SOCIAL IDENTITY
Social identity involves the interaction of other people. Social identity is informed by the
associations with other people such as a group of friends or a family
circle. This identity is in turn built
upon further by making comparisons with outside parties or other groups.
A portrait can
communicate how the sitter wishes to be regarded by others. Using visual language such as the background
setting, clothing, or body language, the viewer can place the subject in a
certain context. How the individual
then is viewed by others or wishes to be viewed reflects social identity.
Basically, how the artist wishes to show the subject to
the viewer, tells us how the subject is seen to others around him/her and/or
how he/she wants to be seen.
General Questions when looking at the following works:
1. Is there more than
one person in the painting? Is there is,
what is the relationship dynamic?
2. Is the subject at east or uncomfortable in the
setting? What do the objects in the
background tell you about him/her?
3. What are the emotions or actions of the subject? Do they appear as if they are posing or
behaving naturally? What does this tell
us about the artwork and/or the artist?
ARTIST ONE
Agus Suwage (Indonesia 1959 –present)
Cinderamata Ala
Indonesia (Souvenir from Indonesia)
Oil on Canvas and found paper objects
70x60 cm (each, series of 6) 1996
Collection of the Singapore Art Museum
The Artist
Agus is considered one of Indonesia’s more exciting
contemporary artists. Despite his
relatively young age, he has exhibited at many national museums. Trained as a graphic designer at the Bandun Institute of
Technology, Agus’ work discusses the complexities of human nature. Born in Central Java, he has been shaped to
some extent by his Javanese sensibilities and his Chinese ethnicity.
About the Artwork
Using self-portraits painted with photographic precision,
Agus uses himself as an actor on canvas to assume roles and convey
emotions. As is typical with the
artist’s work, he infuses a sense of humour and dry wit. Here is poses comically but this serves to
highlight the superficiality of weight attached to cultural and national
ideology. In this particular series, the
artist offers himself up as a decorative specimen – the presentation is
complete with a brightly coloured gift-wrap border and titles in Indonesian
influenced by scientific Latin terminology.
Agus mockingly reveals the artificiality of defining and packaging
certain stereotypes. In imitation of the X-Ray records of ethnographic studies,
the images here lay bare a study of the five main senses – sight, hearing,
taste, touch and smell with an addition of thought as the sixth feature. Introducing colourful drawings such as the
cartoon of an orang-utan, a bright blue butterfly and burning flames, Agus
infuses a sense of sardonic humour and a wry look at the filtration of people’s
perceptions. Looking, listening,
tasting, touching, smelling and thinking are ways and means by which we access
and assess our surroundings, the artists prompts the viewer to review the judgements
that we accept or make too simply.
Neil Manalo (Philippines 1965 – present)
The Accuser
Suddenly Intervened
Oil on canvas 183 x 302 cm 1992
Collection of the Singapore Art Museum
The Artist
A graduate of Fine Arts from Far Eastern University in
1990, the artist is best known for his paintings
that reveal the repercussions of mass media and technology on society. A member of the artist collective Salingpusa,
Manolo and his fellow artists collaborate to create scenes of contemporary life
that draws attention to the social and
political issues of urban Manila.
The Artwork
In this large-scale painting The Accuser Suddenly
Intervened (Nang Muli’y Biglang Summingit and Tagapagparangal), the artist
paints in his characteristic figurative style.
The expressiveness of the subject’s faces and actions is emphasised by
the distinct tones and strokes of the brushwork. Using a palette of warm colours on a dark coloured
ground, the artist heightens the dramatic qualities of his depiction. Costumed angels who have abandoned their
roles in religious festivities, children and adults crowd around wide-eyed and
transfixed at a single television set in the central foreground of the
two-panel painting. In the background,
there are more spectators. They are
unable to afford a television of their own and they are crushed together,
peering in between the window bars. All
the viewers can see of the television are the cables and antennae, for us the
spectacle lies in the hypnotic expressions of the viewers who are thoroughly
immersed in the television programme.
This painting provides a glimpse of the power of the mass media to entertain
and ensnare viewers, for there can be very real repercussions such as the
mobilisation of viewer support to overthrow President Marcos in 1986 and the
election of celerity –politicians such as Joseph Estrada.
Notice Manalo’s use of strong colour and light, especially how the light radiates from the television onto the spectator’s faces. Look at The Calling Of Saint Matthew by Renaissance artist Caravaggio where he used the technique of chiaroscuro to show a deep contrast in lighting. The subject matter is a spiritual encounter. Do the patterns of light reveal more about the paintings story line or the characters depicted?
Chatchai Puipia
(Thailand 1964 – present)
You inside, are you still ok?
Oil on
Canvas 240 x 280
cm 1977
Collection
of the Singapore Art Museum
The Artist
Arguably one of Thailand’s more promising contemporary
artists, Chatchai Puipia studied painting at one of the country’s most
repsected art schools Silpakorn University.
Since then, he has gone onto gain international recognition for his
art. Raising universal concerns about
the effects of industrial development and material ambition on culture,
Chatchai lends further poignancy to his work by borrowing from Thai traditions,
beliefs and iconic imagery. He is a
versatile artist, working in varied mediums such as paintings, installations
and assemblages involving a multitude of everyday objects.
The Artwork
You inside, are you ok? Is emblematic of the
characteristic resonance of Chatchai’s painting. Using his self-portrait as a vehicle to
amplify the ideas in his paintings, the larger than life confrontations
directly engage the viewer. The leering
smile with sinister yellow teeth fixed in a raw red contorted face is a
contrast to the systematic pink panels bordering the canvas. The subject is framed within, confined by the
boundaries and although he may have a celebratory red bow decorating his brow,
his expression exposes all. He is
helpless and trapped, a metaphor for the frustration of the Thai people with
their environmental, social and economic troubles. The stereotypical smile of hospitality
becomes one of the choleric pretence – seething anger and discontent seethes
beneath the surface. Yet, the semblance
of customary politeness and friendly amiability still remains, it is too
ingrained in the Thai consciousness. The
deceptiveness leaks to corroborate the individual’s self-imposed powerlessness
to make decisions.
Question
How has this artist used traditional Thai cultural
practices and beliefs as a vehicle to bring added layers of meaning and
stronger resonance to his aesthetic and conceptual themes? If the student was to create a similar
painting with Singapore as a base, how would it differ?
Chau Mia Tee (China 1932 – present)
Samsui Women
Oil on Canvas 89 x 89 cm 1977
Collection of the Singapore Art Museum
The Artist
Born in Guangdong province in China, Chua arrived in
Singapore when he was seven. He was a
student of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts from 1950 to 1952, under the
tutelage of eminent artists such as Cheong Soo Pieng, Lim Hak Tai and See Hiang
To.
Growing up by the banks of the Singapore River, he became
fascinated by the lives of the working people as they went about their daily
routines. This curiousity and the desire
to capture the hive of activity that contributed to Singapore’s development
inspired many of the social realism paintings that Chua has become reknown
for. Urban scenes from locations such as
the Singapore River and Chinatown have become emblematic of the country’s
history and progress. A member of the
Equator Art Society, Chua believed that art should be derived from reality and
easily accessible to the viewer.
The Artwork
A keen observer of his surroundings, Chua usually works
by starting on location and then putting the finishing touches in his studio
afterward. This particular work Samsui
Women is a composite of photographs that the artist took of individual women
labouring on various parts of a lawn.
His technical dexterity shows itself in his ability to blend them
together in fluid composition. Each of
the workers in engrossed in separate tasks, diligently toiling away. Their lithe sinewy bodies impart to the
viewer their years of hard labour and dedicated duty to their jobs. The artist employs his typical palette of
intense colour – verdant greens, coal black, golden ochre and pewter gray – and
deep tones to convey the vibrancy of life.
The artist created the image for this artwork by bringing
together a composite of images. With the
help of a camera, have students build a composite of photographic images that
they they unite in a single artwork.
What is the physique of the samsui women? Do you realize that the artist paid much
greater detail to their form than their facial expression? Why do you think
that is? How does this inform us of
the underlying theme of the painting?
Lai Foong Moi (Malaysia 1931 - Singapore 1995)
Labourer (Lunch Break)
Oil on Canvas 103.7 x 66.5 cm 1965
Collection of the Singapore Art Museum
The Artist
Following her graduation from the Nanyang Academy of Fine
Arts in 1953, Lai went on to further her
studies at L’Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris.
She is recognized as the first Malayan female to have received accolades
from L’Ecole des Beaux Arts.
As a professional artist, Lai made her mark on the local
arts scene, holding exhibitions in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang. She is considered a highly significant
second-generation of the Nanyang School.
However, this was not her only sphere of influence, she was a highly
regarded lecturer are her old alma mater (Nanyang). The artist is perhaps known for her portraits
depicting subjects from all races and walks of life – virtually all her
paintings from the landscape to the figure studies show a direct and natural
finesse and yet at the same time, impart an emotional resonance.
The Artwork
Sitting casually in an eating-place, a labourer gazes
into the distance lost in his own thoughts.
He is the principal subject whist in the background, a Samsui women is eating
from a metal tiffan carrier. A sense of
spaciousness is created in the composition by the laying out of dark chairs and
tables in the background with figures in the foreground. As there is no clutter or use of shadows, a
sense of simplicity and light is felt.
The principal subject is dressed casually in labourer’s garb; his
spotless clothing and combed back hair provide him with an air of
respectability. The muscular sinews of
his suntanned legs and the set of his determined jaw contribute towards the
impression of an honest working man.
Georgette Chen (China 1906 – Singapore 1993)
Portrait of Eugene Chen
Oil on canvas 92 x 91.5 cm 1940
Collection of the Singapore Art Museum
The Artist
Considered one of Singapore’s pioneer artists, Georgette
Chen was born into a family of wealth.
She was exposed to Western culture and art in her early youth when her family
left Shanghai in 1909. Educated in New
York and Paris, Chen attended the Acadamie Colarossie, Academie Biloul and the
Art Student’s League. While in Paris,
she married Eugene Chan, Foreign Minister to the Republic of China. He was her second husband and an immense
intellectual and passionate influence on her life. Following his demise in 1944, Chen settled in
Singapore in 1954 and subsequently became a teacher at the Nanyang Academy of
Fine Arts for 26 years. In recognition
of her contribution to Singaporean art, the artist was awarded the Cultural
Medallion in 1985.
The Artwork
This is one of 3 portraits painted during Eugene and
Georgette’s marriage, just before the former passed away. The subject gazes into the distance wrapped
up in thought and perhaps contemplation of the literature he has just
read. An eminent diplomat and a
scholarly figure, this painting portrays Georgette Chens husband as a serious
and dignified gentleman. Georgette Chen deliberately chose to depict her
husband like this, so at east in her presence that he has lost himself in his
thoughts. Dressed modestly and seated on
a simple can chair, the subject appears to disregard material comforts in
search of higher intellectual concerns.
This persona is furthered by the use of colour in the painting – while
the background and figure are in soothing organic colours of beige, cream,
brown and charcoal gryey, our attention is drawn towards the scarlet book in
his left hand. This pose is an intimate
one, and with the added knowledge of the strong love between artist and sitter,
the viewer almost feels intrusive.
Question
Discuss the subject’s pose and demeanour. Although this portrait is simply composed,
the artist has managed to convey a depth of meaning and dimension to the
sitter’s character. How? Consider what lends expressiveness to any
portrait – is it the angle of the subject’s gaze, the tilt of the head, the
positioning of eyebrows or the pursing of lips.
Ahmad Fuad Osman (Malaysia 1966 - present)
The Blurring Echo
Oil on Canvas 150 x 298 cm 1997
Collection of the Singapore Art Museum
The Artist
A former student of the Faculty of Art and Design at the
University Institute Technology Mara, Fuad has been praised for venturing into
unchartered territory, not just through his art practises but also through his
questioning notions of self and identity, and interpreting socio-cultural
issues. He started exhibiting works in
1989 taking part in exhibitions organised by the National Gallery. His art can be found in the permanent
collections of the National Art Gallery Malaysia, Singapore Art Museum and
Maybank Gallery, Kuala Lumpur. A versatile
artist, Fuad experiments with various mediums from performance to printmaking. He is also a founding member of the artist
collective Matahati that has made important contributions not just locally by
regionally as well in their collaborations with other overseas artist
collectives.
The Artwork
In this diptych, Fuad places iconic image of Tunku Abdul
Rahman, the first Prime Minister of the Federation of Malaysia declaring
Merdeka (Independence) for Malaya on the eve of August 31 1957. The struggle for independence from the
British and the threat of communism was gradually overcome but in the left
panel of the diptych, the artist highlights a new form of struggle. Decades later after that triumphal moment,
figures writhe in anguish in muddy water.
They are contorted, genderless and nameless with their covered
faces. By their side, the keris (Malay
dagger) a symbol of Malay nationalism and sovereignty, burns at the hilt and is
stained with blood. The artist was
inspired to paint this after observing the senseless rowdiness of a recent
Merdeka celebration. The exuberance of Merdeka (Independence) on the left panel
is contrasted against the agony of the right panel. The figure are positions of anguish and agony
made more immediate by their nudity. The
diptych imparts how the narrative of a newly born nation and its glorious
beginning followed by a descent into discord and disenchantment. The artist has proposed a reappraisal as the
figures struggle, not knowing which way to turn. The Tunku’s purposeful raised salute and
repeated declarations of independence have become a blurring echo, he is a
figure from the past, painting in monochromatic colours whilst on his left, the
mottled bruised flesh is as realistic as a colour photograph. Fuad prompts the question how has the
Merdeka shifted between 1957 and 1997.
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