Art Konon.......

Q - Bro, what is your definition of art?

A - the question is so wide.....how can i start la.....

These sort of question appear when we ( close friends ) meet up, complemented with teh tarik, our conversations will range from the latest film, latest MACC victims, on what and how our Ringgit drops, to MARS, and then we will turn back unfortunately unto......."art"

I always answer that artists should give something for me to experience, ponder and best of all something memorable. Normally i will not attend the opening exhibit but will choose one day to come and savour the offering.

Now dont get me wrong, i always walk pass the wall text to seek the most arresting visuals who can command my attention. I will avoid glancing the 50KG exhibit catalogue as it's too heavy. 

I need a work that able to transport me to somewhere.....bring me to a place, or at least make me forget the traffic jam, list of bills i have to pay and what not.....

 

exhibition opening at 7:30pm on Monday

I need a work that justify all of these.  

PLEASE!!!!!!!!

I need a visual or a work like how Martin Scorcese took me in for a sado-machoistic rollercoaster ride graced by Robert De Niro in Raging Bull or how i need to piece those Pulp Fiction back after watching it for the 700th time.

I need a work that blows me away literally like how Michealangelo's traveled to hell and back to present us the Sistine Chapel and again questioning my puny existence after witnessing The Pieta.....

I need to see a work which i can get lost unto with repetitive viewing.Like figuring how the hell  Duchamp got his idea to challenge the very notion of readymades as a work of art,

Sure i need to be objective enough to evaluate and assess any works of art accordingly, but most works exhibited here simply is a summary of adequate skills.

We have at least 20 Public Universities and countless private art colleges offering art and design courses - churning out thousands of graduates, not to mention, we have hundreds of PHD scholars. Logically speaking, we should have a long list of talents, excellence and works that elevate us to somewhere right?

as artists trying so hard producing a mere photocopy of our major daily newspaper headline like the images of Campbell soup cans and Marilyn Monroe, we have ones championing the downtrodden and the poor who are staying in serviced air conditioned half a million apartment in Bangsar.

never mind, now everyone seems to be in love and getting lost with animated projected wallpapers. 

one thing im sure is their authentic voices are missing completely. 

heading nowhere.

don't get me wrong, im very sure that its very hard to establish your presence in this small art ( creative) market, here again we have long list of proud producers and directors lining up and applying for governments grants repetitively. 

The only way to produce your work is to secure the grant ( which is not your money ) by producing your work. If it doesn't sell, then you can blame someone else. Secondly if you are not used to socializing, just rely on the social media. 

when you are vocal in the social media, you tend to get followers, when the followers getting bigger, then you can attend into another useless townhouse meetings. ( this time you can do a selfie with the current Minister )

Here its not about your talents and your capabilities, but here is all about knowing who's who.  

I totally understand the private galleries have to make a living too by paying the bills and salaries - they need to sell, but our market simply shrinking and limited to the extend everyone knows everyone. 

You bump into the very same faces in every art exhibitions. 

while the poor getting poorer, the middle class have nowhere to go, might as well they cash in their disposable income with a new BMW.

Unlike our rice supplies, our creative talents over-weighs a non existent demand. 

 

 

What makes things worst when we have veteran "established" artists who happens to be a full time academic paid by the tax payers money - rather than sitting quietly counting their pension money ( again paid by the rakyat ) - they launch their 100th solo exhibition.

p/s - below is one of brilliant example of how a government agency spending our hard earned rakyat's money, commission a group of artist to create sculpture and throw into the sea. 

Spend more to fly and pay the staffs to conserve those garbage. 

It's ok, coz its not their money but the rakyat's money.