Long-time readers know that I am a self-declared street-art-hunter. I wrote about street art in different cities and countries, also about murals and street art in Singapore. There are some which i have discovered at a Clarke Quay underground bridge along Singapore River where walls were covered by mural painting done by Social Creatives in collaboration with SG cares, successfully spiced up the ambient in the tunnel. Deep down in my heart, it is not just a simple mural or an art, I believe it encompasses a strong social statement that a community can work together to bring an idea across to the people locally and globally in times to come.
Social Creatives is a Singapore-based, non-profit arts social enterprise. Since its founding in 2007, the group has actively worked towards making Singapore a more colourful city, both visually and emotionally. Social Creatives collaborates with a wide range of people, including established and aspiring artists, community groups, corporate enterprises, people with disabilities, troubled youth and local volunteers. Through the joint creation of public artworks, the group’s aim is to bring people together to transform bland or ignored city spaces into colourful, vibrant destinations that attract locals and tourists alike, and to create a sense of connection among Singaporeans themselves, as well as between residents and their city.
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Fascinating Street Art At Singapore Aliwal Urban Art Festival On 17 January 2015 眼前一亮的创意街头涂鸦艺术欣赏19/1/2015 If you have been following my blog, you'll probably realise that I have been documenting and collecting a series of photographs that emphasize the graffiti and street art in the cities I had travelled to as well as in my own hometown, Singapore. As a longtime lover in the graffiti and street art medium, I am always excited to discover what artists are doing around locally and around the world. There are tons of fantastic sites and daily blogs that are covering the continued evolution of the street art and graffiti medium, but there is nothing quite as good as seeing the real thing.
In recent years there has been an increasing interest in an ephemeral and viral form of art that is marking urban settings around the world, and has developed a flourishing sub-culture all its own. Now though, street art is going mainstream. Into its second edition, on last Saturday Aliwal Urban Art Festival returned with an exciting showcase of Singapore's growing street art scene. Organised by Aliwal Arts Centre, the festival's location in Kampong Glam is apt - the district is named one of Singapore's coolest neighborhoods by international press, with its rich history and culture mixed with on-trend shops and cafes. The festival brought together some of Singapore's most exciting street artists from RSCLS, a local popular artist collectives that seeks discourse and disharmony through random acts of artistic collaboration that challenges artists out of their comfort zones. 我在上个周末星期六实拍阿里哇街文化艺术节 (Aliwal Urban Art Festival), 也同时亲眼目睹了街头艺术家们进行艺术创作。眼前一亮的创意街头艺术吸引了大量观赏者。活动现场包括街舞、街头涂鸦等街头文化,在一开始就为活动定下了酷炫又刺激的基调。据主办方介绍,这场大型涂鸦活动是阿里哇文化艺术节涂鸦主题活动。街头涂鸦表演迅速勾起现场大家的兴致和童心,你难以想象人们站在巨幅的涂鸦作品下一动不动地欣赏着的场景,这种街边艺术确实让一些不起眼的街区变成了供许多民众喜爱街边艺术欣赏的好地方。 那一天的涂鸦活动聚集来自本地街头艺术家组织RSCLS涂鸦好手,创作总长达50米,长度足足有四辆货车加起来的涂鸦墙。我很佩服那些有才的涂鸦者,画在墙上或地上,惟妙惟肖,立体感很强,很艺术的样子。每个涂鸦师都有自己的个性,通过涂鸦作品他们可以自由地表达自己的想法。街头涂鸦使用的是一种专用的涂鸦喷漆,不仅画面设计、字体结构、透视效果要学习,甚至连按压喷头的力度,都需要一点点琢磨。 按的力度小,喷头出来的漆更细、面积小。一整面的墙壁,要用细小的喷头一点点覆盖,常常需要数个小时。经过3个多小时肆意喷绘,一幅一幅极具梦幻色彩的涂鸦作品逐渐呈现在众人眼前。 A happy start to a new year! My recent travel photo documentary on Ipoh wall murals located at back lane has been published In today's 联合早报 dated 2 January 2015! Thrilled to see it 《怡保休罗街老店后巷壁画, 故仔街》being featured nationwide in print! Special thanks to Lianhe Zaobao, zbNOW/早报现在, you have made my day! Thank you so much! :-)
Ipoh, the capital city of Perak state, was once a booming tin mining town during the British colonial era. However, the collapse of tin prices and closure of tin mines in the late 1970s meant that the town lost some of its lustre over the years. Activities slowed down and migrants moved out, leaving behind grand old buildings. For street art lovers, there is a new attraction in Ipoh Old Town that is certain to pique their interest - a set of seven murals. The beautiful murals, akin to Penang's Zacharevic artwork, are painted on the back walls of several old shops in a lane which connects Jalan Masjid and Jalan Sultan Iskandar Shah (Hugh Low Street). The paintings were painted on old, heritage buildings, an effort which i found commendable in preserving these rare gems. The paintings highlight the many cultures of Malaysia with a pinch of cheekiness with popular childhood games like hide-and-seek and mother hen, and a beautiful waterfall scenery, amongst others. This back alley is also filled with colourful wall murals depicting life from the simpler days when pleasure was attained from blowing bubbles and hiding around corners.
提及 “艺术”, 大抵都以“高尚, 难以捉摸, 遥不可及” 这样的词语来形容, 可其实, 艺术不会因为你是平民而对你视若无睹, 也不会因为你是王公而对你青眼有加, 儿时在白墙上的涂鸦, 夜晚安眠中美轮美奂的梦, 又何尝不是艺术的世界, 在这纷扰又急速的社会中, 你有多久没停下来欣赏一张壁画? 你有多久没有听艺术家讲过自己的故事了? 怡保在这两年内出现 "本地风" 后巷壁画热潮, 渐成怡保拍照亮点去处. 怡保新街场谦街及休罗街之间后巷, 目前是怡保最多壁画的后巷, 而作为本地画家赖伟权, 是率先也是目前为止唯一在后巷作画的画家, 为两排百年老店后巷留下一系列壁画. 至今, 该条后巷的大小壁画累积至22幅左右, 並奠定了一定的名气. 我不久前探访过槟城, 看到那里的壁画掀起遊客热潮, 我也希望怡保也有这样的艺术. 怡保这里后巷多得是, 所以一样可在这些壁上画, 为怡保后巷打造文化气息, 也希望吸引更多遊客到来欣赏. 这一次我决定走入怡保市看看它今年崛起的壁画热潮, 究竟本地画家赖伟权和伙伴们如何美化怡保市和增添艺术气息. In the wake of the global growth of interest in art in the streets, one form of tourism that may soon be blowing up could be graffiti excursions, street art sightseeing, or even mural journeying. Having been declared a UNESCO heritage city in 2008, it is no surprise that Georgetown is now capitalising on this status and establishing a strong reputation for the arts. The Penang Island Jazz Festival and the George Town Festival have become international events, and you don’t have to wander far through the streets of Penang’s heritage zone before you come across all sorts of small galleries, antiques shops and arts cafes.
What attract both local and foreign visitors to visit Penang is to witness the delightful fusion of the East and West that rich in history and culture and also for its bewildering arrays of mouth-watering eats. That's what for my recent trip but currently, what attract me the most was for its vibrant showcase of these unique and beautifully painted art street, wall paintings and steel sculpture across the heritage area of George Town city. Thanks to London-trained Lithuanian artist, Ernest Zacharevic who started off of these amazing and creative ideas by painting these colourful murals within the inner city and later, his footsteps followed by the local artists and cartoonists which helped to generate awareness of the rich history of the streets. They are fast becoming one of Penang’s most popular attractions. The murals reflect Penang’s living history by connecting the town’s heritage buildings to everyday images of its inhabitants, evoking a sense of old Penang but also mirroring life as it still exists in Georgetown’s quiet backstreets. Painted on imperfect, crumbling walls, the images are honest and down-to-earth, and have already become an integral part of the town’s fabric. The Discovery Of Street Art That Gave Eminent Plaza In Singapore A Final Facelift Before Demolition8/10/2014 When you live in a city like Singapore, street art is so integrated into the urban milieu that it becomes easy to casually glide past a thought-provoking artwork (that just-so-happened to be seductively created whilst avoiding authorities in the dead of night). That is not to say Singapore-dwellers do not appreciate the sparks of colour and wisps of paint, but when i was wandering more to east areas, it becomes strange not to have a piece of well-thought-out hues in your line of sight.
It was announced some months ago that the Eminent Plaza together with the neighbouring Lavender Food Square Centre built in the 1980s in Singapore, will give way to a new 16-storey building slated to be completed by Year 2018. It’s sad to see another part of old Singapore being torn down to build yet another commercial project. I decided to visit it on a recent weekend afternoon to quickly document the place before it’s gone forever. The building will be demolished by end October 2014. Street Graffiti - here today, gone tomorrow. We all know that graffiti is temporary. The transient nature of street art means it’s at risk of being scrubbed out and easily lost forever. But long after the paint has faded from the walls, technology can step in to preserve this important part of a city’s culture. I hope this blog post will rekindle an appreciation for the artists who once helped to paint our city into an even more beautiful juxtaposition of old and new. Street Art is a form of art, specifically visual art, developed in public spaces, that is, "in the streets", though the term usually refers to unsanctioned art, as opposed to government sponsored initiatives. The term can include traditional graffiti artwork, sculpture, stencil graffiti, sticker art and street poster art, video projection, art intervention, guerrilla art and street installations. Typically, the term 'street art' is used to distinguish contemporary public-space artwork from territorial graffiti, vandalism and corporate art.
Artists have challenged art by situating it in non-art contexts. ‘Street’ artists do not aspire to change the definition of an artwork, but rather to question the existing environment with its own language. They attempt to have their work communicate with everyday people about socially relevant themes in ways that are informed by esthetic values without being imprisoned by them. |
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