What is Nanyang art? (original) (raw)

This is what Nanyang art looks like

ThinkChina, 2023

This essay examines the characteristics of Nanyang art, highlighting the distinctive approaches taken by a generation of artists in Singapore who sought to integrate Chinese and Western art traditions and aesthetics in their practice.

In Search for ‘Self’ and ‘Nation’: Liu Kang and the Cultural Interpretation of Nanyang Art

This research explores the connection between arts, artists and Singapore’s nation-building project. Through using historical approach exploring the production and exploitation of a unique art style called Nanyang Art, the research reveals the sophisticated process of socio-cultural formation, identification and nationalization of transnational forces in Singapore during its nation building process. The art style itself was created by a group of overseas Chinese artists who lived transnational life from Shanghai, Europe, Indonesia, to Singapore. Their works were produced during the transitional period when Singapore became independent state as a part of Malaya. The style thus exists both in Singapore and Malaysia. It is also a significant part of art history of the two countries. However, it was Singapore who promoted the style as Singapore national arts. Liu Kang, one of the creators of Nanyang Art, also became famous in Singapore while in Malaysia his name is rarely mentioned. Painted by using the combination of western and eastern style, embracing Southeast Asia as a scene, inclusive of various ethnicities in the painting, Nanyang Art serves as a medium for negotiating Singapore identity in its nation-building process. The famous artist, Liu Kang and Singapore government had played significant role in this process. In other words, there are links and parallels between arts, artists, and nation-building project.

Who are the Nanyang women artists

ThinkChina, 2023

With the exception of Georgette Chen, who had been the subject of three museum survey exhibitions since the 1980s, most people in Singapore would find it difficult to name another comparable female Nanyang artist. This essay examines the background of Madam Sun Yee, a Nanyang artist who spent three decades heading an art academy in Singapore.

SINGAPORE'S PIONEER ARTISTS OF THE NANYANG SCHOOL -SOME THOUGHTS ON THEIR CREATIVE OEUVRES

Mention Singapore pioneer artists and 5 personalities come to mind – Cheong Soo Pieng (1917-1983), Chen Chong Swee (1910-1985), Chen Wenxi (1906-1991), Georgette Chen (1906-1993) and Liu Kang (1911-2004). Tons of research materials on each of them can be found and research on them and their legacy is still ongoing. This essay does not pretend to be a piece of research. Leaning on the research on the life cu=ycles of human creativity by Prof David Galenson, it is an attempt by the author to share some thoughts on the patterns of creativity of 2 of them – Cheong Soo Pieng and Georgette Chen. CSP’s artistic diversity could be explained by Galenson’s paradigm of Conceptual Innovator represented by Picasso. At the other end of the creativity spectrum, the paradigm of Experimental Innovator represented by Cezanne could be applied to GC’s focus on oil paintings and her pursuit of artistic perfection. As an extension to this assertion, the author believes that a mix of these 2 paradigms or the spectrum between them can be used to explain the artistic oeuvres of the other 3 pioneer artists. We, in Singapore, are indeed fortunate to able to enjoy the artistic oeuvres and legacies of our pioneer artists – now and in the years to come.

Singapore Oral History, Liu Kang, And the Making of Nanyang Art History in Singapore

Journal of Social Sciences, Naresuan University, 2022

While in other countries, oral histories are usually employed to balance state power and are initiated by non-governmental organisations, oral history in Singapore originates from and is strongly supported by its government and is an indispensable part of Singapore history. As a rather new nation comprised of various ethnicities, including Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Eurasian, nation-building is always at the centre of concern for the state. The use and archiving of Singapore's Oral History Project thus plays a significant role in its nation-building process, particularly in constructing its national art history. This research thus reveals the significance of archives and archival processing, particularly those related to oral history, in reinforcing nationalism and national identity. Navigating through oral records of a specific group of Chinese Singaporeans termed "pioneer Nanyang/Singapore artists," this research article reveals a brief history of the Oral History Project and related institutions in Singapore, its political implications, and connection to nation building, specifically in the case of the interview with Liu Kang, a renowned pioneer Nanyang artist. The classification of oral records influences the way researchers use them, particularly with regard to

Local art and the postcolonial Singaporean identity

This paper looks at several artists and genres of art in Singapore from the 1990s to the 21st century as a starting block to analyse and investigate perspectives on the Singaporean identity. This essay will relate themes such as race, gender and cosmopolitanism to identity construction. Local art becomes a lens to encounter the multiplicity of interpretations and tensions that emerge with a postcolonial identity.