Singapore pioneers
My title comes from something a friend of mine said when we were looking at the exhibition, Imaging Selves, at the Singapore Art Museum. I had asked what she thought of a painting by one of the Nanyang School 'Pioneer Artists' of Singapore.1 After a pause she said, 'It reminds me of that bit between modernism and tourism'. And it struck me that, more than just a put-down of a modernist painting from a curator of contemporary art who has other preferences, her comment offered a stinging insight into Singapore nationalism. In this essay I want to explore how Singapore nationalism frames one of the country's most visible art treasures- its 'Pioneer Artists'. But first let me offer some context.
I. Tourism, of course, plays a part in the nationalisms of many countries, and national symbols are often inadvertent objects of ridicule. Okay, so Singapore's Merlion - that manufactured mythical beast that is half-lion and half-mermaid - would easily beat Copenhagen's own little mermaid statue in a kitsch contest. But it's not so much the degree of kitsch in tourism that's at stake here; it is the degree of tourism in nationalism. My friend's formulation is apropos precisely because the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) wields enormous power over the country's cultural development. A case in point: when the Chinatown district was earmarked for redevelopment, it was not the National Heritage Board, nor the Ministry of Community Development, but the STB that was given the task of envisioning a revitalised Chinatown. The consequence, as critics of the STB's plans contend, is that Chinatown will be turned into a theme park. (In a related vein, many in the arts community feel... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline