bandung as a Sea of fire’, Gunawan made use of exaggerated colours, using mostly shades of red, orange and brown. The red he has used is very bright and glaring, and the colour is used in every part of the painting. He wants to depict the chaotic scene of Bandung, with all the bloodshed, destruction and lives lost. This is due to the conflict which arose because of the Indonesian communist Party at that point of time, where fights and guerrilla wars were being carried out most of the time. The use of fast, painterly brushstrokes and unmodelling of his subjects reveals the anxiousness and frantic atmosphere of the scene as well. He wants to express his concern and anger over such incidents, his strong political beliefs clearly expressed through his paintings. He does ntlike such chaotic scenes of pain and agony, and thus he tries to bring across his message to the public and the government to end it. It is known that because of his political beliefs, the government considered him as a threat and imprisoned Gunawan for 13 years.
c) Discuss the impact the two paintings have you.
Liu Kang’s ’seated model’ gives me a sense of peace, a sense of calmness, whilst Gunawan’s ‘Bandung as a Sea of fire’ makes me feel anxious, frantic, and urgent. This is due to the way the artists has painted their subject matters in. The careful modelling of the woman in Liu Kang’s work meant that the atmosphere of Bali was so calm and peaceful, that Liu Kang was able to paint the woman at his own pace, and through the painting bring out the inner peace that the woman is experiencing as well. Gunawan, on the the other hand, used fast brushstrokes to roughly paint out the scene with minimal toning and modelling. This gives me a sense of urgency, and the fact that the artwork appears largely unmodelled meant that he wanted to express the chaotic scene through his fast brushstrokes to the viewers. Liu Kang’s painting makes me feel very secure. The Balinese woman in the woman in the work is depicted in a peaceful manner, and she seem to have nothing to worry about. As for Gunawan’s work, the scenes of fire, destruction, helplessness, pain makes me feel very unsecure, and afraid. If I were to put myself into one of the people’s shoes, I feel that I will definitely experience a horrible time.
Also, noticing that both paintings are done in Indonesia, I have come to realise that Indonesia goes through many kinds of situations, from peaceful to utter turmoil. The comparison of the 2 paintings has given me insight on the human spirit, how humans behave as they go through different experiences in life. They have let me understand the fratility of life, from one time it can be so peaceful, and the next, become a living nightmare.
Filed under: Writings | Tags: art, bells, Boonma, buffaloes, glided leaves, installation, lotus, Montien, sound, terracotta, two, vessels
1. Montien Boonma, Two Buffaloes
buffalo
a) Explain in your own words, the meaning of ‘Installation Art’.
‘Installation Art is the placement or setting of real objects to bring across an idea, be it cultural, social, political or any other beliefs. Objects can be arranged in a particular manner to depict a certain message, to create a specific atmosphere or ambience. ‘Installation Art’ is in a 3 dimensional form, and it can be seen, felt or at times interacted with by viewers. It is not always confined to a gallery; it can be site-specific in which they are designed to only exist in the space for which they were created..
b) Describe the subject matter by Montien Boonma, highlighting the significance of the materials used.
Montien Boonma’s ‘Two buffaloes’, is a mixed media installation art done in 1988. It is made up of objects such as 2 large, rough bags of unhusked rice, straw, wooden stools and a horn. These objects are arranged in such a way that they resemble two buffaloes. It can be inferred that the coil-like structure emerging from the endings of the rice sack on the left of the installation is the tail of one of the buffaloes, with its behind facing the front while standing on its 4 legs as depicted by the legs of the chair. The other rice sack on the right of the installation, with a horn sticking out from the top, depicts the front of the second buffalo, which is probably heading or facing the right. The materials used are very ordinary, and can be found almost everywhere in Thailand, where the artist was born. The choice of the simplistic materials used by Boonma brings out the point that he was trying to make. He feels that these things are slowly being neglected and replaced by the nation’s fast-paced modernization.
c) With Reference to another work by the artists, explain why the subject matter appeals to you as an installation, as oppose to a painting.
Montien Boonma’s other work include ‘Lotus sound’, which is an installation art done in 1992, which is made up of many terracotta vessels shaped like bells and stacked together to form a circular wall with holes in it. Behind the wall of ceramic vessels, gilded terracotta leaves are attached to the walls, suggesting the falling leaves of a lotus flower. The subject matter, which is the wall of bell-like structures, appeals more to me as an installation, rather than a painting as it involves more than 1 of our senses. For paintings, only 1 sense is involved (most of the time), which are our eyes for sight. As for installations, they can be interactive like Boonma’s, where viewers can hear sounds being resonated within the bells, and at the same time feeling the texture of the structure and admire the grandeur of his relatively large work. Relating back to Boonma’s ‘Two buffaloes’, the same advantages of installation art apply to this work as well. Viewers can feel the texture of the materials used, such as the rough rice sacks and the smooth horn.
Filed under: Writings | Tags: chinese ink painting, sam, singapore art museum, standing horse, xu bei hong
On the 10th of August, I visited the Singapore Art Museum to catch a glimpse of Xu Bei Hong’s legendary paintings. Yes, I must say that he does live up to his name as the “Modern Chinese Master of Fine Arts”. Xu Beihong is well known for his Chinese ink paintings of horses and birds. He was also one of the first Chinese artists who has fused the painting techiniques of the West and the East together in a sucessful manner, bringing much more life to Chinese paintings due to e brightened up palete that he uses. He was one of the first to create monumental oil paintings with epic Chinese themes, paintings that are depicted from Chinese poems etc.
Let’s take a look at one of his famous horse-themed chinese ink paintings
standing horse
The subject matter of this Chinese ink Painting is a black horse. Its fur and mane are both black in colour. It is oriented in a position such that its body is facing the left of the painting while its head is turned towards the right. It seems to be looking downwards at something afar. Its tail and mane seems to be blown by a relatively strong gust of wind coming from the left of the painting. The horse stands upright in a stern manner, and seems that it is looking at something intensely. It looks like it is on its guard, being protective of the environment around it. Its legs are planted firmy onto the ground, standing strong and firm. There are a few chinese characters written on the top hand left corner, ending with a chinese stamp of Xu BeiHong;s name.
Xu’s use of varying brushsrokes attributes to the overall realistic depiction and movement of the horse. Thicker and darker brushstrokes are applied to certain areas to indicate shadow, Light and wispy brushstokes are applied to show the flowing movement of the horse’s fine hair in the wind, thin and fast brushstrokes are used to paint the sparse amount of long grasses on the ground, indicating wind movement. The effective and clear use of different tones of black to model the horse’s body gives viewers more sense of reality. Xu also used other colours like brown and specks of green for the grasses to give the painting a more enhanced look, rather than using black chinese ink throughout.
Overall, I feel that this painting is full of rigour and energy, yet bold and strong. The horse’s ‘on-the-guard’ pose also gives me a sense of security. This painting reminds viewers that one has to be strong and alert at all times, and hold up one’s head even in times of danger and fear.
Filed under: Writings | Tags: 2, another place, antony gormley, han sai por, land art, shimmering pearls, time horizon
1. Decribe one of Han Sai Por’s sculptures.
Han Sai Por is a well-known Singapore artist born on 19th July 1943 who has created numerous sculptures carved from stones like marble and granite, injecting life into figurative forms and organic shapes.
Pls refer to this website to take a look at the sculpture that I have a chosen:
http://www.hansaipor.com/sculpture/glass.html
The second of her series of public glass sculptures, Shimmering Pearls 2 is situated in Beijing, China since its installation there in 2005. The hollow balls of glass are representative of pearls. Each of the big flashed-glass balls are rooted to the cement ground of the installation area with the support of slightly wavy metal stems. The symmetrically round balls, in comparison to the thin metal supports are much bigger, which gives viewers a sense of heaviness. At the same time, the wavy outline of the metal supports gives the illusion that the glass balls are swimming out of the ground, implying movement and determination (heavy balls swim against gravity). The balls are of different distance from the ground, and when the balls are seen together, it seems like the whole group is swimming against gravity in unity.
In terms of colour, the balls are of different combinations of bright and eye-catching colours. In 1 ball itself, there are a few complementary colours covering the glass ball by layers, and the layers are freeform– no fixed boundaries. The metal support of the balls are metallic and shiny. The overall texture of the sculpture is smooth and slippery, giving me a sense that there is no air resistance going against the movement of the pearls.
2. Describe one of Antony Gormley’s installations, in relation to the concept of land art.
Antony Gormley was born in 1950s in London, and he is commonly known for his interest in the human condition and the use of the body as a place of memory and transformation. His sit specific work entitled Time Horizon dated 2006 is found in Catanzoro, Italy. It consists of 100 cast-iron bodyfroms distributed over 8.5 hectares of Roman remains. The site on which the installation is situated included a forum, amphitheatre, acropolis and a giant orchard of 3 thousand olive trees.
The human forms appear to be slowly emerging from the ground at fixed intervals, from the head of the figure to be the only visible part of the sculpture to the whole figure exposed on 2.75m high plinths. The work faces in all directions, but never at each other. The sculptures are cast out of a single template, which resembles a man. The features (e.g. eyes, mouth, ears) are simplified, giving a sense that its organic shapes are in harmony with the environment around it.The cast-iron has rusted over time due to environmental factors, leaving parts of the works with green moss and brown tones of rust growing onto it. The sculpture appears to be rough in texture. The simplified nature, relatively rough texture and the earthly colours of the sculptures seem to be linked to the concept of land art, whereby both the landscape and the artwork are inextricably linked. The sculpture is left to change (e.g. rust etc) under natural conditions. Other examples of land art include Gormley’s Another Place (1997) , an outdoor installation of 100 cast iron figures spread over a section of Crosby Beach in Liverpool. The figures ae also affected by the environment that they are placed in. Depending on the rising and decreasing tides, the figures will rust levels by levels. The sculptures interact with the sea, and engages with the movement and stillness brought about by the tides.
3. Compare and contrast the works by the artists, paying attention to their concerns in art.
In Han Sai Por’s Shimmering Pearls 2 and Gormley’s Time Horizon, both sculptures emphasize the idea of nature. Shimmering Pearls expresses the idea of pearls made by nature, and Time Horizon is very closed linked to nature (sculpture interacts with the surroundings) which eventually changes the physical appearance of the work. Also, both works consists of many single sculptures put together. Both works also show the concept of time. Shimmering Pearls 2 emphasize day and night (the work lights up at night). Time Horizon has different interpretation of time in the same space :living human time of the viewer, biological time of the trees surrounding it, geological time of the earth, industrial time of mechanism production.
However, Shimmering Pearls 2 is relatively smaller in scale compared to Time Horizon’s 8.5 hectare installation area. Time Horizon has a stronger emphasis of land art as compared to Shimmering Pearls 2. Also, Shimmering Pearls 2 is more about the existence of physical objects like oysters and pearls, while Time Horizon is more universal-that is more abstract when it comes to the interpretation of the work.
Filed under: Writings
Title : Pleasantville (1998)
Director & writer : Gary Ross
Cast : Tobey Macguire as David/Bud Parker
Reese Whiterspoon as Jennifer/Mary Sue Parker
William H. Macy as George Parker
Joan Allen as Betty Parker
Jeff Daniels as Bill Johnson
J.T. Walsh as Big Bob
“The movie is about the fact that personal repression gives rise to larger political oppression… That when we ae afraid of certain things in ourselves or we are afraid of change, we project those fears on to other things, and a lot of ugly social situations can develop” -Gary Ross
Discuss the symbolic use of colours in the movie Pleasantville that address specifically the themes of race, sexuality, and personal freedom.
Pleasantville starts off with David and Jennifer in contemporary American Suburbia, and with just one click of the magical remote control, they are transported off to Pleasantville, a sitcom featuring the extremely pleasant life of the 1950s. At first the movie starts off in black and white, the same as the television show. David and Jennifer began to make changes in the calm lives of those living in pleasantville, with the date between Mary Sue and Skip being the first catalyst for change. It sparked of a sexual revolution where more and more teenagers flock of to make out at Lovers’ Lane in their cars. Next, with the help of Bud and Mary Sue telling the people stories, blank books were started to be filled in with words and pictures. The Public library became a place where many people would frequent, each coming out of the building carrying books of different colours. Also, Bill’s love for art and painting grew upon looking through an art book, sparking off a series of unconventional paintings that shocked and amazed everyone in town. These massive changes had a great impact on Pleasantville, which practically turned the whole town upside down.
The movie makes use of the change of colours from monochromatic black and white to vibrant colours, indicating the change of the people when they begin to discover their other self deep inside them. As they begin searching deeper into themselves and realizing that the lives they led previously were superficial, they start to gain their personal freedom. They are able to explore into their real intersets and follow their beliefs, breaking out of the once rigid society-enforced boundaries on how they SHOULD run their lives, and gaining freedom to do things they have always longed to do so. One very clear example of which is Betty, Bud and Mary Sue’s mother. She was married to a model husband, Mr Parker, whom which she started a happy family with. But deep down in her heart, she does not love Mr Parker. Instead, she had developed feelings for Mr Johnson, a soda shop bar tender. But, knowing society’s conservative and rigid codes of conduct, she can’t afford to be involved in such explicit affair. But soon after the trend od teens starting to deisplay their love publicly and under the guidance of Mary Sue and Bud, she begins to put up a brave front and confess her feelings towards him, in the end finding her true love of her life. She started off as a black and white character, but soon after she developed the courage to acknowledge that she likes Mr Johnson, the transformation begins as she became coloured overnight.
The use of black and white and the start of the film emphasizes the stubborness and rigidness of Pleasantville, where no one wants to change, no one dares to change. Black and White is boring, and life seems dull and monotonous. one example of monotonous life is when men come home from work shouting “Honey, I’m home” and women prepare dinner for them to enjoy. But under the influence of the new Bud and Mary Sue, one by one the people start to turn into colourful, happy beings. The use of bright vibrant colours show that they have found their personal freedom, they are happy and carefree, not like before where they were confined to strict regulations and codes of conduct.
The use of colours in the movie had also emphasized the existence of racism- in the context of Pleasantville. Afetr the people begin to desicover themselves and transform form black & white to colourful people, they were gradually ostracised. They became the minority group amongst the black and white people who refused to change, leaving them helpless and voiceless. The term used “coloured” is an inference to the American’s racial discrimination of the whites against the black african americans. This is a re-run of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, where during one of the court hearings in the story, the whites were sitting on the ground level while the blacks (or coloureds) were sitting in the balcony. In the movie, the ‘coloureds’ and the black and whites were totally different in the way they think (due to transformation of their inner beliefs) and the way they look. This brings out the idea that even amongst a once peaceful and caring society, racial tensions do happen, resulting in realtively serious consequences (eg: bullying of one another, destroying other races’ properties etc.).
