AEP Block Test
Question 2 a) Describe the subject matter of these paintings.
Liu Kang’s painting “Seated Model” is of a Balinese woman sitting on a woodem chair in a rural surroundinsg. She is topless, with her right hand holding a white flower while the other hand holdng her right shoulder. She is sitted in a relaxed m a relaxed manner and appears to be dozing off. The subject matter is in the center of the painting and the background appears to be a archetecture structure surrounded with plants. The setting is in Bali, where Liu Kang, together with other artists stayed at in search for a visual expression that was Southeast Asian.
In Hendra Gunawan’s “Bundung asa Sea of Fire”, a scene during the anti-communist massacre of the 1960s in Indonesia is portrayed. The painting is divided by a strong diagonal, in the form od the hill that separates the foreground from the background. In the foreground, a man is seen lying on the ground, on the brink of death with his knees buckled and eyes rolled. A woman is crawling towards him, with blood flowing out from her mouth. In the background, it id crowded with refugees carrying their belongings and running up a hill, away from a fire and collapsing of buildings on the top right-hand crner of the painting. The subject metter in this painting are painted with earthy tones of browns and blacks. There seems to be little dlending and the choopy, thick and messy brush strokes are used to suggest chaotic and messy environment.
Question 2 b) Analyse and interpret the artists’ intentions.
In Liu Kang’s work, he had taken the effort ot portray the subject matter and its surroundings in a realistic mannner, the naturalistic colours are well-blended and forms are carefully modelled, this exudes beauty, tranquility and peace in his work. The setting of the painting- a rural village in Bali-also tells us that he wanted to capture the simplicity and peacefulness of rural living with contrast to the chaotic, catastrophic environment in Jarkarta. The lush green bushes in the background, the bare feet of the sleeping woman and the balanced composition all suggest clse proximity with nature and harmony with the earth. The topless woman in the painting shows the innocence and purity in moral and ethics of the simple Balinese people in rural areas. The white flower that the girl is holding is a symbolism for innocence of the mind and love for the nature.
In Hendra Gunawan’s work, it suggests a sense of panic, chaos and catastophic environment as the Indonesian refugees are running away from the anti-communist massacre of the 1960s. In this painting, the use of bright,intense and highly striking colours of red and yellow contrasts with the dull earthy tones to bring about a sense of alarm and fear in people,The artists,by choosing such bloody colours, wanted to convey the cruelty of bloodshed caused by the anti-communist raids. The figure in the foreground who has his knees buckled and eyes rolled is most frightening as he glared at the viewer. This might be a symbolism of the artist himself who is disluusioned with the state of affairs. The fire and collaapsing buildings at the top right-hand corner of the painting gives thepainting a scene of destruction and chaos.
Question 2 c) Discuss the impact of the two paintings on you.
Liu Kang’s realistic painting of the woman and her rural village creates a sense of tranquility and peace in me. The stillness of the woman as she rests and her relaxed posture portrays peaceful and undisturbed state of mind. When I looked at the painting, the natualistic and soothing colours and the peacefulness of the subject matter make me feel relaxed and at ease. When I looked at the paintings, there is a yearning to escape from the stressful, urban surroundings that I live in and instead live in the rural villages whereby there is freedom and peace. As I looked at the woman who is barefeet and topless, I feel this freedom in her that those living in the city can never feel as they are often pressured by society to conform, to wear clothes and wear shoes wherever they are. There is not a moment for them to relax in their garden and be part of the nature. Liu Kang’s work had thus evoked a sense of longing and nostalgia for the life in rural areas and in olden days.
In Hendra Gunawan’s work, I feel the sense of panic and fear that the artist had tried to express in his work. The man and woman seen in the foreground, on the brink of death. Their frightening experience filled me with digust and fear for violence and war. In the background, the explosions and black fumes, with people running away from the bomb site conveys panic and hysteria. The painting has alerted to me the predicament of causualties of war and urged me to sympathse with the victims, as well as to take a stand against war and violence. Indonesia’s struggle for independance from the colonial rule and communist incursions as depicted in the painting parallels with Singapore’s social strife to gain independance in the 1960s as well as the 1964 racial riot that resulted in 30 dead and many injured. It made me realise the fragility of peace and that we should all work hard to maintain peace and stability in our country.
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