Lee - Arts hats in Renaissance City: reflections & aspirations of four generations of arts personalities

ART HATS

IN RENAISSANCE CITY

Reflections & Aspirations of Four Generations of Art Personalities

Reflections & Aspirations of Four Generations of Art Personalities

Editor

Renee Lee

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore

NEW JERSEY LONDON SINGAPORE BEIJING SHANGHAI HONG KONG TAIPEI CHENNAI

Published by

World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

5 Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224

USA office: 27 Warren Street, Suite 401-402, Hackensack, NJ 07601

UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE

With the Support of

National Arts Council

Lee Foundation

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts

World Scientific Publishing Company

Phoon Huat & Company (Pte) Ltd

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Arts hats in Renaissance City : reflections & aspirations of four generations of arts personalities / edited by Lee Renee Foong Ling (Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore).

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-9814630771 -- ISBN 978-9814630788 (e-book)

1. Arts--Singapore. I. Lee, Renee Foong Ling, editor.

NX581.7.S55A16 2015

700.95957--dc23

2014040840

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Copyright 2015 Renee Lee Foong Ling

All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the publisher.

For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission to photocopy is not required from the publisher.

In-house Editor: Juliet Lee Ley Chin

Design by Loo Chuan Ming, Art Department, World Scientific

Printed in Singapore

Photo Credits

Adrian Pang, Art Plural Gallery, Azariah Tan Peng Chay, Chng Seok Tin, Chong Huai Seng, Dr Alan Chong, Dr Eleanor Tan, Dr Gauri Krishnan, Dr Joyce Koh, Dr Tan Chin Nam, Elysee Arcadia Lee, Eric Watson, Esplanade Theatres on the Bay, Fern Wong Li Ting, Goh Ching Lee, Guo Liang, Ho Ho Ying, Liew Chin Choy, Michael Koh, Michael Sullivan, Ministry of Communications and Information, Nan Qi, National Heritage Board, Nelson Chia, Ong Kim Seng, Pate Eng, Professor Edwin Thumboo, Professor Tommy Koh, Quek Tse Kwang, Renee Lee, Tan Kian Por, Tan Kok Leong, Tan Swie Hian, Tata Olivas, Wee Beng Chong and Wenhai Ma

Dedicated to the next generation

I wish to express my thankfulness to many individuals who gave me incredible support and motivation.

I must express my appreciation to Professor Tommy Koh, Dr Tan Chin Nam, Liew Chin Choy, Michael Koh and Juliet Lee for their strong support in ensuring that the anthology has the required substance to make the ecosystem alive in the minds of the students and readers.

I thank and applaud the volunteers who gave off their personal time to be on the Editorial Panel: Johnson Paul, Ong Zhen Min, Robert Yeo, Liew Chin Choy, Elysee Arcadia Lee, Christine Lim, Devika Tay, Bernard Yap, Olive Kan, Charlene Audrey Sim, Freddy Low, Dr Tony See and Benjamin Chee, and the team of researchers Ivy Tan Yan Jie , Francy Yang, Tricia Tang, Nicholas Khoo, Augustine Sim, Chris Aw and Yeo Lanxi. These volunteers who are from organisations such as the National University of Singapore, Singapore Management University, National Heritage Board, Ministry of Education and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts demonstrate the generosity and goodwill that exist within the arts community.

I am grateful to Choo Thiam Siew, Carol Tan, Samuel Lee, Tan Ooh Chye, Tan Yee Noh, Ho Hui May, Jerry Koh, Dr Rebecca Kan, Jerry Soo, Wong Kron Joo, Tan Choong Kheng, Coco Wang, Bernadette Cruz, Tan Chwee Seng, Chloe Thang and all my wonderful colleagues at NAFA for their insightful feedback and constant support.

I benefitted from the experience of established writers and editors Choy Weng Yang, Dr Shang Huai Min, Juliet Lee, Carolyn Chiam, Phan Ming Yen and Dr Gauri Krishnan, each of whom has helped steer my thoughts when I became discouraged.

I became acquainted with excellent academics and practitioners who gave off their time to listen and discuss with me, and I learnt. My thanks goes to Dr Eleanor Tan, Dr Alan Chong, Yow Siew Kah and Dr Chow Yuen Ho.

I received kind support when I needed help in technical support, translation, networking and other critical aspects to continue my work. Through the years, I appreciate the help proffered by Surya Dharmawan, Ang Book Kok, Mar Cusso, Steve Zhu, Nelson Chia, Jeff Chua, Li Li Woon, Jeff Tan and Anne Pek.

I want to thank the authors and interviewees for sharing their precious experiences and knowledge to make the anthology written in a personal style most authentic.

This book will not be possible if not for many unseen individuals who have helped in many ways and I am grateful for their amazing support.

Renee Lee

I thank Renee Lee for inviting me to contribute the foreword to this timely and important book.

First, the book is timely because, after two decades of progress, we seem to have reached a point when the policy-makers have decided to press the pause button. Why the pause? I think it is because of a desire to take stock of our achievements and shortcomings; to evaluate what has worked and what has not worked; to determine where future state funding should be targeted at; to achieve a better balance between high art and popular art, between art for the elite and art for the people; to consider how we can strengthen our ecosystem for art, culture and heritage; and to determine, in consultation with the stakeholders, our collective ambitions for the next stage of our development.

Second, this is an important work because the authors or interviewees of this whole anthology are among the most eminent of our thought leaders and practitioners. Each of them has, either through their long years of diligent practice or through their writing and teaching or through the leadership roles which they had played in our cultural institutions, contributed to the vibrant cultural life that we are able to enjoy. I would call them: champions of the arts in Singapore.

Third, I have read all the essays with pleasure and benefit. I have known almost all the authors and regard them as friends. One of them, Dr Michael Sullivan, has passed away. For this reason, I have read his essay several times in order to remember and digest his wise advice and insights. One of his insights is that Singapore is a hub surrounded by the rich civilisations of Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, etc. Singapores karma is to draw inspiration from this ring of great civilisations and forge its own identity. I also value Sullivans advice on how to view and evaluate contemporary art. Sullivan wrote that his approach was to ask whether a work displays honesty or insincerity, feeling or lack of feeling; whether it is something for a moments surprise or amusement, or whether it is something I could live with and contemplate again and again. I completely agree with Sullivans statement: We dont need much discrimination to see Damien Hirsts