10. Post-final reflection

The working process towards creating our final model was a long and tedious ride. None the less, I am thankful that I got the chance to work with three fabulous group mates who were resourceful and we were able to communicate well.

I think one of the major problems that I struggled with was my selection of objection. Although my group has decided on the topic to work on during our first week together, it took me a long while to research and select an appropriate object to use. Because of the lack of supporting sources of my object, I took a lot longer than needed to finalise my object. However, that problem was solved through suggestions from my team mates and consultations with Sujatha.

IMG_8181

Although we did not have the luxury of time to create our model, I think we did a pretty good job conveying our idea of showing the different aspects to trade during the Temasek and British Colonial Period. I think I have learnt a lot through this final project and I realised that curating an exhibition is not easy and requires a long process of research and reasoning why or how objects should be placed. It is through this thought process that I feel more sensitive towards whether the flow of placement of objects work, as well as becoming more appreciative towards how exhibitions are curated.

All in all, I am very thankful to be given this opportunity to work and create our mini-exhibition! Cheers to everyone in team 6 and hope to see you guys in school whenever and wherever 😀 <3

9. Islamic Art conference (ADM)

Talk attended:  Companionable Objects, Companionable Conscience: Ethical Pleasure, Islamic Art, and the Making of Happy Objects
Speaker: Kenneth George (Australian National University)

The lecture mostly focused on A.D Pirous, an Indonesian artist who creates installation works and art pieces relating to Islamic calligraphy. The speaker shared his experience working with Pirous, as well as how to approach Pirous’ works with the key terms “aesthetic pleasure” and “ethical pleasure”.

white writing

One of Pirous’ works that was mentioned was the White Writing. Pirous aim in creating this piece was to approach islamic concerns as a form of expression. By using the arabic letters to create a graphical form while disregarding the context being the words, Pirous wanted to express his freedom in his approach towards the Qu’ran. He wanted to emphasise the beauty of the curves of the letters and built an atmosphere of the Qu’ran, through a different way of incorporating proper islamic values from the Qu’ran into his works. To Pirous, ethical pleasure is derived from “the anticipation that people will be able to understand and appreciate (the art)”. Ethical pleasure requires time to reflect and create a spiritual connection.

Also, another interesting point that I took out from the talk, was how the speaker described the idea of happiness, and how happiness sticks to objects that are not restricted to just materialism. He mentioned that “happy things” should lead us to feel and provoke us to think in order to feel “happiness”.

Through this talk, I felt that it was a great exposure to Islamic themed art, and I learnt a few ways to approach the subject. All in all, I definitely have learnt to more appreciative of the Islamic art scene.

8. Field Trip to ACM

My favourite object from the visit to the Asian Civilisations Museum would probably be the broken pieces of blue and white Chinese porcelain that were excavated from the Empress Palace. Apparently, these pieces date back to the 14th century, which suggests that Chinese traders did arrive in Singapore during the Temasek period. Also, I remembered the discussion our group had about the porcelain shards. The idea that the natives would received the porcelain would have deemed these porcelain as too precious and would probably only use the porcelain products for ceremonies or formal events. On the other hand, due to the mass production of these blue and white porcelain wares during the Yuan dynasty, the porcelain wares would probably be seen as a commodity to the Chinese traders. It was the disparity of treatment towards the porcelain wares that piqued my interest, especially with how the natives treasure them where as the Chinese traders would not have felt anything even if they broke a couple of the porcelain.

7. The Dream Room

If I had to pick between Chinoiserie and Japanaiserie to decorate my room with, I would choose Chinoiserie. This is because I find the Chinese motifs and oriental patterns in furniture relatively appealing, especially the porcelain designs. Ideally, I would love to have a dining room decorated just like the image above. The use of the blue and white colour in the porcelain products as the main colour scheme brings out a tranquil atmosphere, and I really find that attractive. I suppose it could be because of how Chinoserie, in general, is a style that infuses Chinese motifs and the Western view of human beauty and elegance.

 

6. Family Portrait

portrait ( ˈpɔːtrɪt/ )

      –  a painting, drawing, photograph, or engraving of a person, especially one
          depicting only the face or head and shoulders.

goya-family-charles-iv-resized-600

The earliest family portrait would come in the form of paintings. The people that were portrayed in these earlier paintings would often look very stern and formal, while they pose standing or sitting on furniture. Often, these portraits would be commissioned by people of royalty, or of a wealthy status.

Depicted above is a family portrait titled The Family of Charles IV (1800).  This is one of the most famous family portraits that was painted by Francis Goya. He painted this upon being appointed as the first painter to the Spanish King, Charles IV. Even without these information, you can infer that this family is of royal status based on how elaborate their costumes are and the amount of jewelry and accessories that they have donned on. Their postures are very straight and formal.

royalty

In comparison, with the inventions of cameras, family portraits are no longer restricted to just paintings along. Most of the time, people who take photographs because of how fast and convenient the process is. As you can see, even the British royal family are taking photographs.

Christmas

And who says that you have to pose formally for a family portrait? 🙂

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And as my family likes to call it, “WE-FIE!” 😀

5. Labor of Art

 

As artists, we are perceived as guidance for the people around us. We create art to tell a story, convey a message, or sometimes simply to express ourselves. Whatever we show through our art, regardless of the form, should provoke people to think more about the subject. This is especially so for subjects that are often overlooked, or even taken for granted. Fro example, labour.

How often in a day would you walk past a construction site or a foreign labourer on your way home? How often do you and your family complain about their “invasion” and it is them who are to blame for the over-crowding situation in Singapore? How rare is it that you would recognise their importance and significance in building most of the infrastructure we see today? Ask yourself.

 

4. Allan Sekula

Based on Allan Sekula’s documentary, we know that up till this date, maritime trade has been one of the busiest, yet highly used form of trade. Also, trade through the sea would allow people of diverse cultures to interact, despite their land being separated by treacherous waters. It still fascinates me knowing that back in the 16th century, maritime technology was not as advanced as compared to the present, and yet many took risks to cross the borders of the sea in search of better goods through trade, and to discover parts of the world unknown to them. Also, the ocean remained an unfamiliar subject to most men back then, which would explain why their voyages would take years to complete since they mostly ventured along the coasts.

Knowing that helped me to be more appreciative of how fast and efficient travelling and trading is today. Mail would arrive within a week or two from UK to Singapore, which would have taken months to deliver a century back.

 

3. Female patrons

According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Kunstkammer (also known as cabinet of curiosities) “displayed an encyclopedic collection of all kinds of objects of dissimilar origin and diverse materials on a universal scale”. From the lecture, I gathered that such collections were mostly started by people of a royal and wealthy status, as we can see from Catherine of Austria and her cabinet of curiosities. The fact that intrigued me the most was the presence of female patrons of the arts in an age where by most women were discouraged from participating in any form of activities outside of her domestic duties.

Isabella_d'este

One of such female patrons of the arts is Isabella d’Este, who had quite an ambitious appetite for her collections. When Isabella turned seventeen, she was married to Francescl Gonzoga. While her husband devoted his energies to military endeavors, she deployed culture and the arts as a way to expand the prestige of their small state. Isabella became one of the most energetic, knowledgeable, and committed of all Renaissance patrons.

Isabella was born into a wealthy family and was well educated. She was devoted to dance and music, but diverted her interest away from the classics and instead, invested in her passion for antiquities. During that period of time, women would only commission religious works, which made Isabella stood out even more with her collection of antiques. Up till her death bed, Isabella’s collection included over 1,500 items, which were mainly coins and medals, as well as 72 vessels and 40 engraved gems.

Studiolo of Isabella d'Este.

The photograph above shows the grotta and studiolo where Isabella kept her antiques at and decorated with, in Corte Vecchia. Before her husband’s death, Isabella used to keep her antiques in the grotta of her first home and have worked on decorating the space for twenty years. She would decorate her studiolo with paintings on classical and allegorical themes, that involved mythological subjects. This taste in the arts distinguishes her even more from the typical female patron of that time period.

 

http://italianrenaissanceresources.com/units/unit-8/essays/isabella-deste-collects/

2. Views on Africa

My initial impression of Africa comes mostly from the animal documentaries that I watch on the National Geographic Channel, with the gazelles and lions pouncing around the dry savanna plains. Also, I always had this idea that the majority parts of Africa are under-developed, and suffering from poverty and starvation, which probably stem from the images that the media always feed to us.  I think it was only through this particular lesson that changed my point of view on Africa, especially on their crafts and connections with the Portuguese.

I thought it was really interesting how the natives used the ivories to craft gifts for the Portuguese. You can tell that the craftsmanship is really professional based on how intricate and precise the design is. The objects that fascinated me the most was the salt cellar, mainly because of how beautiful and fancy the design is. Also, you can tell that although it was an African native who crafted the salt cellar, it was interesting to note that the designs for the salt cellars were partially influenced by the Portuguese, especially with the spherical shape. But I liked most about the salt cellar was that it contained animal motifs and portrayed human figures, which says a lot about their spiritual beliefs and lifestyle.

Also, another note to take away (for me) was of how harsh the climate was in most African countries, which prevents preservation of objects and artifacts. This provoked me to consider the climate of a country, which explains why artifacts of certain material (like granite or stone) could be preserved for a long period of time whereas objects of other materials (like wood) might not survive that long.

 

Catalog Entry Draft 3

Boat Quake was originally a swamp, but the land was soon reclaimed and covered with earth in the early 1820s, making it the first infrastructural development project in Singapore. Since the establishment of the port, economic activity began to flourish in the Boat Quay area. This was mainly due to Singapore’s free port status and strategic location, which attracted a variety of traders, especially those who travelled along the trading routes between India and China. The river’s lack of harsh waves made it ideal for ships to berth and encouraged trading activities. During this period, Boat Quay served as the main harbor for trade under the growing British Settlement.

In 1869, the opening of the Suez Canal, which connected the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, made oceanic trades safer, cheaper and more convenient between Europe and Asia. More ships began to travel between both regions and Singapore became the most ideal stopover for repair work and trade.

By the 1880s, leisure travel became increasingly popular, and the improvement of photographic technology encouraged the widespread distributions of photographs of Asia. Tourists would purchase these photographs from East-based commercial photographers as souvenirs from their travels. This demand for such products also led to the rise of the first main street photographic company in Singapore, which is G.R Lambert & Co. Photographic business continued to prosper in Singapore during these times due to the global capitalism, which was driven by the British’s expansionist colonial policy.

The increase in popularity of photography after the 1860s was largely contributed by the introduction of inexpensive portraiture that could be mass-printed. These prints were known as albumen print, which originated in London and Paris. The common subject of these prints was landscapes, which was a photographic tradition since the early 19th century. Singapore, in fact, had many vantage locations in which the town and ports could be captured from, e.g. Fort Canning Hill.

The photographs show that Singapore was not just a bustling trading port, but it also developed into an attractive tourist location. Both the trading business and tourism were important in helping to boost Singapore’s economy and quicken the development of the ports. Furthermore, these photographs serve as proof of documentation, to capture the busy and active life at Boat Quay and along the Singapore River. This included documentation of the people, means of transportation and the development of Singapore’s landscapes, as well as its ports.

 

Bib:

Toh, Jason. Singapore through 19th Century Photographs. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet, 2010. Print.
Falconer, John. A vision of the past : a history of early photography in Singapore and Malaya. Singapore: Times Edition, 1987. Print.
Opening of the Suez Canal (2014). In HistorySG: an online resource guide. Retrieved from: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/15fcae20-2e3d-4eec-b5ab-2384f1aac2b9
Establishment of G. R. Lambert & Co. (2014). In HistorySG: an online resource guide. Retrieved from: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/6f1eda03-498e-465e-8fee-2596cb40e1e6