Awesome Australia

some photos taken in Australia in the year of 2007.

graces camp teeshirt logo

okay I know this is quite overdued, but here’s my design for the graces camp 2008!

the design depicts a graceful looking lady who is supposed to be wearing a pretty gown!

I am quite satisfied with the design although I think there are certain rooms for improvement such as in the facial expression region! Mr. Gan commented that the “line works around the uplifted arm and oval shapes region could also be a little more emphasized”.

comments are welcomed! (:

comments/criticism II–Jac’s portrait

Medium: pencil on paper

Here’s another piece of work done by my fellow aep classmate–Jac! It is a pencil drawing of Angelina Jolie, one of my favourite hollywood stars. I feel what Jac has done great is that she has captured the expressions and features of Jolie well, such as her eyes, her nose and her unique shaped mouth. On can easily tell Jolie just from one glance at the drawing. The capturing of expression and proportion is one of the hardest part of drawing a portrait, hence, my kudos to Jac for doing it really well! The few strands of hair dangling down on Jolie’s right side of the face also brings out the character and makes the drawing just nice–not too overcrowded nor lack of details. What I think Jac can improve on however, is in areas of shading. The contrast between the dark and light region of the drawing are not obvious and more emphasis should be put on the neck of Jolie, so as to show the contrast of tones. Perhaps, also, the lower lip could be a little thinner as it appears a little too thick compared to Jolie in real person. I understand that the artist may have exaggerated this feature so as to bring across Jolie’s unique character, however, I feel that the lower lips should have been a little thinner! On a overall scale however, this is still a great piece of pencil work, as it has well captured Jolie’s classic expression! It is shown across especially well through the look of the eyes!

an apple and banana a day keeps the doctors away!

medium: water colour on water colour paper

I must admit that the shadows look a little weird because I tried experimenting with the expressionist method of “painting the shadows in complementary colours”. They did not turn out to be as nice as expected though, will work harder on this area!

Batik

Just a real simple piece of work which I did using Batik in UK! There was not much time so I guess this piece of work is a little scrap, I completed it within a short time span of 10 minutes!

here is to my fav cartoon character

Pompompurin

Isn’t he/it/she just so adorable? This is a piece of work I did last year in 2007 at IMM buiding. You know those kind when you go and just squeeze the paint inside a mould and hand it over to the person at the counter then he or she will help you to heat it up so that the paint stays solidified? Of course I didn’t use a mould for this, I did it myself! The mould was really hard to make because you have to control the thickness of the line to make sure that it is neither too thick ( or it will leak) nor thin ( or it will not stay). The filling in of colour was reltaively okay, except that you have to frequently busrt the small air bubbles.

ideas and imagination

(A) “Homage to Newton＂is located outside the UOB plaza at the Central Business District (CBD) in Singapore. This the 5^th out of 8 copies of the same piece of art work done by Spanish Surrealist master, painter, sculptor Salvador Dali. He was born on 11^th May 1904 in Spain and completed his best-known work, “the persistence of memory” in 1931. Dali referred to paintings as “dream photographs” and often tried to enter the subconscious and dream world when he was working. Dali, though censured by surrealists, produced works which are surreal. They are usually hallucinatory and include distortion, imagination and juxtaposition. Dali died in Figueras in 1989.

The second sculpture, “big bird”, graces Singapore’s waterfront at Boat Quay. It was done by non-figurative Colombian artist Fernando Botero, who strives in all his work to capture an essential part of himself and his subjects through colour and form. He was born in Medellín, Colombia on 19^th of April 1932. His sculptures are characterized by their exaggerated proportions and corpulence of human and animal figures. Botero is still alive and he is actively doing his art.

“Homage to Newton” was done using bronze with dark patina. Bronze is an alloy of tin and copper and it is a robust, durable but expensive material. Dark patina refers to the dark green coating that forms on the surface of the sculpture. “Big bird” was also done using the material bronze. However, it was constructed by joining the different pieces, such as the head, body and wings together unlike “Homage to Newton” which was casted by curving away parts of the materials.

Both sculptures are semi-abstracted, with some recognizable shapes and forms such as seen in the limbs of human figure in Dali’s work and the typical features of a bird like the wings as shown in Botero’s work. However, the shapes in “Homage to Newton” are mainly natural and organic with some bizarre veins creeping at the back. The sculpture on the whole appears to be hollow especially with the bright, copper green shiny surface. In contrast, “big bird” has mainly cylindrical and natural shapes, as seen in head and tail, but it appears to be rather solid, dense and heavy with the dull and drab with monochromatic surface.

“Homage to Newton” is a sculpture in the round, which means that regardless of the angle of viewing, it would still be as effective and able to convey the message. “Big bird”, however, is different, as the viewing it from different angles would create a different impression.

Comparing their textures, though both sculptures appear to be well polished and mirror like, “homage to Newton” has a bumpy surface as it shows the curves and muscular features of a human figure while “big bird” has a slippery surface with no lumps. The lines found in Dali’s sculpture are mainly curved and flowing, following the figure of a male’s body. In comparison, the lines in Botero’s work has also received the same kind of treatment, but the surface planes are more bulging and convex unlike “homage to Newton” which has concave and uneven surface planes. These can be seen in the openings in the torso and the head and the veins creeping at the back of the sculpture.

In addition, the forms in Dali’s sculpture are asymmetrical and it appears to be imbalanced since both hands are on the same side but in Botero’s work, we see a balanced and symmetrical sculpture.

To conclude, the two sculptures had received different treatments in the material used, the shape, forms, colours, texture, line and the overall balancing effect.

(B) First and foremost, in the 20^th century, many artists challenged the idea of “what is art”. Artworks done in this period have been characterized by the challenging of accepted forms in the favour of exploring new ideas—both in terms of subject matter and the themes as well as in the use of materials. Thus, artists Dali and Botero might have wanted to challenge the idea of art and casted and constructed their sculptures respectively in simplified and abstract forms to show that art does not necessarily has to be realistic nor representational in order to be considered a piece of artwork.

Predominantly, “Homage to Newton” depicts to its viewers a photogenic quality, yet it has elements of unrealistic images, which is a characteristic of many of Surrealists’ works. These qualities can be seen in the openings in the torso and head of the figure, the bizarre suspending heart, a creeping and protruding backbone and even two detached left toes. Such qualities cannot be found in human beings in real life. However, the sculpture is considered be to semi-abstract as we can see some recognizable shapes and forms such as the proportion and curves of the human figure and the male reproductive gonad. One glance at the sculpture and anyone would be able to tell that it is a sculpture of a male human figure. Usually, unlike realistic sculptures, abstract artworks make its viewers think hard about the message that the artist is trying to convey. Had “Homage to Newton” been done in a realistic manner, it will not be as effective as Dali will not be able to show the two necessary qualities for the success of all human endeavors. The opening in the torso and the suspending heart representing “open-heartedness” while the open head represents “open-mindedness”. This is just like the surrealists, who wanted to tap the unconscious and dream world in their works and often included hallucination. Dali probably wanted to concentrate more on how to use the sculpture to pay homage and tribute to Newton and showing people the necessary qualities for success of al human endeavors. He probably did not want its viewers to just look at the sculpture as a discovery that Newton had made. Casting the semi-abstract sculpture will also allow viewers to go beyond what they see and actually find out how they feel about it.

Likewise, “Big bird” by Botero is also semi-abstracted. The legs are being enlarged and the wings of the bird are simplified. However, it is much more realistic as compared to “Homage to Newton”. “Big bird” allows one the pleasure of caressing reality as there is a sensual complicity that the artist has with his creation. As of “homage to Newton” Botero probably wanted its viewers to think about the deep meaning conveyed through the sculpture instead of just looking at its superficial surface level.

(C) Both the two sculptors have done a good job and successfully conveyed their desired message across to their viewers. However, personally, I feel that “Homage to Newton” by Dali is more effective as compared to “big bird” by Botero.

Though both sculptures are semi-abstract, they convey varying messages. For “homage to Newton”, Dali aims to pay tribute and homage to Newton by showing his discovery of the most important and fundamental physical law by displaying the ball falling from the right hand. In addition, he clearly showed through the openings in the torso and head that one needs to have “open-mindedness” and “open-heartedness” in order to make discoveries and be successful. He also made use of the detached left toes to show that we must be creative and think out of the box like Newton in order to make important discoveries. When one first looks at the sculpture, he or she would usually feel puzzled, as the sculpture looks rather bizarre especially with the openings and creeping, unnatural back view showing veins-like structures crawling up Newton’s body. However, after careful analysis of the forms, viewers would often easily realize the deep message that Dali is trying to convey. The holes in the torso and the head take up a large portion of the whole sculpture and no one can possibly miss it out. The forms are rather symbolic, and help create imaginaries and links in its viewers’ minds.

However, though the big bird is traditionally associated with peace and serenity, as a viewer, if I were to look at the bird without reading the descriptions below, I would think otherwise. To me, a big bird by the riverbank in Singapore can have two meanings. First, Singapore is such a beautiful garden city that it is home to many different species of birds. Secondly, Singapore is a developing country and it wants to be able to fly high, like a bird, to be able to achieve prosperity. I would hardly link it with the idea of “power of optimism”, “joy and harmony” and “friendship” like stated in the plaque.

The location of a public sculpture is another factor that determines whether it is effective. Firstly, “Homage to Newton” is located outside the UOB plaza in the CBD, showing that in order to be successful in career, such as opening and managing a bank, one has to have certain qualities. The sculpture goes well with its surroundings and provides an inspiration for the people working in the area. In contrast, the location of “big bird” is not as strategic. Since UOB believed the idea that as long as there is peace and optimism among he people, Singapore will continue to grow, this sculpture should have been placed at somewhere away from the hustle and bustle CBD area. I feel that it could have been more effective if it was placed at recreational zones such as a park where the atmosphere actually is relaxing and comforting.

In conclusion, the message Botero tried to convey was not as clearly shown as in “Homage to Newton” due to factors such as the location and the level of abstraction. Overall, I feel that Dali’s sculpture is more effective.