End of semester at Nafa and UniSIM

The semester is almost completed. The next time I see my students is during assessment in a few weeks time. I managed to have some photo taken during the last session with some of my students at SIM University and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Nafa). I’ve also posted the photos on my facebook (look me up, my ID is: Kamal Dollah)

I’ll have some free time now to catch up on the other things I’ve neglected. I’m going to do more caricatures and possibly work on some batik paintings before the new semester begins in July.

student's at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Designers in training

Design and typographic studies at Nafa

Design and colour theory class at Nafa

degree programme in multimedia at SIM University, Singapore

Reply: Joint fixture for my art installation

Ravinda Cheema asked a question on my earlier post about my MA graduation show project at: http://kamaldollah.wordpress.com/2007/03/29/graduation-show-ma-contemporary-practice/ Here is a photo to accompany my answer.

I bent the tubes and crudely connect it with a ring. On hindsight, I feel that there could be a better way by replicating the mechanism found in an umbrella.

Since I am revisiting the subject, I might as well add that my installation which opens to almost 4 metres high, fits in my back pack. Please don’t ask me how? It is designed like an umbrella - go figure.

Illustration workshop for North Zone Schools

Schools in the north zone sent two of their best art students to Evergreen Secondary School for an intensive illustration workshop that lasted three mornings. The works produced will be published. These kids are fortunate indeed to become a published illustrator before finishing school!

They are part of a National Education (NE) project to illustrate for the book ‘NEST II’. Its a compilation of selected writings by students on NE. This year, it was decided to have an illustrator guide the students to illustrate the numerous stories instead of having one illustrator for the entire book. From a teaching perspective, it is a wonderful experience to have a full class of skillful and talented students. Yet it presents me with a new challenges in having to coach and art-direct 40 young illustrators. It is very much like managing my final year illustration major at Nafa but double the trouble

Participants mind mapping the stories to be illustrated.

They could still manage a smile after 3 days of intensive work.

Trash painting

I was greeted this morning with this sight. Its an original Chinese watercolour, though I did not have time to study by whom (like as if I would know), judging by the scale of it, somebody obviously paid good money for this at one time. It makes me question the value and relevance of art. I wish I could elaborate more about my thoughts, but I suppose its obvious to see that a painting to most people is just another home accessory that gets discarded when its no longer en vogue.

Most wanted man in Singapore: Mas Selamat Kastari

All news is on this man Mas Selamat Bin Kastari who escaped from an Internal Security detention facility on 27th February 08, 4.05pm. He is still at large nearing a week. He is the suspected leader of a terror cell that was uncovered after 9-11 for trying to sabotage public facilities. How he managed to escape has baffled authorities. Never have I seen such a massive manhunt. His mugshot is posted all over the place, even the telcos has sent out MMS of the photo to all its subscribers.

Singapore is a very densely populated place where it is almost impossible to avoid contact with people. How a high profile fugitive could elude detection this long is bizarre. As an artist, how could I contribute in this situation? I have read of research in UK proofing that caricatures are more effective at jolting peoples memory of a face than the existing police photofits system. Read the article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/nov/26/ukcrime.humanbehaviour

There are photographs of him off course, but a mild caricature seems to help in memorizing the features. Here is my quick take of the most wanted man in Singapore with watersoluble Graphitone.

Art Media Training for Primary School Teachers

Teacher at elementary level are expected to teach everything and one of the subject they hate teaching is art. This is because most schools and parents have a nonchalant attitude towards art as an academic subject. So the typical art lesson becomes a waste of time or is stolen for other subjects. This is because teachers often feel that they are inadequately trained to teach art and they dwell on the negative attitude that ‘I cannot draw’ and art proficiency requires an inborn talent. I am not privy to what goes into the training of a teacher for our national schools today, but if this is the attitude, they should stop to ask why art is part of the general subjects in schools. Is it not unfair of the education system for the masses to place a congenital condition known as ‘talent’ as a pre-requisite? I am of the opinion that everybody can draw and it takes practice to draw well.

Like doctors make the worst patient, teachers sometime make the worst students or is it that some people just have a bad attititude for learning. Art training is very much like sports training. Using the analogy of jogging, its not really about going anywhere, its the exercise that matters. So if an instructor gives for an example a still life exercise and the student resisted because they have done that before, it obviously demonstrate that the student has not realised the value of improving through practice and that perfection in is not absolute.

Teachers at Mee Toh Primary engaged me to conduct a five session workshop which covers fundamentals of drawings and how to effectively handle the different art materials.

Explaining the difference between watercolour, poster colour, acrylic, gouche, tempera, ink, etc and how to use them effectively was covered in the wet medium module.

Singapore: Delicious and Delirious

Mr. Tan Ping Chiang – my mentor at Nafa (he was dean at one time) called me. He was exhilerated that his book is published. So I went out looking for it and found myself a jewel of Singapore illustration.

It is a hard cover, full coloured book filled with Mr Tan’s ink and wash sketches of Singapore life. His candid observations peeked into pockets of our vibrant multi-ethnic society through its colourful festivals, fabulous food and the odd Singaporean antics. His true mastery of the watercolour medium is obviously visible through his free flowing lines, expressive strokes and bold splashes that fill up pages upon pages that make up this exciting journal. I am most honoured that he even captured the experience of attending my wedding ten years ago which must has left a lasting impression on him because ‘the rendang was really shiok‘. This book captures the essence of Singaporean culture and an artistic inspiration. Go buy it!

Travel Sketches - A Journal
Singapore: Delicious and Delirious
Published by Page One Publishing Pte Ltd ©2007
Retail at SGD21.29 at Page One and other leading book stores

Mr Tan Ping Chiang dropped by my mural project site in May last year.

Watercolour + Ink and Wash Techniques

Bukit panjang primary school engaged us for another term to teach the entire level of primary five students. This is elementary lesson on watercolour techniques will be taught over 8 sessions. All materials were provided by us. These primary school children were apprehensive at the thought of water colour painting. Instead of showing them classic watercolour scenery painting as refernce, we relate it to the many children book illustrations using the ink and wash techniques. They were also introduced to the concept of colour theory, how to handle the brush effectively and proper application of transparent colours.

Colour theory does not have to be so boring.

Chinese Newspaper featured my graffiti education programme

Lianhe Zaobao ran an article about graffiti in Singapore on 9th December 2007 which featured my effort at educating youth towards the positive side of graffiti and how I got started. They also interviewed other writers who has had a brush with the Singapore law. The vodcast of my interview (in English) is on their news portal www.omy.sg.

Click here to see the full newspaper article (in Mandarin).
Online version of the article with vodcast link here.

The Singapore Art Show 2007

The Singapore Art Show 2007 was officially launched on 2 August at the Singapore Art Museum. It showcases various genre of Singapore visual arts, featuring over 700 artworks in 47 venues throughout Singapore. For the schedule of events and venues, please refer to their official website: www.singaporeartshow2007.com.

My work entitled ‘Fantasy of Flights’ was selected in the open section. It was indeed a priviledge to be among 44 selected of the nearly 750 submissions. This work was part of my MA thesis shown in March 07. I felt it did not get enough exposure then, hence I submitted it for this national event which will be experienced by many. It is now exhibited at the Singapore Art Museum till 15th August 2007.

Explaining my concept to the guests-of-honour Dr. Lee Boon Yang, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts and Mr. Lee Suan Hiang, CEO, National Arts Council.

The write-up of the work now reads:

Mohamed Kamal Bin Dollah
Vehicle 1 : Fantasy of Flight 2007
Batik Installation
360cm x 150cm x 150cm

Kamal Dollah’s ‘vehicle’ questions cultural identity through a medium that binds to tradition, yet the images suggests a universal journey of the imagination. Kamal views batiking as a form of drawing, parallel to his other practice of ‘automatic drawing’ with ink on paper, which exposes the complexities of recognizing ethnic originality, which is a dynamic confluence of cultural conditioning, interferences and preoccupation within contemporary living. The recurring paraphernalia-of-flights from his drawings, was re-produced in batik and presented in the form of a rocket ship. The collapsible nature of this installation also enforces the concept of cultural mobility.

The coverage in The Straits Times, Life on 2nd August 2007 exposes the controversy surrounding this event. I was interviewed and quoted:

Batik and graffiti artist Kamal Dollah, 39, says: ‘A lot of artists here who don’t have a contemporary position will not be in the Singapore Biennale and the art show has a more local flavour.’