Block Test 2008
1. Montien Boonma, Two Buffaloes
a) Explain in your own words, the meaning of ‘Installation Art’.
Installation art is an art form which is site-specific and three-dimensional. An installation artist usually has a message to convey to the audience. The artist uses sculptures, materials or other visual elements put together to form a space that the viewers can be in and “feel” the work, or simply view it or even stand in it. An installation art can be small-scale, or big-scale, depending on the site of the artwork and the purpose it serves. An installation art, as the name suggests, requires the installation, or fixing together of different elements to form a desired piece of work to convey a certain message. A diverse range of materials can be used to create different impacts. It is an art form that knows nearly no boundaries and works relation with the viewers.
b) Describe the subject matter by Montien Boonma, highlighting the significance of the materials used.
Montien Boonma’s “Two Buffaloes” depicts two buffaloes with the legs suggested by two wooden stools, the bodies formed from two rice sacks and a horn emerging from one and a tail emerging from the other. the two buffaloes art placed closely together side by side. Montien Boonma is a Thai artist who is highly concerned about the invasion of modernity and Western culture into traditional Thai culture and who constantly explores the pressing issues that the people are facing both socially, physically and spiritually. In this work, he yet again depicts a subject matter that is very intimate to the local Thais — buffaloes. Buffaloes plough the paddy fields where rice is grown, and Thailand, being an agricultural community, depends greatly on these animals to earn profits. However, Boonma has clearly shown the influence of technology on these buffaloes, hinting to viewers the negative impact that it has brought to tradition. The legs of the buffaloes are wooden stools. Wooden stools are rigid and stiff and this stiffness leads us to think of hard and cold machinery that so often plagues the cosmopolitan world today. Machinery that is stiff and constricting also shows the gradual commercialization of the rice manufactured in Thailand.
By using two rice sacks to suggest the bodies of buffaloes, we do not see the actual “body” of the animals. Boonma is probably giving clues that the society is conforming to the commercialization of rice — that we no longer see buffloes as animals and living creatures, but rather as a commodity, a slave to the urbanization of society. All that people see in buffaloes is a means to gain economic profits and therefore, these rice sacks spark the conscience of viewers. Lastly, the entire ensemble of the wooden stools, rice sacks and the horn and tail are materials that are dull-coloured and monochromatic. Brown is an earthy tone and Montien Boonma probably wants to tell the viewers that we should never let technology conquer nature, that in all materials, be it wood or rice, still have a relation to nature and that we should reflect on seeing nature as a mere means of advancement and gaining monetary benefits.
c) With Reference to another work by the artist, explain why the subject matter appeals to you as an installation, as opposed to a painting.
Montien Boonma’s series of Pagodas made of boards stacked above each other depict Pagodas. Pagodas are a place and symbol of holiness and the deep religious roots of the people. His pagodas are boards suggesting the silhouette of the architectural structure, with holes in them. This installation makes use of the shape, colour and form of the boards to convey he message of Thais gradually losing their religious cultural identity and the frustration the artist feels for the erosion of this aspect of Thai culture that he so dearly treasures.
The boards are stiff, of one flat tone of colour and slightly damaged and old looking. Such form of the boards that make up the pagoda cannot be depicted well through a painting. I Montien Boonma had painted 3 flat tones of colour on a canvas and added more details of damage, he would still not allow the audience to visualize properly, this erosion of the Thai spirit because the boards in the painting are limited by the two dimensional surface and unrealistic quality of the painting. Furthermore, as compared to an installation, it is less effective to convey the message in terms of texture. The rust and damage like scratches on the boards of the pagoda are real and three-dimensional. The audience will be able to see this damage from a distance, as compared to the damage suggested by paint on the canvas. Even if the painting was depicted to real likeness and detail, it is still unable to convey the message as effectivelybecause of the aspect of space as well. An installation of the pagoda is in a wide space, eaning against a white wall. By standing in front of the installation in a wide space, there will be a sense of peace, yet spiritual disturbance as this “real” pagoda of stiff, rigid beards is before my eyes, causing me to reflect on the destruction of the religious identity of the Thais and the frustration tha people like Boonma are feeling. An installation will thus be very much more effective as compared to a 2-dimensional painting on canvas depicting the same subject matter.
2. “Seated Model” by Liu Kang (1953) vs. “Bandung as a Sea of Fire” by Hendra Gunawan (1972)
a) Describe the subject matter of these paintings.
“Seated Model” by Liu Kang depicts Balinese woman sitting on a black chair in a garden. She is seated sideways and resting one arm on the chair and the other on her lap. Her head is resting on the arm on the chair and her eyes are closed. She is holding a white daisy in the hand on her lap and this flower seems to have been plucked from a bush of daisies on her right. In the background, there is a brick wall and a hut surrounded by more fauna. At the top left hand corner where the light seems to come from, there are a few palm leaves handing down from a tree, seemingly sheltering the woman. The colours used here are harmonious, mostly red and green with subtle nuances of white. The woman is wearing a pair of red pants with her hair neatly combed backwards with a red pin and she is wearing two big white earrings.
“Bandung as a Sea of Fire” by Hendra Gunawan depicts a scene of local Indonesians either trapped or escaping fumes that are engulfing their homeland. The painting is separated into two halves, top and bottom, by a strong diagonal line representing a slope. In the bottom half lies a dying man who is bleeding profusely from his chest. His hand is covering his wound and he seems to be on the verge of death as he glares straight at the viewer with anguish in his eyes. Behind him lies a corpse and many remnants of what seems to be the dead, buried by blood and mud.
The top half of the painting show many Indonesians escaping from great fire. Adults carrying children on their backs with a bundle of belongings are fleeing from this catastrophe. They have expressions of helplessness and panic and this is further emphasized by the thick black bellowing flames coming from a distance. In the distance, silhouettes of soldiers carrying guns are running after the locals with guns. This scene is probably painted by Gunawan during the revolution in Indonesia and depicts a period of political turmoil and chaos that the country was undergoing.
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