Deterioration Factors of Artworks

Every artwork has its own life span depending on the materials, the techniques used and the surrounding environment in which it is kept. However, certain materials and methods involving artworks can increase the rate of the ageing process. If we know what these factors are, and the ways in which to tackle them, we can increase the longevity of an artwork and make it available for many generations to come.

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Winners and more

Singapore International Photography Festival

Just as the curtains fall for the Month of Photography Asia, news abounds about another photography extravaganza - The Singapore International Photography Festival. This, however, would be fairly more ambitious in size and scale. The key event for the festival will be an exhibition featuring the winning entries from the ‘Open Call’. The competition has garnered a hearty response with the number of entries totaling a whopping 6,584, of which a little less than a third were received from Singaporean photographers.

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Floral flair and grey splendours

This exhibition features works by Chinese artists, Zhai Yong and Wang Wen Gang at the Cape of Good Hope Art Gallery.

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Chinese Desires

Forays in contemporary Chinese ink

By Usha Nathan

Chinese ink occupies a distinctive place in the history of Chinese art, with a tradition that dates back a few thousand years. The art form is said to have matured in the 10th Century A.D. under the Song Dynasty, and has since evolved manifold. With its emphasis on subjective expression and artistic conception, the form has become easily accessible for modern themes, its versatility being signified by its continuing relevance and import even in the present day and age.

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Reel Life Starts With a Cause

Have you ever had the burning desire to have a cool alter ego – the dentist who wants to be a rock star, the architect who dreams of being a painter, and the ad guy who can’t wait to be a stage diva, or the poly student who yearns to be the next Royston Tan or Tan Pin Pin? The Substation Moving Images Reel Revolution programme can show the poly student (and anyone under the age of 35, for that matter) just how their pipe dream can become a reality.

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The Artists Village and ‘Alterity’

By Seng Yu Jin

The rooting of the ‘alternative’ arts in Singapore in the late 1980s is closely linked to the emergence of the Artists Village. This local collective came into being in 1988 by Tang Da Wu with a number of young artists, such as Amanda Heng, Zai Kunning, Wong Shih Yaw, Lee Wen, Lim Poh Teck, Tang Mun Kit, Baet Yeok Kwan and Vincent Leow.

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Henri Matisse, The Master

Works from 1917 – 1952

By Syed Muhd Hafiz

Often heralded as one of the two leading artists of the 20th century—the other being Pablo Picasso—Matisse’s role in ‘re-drawing’ the compositional foundation of 20th century Modern art has been well-documented in art history journals and is a staple topic in art schools.
Best known as the ‘Master of Colour’, Matisse’s bold and fluid celebration of colours reached its peak in 1917 when he began to spend time on the French Riviera at Nice and Venice.

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The ‘Other’ Spaces (6)

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By Syed Muhd Hafiz

Artist-run spaces have always been an intriguing phenomenon. While the typical galleries and museums can boast of showcasing the latest blockbuster exhibits, it is the smaller-scale artist-run spaces that sometimes have the ability to pique the visitors’ interests.

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Art Around

Being and Becoming

By Michelle Ho



For more than a decade, artist Victor Tan has been reinterpreting the human form in his practice of stainless steel wire sculptures. His works 1998…2008 and 200620072008 are two of the latest additions to the Singapore Art Museum’s Art Around SAM series of artworks. In this conversation with the curator, the artist speaks of his works as a meditation on movement and consciousness.

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Design Scene Singapore

Taking stock: The city in a garden, the garden as a gallery

By Nick Charnley

When I was asked to write a monthly column for the art guide last December I needed to decide on a title for the column. Off the top of my head I came up with ‘Design Scene Singapore’ because at the time, with the Design Festival vibe still buzzing, it seemed that there was a vibrant scene of sorts to write about. Six months down the line, however, with half a dozen articles on the subject behind me, I’m beginning to wonder how appropriate the title is.

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Glimpse of Laos

A Contemporary Laotian Art Exhibition

By Syed Muhd Hafiz

 

A landlocked country, Laos is bordered by Burma, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. This fact itself represents a potential hybrid of cultures that can contribute to rich fine arts traditions and practices.

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Of Photography II

An ode to analogue!

By Usha Nathan & Chris Yap

Long before the advent of digital cameras and the ‘easy to use’ cameras embedded in handphones, my first encounter with photographs was during my childhood days when I uncovered old black and white prints of my parents in their youth! The old fraying photographs were preserved in well-worn albums that I have since leafed through on many a slow day. These days, looking at reprints and photography books on old masters, particularly Alfred Stieglitz whom I admire personally, I recall the nostalgia of the family albums.  Is the admiration for film-photography born of a romantic idealism for an imagined reality akin to the nostalgia for olden days? Does this somewhat outmoded ‘technology’ of analogue photography persist because it is a memory in itself, a memory of a bygone era and of the things it represents? 

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The Sufi Talks Back

An Exhibition on Reading the Archives

By Shabbir Hussain

Collections and structures with museum-like functions have existed throughout the world, since ancient times. In Asia, precious items have been deposited for safekeeping in temples and shrines as objects imbued with religious and cultural reverence.

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Jogjakarta

A Student City and Cultural Getaway (I)

By Syed Muhd Hafiz

Jogjakarta is also known as a Kota Pelajar – “student city” in the local lingo due to the fact that Gadjah Mada University (the largest and oldest university in Indonesia) and ISI Jogjakarta (Indonesian Institute of the Arts) are located in this city. Undergraduates from all over Indonesia convene in this city to further their studies and this youthful vibe can be seen throughout the city.

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Creation and quest

Alain Fleischer

By Usha Nathan

The images are surprisingly supple; they speak directly to you. In them, you would find reflected the artist’s ingenuity and his fascination with creation.

Speaking with Alain Fleischer following a guided tour of his works at the Singapore Art Museum, we discovered a little about his creative process, his inspirations and pursuits. 

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Childhood Charm: The Sculptures of Zhang Hua

Zhang Hua’s sculptures are light and dreamy, yet delightfully real. If only you could join the kids in their frolic or the girls in their careless dances!

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Special Column: Singapore Biennale 2008

Grounds for 'Wonder': Expectations from the returning Biennale

By Usha Nathan



It took me a while to locate the venue for the event. After meandering in the labyrinth of construction sites in Marina Bay, I did manage to locate the largely obscure signage, and entered the temporary holding area for the press and invited guests.

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