Sunday, April 22, 2007

Living under the Crescent Moon


National Museum of Singapore
Originally uploaded by oceanskies79.


"How is life like living in the Arab world?

What kind of designs do the people in the Morocco, Syria and the Arabian peninsula use so as to make it effective for them to live in the relatively hot and harsh climate of those region?"


These were the questions on my mind that had prompted me to visit the National Museum of Singapore to check out the exhibition, Living Under the Crescent Moon: Domestic Culture in the Arab World recently.

The exhibition is part of a two-months long festival, Under the Crescent Moon, which introduces the rich cultural heritage of the Arab world and Turkey. As best as I understand, Living Under the Crescent Moon: Domestic Culture in the Arab World is one of the travelling exhibitions of the Vitra Design Museum. Do check out this page from Vitra Design Museum's website for more information on the exhibition: http://www.design-museum.de/museum/ausstellungen/halbmond/index.php


Sanpshot of part of the Oasis section.


Before viewing the exhibits from Living Under the Crescent Moon: Domestic Culture in the Arab World at Exhibition Gallery 2 of the National Museum of Singapore, it is recommended that visitors spend some moments at the Oasis section located at the entrance to Exhibition Gallery 2. At this section, visitors can find interesting fast facts about the Arab world. As I viewed this section, it struck me that the Islamic culture is a very enlightened culture and part of the reason why this is the case could be because of Islam's high regard to the search for knowledge.

There are also engaging activities for visitors to have their hands-on at the Oasis section. There are computer terminals at the section for visitors to send e-cards to their friends. For those who have visited Arabia and have taken photographs of their visits, they could even enter the Memories of Arabia contest.

I also urge visitors to join one of the guided tours of the exhibition. The guided tours give a very good overall view to the entire exhibition. However, if schedule does not permit you to be onboard any of the guided tours, I suggest that visitors could take time to watch the various video recordings put up at the exhibition. The infomation on the Festival Guide stated that the schedules for the guided tours are as follow:
- Thursday and Friday: 2.30 p.m. daily
- Saturday and Sunday: 11 a.m. and 2.30 p.m.
However, do take note that the tours will be conducted in English only, and are subjected to the availability of the volunteer guides.

**
At the exhibition, I took particular notice of the following:

The Reed Buildings in the South Iraq Marshes

A model of a reed building.


I can imagine how beautiful the reed buildings would look in real life. It is fascinating to realise that how functional these reed buildings could be in the hot Iraqi climate. However, it turns out that there aren't many of these buildings left in the world. For your convenient reading, I have found the following online sources on the reed buildings:

The Beehive houses in Syria


The houses are built with a domed roof. I read that the walls are made of limstone and sundried mud-bricks. I've found the domed roof to be very interesting. The design of such beehives houses appear to be very functional for the Syrian climate.
Also see: The Beehive Enigma

The Tuareg
I have found it interesting to learn that for the Taureg, a Berber ethnic group, the women do not traditionally wear the veil, whereas men do.

Miscellaneous

I was told that the movie, Star Wars, was filmed in Tunisia.
Also see: http://www.tunisiaonline.com/starwars/index.html


**
If you would like to gain some insights to the homes and household interiors of the Arab world, don't miss Living Under the Crescent Moon: Domestic Culture in the Arab World. It is now at the National Museum of Singapore, Exhibition Gallery 2, from 22 March to 21 May 2007. Admission is free. Opening hours of this exhibition is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

(All photos here are taken with non-flash photography.)

Friday, April 06, 2007

At SAM: Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition, Part III

...Continuing from SAM: Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition, Part II.




The next and last section of Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition is Synthesis, which happens to be my favourite section. Somehow, after taking one glance at the exhibits from this section, I could not help but feel that the works from this section have demonstrated the maturity and depth of Chen Wen Hsi as an artist.

As written on one of the exhibition's information panels, "Synthesis forms a fitting conclusion to the last decasde or so of Chen's life. ...After years of practice, investigations and explorations, he poured his energies into creating works that sought to express, rather than represent..."

As I read the words on the panel, the words "works that sought to express, rather than represent..." stayed in my mind. It just hit upon me that the many works in this section could help reveal to me some elements of Chen Wen Hsi's visions and ideas. However, while I can vaguely sense the expressions of such elements in Chen Wen Hsi's paintings, please help me as I do not yet have the wisdom to put these into words.

Boats


Chen Wen Hsi's Boats admittedly did not strike me as an attractive work at first sight, but as I took a few more looks at it, I became drawn to its air of dignity and its simplicity amidst the seemingly complex composition.

Somehow I took a liking of the figure and the white bird found at the bottom left of the work.

Close up of Boats.


**

Four Herons


Four Herons is a work by Chen Wen Hsi done sometime in 1970s. By the way, I learnt from my guide of the guided tour that Chen Wen Hsi seldom dated his works. Interestingly, he placed all the four herons to the right side of the work, leaving the left section of the paper filled with spaces.

The work right below also on the same subject matter, Herons, was probably done in the late 1980s. Compare the herons in Herons to those in Four Herons, and you would realised that the herons are depicted in a more abstract manner. I don't know what Chen Wen Hsi had hoped to express through Herons but I think he was not merely hoping to represent herons on paper.


Herons. Hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper.



At the Synthesis section, I particularly liked the way that the curator has arranged the works such that visitors can have a pretty good sense of how Chen Wen Hsi's works from the last decades of his life had developed and evolved from.





From the placement and location of Herons (c. 1991), I could make a good guess that this was one work that the curator had wanted visitors to take a good look at. If this work did not seem impressive on this post, it is because my camera had done it disservice. This work is 123 x 245 cm in dimension and looks much larger in life than on this post.


Herons. (c. 1991)


Close up of Herons, (c. 1991)


See if you can spot all the herons found on Herons (c. 1991). If you really try to do so, you would realise that it isn't such a simple affair. The herons aren't just the coloured ones, they could be those that share the same colour as the paper.

I don't know if I could be correct, but perhaps Chen Wen Hsi had hoped, through his art, to remind his viewers that life should be led in a dignified manner, with integrity and a spirit of openness?

Whatever it could be, more works await your viewing and appreciation at Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition. Do check it out by 8 April 2007.

Black Mountain, undated.

***
The following book that you see below is part of a publication, Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition, published by the Singapore Art Museum (ISBN: 981-05-5195-9) is a useful resource to refer to for anyone who wishes to know more about Chen Wen Hsi's art and his philosophy towards art and life. My accompanying friend, Mystic, and myself particularly like the part of the publication that is bounded using purple coloured hard-cover. Do browse the visitor's copy of this publication when you visit this exhibition.


ISBN: 981-05-5195-9

***
For your convenience, here is some visitors' information to take note of:

Singapore Art Museum
71 Bras Basah Road
Singapore 189555
Tel: (65) 6332 3222
Fax: (65) 6336 5361

Admission:
Adult: $5.00
Student: $2.50
Senior Citizen (above 60 years): $2.50
Family Ticket (3 Adults and 2 Children): $13.00

Daily guide tours are available.

More visitors' information can be found here

***
References:
http://www.nhb.gov.sg/SAM/Exhibitions/UpcomingExhibitions/Chen%2BWen%2BHsi.htm
Chen Wen Hsi's biography (on Czine-NAFAHUB)
Review by Choy Weng Yang

Also view:
Chen Wen Hsi @ SAM
http://www.thecore.nus.edu.sg/post/singapore/arts/painters/chenwenhsi/index.html
http://www.montereybay.com/creagrus/herons.html
Asian Art, Feb 07
Convergences : Chen Wen Hsi centennial exhibition (record on NLB's Database)
At SAM: Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition (Part I)
SAM: Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition (Part II)

**

Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Singapore Art Museum for granting me the permission to take non-flash photography of this exhibition. Special thanks to Shaun for helping me to obtain the permission.

**
(Note: The materials in this post have also been posted on Yesterday.sg on 7 Apr 2007)

At SAM: Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition, Part II

Continuing from At SAM: Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition (Part I)...




The next section of Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition displays paintings classified under the broad theme of Exploration. According to the exhibition panel, "Exploration deals with Chen Wen Hsi's open approach to art-making... He moved freely between styles, techniques, and media, always with the aim of investigating the elements that made a successful work of art."

Exploration is one section of the exhibition which I have a love-hate relationship with.

I didn't exactly like some of the artworks that were displayed in the Exploration section. Somehow, I did not quite know how to relate to these artworks. However, when I understood the motivations that had led Chen Wen Hsi to experiment with various art styles, techniques, and media, I cannot help but have a great sense of respect to this artist who is brave and innovative enough to try out and investigate new ways of art-making.

I think that Chen Wen Hsi's training and exposure to both Chinese and Western art styles probably gave him the foundation to experiment with various styles and to pioneer new ways to art-making.

My accompanying friend, Mystic, pointed me to the interesting work below by Chen Wen Hsi. Upon closer look, I was impressed by the idea of writing Chinese calligraphy over thick paint.


Abstract Composition with Calligraphy, mixed media on board.


I could not help but to walk forward to take a closer look at Abstract Composition with Calligraphy. I could not quite tell how Chen Wen Hsi had written those calligraphy-looking words over the thick paint, but as I took several steps back, away from the artwork, the entire effect that this piece of artwork had on me could be summarised in one single phrase: "There's more to it than meets the eye".


Close up of one section of Abstract Composition with Calligraphy.



It seemed to me that the art movements of Cubism, Fauvism and perhaps Post-Impressionism have some kind of influences over the art of Chen Wen Hsi.

Somehow, Abstract Cranes reminded me of the paper cuttings by Henri Matisse. While I like many of Matisse's works, to tell you the truth, I did not like Chen Wen Hsi's Abstract Cranes at first sight. Neither did I like it after several viewings. Somehow, it just did not speak to me. But if I were to appreciate it based on its composition, somehow the painting does look fairly balanced in its composition.

Try imagine that all the white areas of Abstract Crane had been painted the same blue colour as the background. Would you begin to realise that the composition of this painting would somehow look out-of-balance?

I particularly found it a wise idea to hang Abstract Cranes against a red wall. It somehow makes the work stand out. If it were hung on against a mere white wall, I fear that I might not have even bothered to take a look at it.


Abstract Cranes.


The sight of Chen Wen Hsi's Grazing evoked a pleasant sense of nostalgia in me. Such feelings could have came about because when I was just a teenager learning Art History, Grazing was often presented to me as one of the examples of Chen Wen Hsi's artworks. The large buffalo right in the foreground led my eyes to look at the middle section of the artwork. I particularly like the bright-green colours used for the background of the middle section of Grazing. Somehow, those colours helped make the composition a pleasing one to me.


Grazing.



Chinese Character Wang stood out from the rest and it easily caught my attention. My guide for the guided tour gave the group some interesting background information on this work and I found I could better appreciate this work. By the way, in case you should think that there's only one Chinese character Wang in this work, I urge that you look closer.


Chinese Character Wang


While I was at the Exploration section, I started to think: Experimentation can be considered one important aspect of art-making. If an artist's life is solely devoted to doing what conventions dictate, possibly in a few decades time, art would have become dull and uninspiring.

In that light, I felt that while I cannot quite bring myself to love every single piece of work shown in the Exploration section, I could appreciate how each of them have contributed to the bigger picture of striving to find aesthetically pleasing ways to art-making.

There are many more interesting artworks in the Exploration section. Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition will be ending very soon! Do check it out by 8 April 2007.

***
For your convenience, here is some visitors' information to take note of:

Singapore Art Museum
71 Bras Basah Road
Singapore 189555
Tel: (65) 6332 3222
Fax: (65) 6336 5361

Admission:
Adult: $5.00
Student: $2.50
Senior Citizen (above 60 years): $2.50
Family Ticket (3 Adults and 2 Children): $13.00

Daily guide tours are available.

More visitors' information can be found here

***
References:
http://www.nhb.gov.sg/SAM/Exhibitions/UpcomingExhibitions/Chen%2BWen%2BHsi.htm
Chen Wen Hsi's biography (on Czine-NAFAHUB)
http://wineanddine.asiaone.com.sg/unwind/exhibitions/20061229_001.html
http://nafahub.com/nanyi/enanyi/eseasia/efineart/echenwenhsi/edefault.htm
http://www.biotechnics.org/2chen_wen_hsi.html
http://www.seraja.com/experience.jsp?eventID=590364
http://www.mica.gov.sg/pressroom/press_061201.html
http://www.nafa.edu.sg/in_happenings/press/2006/June/28062006.htm
Review by Choy Weng Yang

On Nanyang Style (of art):
Nanyang Art by Ting Szu Kiong

On Cubism:
ArtLex on Cubism
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cube/hd_cube.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubism

On Fauvism:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matisse
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95dec/matisse.html
http://www.fact-index.com/l/le/les_fauves.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauvism
http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/f/fauvism.html

Also view:
Chen Wen Hsi @ SAM
http://www.artforum.com.sg/artists_by_country/singapore/chenwenhsi.html
http://www.thecore.nus.edu.sg/post/singapore/arts/painters/chenwenhsi/index.html
http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_772_2004-12-29.html
Bada Shanren: Information from Answers.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibbon
At SAM: Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition
SAM: Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition, Part III


Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Singapore Art Museum for granting me the permission to take non-flash photography of this exhibition. Special thanks to Shaun for helping me to obtain the permission.

(Note: This post has also been concurrently posted on Yesterday.sg on 6 April 07)

At SAM: Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition

Many people in Singapore could have own a copy of one of Chen Wen Hsi's artwork without realising it.

Unconvinced? Take out your wallet, and look for a S$50 note (from the Portrait Series). Turn to the back of the note, and look for a pair of gibbons on it.

Image of gibbons on S$50 note

The image of those two gibbons is actually part of an artwork by Chen Wen Hsi.

If you care to find out the name of the original artwork that the image of those two gibbons came from, or if you wish to find out more about Chen Wen Hsi himself, read on to join me on my visits to Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition (held till 8 April 2007) at the Singapore Art Museum.

**
Without any further delay, I shall share my findings from my visits to the exhibition. The photo right below and the caption that I have included right below it will give you an obvious clue to the name of the original artwork from which the image of the two gibbons found on the S$50 note were taken.


Chen Wen Hsi's Two Gibbons Amidst Vines
(Collection of Singapore Art Museum, donated by Dr Earl Lu)



I heard from the guide (who gave the guided tour on 30 April 2007's evening) that Chen Wen Hsi had initially wanted to throw away the above artwork. In the end, one of his friends managed to convince Chen Wen Hsi to give it to him.

Whatever it is, I don't think Chen Wen Hsi would have ever expected that one of his artworks would find its way to becoming one of the images on a Singapore currency note.

For myself, I will never see the S$50 currency note the same way as I had used to after my visits to Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition. From now, when I see the images of the two gibbons on the S$50 currency note, I will remember Chen Wen Hsi and his art. I will remember the moment when my accompanying friend, Mystic, took out a S$50 currency note of the Portrait series and held it against Chen Wen Hsi's Two Gibbons Amidst Vines for comparison. I will remember the delight that Mystic and myself have had ascertaining that Chen Wen Hsi's Two Gibbons Amidst Vines was the original painting where the two gibbons on the S$50 currency note were taken from.

Perhaps a piece of art is not simply a piece of art. It is a key that opens the doors to some of our treasured memories?

**
By the way, in case any of you asked why I use the word "visits" instead of "visit", it is because I have visited Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition thrice so far.

On my first visit, I was pressed for time and only had the time to browse through all the works fairly quickly. On 30 April 2007, I made my second visit to this exhibition and I joined one of the guided tours. SB was my guide for that guided tour. On 1 April 2007, I made my third visit to the exhibition. I have the pleasure to have one of my good friends, Mystic, with me. Although I tend to visit museums alone, it proved to be quite a fun and interesting experience visiting the art museum with a friend.

**
I first knew of Chen Wen Hsi and his artworks when I studied Art during my secondary school years. He was one of the Pioneer Artists of Singapore that I had to study during my Art History class.

While I can't remember all the facts that I have used to study about him right now, I have managed to find a site that has a biography of Chen Wen Hsi for anyone wishing for a quick overview on Chen Wen Hsi. The URL of the site is: http://nafahub.com/nanyi/enanyi/eseasia/efineart/echenwenhsi/ebiography.htm


Fishes in the Pond



Back to Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition, this exhibition is divided into four broad sections. These are namely: Traditions, Life, Exploration and Synthesis.

From the way the exhibition has been curated, it seems to me that the curator could have wanted visitors to start with the section, Traditions. At this section, one very large piece of Chinese painting that would certainly capture the attention of most visitors would be Chen Wen Hsi's Fishes in the Pond. It is probably quite a significant work because I remember hearing from the guide that this was the work that Chen Wen Hsi had brought with him to this part of the world when he came in the year 1949 (some sources indicated that it was year 1948).

Even though I have very limited knowledge about Chinese art, I found it very helpful that my guide for the guided tour gave a quick overview on the characteristics of Chinese painting. That certainly had helped me better appreciate many of Chen Wen Hsi's works done in Chinese ink. My thumbs up and appreciation to my guide, SB.

Please allow me to share some of what I have learnt from the guided tour: Try viewing Fishes in the Pond by walking from the left of the painting to the right, you may perceive that the fishes on the painting were moving horizontally across the scroll.

**
My friend, Mystic, initially did not think very much about Chen Wen Hsi's Chinese paintings. But with some prompting from yours truly, Mystic and I took a closer look at one of Chen Wen Hsi's paintings, Squirrels Climbing Tree Trunk.


Squirrels Climbing Tree Trunk


Close up of one section of Squirrels Climbing Tree Trunk


Upon closer examination, Mystic then took back her initial verdict, and realised that it would probably take great skill to execute those strokes found on the tails and bodies of the squirrels. Mystic has a question she would like help with: What did Chen Wen Hsi use to achieve those brushstrokes found on the tail of the squirrel that you would see right above?

If you have the answer, please share it with me and Mystic.

**
My favourite work from the Traditions section was Gibbons Fetching the Moon from the Water which was probably painted in the early 1970s, on or before 1975. Somehow, I was particularly attracted to the interesting pose that the gibbon attempting to fetch the moon has had.

Gibbons Fetching the MoonGibbons Fetching the Moon from the Water




**
On the right: sub-section on Chen Wen Hsi's finger-paintings.


There is a sub-section under the Traditions section that displayed some of Chen Wen Hsi's finger-paintings. Don't miss it when you are at the exhibition.

**
As one walks up the flight of stairs to the second level of the exhibition, one would be greeted by works that have been classifed under the broad theme of Life. Summarising the notes on one of the exhibition panels: Chen Wen Hsi's practice of art is guided by his strong belief that "art must be informed by life". To do so, Chen Wen Hsi would make close observations of nature.

I suppose drawing from life would be one essential procedure that Chen Wen Hsi would take in the process of his practice of art?

The following are some of the works under the theme of Life that I personally like:

Indian ChildrenIndian Children


The Ferry


According to this article, Tracing the evolution of Chen Wen Hsi's works by Parvathi Nayar - Dec 29, 2006, The Business Times, The Ferry "is the exhibition's best representation of Chen's contribution to the so-called Nanyang School of painting".

Notice the bright, tropical-like colours used in The Ferry. Its subject matter is also based on something that is fairly specific to the Southeast Asia, "Nanyang" region, i.e. a Balinese boatman.

For more information about the Nanyang style of art, you may wish to visit Nanyang Art by Ting Szu Kiong.


Malay GirlsMalay Girls

It was interesting to simply take time to look at the various works from the Life section and to evaluate how Eastern and Western art styles and techniques could have influenced Chen Wen Hsi's art.

***
More exciting works await for the keen and curious visitor.

For your information, Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition will be held at the Singapore Art Museum till 8 April 2007 only. For people who are interested in the art scene in Singapore, this exhibition is definitely not-to-be-missed given the significance of Chen Wen Hsi and his art .

Plan for a trip to the Singapore Art Museum now:

Singapore Art Museum
71 Bras Basah Road
Singapore 189555
Tel: (65) 6332 3222
Fax: (65) 6336 5361

Admission:
Adult: $5.00
Student: $2.50
Senior Citizen (above 60 years): $2.50
Family Ticket (3 Adults and 2 Children): $13.00

More visitors' information can be found here

**
Part II of this series is available here: At SAM: Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition, Part II.
Part III of this series is available here: At SAM: Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition, Part III.

**
References:
Singapore Circulation Notes: Portrait Series - $50
http://www.nhb.gov.sg/SAM/Exhibitions/UpcomingExhibitions/Chen%2BWen%2BHsi.htm
Chen Wen Hsi's biography (on Czine-NAFAHUB)
http://wineanddine.asiaone.com.sg/unwind/exhibitions/20061229_001.html
http://www.seraja.com/experience.jsp?eventID=590364
Review by Choy Weng Yang

On Nanyang Style (of art):
Nanyang Art by Ting Szu Kiong

Also view:
Chen Wen Hsi @ SAM
http://www.artforum.com.sg/artists_by_country/singapore/chenwenhsi.html
http://nafahub.com/nanyi/enanyi/eseasia/efineart/echenwenhsi/edefault.htm
http://www.thecore.nus.edu.sg/post/singapore/arts/painters/chenwenhsi/index.html
http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_772_2004-12-29.html
Bada Shanren: Information from Answers.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibbon



Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Singapore Art Museum for granting me the permission to take non-flash photography of this exhibition. Special thanks to Shaun for helping me to obtain the permission.

(Note: The materials on this post have also been posted on Yesterday.sg, on 4 April 2007)