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New MediaSalleh Japar

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Enduring Understanding

Students will understand that the

use of readymades and othermedia have created new

approaches to art and expanded its

definition.

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Essential QuestionsOverarching Questions What is the extent of the influence of

technology in art? How has new media push the boundaries

of art making? Are there challenges to such approaches

to art making?

Topical Questions What is symbolism?

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5W1H

SallehJapar

When1963 -

WhatOn Knowledge

& Symbols

WhereSingapore

HowInstallation

Mixed MediaReady Mades

WhyIslamic Influence

His Personal Views

WhichContemporary

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Biographical OutlineEducation and employment

Salleh began his art training in 1983 at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). Here, he met S. Chandrasekaran and Goh Ee Choo, and they became known in the academy as the "three bad boys". These self-confessed rebels boycotted their graduation show in 1988, choosing instead to hold an independent exhibition at the Goethe-Institut entitled Trimurti. Salleh had graduated from the academy in 1986 with a Diploma in Fine Arts.He entered the Curtin University of Technology, Australia in 1989 to continue his art education, returning with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Distinction) the following year. Upon return, he became a lecturer in art history at NAFA and remained here until 1995. During this period, he was also an Assistant Curator of Art for the National Museum of Singapore. He then left Singapore again to further his studies at the University of Central England, United Kingdom and graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in Art Education in 1995. He has been teaching at the LASALLE College of the Arts since 1996.

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1965: Independence of Singapore.1979: Economic restructuring with

expansion of technology. Educational policies are thus changed

SingaporeThe emergence of new media artists.

When & Where

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WhichContemporary Art- by TateArt of the present day.Art of the rather recent past.Art that is innovative or avant-garde in

characteristics.When did it start? The date varies.Contemporary Art- by ArtLexArt that is current.Art that belongs to the same period of time-

current.

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Subject Matter- • Anything that pertains to specific works.• He uses symbols, religious or non-religious.

Theme -Problem of knowledge and how it is being

produced in Singapore.Self-identity, discovery and review.Ideologies from other religious groups-

Buddhism, Hindusim and Taoism, eg: Trimurti.

What

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Some notions from Sufi tradition- on “the importance of the present”, as compared to the past (equates to nothing) and the future (equates to unpredictability which may never arrive).

Culture and sense of identity as a Singapore Muslim- as seen by some critics.

“Salleh wishes to position the artist within the sphere of Muslim values” (Sabapathy, 1998) leading to the rejection of the claim that all artists are creators.

What

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Untitled, 1987

2-Dimensional works

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Fitrah (Human Nature) , 1988Mixed media, 219 x 175 cm

SAM, Singapore.

2-Dimensional works

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What- Fitrah (Human Nature) The image at the centre is a

derivation from the pall (blanket/shroud) cover that is used to cover the Muslim coffin.

It is used as a symbol to represent the “microcosmic” self.

It is about life in the universe as a spiritual journey

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Thought Out of Season, 1988Mixed media, 170 x 163 cm

Artist’s Collection

2-Dimensional works

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Gunungan II, 1989-90

2-Dimensional works

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Box: Elements (Water, Wind, Fire), 1987

Assisted Readymade Works

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Creation, Trimurti,1988Installation, 420 x 210 cm

Assisted Readymade Works

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What- Trimurti A work by Salleh Japar and two other artists - S. Chandrasekaran and Goh Ee Choo.

The word ‘Trimurti’ is Sanskrit- meaning three forms that are connected to the “Hindu Godhead of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva.”

In this work, the word is used to describe three forces of nature- Creation, Preservation and Destruction (parts of the cosmic cycle).

Each force co-exists to create a total concept using paintings, sculptures, installation and performance.

It is site- specific- the space was taken into consideration- to create not only an art space but also a space that radiates energy.

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What- Trimurti The three artists take- language of art is a universal

language.

Hence the purpose is to use this universal language to show that “different things can exist together harmoniously and in perfect equilibrium”.

This is seen in the artists’ differing cultural backgrounds- a Malay, an Indian and a Chinese, and religious background- Muslim, Hindu and Buddhism/Taoism.

And that they come together and created a total work the runs like a cycle.

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What- Trimurti Destruction by Chandrasekaran

The artist tears apart a pre-installed work during the opening of the exhibition.

Creation by JaparThe artist create an installation with the fragments of Chandrasekaran’s destroyed work.

Preservation by GohThe artist preserved and sustain his installation which was born out of Japar’s installation.

20Crossroads II, 1990

Installation

21Mechanised Learning, 1993Mixed Media, 95 x 170 x 51 cm

Assisted Readymade

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Born Out of Fire, 1993.Installation

NHB Collection

Installation

23Drip Machine, 1993-94Installation

Installation

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What- Drip Machine The gowns bear the hand-written texts by the

artist. They are quotations taken from a book by an

Indonesian writer known as Hamka. Hamka advocates that the pursuit of modern

knowledge should be accompanied with ethics and morality.

Infusion bottles hang over the gowns as liquid drips onto them, washing off and dissolving the text into a long metal tray beneath the gowns.

A tube runs from the trays to a cast head (the same one in Mechanised Learning), a symbol of a mind that has been colonised.

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What- Drip Machine The endeavours of post-colonial territories

should take the direction of unlearning habits imposed by the colonial masters.

Hence in Hamka’s thesis of modernity- entails rigour questioning and re-positioning of knowledge that is passed down by our colonial masters and make it more meaningful in our newly independent societies.

Q: How is the cast head a metaphor for our colonial master?

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Kemelut (Turbulence), 2001.Metal sheets, PVC pipes, brass tap heads, wood, unbleached calicos, assortment of

spices and salt NHB Collection

Installation

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Womb, Project R.O.H, 1993.Installation

Goethe Institute, Singapore.

Installation

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Kemelut II- Igauan Orang Asing, 2002.Installation

Earl Lu Gallery, La Salle, Singapore

Installation

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Background and IntentionJapar is exposed to two types of education-

1. traditional religious and 2. secular. The first type has provided him a wealth of

ideas to draw from.He studied in Curtin University which

provided a total education- a multi-disciplinary approach.

He re-examines and re-contextualizes traditional Malay art and craft.

Why

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• PaintingEg:- His early works.

• Mixed MediaEg:- Thought out of Season, 1988.

• InstallationHe uses ready-mades or found objects.He uses these objects metaphorically.

• Sometimes, he mixes performance with installation.

How

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• He is interested in the “process of investigation as a final outcome to his artistic practice”

• It is “dealing with materials and transforming them according to their nature and the principles of order”.

How

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References Sabapathy, T. K. (Ed). (1998) Trimurti and

Ten Years After. SAM, NHB: Singapore.

Purushothaman, V. (Ed). (2004) Salleh Japar- Gurindam dan Igauan. LaSalle-SIA: Singapore.