Portrait of the Young Lady as an Artist
by Adrian Ow, published in Malaysian Mensa Minds magazine, 2003.
 

Mensan artist Lydia Chai, to whom Triple-M is indebted for the Sistinesque cover of last December’s bumper issue is to embark on that eternal quest of the artist. Adrian Ow, neophyte literary hack, takes a dainty dip into the deep end of her newest exhibition, 'Taint', her mind, and her views, and comes out besides profoundly disturbed (the author is disturbed by everything in general, so one must not worry about it being unique to Lydia), very intrigued, but most of all, impressed. Here thus, is the transcript of a conversation between the talent and the tyro.

About the Show

What will your exhibition showcase, in terms of medium, size, and style?

Mostly acrylic paintings, of varying sizes; the smallest of which are palm-sized 'tiles', the largest is about 1m squared.

As for style, I have just one word: raw. What I mean is, you will find very little 'proper' paintings that are painted with oil and framed with canvas etc because I don't like the idea of preserving an artwork for eternity... To me, it is like preserving dead things under glass in a museum. So, at my exhibition, you'll find paintings done on scrap boards, paper, toilet tissue, even paintings done over my course mates' discarded paintings.

I guess I feel this way toward 'preservation' of art because

I can't be bothered sourcing the Most Lasting Paint, or the Most Lasting Frame etc. I hate the preparation side of art; I'd rather get in there and do some hands-on painting rather than spending hours making my own wooden frames and such. Also, I think I equate preservation of art with the art world's adoration of big money. Obviously, a lot of art is about investment and buying something that will appreciate in years to come. So if I made a painting that doesn't last long, it says I don't care about selling art to this sort of investor. A tutor of mine told us not to worry if our paintings are not made with lasting materials, for people pay heaps of money for cars that have even shorter life spans.

What do you intend to express, or what message do you wish to convey, in this particular exhibition?

Other than the irrelevance of the painting's physical longevity... The series was done with the themes of innocence, voyeurism, vulnerability and decay in mind. I prefer not to point out any particular message for fear of boxing it in. The artist statement on theclickproject.com explains a bit, though... Actually, if I had my way, there would be no artist statement at all.

Which is your favorite piece of those on show, and why ?

Ooh, my favourite is the only pink piece in the exhibition. (I have no titles for the paintings, save one that is called "Eve"). I love it because I had recycled a friend's painting and transformed it to make it my own. It is a picture of two girls. One is squatting in a frightened position with an empty speech bubble coming out from her mouth. The other girl is looking back ambivalently. I don't know what it is, but the feel of this piece seems to be exactly what the whole series is about.

Anything else you want to say about "Taint" ?

It's a show about legs.

About The Artist

Tell us  more about yourself, and how your upbringing and education have affected your art, if they have.

I grew up in Petaling Jaya but never had formal lessons on art. Still, each member of my immediate family is artistic in some way or another, and I am fortunate enough to have parents who support whatever career I choose (even though they tease me with the 'starving artist' label). That's my upbringing. As for my education, I had no real training in art until 'A' Levels. Even then, I was taught more on how to render a portrait realistically and all that traditional stuff. It was my going to a proper art school at university that I truly got to the meat. Art school demanded that I hone my conceptual abilities and intellectualize my art, instead of merely mimicking reality onto paper. It came as a total shock to me. I had to question everything, right down to "why do we always paint in square frames?"  : and I loved it although it drove me mad because ever since I was a kid I would ask "why" only to be told that "there is no answer". In art school, for the first time, my questions were welcome.

My biggest influence then was my eldest sister who would give us letters in the form of homemade 'newsletters', draw her own comics, make bloodied fingers & thumbs out of clay and pretend to find them in the garden, as well as organize treasure hunts for us. One incident I vividly recall is little me coming back from a trip to Cameron Highlands with the family. I found the place inspiring so when I got home, I started painting a bird's eye view of Cameron Highlands. It was to be a fun exercise and I had planned to go outside and play once I finished my little project. Suddenly my mother came over and observed that I had not painted the people clearly, or given them nice dark outlines. She then scolded me for not colouring in every part of the paper (even the white objects needed to be painted with white paint). I must have been very young then but old enough to argue with her, I guess, because I remember insisting on not colouring everything.

I studied 'O' & 'A' Levels in Singapore. Took Art as a subject during that time. This was when my awareness of the art world began to expand. Through my art teachers, I skimmed the surface of art history and the various concepts of art. This was also a time where I honed my portrait-drawing skills, so much so that I was adamant in becoming a portrait artist - I was uninterested in everything but faces.

Then university and art school happened and I was thrown into the deep end because I was expected to understand concepts, rather than to just mimic the physical world. And not only that, I couldn't just possess concepts - I had to have intuition as well. Since then, it's been a matter of balancing the two.

Which artists, modern and classical, do you most admire (if that is the correct word), and do you consciously attempt to emulate their form?

I admire Wong Hoy Cheong, our local hero of sorts, because he has played a role in elevating the intellectual level of art here. He's also not afraid to speak his mind. I like the fact that even though there are certain things I don't like about his work, I'm still fascinated by it.

About Art

What do you consider to be the  function of art in society? Is it necessary?

I'm not even sure that it has a function at all. I suppose there is art that serves purpose, and art that doesn't. Sometimes whatever function that art serves is merely incidental & circumstantial. And sometimes functional art is art that is intended solely to convey a message. For instance, there is evangelical art,  intended to spread the gospel. Or Barbara Kruger's advertisements that send out biting messages about the state of society.

Both kinds of art have their merits & have equal ability to change the face of society. Oftentimes, artists don't set out with a 100% final product/message in mind. If I decided from the start that my art will convey this, this, and this, the final product will seem constipated and too literal. It parallels how scientists go about their work. Some have an objective in mind (the cure for cancer); others stumble upon other discoveries by virtue of accident.

Specific to Southeast Asia, which do you consider the country most receptive to art? Does the Malaysian government appreciate the significance of art and hence accord the appropriate support?

Sorry, I've been to only Singapore & Malaysia, of all the Southeast Asian countries. Neither is receptive enough. I mean, come on, Singapore disallowed performance art at one time (still does?). Vagina Monologues was banned in KL. I've heard nice things about Indonesia, though. Ubud in particular.

Well, we certainly have nothing like the National Arts Council) in Singapore. Mainly, the Malaysian government supports the traditional handicrafts for obvious reasons. Don't you think it takes a mature government to appreciate the significance of art? What does it mean to appreciate art's significance anyway? It means a respect for freedom of speech, innovation (in ways you don't expect), and finally, it means an acknowledgment that art & science come together. One is not more important than the other.

Art enlightens, but economics feeds - what do you think of the interplay between commercialism and art - does one have to crassly sell out in order to make a decent living for art?

No.

Or does one have to die or at least go insane before any form of financial worth is attached to one's work?

No. It was tougher way back when only a handful of artists were allowed to be the rock stars of the art world. Van Eyck, Brugel & Bosch. Pollock, de Kooning & Johns. Warhol, Basquiat & Clemente. Et cetera. Today, there are many artists who are affluent as well as internationally well known.

I will add, though, that it's hard to find full-time artists. Most artists try to find complementary jobs. And 'complementary' varies from artist to artist: My tutor used to wash dishes and found that suitable for her art practice as it was a job where she could zone out and think. Of course, it should be known that most artists become art teachers as it complements their practice.
 

Note: Taint will be at +wondermilk art gallery from 8th February 2003 till 22nd February 2003. The +Wondermilk Art Gallery, formerly Known as the ClickProject, is located at 106A Jalan SS21/35 Damansara Utama 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Yes. In Malaysia.