28 - 30 july 2021
Nanyang academy of fine arts
Nanyang academy of fine arts
Day 2Thursday 29 July 2021, 14:35
Digital technology has transformed not only our way of life but also the way of artmaking. Today, artists have access to a wider variety of tools, materials and processes than ever before. Coding, digital fabrication and data have become an important process for many artists. The presentation invites four young practitioners of 3D art and one senior artist in a conversation about the current state of object making in the artworld and the meaning of the "touch".
How has technology affected the artists' relation with their material and in their object making process? How does COVID-19 pandemic affect their work and what are their artistic responses? Did it make digital technology more relevant or is it a threat? Are we losing "touch" and is object making getting outmoded?
Day 1Wednesday 28 July 2021, 16:30
For more than half a century, the prevalence of conceptualism in the contemporary art world seems to have placed "sculpture" in an awkward position - while the practice of this art in the traditional sense is deemed obsolete, the embrace of objects made beyond formal concerns or the direct appropriation of the "ready-mades", however, have rendered anything 3-dimensional "sculpture", so that we may even say that "sculpture" is everywhere in the art world today. On top of this is a common denigration of the artist's hand - or the so-called craft element. In recent decades, however, there have been increasing discussions on the "material turn" and growing trend of craft making in contemporary practice.
The presentation involves six young practitioners of 3D art to inquire about the current state of sculptural or 3D artwork concerning the questions of materiality and artistic agency and to examine the subject within the context of the local and regional (Southeast Asia) art scene. The research aims to develop local/regional perspectives on issues of current sculptural practice; investigate the extent of the importance of "materiality" and "craft" in contemporary local/regional practice; and explore and investigate the relationship between theory and practice - how does theory inform practice and how is "practice" capable of leading to "theory"?
1) Blurring boundaries: towards creation in the Digital Age, Ang X.N
2) The Use of Food as A Medium in Art - the Literal and Metaphorical Consumption of Art, Sankarasubramanian S.
3) Object as an Embodiment of Human Experience in Art Making, Wong G.M
4) Place and Memory - Artwork as Personal Monument, Chen Y.Y
5) Making of Something, Nyan Soe
6) The Representation of Art in the Digital Age, Ong S.H
The exhibition "Re-Thinging Sculpture" was also presented online in 360 video with content. View the exhibition in 360 here.
Dialogue 1
Craftsmanship in this time of readymade objects as tactile interaction declines in our digital age
In this dialogue session Nyan Soe, Si Hui and Subashri discuss their views on "readymade" art versus "hand-made" art and the importance of craftsmanship in their practice. With the pandemic and art moving into the digital world, the artists talk about what reTHINGing means to them and how their process of art-making changed with the times.
Dialogue 2
How process evolves due to chosen media, techniques and history, and the intersection of production with authorship
Xue Ning, Gin Ming and Yanyi share their views on the touch and tinkering process in the making art - Is authenticity lost in developing the art if someone else were to produce the final artwork for the artist? The artists discussed how digitisation had affected their art-making process, their relationship with the audience, and the opportunities versus challenges encountered.
The Sculpture Society is the first society in Singapore dedicated to nurturing a public appreciation of sculpture as an art form. Established on 19 May 2001, it is a non-profit organisation that advocates the artistic development of its members through exhibitions, workshops, and symposiums. The society was formed by a group of passionate individuals who were keen to enhance the art form's artistic development through a tightly knit community of artists. Led by Han Sai Por, one of Singapore's foremost sculptors, the founding members set their minds to provide a platform from which artistic discourse can flourish. To date, the society has over a hundred members. Among them are prominent and renowned local artists and emerging young artists who work in multidimensional sculpture fields. Their works have gained both local and international exposures.