Abstraction simplifies and removes subject matter from
reality so that it is no longer immediately representative of the material
world. By simplifying and schematising
form, line or gesture, the artist arguably removes his subject from the
distraction of external reality. There
are many theories that underline abstract art – the concept of art for art’s
sake whereby art is considered in terms of style and aesthetic pleasure rather
than its meaning and intentions and the idea that abstraction adopts a different
dimension by laying bare spiritual and conceptual aspects for the viewer. Pioneers of abstract painting include Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian and Naum Gabo
General Questions
1.
What does the artwork convey to you – a physical
representation of an object or an emotion?
2.
Examine the aesthetic qualities of the artwork,
how does the artist use his techniques and style when approaching colours,
texture, composition and form
3.
Why do you think the artist chose to present his
idea in the abstract style?
Lunch
Oil on canvas 162
x 260 cm 1994
Collection of SAM
The Artist
Born in North Vietnam, Nguyen Than studied painting at
the Gia Dinh School of Fine Art in Saigon from 1966 to 1968. Following his studies, he served in the army
of the Republic of Vietnam for six years.
In 1970, Nguyen won the Brass Medal in The National Fine Arts and
Literature Prize for his painting Portrait of Love and 3 years later Gold for
Mountainous Dream. Then between 1975 –
1987 he did not have the freedom to paint.
In 1981, he began to paint again, drawing from memory and making use of
easily available material such as flour sacks and cheesecloth.
The Artwork
Nguyen’s art is affected by the events in his life and
his paintings reflect on emotions and experiences from the past. Using a palette rich in colours and tonal
variations, the artist communicates the myriad diversities of life but at the
same time, through his use of fragmented composition, he expresses the
fragility and vulnerability of time and memories. At this ritual of a daily meal, the people
sit apart from each other wrapped up in their own solitary thoughts. Around them, disjointed pieces of everyday
objects are scattered, a window, vase, bird, the head of a buffalo. This creates an unsettling feeling despite
the apparent serenity or inscrutability of the people in the painting. The viewer is led to feel as if in a dream
world, overflowing with impression from the past.
Question
Bearing in mind the painting is entitled Lunch, do you
see signs of lunch in progress? What do
you see in the painting? Can you make
intelligent guesses about the connection?
The form of this painting is a diptych (two panels). How
does this affect the way the viewer sees the work?
Cosmic Landscape
Oil on canvas 127
x 152 cm 1986
Collection of SAM
The Artist
A full time artist since 1986, Quek graduated from NAFA in
1973 and the LaSalle College of the Arts in 1985. A practitioner of the Buddhist teachings and
a believer in the power of Art to heal as well as express peace, joy and love,
Quek signs his name on the canvas as Prabhakara, a Sanskrit word meaning source
of light. Over the years, he has held
eleven solo exhibitions and participated in more than 80 international group exhibitions.
The Artwork
To Prabhakara, as Quek calls himself on canvas, each of
his paintings are a spiritual and mental blossoming onto canvas. Using the beauty of nature and observing the
transient nature of light and movement, the artist’s abstract expressionist
paintings capture the quiet energy and subtle vibrancy of the natural
world. In this particular painting, this
washes of colour sweep across the canvas, creating an aura of mysticism and a
sense of the ephemeral. Contrasting the diaphanous
veils of tranquil and yet luxuriant colours of ultramarine, cobalt green and
soft lemon yellow, Quek has used a
palette knife to smear and drip white paint in the foreground of the
painting. The effect is startling and provocative,
but using such variation in colour palette and stylistic execution, the artist
points out the uncertain and endless possibilities in nature and art.
Question
Such artwork draws comments such as “My cat can paint
that!” Indeed in Thailand, ducks and elephants have been known to wield brushes
laden with paint, gently guided by their owners to press these against
paper. Do you think there is any
difference between planned or spontaneous art?
Gunung Ledang
Acrylic on canvas
212 x 203 cm 1978
Collection of SAM
The Artwork
Upon his return from England, Syed became one of the
earliest and more established artists to work in the abstract genre. Championing abstract expressionism in the
1960s, he has married formal pictorial concerns in space, colour, and form to
themes that discus culture, religion and politics and literature. In this painting, the artist has chosen as
his subject the mythical mountain Gunung Ledang. It is a place shrouded in mystery
and romance and Syed re-interprets it in a different light by using the visual
language of geometric lines and shapes.
A central focus on the canvas, the mountain is represented by a striped
triangle. The artist’s evocation of the
mountain as a physical and spiritual place is married to events from reality –
an airplane crash that occurred in Tanjung Kupang, the year the painting was
made. The green trapeze hints at a
gravesite whilst the coloured spectacle a horrific explosion as the plane was
flying overhead. The painting may also
be read on another level, by employing conventional colour schematics of blue
to represent the sky and green to represent the earth, Syed cuts across the
middle of the painting with a gold horizon line, implying the division between
the temporal and spiritual. At the top,
there is a burst of colour from the heavens endowing the otherwise sombre painting
with energy and a sense of vitality. Complementing the gravity of the mountains
monolithic presence, an omnipresent trapezoid of verdant green hovers perhaps
signifying the eternal Creator.
Question
Think about elements of an air crash. Where are visual clues to this in the painting?
Think about elements of an air crash. Where are visual clues to this in the painting?
How has the artist chosen the triangular motif to
represent mountains as well as spirituality, as suggested by Hindu myths?
Abstract (Fish)
Oil on Canvas 71
x 91.5 cm 1961
Collection of SAM
The Artist
Born in China and having lived in Malaysia during his
youth, Liu Kang settled in Singapore during the Japanese occupation. He is considered one of Sinagpore’s pioneer
artists and he received his artistic training at Xinhua Academy of Fine Arts in
China and l’Ecole nationale superieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
The Artwork
This painting is different in style and technique from
Liu Kang’s renowned paintings such as Artist and Model. Departing from the post-Impressionist
influences and his signature technique of white outlines inspired by batik,
this painting departs from the artist’s usual concern with pictorial depth.
Nevertheless, this painting is particularly interesting because it evidences
Liu Kang’s sensitivity and expertise in composition. Choosing an ordinary subject of a fish, the
artist stimulates the viewer’s perceptions by his abstract interpretation. At first glance the painting appears as
fragments of bold bright colours for the fish has been reduced to cubist
geometric shapes. Nevertheless, the
interplay between the different shapes and colours is held in place at the very
centre and core of the painting by the fish motif itself. Like looking through a kaleidoscope, these
fragments of colour and shape communicate a sense of chameleon aesthetics and
infinite possibilities of beauty and hence, the potential for expression in
art.
Question
Is the fish recognizable?
What makes it identifiable? In
what way is it more of less attractive that a realistically painted fish?
Growth
Marble Dimensions
variable 1985
Collection of SAM
The Artist
After attending
Singapore’s Teacher Training College and graduating from NAFA, Han pursued
sculptural studies at the Wolverhampton College of Art and East Ham College of
Art in England. Her training in
education and passion for fine art has led her to create sculptures that invite
the viewer’s response and interact with their surroundings. The sculptor is lauded internationally for
the aesthetic and conceptual strength of her work.
The Artwork
As a sculptor medium, the monolithic gravity and physical
weight of marble are properties that are usually played upon to enhance
conceptual meaning. Here however, the artist pares down the marble to slight
embryonic form to communicate the idea of nascent growth. Han’s choice of white marble with its
pristine and snowy appearance endows her sculptures with a sense of
purity. She has painstakingly chipped
away at imperfections and polished the natural rough surface of the stone to
produce a softly gleaming sheen. The
result is a delicate and minimalist form, recalling the smooth shapely contours
of an egg or a seed. The component five sculptures
range in size and form, their slight variations conveying the uniqueness of
nature and endless possibilities of life.
Question
Try the process of abstraction. Prepare a photo of a person or object. Divide the paper into 8 sections. Starting from the left topmost, draw the
object again with only 80% of the details, paring down to 50% of the details,
30% 20% and so on until the drawing does not in anyway represent the object at
hand. Discuss how the details can be
balanced so that identifying nuances are still present in a subtle but
effective way.
Blue Chromatic Waves
Acrylic on Canvas
122 x 122 cm 1980
Collection of SAM
Collection of SAM
The Artist
After graduating from NAFA, Poon attended the Byam Shaw
School of Art in London from 1967 – 1970.
A highly respected artist, he works primarily in the genre of
abstraction. He expresses himself in
acrylic on canvas as well as 2D relief work.
He is also known for his 3D monumental public sculptures such as
Space-Time Link in UE Square.
The Artwork
Know for his Shaped Canvas and Waves Series in the 1970s
and his Colour Theory works in the 1980s, Poon’s works discuss notions of form
and colour. In this particular painting,
he complements and contrasts the basic geometric forms of the square and
rectangle with a convex wave shape.
Using graduations of tone rather than variations in colour, Poon lulls
the viewer with a soothing sense of pattern and repetition. The technique is
clean and precise – there is no obvious brushwork or build-up of textures. The result emphasises the two-dimensional
qualities of his canvas medium.
Moreover, the artist’s choice of aqua blue and signature wave shapes
brings to mind the sea. Yet, here, Poon has tamed the unpredictability of
nature on canvas, locking it down into the rigid square frame of the canvas and
emphasising this by painting a frame within a frame.
Question
Observe the painting carefully to understand the artist’s
process. Guess how the artist may have
arranged certain parts of the painting so as to maintain a certain rigid geometry,
while overlaying undulating wave forms.
Try to simulate the air-brush effect by flicking paint (mixed with
water) off an old toothbrush. Pay
special attention to the colour graduation which gives movement to the various
shapes within the painting.
No comments:
Post a Comment