It's curtains (or is it?)

Lucy's got me working on another arts focused essay. This one's an actual Cambridge question from 2010: "Would it matter if all the performing arts venues in your society, such as concert halls and theatres, were closed down?" A nonsensical question, if I ever saw one.

Again, my instructions were to be as detailed as possible so hang limits on word count and time. Click here, if the question somehow appears as as a must-read to you.

Arrow to the back

Sometimes a little arrow comes out of the blue. Mengs needed someone to intro a guest speaker at assembly talk. MC of choice: yours truly.

Fortunately, Cheng isn't difficult to introduce. His claim to fame is that he is the former head creative of a major media company (think big mouse ears) who has since gone freelance as a caricaturist, cartoonist, and sort-of visual-arts evangelist. He offers to teach 'untalented' people to express themselves through cartoon drawing and in the process show them that trained technique in the arts counts for more than any so-called 'natural' talent.

The info I had of our guest was 'sketchy' like that and my further instruction was to remind the kids the objective of the session so that they won't blank out if asked to recount the experience for some KPI survey or other. In my mind, I composed a brilliant intro even including a link to the kids' all-too recent trauma that was the GP mid-year exam. Always good to engage prior knowledge, right?

My usual problem is delivery. Mouth and brain are seldom coordinated, but today I surprised myself with a near word-perfect intro delivered with all the (appropriate) aplomb I could muster. Right at the end, on cue, with a dramatic flourish towards the general direction of where Cheng was last standing, I was met with riotous applause. Wow, that must have been some intro... hope I didn't over-sell him.

I turned to hand Cheng the mike... but he wasn't there. I looked behind me and there on the projector screen he had already finished his first sketch -- PPG's Blossom -- while I was still talking. Guess my intro had gone on for a bit, huh? *sheepishly hands mike over and exits, stage right.

The state of the arts

Since last week, strange yellow circles began appearing at different locations on the floors of our neighbourhood void decks. Now it's clear what they are meant for.

What's interesting about them is that they are painted on by stencil in a public location. They present information in the form of text and graphics, but they are dry, humourless and terse. Obviously not meant as art, but they have a legitimate purpose for their presence in the public eye.

This public service is in direct contrast with what's been happening with the so-called 'sticker lady' and her attempts to perform her blend of design and cultural commentary, within the context it is relevant. Her unilateral action to paste authority-impersonating wry stickers on public amenities and stencil officious-looking, yet irreverent text on public roads has met the ire of the authorities whose duty it is to maintain public order.

There was no doubt in anybody's mind that she would get into trouble. I doubt she had any illusions about that. But she went and did it anyway; to give passers-by a chuckle and wonder at the mystery over the identity of this bold individual thumbing his?her? nose at the norms of civil society, at least while it lasted. Her art was not in the design of the stickers or the stenciled text themselves but in the performance of placing them where they could be found and making her audience connect with her observations of Singaporean life.

Since her arrest, the artist has ignited a public debate over what is art and what constitutes public nuisance. This coming from a nation that once had no time and no energy for such impractical, unprofitable considerations. This is an artist's highest achievement: to be talked about; to have a people challenge the once comfortable cut-and-dried standards and values that underpin their culture; to push the boundaries of what is accepted so that we start to think about what we stand for instead of blindly accepting status quo without question.

Perhaps I may be over-romanticizing her objectives. It could be that all she wanted was a little fun, that's all. But whether she's right or wrong, let's just say if she didn't get into trouble with the powers that be, her performance would have fallen flat. Her statement would have been pointless and meaningless, worthy of an lol comment on Facebook, but little else.

So don't feel sorry for her. Rather, respect her as a true artist who has given her all for the sake of her art. Whether she wins or loses in court, this entire performance with its slow, patient build-up and mass audience participation scores a total WIN.

In defence of the Arts

One question I'm currently grading has to do with how literature (and by extension, art) has no practical value. Have a look at the video below that YT shared with me:

Who says engineers have no aesthetic sense? Who says artists are technologically inept? Because our school system segregates Arts kids from Science kids by faculty and subject combination, this dichotomy causes them to pigeonhole themselves and they get proprietary over their intellectual turf.

Many of the essays I've read are by Arts kids vehemently defending literature as an essential, relevant but neglected part of our life experience, and hence must necessarily be "practical".

But watching this clip, I wonder if there is any need to make such a strong point about the "practicality" of art? Art doesn't have to be practical, but so what? Art is beautiful and that's all it needs to be.