Newsweek 25 Oct 2010 - The Minister as Muse

8/7/2019 Newsweek 25 Oct 2010 - The Minister as Muse

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uThe Minister as Muse

As Singapore's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew) reflects on hismortality, artists are experimenting with his image in their work.

BY SONIA KOLESNIKOV-JESSOP

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ICULTURE IART

The vibrant watercolor shows a gaming table with threeplaying cards, each depict ing a differentportrait of the same man. Small figureskneel at the corners pleading, "Papa,can you help me no t be frightened?"and "Papa, don't you know I have nochoice?" They are lyrics from the gayanthem "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" fromthe Barbra Streisand film Yent!; the manfeatured on the cards is Lee Kuan Yew,Singapore's first prime minister, who isoften described as a father figure-albeitan authoritarian one-to the youngnation. New York-based Singaporeanartist Jimmy Ong incorporated the lyrics to reflect the anxieties of a generationof gay men in a city-state where homosexual activity remains a criminal actpunishable by up to two years in prison,while the card motif is a nod to themuch-debated opening of two casinosearlier this yeal'.

Ong's work is a relatively rare exampleof a contemporary artist incorporating

Lee 's image, even though Lee has dominated Singapore's political landscapesince the young nation's independencein 1965. Lee stepped down as prime minister in 1990 but has remained involvedin government and holds a cabinet position with the title "minister mentor."His image has the power to evoke strongreactions, yet unlike Mao Zedong, whoseimage has been embraced by legions ofChinese artists, Lee has remained a distant, often taboo subject for many Singaporean artists. "I can only speculate thatit is self-censorship at work," says Ong."Even in my artwork I am self-censoring,like using Yent/'s lyrics in place of myown voice."

But just as the 87-year-old Lee hasstarted in recent interviews to contemplate openly his own mortality, someartists are also beginning to reflect onLee's life and legacy. Several recentar t exhibitions have used his imageto explore the notion of nationhood,tbough never too critically. "Reevalu

ations are part of anyone's legacy,to do so while someone is still in ofcolors the effort with all the anxietpolitics," says Jason Wee, a Singaporartist also based in New York. "Mano longer in office, and Lee still is."

Wee has been working on a serieportraits of Lee, using shampoo bocaps arranged to create a pixelated effTitled No More Tears, the portraits a nod to Lee's rare emotional momin 1965, when he cried on televisannouncing the separation of Singapfrom Malaysia and Singapore's futlooked uncertain. Wee has also gbeyond mere iconographic represention, examining how deeply the agstatesman's influence runs over the cstate's citizens. In the recent exhibitBeyond LKY at Singapore's ValenWillie Fine Ar t Gallery, artists wasked to reflect on a Singapore withLee. Wee installed a tall, dark, grasculpture in the shape of the numone, inscribed with the words IN M

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ORY OF MY FATHER, MR. LEE, along withSelf-Portrait (Yellow, Green and Red Mr.Lee), an ink portrait in which the artist looks like Lee. "I decided on a selfportrait, but one that shows how littlecontrol I have over my genetic, national,and ideological paternity," says Wee.Others at the exhibition also reflected onLee's influence on Singaporeans, positive and negative, though many did notuse his iconography.The British had no qualms aboutpromoting Sir Stamford Raffles andother colonial figures when they ruledSingapore, and to this day a tall, whitestatue of the "founder" of colonial Singapore still stands proud along the Singapore River. Surprisingly, ever sincethe city-state gained independence in1965, i t has continued to celebrate thenames of colonial pioneers on monu-ments, streets, and bridges, ra ther thanembrace new modern-day heroes. Asthe first generation of political pioneershas begun to pass on, there have been

occasional calls to celebrate them andtheir achievements, but the Singaporean government, and in particular Lee,has always shied away from anythingthat could be construed as creating acult of personalities.Few of Asia's other longtime leadershave hesitated using public art to promote themselves; Philippine PresidentFerdinand Marcos had his own bustcarved into a hillside in central Luzon,and Mao's image was so pervasive thatit was not only on official buildings,but also in every single household. Leehas preferred the nation building tobe carried out in other media, such asnewspapers and textbooks. "The cult ofpersonality makes him uncomfortable,"says Tom Plate, author of ConversationsWith Lee Kuan Yew. "He thinks it's tacky.Until very recently, he didn't even wantto talk much about aspects of personality and his personal life."

Gallery owner Valentine Willie pointsout that artists have probably been reti

cent to use Lee's image in their works,because officially, the use of any cabinetminister's image requires approval fromthe Media Development Authority. Yet healso acknowledged that at his recent exhibition he did not seek any permission nordid he encounter any problems. Indeed ,some of the works were reproduced several times in the state-controlled media,which could be considered a subtleendorsement. "The greatest censorship iss e l f ~ c e n s o r s h i p , " says Willie. "We've livedfor so long under a regime where we can'tdo this or that, it's almost ingrained in ourpsyche that we don't go there."That's definitely changing. A finalistfor the 2010 Sovereign Asian Art prize,whose winner will be announced earlynext year, is an oil painting in the popart style of a young Lee relaxing with hisfamily. It is by Ong Hui Har, who tackledthe private side of the political leader ina one-woman show earlier this year. Thetrue test will be if and when she and hercolleagues tackle the other side. D .

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Newsweek 25 Oct 2010 - The Minister as Muse