Peter Ho

sings
again >21

Tuesday
1 MAY
2007
thestar.com.my/lifestyle

China-bound
illegal timber >2

MUSIC:

Shakira stays
on top >20

Artful
place
Asias vibrant
and dynamic
art is
increasingly
being noticed
on the world
stage. >6-7

Photo by NIKI CHEONG / The Star

ENVIRONMENT:

T6

LIFESTYLE

Just where do
Asian artists
stand in the global
arts market?

STARTWO, TUESDAY 1 MAY 2007

A place in the sun

Stories and pictures

by NIKI CHEONG
niki@thestar.com.my

HERE is something strangely

post-colonial about the idea
of East meeting West. While
the notion insinuates a fusion,
meeting or collaboration between
two equals, yet from an Asian perspective, there is a sense of the
need to cling onto Western culture,
whether for inspiration or validation.
This is especially so for something as malleable as culture, where
some, if not many, feel the need to
be accepted based on Western values or criteria.
If this is true, then there is a lot to
talk about when it comes to art,
arguably one of the more significant
extensions of culture.
The East, or geographically Asia,
is rich in culture and heritage, dare
we say, perhaps even more so than
our Western counterparts in countries such as the United States and
Australia.
Granted, European nations are
generations ahead of the aforementioned countries, but even compared to these, the Asian appreciation of art is arguably on par just
look at the history of countries such
as China and Japan, for example.
In the words of New York-based
Singaporean photographer Jing:
Asian art has had an extensive his-

An artwork by
Stephen Lau
(inset) that was
displayed at The
X-change in New
York.

tory that rivals that of any Western

country.
Unfortunately, we live in the 21st
century and the rules governing our
lives dictate that power comes from

Gordon Hull: It's a bit more

difficult being isolated from the
media in the West.
wealth, and few Asian countries can
compete economically with most
Western countries.
Luckily for us though, progress is
not only reflected in modernisation,
but also in heritage, and the appreciation of it. While many cultures
risk turning sterile as a result of
modernisation, Asians still hold on
to tradition and heritage.
This bodes well for our cultural
exports as our artists are able to
maintain the influence that is rooted in our history, something many
Westerners refer to as exotic.
The problem with this is that we
risk getting stuck in our own little
worlds.
This is where platforms like Tiger
Translate come in. A Tiger Beer initiative, Tiger Translate is in its second year and aims to serve as a
platform to bring dynamic Asian art
to the world.
We strongly believe that these
works present a part of a vibrant
and dynamic Asia, said Dr Les
Buckley, Director, Group
Commercial, Asia Pacific Breweries
Ltd who owns Tiger, adding that the

platform is also Tigers way of helping boost the profile of up-andcoming artists by showcasing their
works to an international audience.
In conjunction with its 75th
anniversary, Tiger Beer, together
with Hong Kongs IdN (International
Designer's Network), identified 75
young artists from the region to
showcase their works across the
globe.
The first 25 were featured at The
X-change in New York on March 30,
where a collaborative site installation by three Asian artists
Singaporean photographer Jing and
Malaysians Stephen Lau and Kuanth
with internationally-renowned
design collective Surface To Air.
These artists, together with
members of the media from New
York, Malaysia and Singapore, sat
down earlier in the day to discuss
the concept of Merge, the theme
for this edition of Tiger Translate.
For obvious reasons, the concept of
East meets West came to the fore.
The exchange was short, but it
raised pertinent questions about
Asian artists and their place in the
world.
One thread of discussion was an
Asian artists place in a global
world. Are Asian artists at a disadvantage when it comes to having
their works showcased in a global
world?
Director of IdN, Chris Ng thinks
so. Geographically, Asian artists are
at a slight disadvantage, he said.
Artists in cities like New York, for
example, have a better chance of
getting out there.
In a follow-up phone interview,
Gordon Hull from Surface To Air
agreed.
It's a bit more difficult being isolated from the media in the West,
he said.
There is little doubt in the role
the media can play in profiling an
artist, Ng suggested.
It is an uphill task for some
Asian artists to raise their profile in
the Western world due to, for
example, the language barrier. In

such cases, the media becomes significant to them, he shared.

Its sad that the art scene in Asia
is pretty much led by the Western
world which has been promoting
the arts for so long, the Singaporebased Kuanth said.
But it's important to share with
the rest of the world what we are
doing, not only in the West, but
everywhere else.
This thought was echoed by
Angelia Seetoh, editor of
Singapores Designer magazine, who
felt that while the West is traditionally seen in the design world as
a region that is very appreciative of
good art and design, it is not the be
all and end all.
I think the driving force for most
designers and artists, at the end of
the day, is to showcase their works
on as many platforms and to as
many people as possible.
Who wouldn't want to be recognised and appreciated by a new
audience, if the chance presented
itself? she asked.
Of course, while there is a collective agreement on the appreciation
of art globally, there is still the matter of the buyer's market.
Much of the art buyers market
is concentrated in the West. For an
Asian artist to get maximum exposure, it is essential to bring his
works to the West, Jing said.
But things appear to be getting
better. An article in the November
2006 edition of Newsweek stated
that in 2005, more than US$210mil
(RM718.3mil) worth of contemporary Asian art was sold collectively
in such prestigious auction houses
as Sothebys and Christies.
Yes, Asian artists are now able to
hold their own ... just like what the
Japanese and artists in Hong Kong
are doing, the 26-year-old Lau said.
Kuanth concurred, although he
cautioned that this was no time to
get over ones head.
I believe progress is being made,
albeit very slowly. More and more
Asia art is being noticed on the
world stage but we still have a long
way to go.

STARTWO, TUESDAY 1 MAY 2007

LIFESTYLE

T7

The art of
collaboration
THIRTY-five boxes were neatly stacked at the
back of the room seven rows of five boxes.
A colourful, but busy design reminiscent of
wrapping paper was pasted on each box to
make up an image about 2.1m high. On the
back, and sides, the boxes were their original
brown.
Behind this wall of boxes, there is a flurry
of activity. Three artists Singaporean photographer Jing and Malaysian mix-media
artists Stephen Lau and Kuanth are hard at
work.
Design collective Surface to Air, who collaborated with the three on the live site installation, had already done their part, pasting the
wrapping paper, but the other three chose a
more complicated approach.
Each party was given one side of each box
to do as they wish there were no restrictions, each box could be designed individually
or all 35 boxes could be used to make up one
piece of artwork.
That night in late March, as New York artlovers scanned the 25 works by Asians artists
featured at the first Tiger Translate event of
the year, the site installation was ready. Then
the artists started to play. Arranging the
boxes in random order, the complete product
of the collaboration was unveiled.
Each individual artists side, put together,
was interesting and captivating, considering
the limited time they had to finish their piece.
(The artists were still working on their
respective sides as the crowd flowed into The
X-change, where Tiger Translate New York
was launched).
As a collaborative effort, the art piece
appeared awkward and incoherent, if for no

other reason than the fact that each artists

side appeared individualistic.
The most obvious was Laus, who used all
35 boxes as a canvas for one painting an
illustration of two people whose index fingers
touch, creating sparks.
Separated and mixed with the other elements Jings was large portraits on boxes,
while Kuanths consisted of colour-pencil
drawn faces and words his individual boxes
had no obvious meaning.
Barring this flaw, the spirit in which the
collaboration was conceptualised stood out.
The installation was a collaboration, Surface
to Airs Daniel Jackson explained. But it
allowed individuals to do their own work.
Collaborations are like a necessary evil. If
done well, it can have maximum impact on
an artist's profile; if not, it borders on lack of
vision.
Jackson articulated it best when he said,
Good collaboration is like being in a band.
Each individual has his own talent but its the
whole ensemble that makes them complete.
Director of IdN Chris Ng got straight to the
point. It is the need for designers and artists
to expose their works. In reality, working
with others, in any society, is inevitable, not
only in the design world, he said.
Collaborative efforts seem to be the way to
go.
In that context, that is exactly what a platform like Tiger Translate aims for.
It is through the collaboration with
established international artists that the Asian
artists are able to boost their profile, Asia
Pacific Breweriess Dr Les Buckley summed
up.

Working
together:
Stephen Lau
painting his
side of the site
installation.

Busy bee:
Kuanth
drawing on one
side of each of
the 35 boxes
that make up
the site
installation.

Building an
artpiece: Jing
setting up the
boxes for the site
installation.