Ok here's the story, man. I had this idea to put up a list of tertiary schools in Malaysia that offer Art courses, as well as a sort of summary on how they're taught. There wasn't much feedback on that, so the idea died.

You know what annoys me supremely? Art schools that don't teach people how to THINK. Either they tell you to copy a Modern Master or they rigorously train you in the art of paint/oil application. Why aren't they teaching Art Theories instead? Philosophy? Sartre, Arendt, Deleuze & Guattari, Clement Greenberg, Artforum, Homi Bhabha, John fucking Cage! I suppose everyone in local art schools know Duchamp but he's been dead 100 years, too!

I'm not a dry conceptual person/artist, but I think that one cannot isolate one's art practice from all the art that's gone on before, and all the different ways of thinking about art. How can you be an artist in the 21st century and live in your own bubble and think that all art is just expressionist painting. I think that before you decide to pursue an old way of making art, you should educate yourself on what boundaries are being pushed in art today. Why limit yourself to expressing emotions in paint? It's so boring for us to see! It's like one big whine on a canvas!

Apologies to all you great artists out there who're doing a good job and have to suffer my bitter post. Yes, I feel quite bitter today. Complacent artists are so annoying. When I say complacent, I don't mean that they don't work hard. I'm sure they work hard at what they do. I'm talking about intellectual complacency. Why are the challenges they set for themselves so small and why not set an example for the younger ones? Why not compare one's art against the international scene? Keep raising the bar, goddammit, I'm one of those who need you to!

Grumble, grumble. Here are some updates: Roopesh Sitharan and Chuah Chong Yong have been added to the database. Wong Hoy Cheong's Re:looking piece from Venice Biennale is linked. KOMAS and Artis Pro Activ are now part of the Collectives & Societies family. Some other stuff that I didn't bother marking with the sign "NEWLY ADDED" are up.

EDIT: I'm plugging this for a friend: NYALA: An evening of classical Malay, Balinese, Indian and Japanese Buto Dances.

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