For Art’s Sake!

The Oscars gives its first ever Best Director award to a woman on International Women’s Day, planet Earth just got hit by its third consecutive earthquake in a matter of weeks – and what kind of news do Singaporeans want?

Jack Neo, Jack Neo and more Jack Neo!

But who am I to judge ey? And as ho-hum as this whole scandal is to this RAT, well, I just realised he is a Cultural Medallion recipient.

I’ve honestly got nothing to say about this. But just in case I get a memo from the big bosses to explain why I’ve got nothing to say about a philandering artist (again, see above. I know, we think Cultural Medallion and film, we think Eric Khoo, right? But yes, see above) I’m posting this – a bunch of random quotes about art and cheating!

Feel free to use these quotes the next time you get ambushed by the press, Mr Neo!

“Become good at cheating and you never need to become good at anything else. “ – Banksy

“Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad.”  – Salvador Dali

“Art, whose honesty must work through artifice, cannot avoid cheating truth.” — Adrienne Rich

Oh, and, Mr Neo, if you’re feeling blue and fiddling with your Medallion thinking “What did I do to deserve this…?”, here’s a lovely quote from David Hockney.

“The moment you cheat for the sake of beauty, you know you’re an artist.”

Tags: Cultural Medallion, Jack Neo

This is Lure, a nice installation by Indonesian artist Tintin Wulia at the current group show at Osage Gallery.

It comprises a claw vending machine which contains, instead of stuffed toys, handmade passports of different kinds. It’s functional too, a dollar gives you three tries.

Around the machine are mini passports that wind this way and that, from the entrance of the gallery all the way up to the ceiling. It’s supposed to allude to Hansel and Gretel’s cookie crumbs.

I like this piece a lot, not least because I’ve just applied for a visa for the UK – and it sucks when you don’t have an all-access passport like Singaporeans do. That’s Third World for you. But I digress.

Anyway, the show’s called Inventory: New Art from Southeast Asia. A group exhibit featuring eight artists from the region, including Ho Tzu Nyen (his new video work Newton, which bagged best sound at the Singapore Short Film Awards, was being fixed just now, but they say it’ll be up tomorrow) and Cheo Chai-Hiang (who’s exhibiting his Cowrie series – basically this linguistic mini-sculptures where actual cowries replace the Chinese symbol for “bei” to form a variety of words).

Pinoy homie Poklong Anading also has a four-channel video work while some of Thai artist Wit Pimkanchanapong’s origami fruits from last year’s Asia-Pacific Triennial are also on display.

Not to be missed (because it’s easily missed) is Pratchaya Phinthong’s Demonstrations.

There’s just a note telling you to go and see the work, which is with the gallery attendant.

And that would be…? A fake 1,000 baht bill!

Anyway, go and catch the show. It’s by no means as earth-shaking as what the brochure says — something about “taking stock of the state of art production in the region”.

Can’t really do that with eight artists from an “inventory” by a single gallery right?

But still, try your luck with the vending machine. And since it’s really not worthwhile to climb those gazillion steps up to Old School for a single show, I suggest you catch the German photography exhibition at 2902 Gallery downstairs as well.

Want something more? Some public programmes:

Chai-Hiang will be giving a talk and launching a book on March 13, 3pm (Saturday).

Former Substation artistic co-director Lee Weng Choy will be giving a tour of the exhibit on March 27, 3pm. (So that’s  where he went to!)

Finally, Tzu Nyen will give a talk on April 10, 3pm.

Tags: 2902 Gallery, Cheo Chai Hiang, contemporary art, Demonstrations, Ho Tzu Nyen, Lee Weng Choy, Lure, Newton, Osage Gallery, Poklong Anading, Pratchaya Phinthong, Singapore Short Film Awards, Tintin Wulia, Wit Pimkanchanapong

I know, bad pun. But FX Harsono: Testimonies is my first fave exhibit this year. It only takes up two galleries at SAM but you get a sense of an entire four decades worth of an artistic trajectory within a very vivid social milieu.

(Really, it’s a step in the right direction for a contemporary SAM, with solo shows by Ming Wong and Vincent Leow next. Yay! No group survey shows for now!)

Encapsulated in the 18 works that make up this retrospective is Indonesian-Chinese artist FX Harsono’s life-work.

Quick intro. If you want a peg, he’s probably the equivalent of Ai Wei Wei in China or Tang Da Wu in Singapore.

In 1975, he and fellow mavericks in the Indonesian art scene set up the Gerakan Seni Rupa Baru (New Art Movement) that caused old fogey/conservative art critics to go WTF?!

True story. They were reacting to what they deemed as a “Western” monopoly of artistic techniques in Indonesia (paintings, sculptures, etc). So they opted for found objects, installation, etc. Which Francis Xavier Harsono pursued, while playing cat-and-mouse with, early on, Suharto authorities, as most of his works are politically loaded.

***

IMPRESSIONS

The first thing that struck me in the show is how simple yet effective Harsono’s approach is, something that I guess can only come with enough time to amass, develop, question and theoretically build upon one’s very creative philosophies. Not, I would hazard a guess, from simply completing one’s MFA.

His objects of practice are easily identifiable and stand out — Javanese masks, a toy gun, needles, butterflies – but always in measured deference to a particular piece’s project. It’s never flamboyant.

And this tug-of-war between such simplicity and the issues his works respond to (political repression, press censorship, racial discrimination, etc) (in a particular work or in a dialogue with an adjacent one) create a beautiful tension.

One, for example, could be disturbed or enraged by a piece like Burned Victims, a row of burnt wooden torsos laid out in a row slightly suspended as if hanging from a torture rack (based on 1998 events where a riot mob sealed all exits of a mall and set it on fire).  But next to it is a quieter piece like Voice Without Voice / Sign – a set of paintings of the word DEMOKRASI done in sign language.

I plan to make return trips to this exhibit and maybe write more. But in the meantime, here’s the interview I did with him.

Killer quote: “the government’s not smart enough to understand art issues or art metaphors.”

***

QUESTIONS

As an artist in Indonesia, do you find it hard to get away from politics?

Yes and no. I mean, yes because during the Suharto era, only a few (of us) artists used political themes as a base for our artistic work. Maybe because it was also dangerous to engage in political issues, because artists can be arrested and jailed. Some writers in Indonesia, and also theatre (people) like (playwright WS) Rendra and some artists also went to jail. That’s also scary for me. But also, fortunately, the government’s not smart enough to understand art issues or art metaphors.

You’re one of the leaders in contemporary art in Indonesia. What has changed these past four decades?

Now, the young artists are more interested in urban issues, big city issues. Some are also still interested in socio-political issues. That’s good. But I feel that (of the) young artists who engage in socio-political issues, only a few really understand what the situation is, the cultural change and everything. But some young artists who work with urban culture, they’re very interesting.

Who would you say are these notable ones?

Eko Nugroho, Jompet, and also Agus Suwage – he’s not very young, but he’s younger than me and very interesting. And also very young artists in Bandung.

What about the market buzz over Indonesia, has that helped?

Yes, because now in Indonesia, the government doesn’t care about art. There’s still no infrastructure for the arts. So who is the person who takes care of the artists and art, and show (them) in international events? Just the market and the galleries. Like this solo show in SAM, that’s also because of one commercial gallery in Djogjakarta, Langgang Gallery, that had a passion to show Indonesian artists in an international event. The owner is very concerned with Indonesian art, to try to bring the art to international events. And that’s good. Because the market, commercial galleries, the private galleries, understand that if the artists are not represented internationally, that means the market is only local.

Don’t you get irritated that these young ones have it easy nowadays, while you had to go through a number of difficulties while creating art?

I think everybody has their own conditions, own situations. Now it’s very easy to go into the international market, it’s okay for me. But I also get my situation and my conditions. As a person who made a change in Indonesia, the younger artists also respect me. That’s also good for me.

You started off reacting against “Western” forms like painting. But in this show, you’ve gone back to painting. Why is that?

The concept of that painting is not that of painting as traditional painting. I keep saying this is not a real painting. I have a photograph and I used the projector – it’s a reproduction of a digital image into (canvas). But people say, no, you are so brave to say that this is not a painting.

When you look at the development of most artists (even in other areas like, say rock music), there always seems to be a kind of toning down as one gets older. Of going from more overt social preoccupations to more personal concerns, like your investigation of your identity as an Indonesian of Chinese ethnic origins. Is that the usual thing when you get older?

I don’t know about that, but I’m thinking it’s not because of age but because of social and cultural change. I’m starting to ask about what I want to do now. And I found the problem of myself.

And some people say it’s the politics of your self, that’s reflecting political issues. You look inside but you see the social and political issues.

***

CURATORIAL COINCIDENCE?

On a final note, given Pak Harsono’s progressive leanings (at least to be gleaned from his works), I found it amusing that the two main pieces that introduce the two separate galleries brought to my mind two famous quotes from Mao Zedong.

Here’s the installation Paling Top `75.  

(”Political power comes from the barrel of gun” — in an ironic way?) 

And here’s Bon Appetit.

(”The revolution is not a dinner party”?)

Tags: FX Harsono, Indonesian art, Singapore Art Museum

My attitude towards the whole “arts for all” or “arts for the community” argument – as used or pushed for here in Singapore – has always been at best, rather blasé. At worst, just sheer irritation.

Why? They’re mostly flashy entertain-y stuff that in some ways may actually hurt the cause of contemporary art. (“Huh? That’s contemporary art? But the one I saw in Yishun was flashier? It had explosions!” or something like that.)

I’m re-thinking this position after catching the last day of the Work-Life conference organised by the British Council, Theatre Training and Research Programme (TTRP), and the National Museum last Saturday at the Society for the Physically Disabled in Tiong Bahru.

One of the speakers, Londoner artist and curator Clare Patey discussed her artistic practice which has revolved mostly around food.

One of her pieces, Feast, is kind of like what Jamie Oliver did with schools and canteen food. She basically took over a plot of land near where she lives and worked with school kids to plant veggies which they would eventually harvest and cook – the end product being, a “feast”. It’s a project that’s been adopted by other schools.

Another of her projects, Feast On The Bridge, she took over the Southwark Bridge for the Thames Festival – and turned it into a space to re-enact/re-live certain traditional rituals dealing with food, as well as basically making it into a dining area.

A public bridge no! They closed traffic just so people could eat!

I wish I had attended the previous day, which was held at the National Museum, because this is one kind of arts event that, for all the many shows and exhibits happening at one go, has been sorely missing in Singapore for the past few years.

***

What is a community? Some interesting responses from the other speakers on Saturday. Aside from poet Cyril Wong’s valid but rather out of place talk about continuously questioning his place within this “abstract” literary community (I thought it was all about forging communities?), the rest had more constructive things to say.

TNS’ Alvin Tan talked about the theatre company’s MO, on how they focus on interest groups (i.e. marginalised voices). Another interesting semantic point he raised was his preference for the term “inter-cultural” (a more pro-active way of negotiating differences) rather than the oft-used “multi-cultural” (a rather stagnant recognition of these differences).

The Substation’s new artistic director Noor Effendy Ibrahim’s own artistic approach to working within/with/on the Malay theatre community is one of basically shaking things up, to “destabilise” that community, letting these fractures come out and then “instigate growth from within the fractures.” Which I thought was a nice way of putting it. The artist as benign weed. Woot.

Alternative historian Hong Lysa touched on alternative histories in Singapore (i.e. the unofficial, non-PAP version of it) but I won’t say anything else because might be too touchy (and I forgot to ask if it’s okay to put it out). Suffice it to say, I loved one of her anecdotes about how, in recent years, the presence of the so-called “Communist” faction of post-War Singapore was mainly seen in the obituary pages of the Chinese press. Interesting don’t you think?

Film-maker Tan Pin Pin gave an honest and telling line about her continuous fear of a community dissolving. Talking mainly about the beginnings of Filmcommunitysg, which, as most organisations/groups usually do, got together because of an issue (MDA took out foreign travel grants for film-makers – an issue that has yet to be resolved). One good point she made, which is something that can’t be mentioned enough, is that how the survival community will always boil down to “the will of the members.”

 Videos and other stuff on their online portal here.

Tags: Alvin Tan, Clare Patey, contemporary art, Cyril Wong, Feast, Feast On The Bridge, Filmcommunitysg, Hong Lysa, Jamie Oliver, National Museum of Singapore, Noor Effendy Ibrahim, Tan Pin Pin, Thames Festival, The British Council, The Necessary Stage, The Substation, Theatre Training and Research Programme, Work-Life

Don’t you think it’s high-time that local theatre companies come out with a book of anecdotes?

Just came from Toy Factory’s press conference announcing their shows for their anniversary season (most of which I’ve already reported on before). And to start it off, chief artistic director Goh Boon Teck reminisced about some of the gaffs and hard stuff they’ve had to do when the company was just starting out.

Like rehearsing their first show for an entire year – wherever they could find a place to do so, like “a bohemian touring group seeking help from everybody,” said BT.

Or nine months for their next show – hopping from one condo swimming pool to another, or one pulau to another.

As for their 20^th year season salvo, Toy Factory’s coming out with a bang – by basically taking over The Esplanade in August . (But before that, To Kill a Mockingbird is still running for two weeks, and a Vesak Day show on May 28 at the Singapore Expo, where apparently there’ll be a hundred monks onstage. But it’s a commissioned work.)

What’s on for Toy 20 Theatre Festival (which is what they’re calling the whole shebang)?

In case you missed my story last year, here’s a rundown again.

HAILSTONES. A programme of video screenings of past works (Spirits, Big Fool Lee, Titoudao, First Light, Sleepless Town and The Crab Flower Club) from Aug 5 to 7, 3pm and 8pm, at the Esplanade Recital Studio. Each screening will open with an introduction from some of the respective actors/directors/designers who had worked on each of the play.

WHITE SOLILOQUY. A monologue by Nelson Chia as veteran thespian Bai Yan – who’s said to be the consummate performer (who even tried to do magic tricks on a cruise ship) known for his work with then-TCS. I’m quite interested in this one. It’s directed by Jalyn Han based on BT’s script. Nelson mentioned that they went to Bai Yan’s house to interview him and saw three to four stacks of newspaper clippings on him. It’s from Aug 12 to 15 at the Esplanade Theatre Studio.

DECEMBER RAINS. Their big show. It’s a restaging of Singapore’s first Mandarin musical, a story that spans 30 years, from the `50s to the `80s. It stars Jeffery Low, George Chan and, returning to the stage, Kit Chan. It’s from Dec August 6 to 15 at the Esplanade Theatre.

They’re also releasing a four-volume set of 13 original scripts they’ve staged in September, which I think is quite cool. (On a related note, TNS is also soon releasing another of their books, Trilogy, compiling three of Haresh Sharma’s recent plays, including the much-lauded Gemuk Girls).

PS, tickets go on sale tomorrow, March 6, at Sistic.

PPS, I would’ve posted more pix but my blog doesn’t seem to upload .tiff files. So in the meantime, Nelson Chia will be the posterboy for Toy 20. Heh.

Tags: Bai Yan, Big Fool Lee, Cheorge Chan, First Light, Goh Boon Teck, Hailstones, Jalyn Han, Jeffery Low, Kit Chan, Nelson Chia, Singapore theatre, Sleepless Town, Spirits, The Crab Flower Club, The Esplanade, Titoudao, To Kill A Mockingbird, Toy Factory, White Soliloquy

Local theatre’s buzz-themes of the week? Racism and language.

Yesiree, there’s The Necessary Stage’s Model Citizens (of which my review/thoughts comes out in tomorrow’s paper – ah fine, I loved it) and Toy Factory’s To Kill A Mockingbird (which my colleague Showbiz Sista saw last week and wasn’t impressed).

Me, I just came back from it and I didn’t think it was that bad – I was sort of okay with it and some moments were gripping. Loved the set design – the stools were the s**t (cough cough) and the overhead mics were awesome (I’m assuming sound designer Darren Ng had a great part in it and utilized it to the max – and it was a very ingenuous way of integrating it as an added visual component).

So yes, racial tension in its different clashes by way of the colour wheel (Harper Lee’s black and white, Haresh and Alvin’s yellow and brown. Hee.) and language issues (TNS’ polyglot production that was damn brave in just spelling out the whole Mandarin language issue – and all its historical/political baggage – to people just in case they were, well, colour blind or just refuse to publicly acknowledge its existence. If anything, it said what needed to be said in the open.).

As for Mockingbird’s language themes? Hmm, let’s just say it was more confusing than being in a bar called Babel at 11pm on a Friday night. Or listening to Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter. I.e. too many confusing accents. No need lah. Just stick to a decent, consistent one (consistent for the whole cast). And, you know, trust your audiences a bit more to know it’s set in the South.

I was thinking of more things to bring up (such as how, despite loving Model Citizens more than Mockingbird, I do think the latter’s a more vicious play – two people killed, no. Model Citizens only got one person stabbed!) but have lost my train of thought while multi-tasking (I was chatting with a Filipino art curator). So… night!

Tags: Darren Ng, Johnny Depp, Model Citizens, Singapore theatre, The Necessary Stage, To Kill A Mockingbird, Toy Factory

Yes, you heard it right. Kevin Spacey says he’s a rat. Him and his buddy director Sam Mendes.

“We are theatre rats and we always have been.” Woot.

He was here on Wednesday to give props to The Tempest, which SRT is bringing in in April as part of the Spacey/Mendes/Brooklyn Academy of Music three-year collab company The Bridge Project (who did A Winter’s Tale last year).

Here’s from the cozy interview we did with him, along with fellow arts reporters Boon Leong and Adeline.

But before I forget, a word to SRT: the next time you say it’s an interview time slot for newspaper A and B because newspaper C already got an exclusive interview, at least make sure newspaper C doesn’t sit in with A and B.

It’s just not right.

Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, here are some of the questions compiled from all three of us journos.

***

So are you suffering from jetlag?

Not only do I not suffer jetlag – ever – which is true, but it’s years and years of travel and figuring out, when you go to bed, when you land in the city you’re going to and what time you wanna go to bed there.

But with this transatlantic endeavour, we assume you travel around a lot.

Actually I haven’t. I have not been to the cities that The Bridge went to last year. Sam went because he’s the director. But I will be able to enjoy what it’s like to be on tour in 2012 when Sam directs me in the plays that we’ll do—

Which will be…?

Couldn’t tell you, wouldn’t tell you even if I knew. But I don’t know yet. (smiles) Whether it’s going to be two Shakespeares or one Shakespeare, we’re not sure yet. But we’re beginning to narrow the field.

But the default will always be Shakespeare.

Well, look, here’s the great thing about the way we decided to call all these – the explorations of classic work. Because what comes under the heading of classic is really broad. You could include O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, some of the great British playwrights, Alan Ayckbourn, that would fit under that mold of what “classic work” is. So it isn’t necessarily Shakespeare. But the likelihood is that at least one of them will be. I think.

Last year, we saw A Winter’s Tale and this year it’s The Tempest. Singapore’s getting a kind of Shakespeare: The Final Years version of The Bridge Project experience isn’t it.

Well, when you look at The Bridge this year, As You Like It was kind of an early play. (SRT’s only staging one of the two plays that TBP stages a year. Last year, there was also Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard) And Tempest is one of the last, if not the, last play. And in some ways, Sam (Mendes) is always trying to match two plays by saying, what thematically, what emotional terrain are these plays exploring? And in both of these, they’re about being exiled and can you find your true self and your true nature in the woods or in an island.

So what’s this version of The Tempest going to be like?

I haven’t seen it. I’m going next week to see it in New York. But I can only tell you that it is a complicated play. (Mendes) set it in a kind of very cool, nefarious world. I believe the design is quite incredible, I’ve seen some of the photos and… whoa! I think it’s gonna be quite a treat – even for audiences who didn’t come last year. We wanna reach out for a broader, younger, more diverse audience this year.

What people have to know about Sam Mendes is if you dug American Beauty, that’s a great example of the design element of the way Sam Mendes thinks. He’s always been that way. He can be both quite bold and epic and yet remarkably simple, and absolutely mesmerizing the way things emerge onstage. 

So what sort of lessons can we glean from The Tempest?

Here’s the thing that I always try very hard to do is never ever tell an audience what their experience is gonna be because it’s different for everybody. Unlike the movies, where everything single image and sound is chosen for you, in theatre, you choose what you watch and pay attention to. And it can also depend on where you’re sitting in the theatre. And I always thought it a bit of a shame that theatre critics insist on sitting on the aisle. And why? They wanna get the f**k out the moment the curtain call starts. And I think to myself, you spent thirty years watching play like this (demonstrates sitting at an angle) or like that. You’ve never sat in the middle or sat in the balcony, always been on the sides.

I think a play will evolve differently from what perspective you’re in in theatre. That’s why sometimes when I see a play that’s just incredible, and I wanna go back to see it again, I’ll absolutely  sit in a different section of a theatre because the experience will be different.

How has being a Hollywood star helped in raising money for, in your case, The Old Vic Theatre?

I’m very bold about asking for money. I’m not afraid of asking for money. My British counterparts at the Old Vic had had to learn to ask for more money because they sometimes ask for this amount and I go, no, ask for the big amount because you might get more money. I’m not embarrassed about asking for money. We cannot do what we do without money. I recently did an event in London with a curator of the Tate Modern and the Tate, Nick Serota, who’s a terrific fundraiser.

And someone in the audience asked the question: “You talked about the relationship you want with the people supporting the work that you’re doing and I’m just curious what exactly are you looking for in that relationship.”

There was a pause and then I said, “Well, the money.”

And I turned to Nick and asked “Is it about the money?” and he went, “Yes, yes, it’s about the money. And passion.”

And I said, “Ah, passionate money. That’s even better.”

I got a huge laugh but the truth is, that is the honest answer. We want the money!

You were in China recently shooting a film with Daniel Wu. Thoughts on the theatre scene there?

Well if you pay attention to what’s been happening in China, Beijing has a big theatre crowd. There’s a lot of theatre happening in Beijing that’s not musicals. Whereas in Shanghai, it’s more musicals. Or Hong Kong. But Beijing has a big theatre audience. There’s something about plays that they’re grabbing on to. I absolutely hope to bring, the year that I do (act), I hope to bring the plays to China.

You have a lot of these fantasy elements in pop culture right now. And well, obviously, The Tempest has got those as well. Is it why you’re staging it now? And what’s with this preoccupation with fantasy these days?

Well all I can say is that everyone in the film world and fantasy world is finally catching to Shakespeare. He was on to something way earlier. (laughs)

Tags: A Winter's Tale, Kevin Spacey, Sam Mendes, Singapore Repertory Theatre, Singapore theatre, The Bridge Project, The Tempest, theatre etiquette

We ran a story on how it was to help set up visual artist Suzann Victor’s installation His Mother Is A Theatre at the ongoing Classic Contemporary show at SAM 8Q. And in a classic case of Stockholm Syndrome (being cooped up for a total of two days with the work) I wanted to be Suzann Victor. But that’s impossible. So I did the next best thing — I stalked her. Via email. Here’s how it went.

Hi Suzann, what have you been up to lately?

Graduated with PhD, received a fellowship award from the New-York based Civitella Ranieri Foundation, which provides an all-expenses six-week residency in a medieval castle in Italy amongst a dozen other prominent and mostly American artists from different fields, completed a new piece of work for Meritus Mandarin’s new lobby and chilling out.

What was your reaction when Joyce Toh, one of the curators, informed you that the piece was going to be part of Classic Contemporary survey show?

I must admit that I was concerned about the installation process as any compromise on the work’s visual aesthetics and integrity, shall we say, would by extension compromise the work’s expression/message – this had happened the last time it was shown at SAM many years ago – it was then badly installed. But in the capable hands of Ms Toh, I was kept informed and consulted on many levels, and I am sure any limitations has been transformed into advantages in this instance.

You’ve done work before and after His Mother Is A Theatre. With all the history surrounding the installation piece, how significant is this installation personally?

Personally, His Mother is a Theatre marks the cusp between a loss of artistic innocence and the beginning of a sense of social/political enlightenment in my practice.

Conceptually, it was created as a visual quotation of the compulsory requirement to submit scripts for licencing prior to its performance at the time. Hence, as a script of body parts made of hair, literally, the work strategically “returned” the ownership of image-making, i.e. the conjuring of images via the act of reading the hair text, to the reader/viewer, even though it is itself a form of visuality. By using human hair, the work reeked of the body so much so that it was even more visceral and present than other forms of representation. This was an important conceptual phase for me.

Some artists kind of cringe when they look back at their earlier works – what about you? Do you think this particular piece has aged well?

The issue is not so much one of “aging” but rather, significance i.e. the power to engage and communicate across time. If the work is able to generate public discourse after the fact, i.e. post whatever event or moment it was responding to or encapsulating in an artistic, or conceptual way (since art does function as a visual testimony to a particular space-time-event, personal or social, etc.), then I think it has not only succeeded as an agent of history but also, “lived” in a way that moves with the growing or changing needs of a public/audience. In other words, to transcend its moment in time and history and be contemporary.

The first (and last?) time it was shown was in Pacific Plaza. Are you coming back to view this new “version”?

As I mentioned earlier, it was shown many years ago as a part of SAM’s collection. I am invited to be back in April to give a talk about it.

During the installation, I could really see the complexity of trying to set this up. Back then, did you do it all by yourself? How long did it take you to set it up?

Apart from borrowing a ladder from Pacific Plaza etc, I did it by myself – friends did drop by now and again to see how it was going so that was nice.

What was the most difficult part of it all? Did you have a hard time looking for the bread? Placing the hair-words around the table? Gathering the hair? Sewing the fabric?

I chanced upon the kopitiam bread while walking along East Coast Road with my friends – these loaves were in a box on the floor and the charcoal black tops were mesmerising to me – it was instant attraction – I knew immediately that i was going to use them in my work and began to plan how I could also get people to smell them, hence to light them up. So, no, this was not difficult at all – in fact it was aesthetic and olfactory pleasure.

The hair salon was just two or three doors down next to Calvin Klein at the time – they were very friendly and just gave me as much hair as i needed and it was very exciting to find out what kind of hair I was going to get next – curly, wavy, straight, rough, smooth etc

Yah, maybe sewing did not sit well with me – brought back memories of school and my very fierce Home Economics teacher.

And finally, out of curiosity — is there any particular “He” you had in mind for the title?

In this context, “His” is a cultural theory term, a collective masculine.

Tags: Classic Contemporary, contemporary art, SAM 8Q, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore artist, Suzann Victor

SORRY, but I asked the RAT for permission to stick this story about the Malay Artistes Association here:

IT HAS been a long time coming, but tomorrow (Feb 27), members of the Malay arts and entertainment community will be celebrating the inauguration of the Malay Artistes Association (MAA) with a star-studded tea party called Glamor 2010.

Held in conjunction with the anniversary celebrations for Selebriti magazine, the party will see over 30 local and regional celebrities taking the stage such as rock band Black Dog Bone, pop star Hady Mirza, performer Norleena Salim, Indonesian rising star Intan Nuraini and Malaysia’s pop icon Ogy Ahmad Daud, who’ll also host the show. And fans can even get a meet-and-greet before the party starts.

What’s even more interesting is that members of the Chinese Artistes and Performers Association will also attend the hi-tea event to show their support and solidarity. Plus, two of their VPs will be singing a song each: Yap Say Pin will be singing Bengawan Solo while Amy Koh will be singing Gong Xi Gong Xi.

Hot hot hot: Indonesian singer/actress Intan Nuraini

The MAA, said its president, Fahmi Rais, is probably the first of its kind in Singapore. True, there are also already other artistic collectives such as Angkatan Pelukis Aneka Daya (Apad), a non-profit art group for visual arts practitioners; however Fahmi said the MAA it isn’t restricted to just members of the artistic community, but everyone in the arts and

entertainment field – from script writers to actors to dancers to makeup artistes to directors, and then some.

“Everybody has a place here: Whether you have been around for 40 years or whether you are just starting out,” said Fahmi. “MAA covers all aspects of the entertainment industry. This diversity is also reflected in th

e people we have in the committee.”

The 13-member committee, for example, is made up of many well-known stars of the Malay entertainment industry. Veteran actor Keater H M is the deputy president, while its vice-presidents are actors J A Halim and Khalid Baboo, with respected musician Eddy Ali as its secretary-general. Other office holders include actors Nina Halim as well as musicians Hafizah Naser and Netty Fiona. Committee members’ tenures last two years.

What’s key is that the MAA will be run by artistes for artistes. “It’s important that this is artiste-driven,” said Fahmi. Interestingly, Fahmi is the only one on the committee who’s not an artiste per se, and he says he hopes someone will step up to the plate to take over in the future.

The question still remains though: Is there a need for such an association? And will artistes join? Membership right now is limited to Associate Membership, which artistes can get by paying a $60 membership fee; and Ordinary Memberships at $30 – although you have to be invited to be an Ordinary member.

“Some have criticism and said, ‘I have not seen you in action, why should I pay to be a member?’”, said Fahmi. “That’s understandable. But we are serious about this: We have a proper plan, we know where we want to go.”

While some artistes have adopted a “wait and see” attitude, others have applauded the move. One such supporter is Norleena Salim, best known for her work on one of Singapore’s biggest sitcoms, Under One Roof. Now living in Brisbane, Australia, the performer will fly back to perform a couple of songs at Glamor 2010.

“It’s about time,” she said. “It’s long overdue. I know there are doubts and everything and I understand where the cynics are coming from, but it has to be done. I can’t really say I’m part of the scene because I haven’t been in Singapore for so long, but this isn’t the first time people with good intentions have tried to help the industry. Unfortunately, those times it didn’t work.”

But, emphasised the committee members, this isn’t just a “get together” of artistes. They mean business – particulary the “business end” of the arts and entertainment industry. The primary goal of the MAA is to address areas concerning Malay artistes in Singapore, such as welfare and career assistance.

“For example, if next year’s Chingay committee needs Malay artistes, they can call us for assistance to put them in touch,” said Fahmi. “We want to be an official conduit or channel where such establishments can turn to.”

Also, there have been cases where well-known artistes can’t even cover their costs when they encounter a medical emergency, said Fahmi. “Popularity does not equate to wealth, so we want to ensure that the artistes are taken care of.

“Many artistes also don’t have managers – and some of these ‘managers’ are real crooks – so the MAA can act as a sort of default manager too. We’ll also be running professional upgrading courses too.”

While he acknowledged that perhaps famous TV personalities people like Suhaimi Yusof or Najib Ali “probably won’t need our services”, he said that didn’t mean that they couldn’t join the association, if only to give back to the artiste community.

Norleena Salim

Still, Fahmi also cautioned that members shouldn’t expect big things immediately. “Don’t think that everything can be done in 10 months when it took us 10 years to get to the start point,” he said. “There will be teething problems, hurdles to cross and difficulties to face, but I’m sure they can be overcome.”

“I don’t think that all the problems can be solved with this association,” said Norleena. “But it’s a start. It’s up to the people to make it work. At the end of the day, it’s a choice whether you want to join or not. If you don’t like it, don’t join – but don’t diss the people who do want join.

“Until it’s done and you go down that road, you won’t know whether it will actually work or not.”

Tags: Fahmi Rais, Intan Nuraini, Malay Artistes Association, Norleena Salim

The Noise Singapore Festival showcase exhibition is now up at the third floor of Raffles City. For those who aren’t familiar with the festival, it’s an NAC event showcasing the creative works of young Singaporeans – a culminating effort after its year-long process of apprenticeships and open-call contests. (UPDATE: Poet Alvin Pang pointed out it’s based on another youth and new media festival of the same name in Australia.)

(It’s also one of those festivals that give me a headache because of its art-forms-across-the-board approach.)

I had a look at the show yesterday and came out with a thought. According to this year’s exhibit, kids these days want to become either musicians, photographers or graphic designers.

But a “visual artist”? Wassat?

The works displayed (showing entries and winners for both the open call context and the apprenticeship programmes) comprise lots and lots (and lots) of photographs (including specimens of that notoriously bland local sub-genre called “HDB photography”) and lots of Superflat/:phunk type illustrations.

Very few paintings and certainly no installation art. Sigh. (UPDATE: And no video art or short films, too. Sigh.)

Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s good that something like this is done on a regular basis (and it’s really about time that photography gets the buzz that it has right now; ditto with graphic design).

But I also wonder what kind of message such a big youth-centric festival (and it’s participants, between 16 and 35) sends out and what state of the arts it’s reflecting?

At the exhibition space, there’s a mock-up of both a “music studio” and a “graphic design studio”.

There’s no “artist studio”. (Isn’t that the easiest to recreate? Four walls and nothing inside? Guffaw!)

The mentors that took part in the apprenticeship programme are all either photographers or illustrators. The judges for Art & Design open category are all from graphic design and advertising companies, i.e. from the design industry (well, there’s :phunk’s Jackson Tan, I guess).

I know “visual arts” isn’t as “hip” as graphic design or photography but still…

Just something to mull over. In the meantime, here are some of the entries you’ll see if you do happen to drop by. (There are a lot of blatantly derivative stuff but some jewels as well).

The showcase exhibition runs until March 10 at the third level of Raffles City Shopping Centre. There are some talks at SMU on March 18 and a series of concerts at the Esplanade Concourse and Outdoor Theatre on March 5 to 7. For more information on the fest, go here.

Tags: graphic design, National Arts Council, Noise Singapore Festival, photography, Singapore art, Singapore design, Singapore photography