New World is phunk’s second solo exhibition in Singapore after their show ‘Universal’ in 2007. The exhibition is a collection of prints, sculptures featuring a new world that is presented in the form of an uncanny theme park. And oh, there are also some little bomb sculptures (referencing the atomic bombs from the second World War) and a large inflatable ‘bomb’ marked with the Chinese character for ‘love.’ :phunk’s mastery in graphic design (the four-man design collectives goes by the name :phunk studio) is clearly expressed in the execution of the prints. But there is something beyond good design and clever visual illustrations in ‘New World.’
Is ‘New World’ grotesque? But look how adorable and likable everyone is…
Is ‘New World’ beautiful? Uh uh sure the illustration are of cutting edge but there’s something inherently diabolical about aestheticism of the dark…
‘New World’ is being touted in the exhibition press release and marketing literature as questioning the divide between graphic design and fine art. Little surprise here with :phunk studio’s repute as one of Singapore’s best design collectives since creative successes, ascending Maslow’s Hierarchy, inevitably find the drive and affordability of pursuing greater satisfaction by getting involved in the arts. Parallels can be seen elsewhere, for instance in the seemingly unrelated industry of mechanical watchmaking where the stalwart name of Rolex has become associated with the arts – no doubt through its tried and proven fine technical skills.
Viewing the exhibition of New World prints and sculptures at Art Seasons Gallery, to want to claim that design has made the graduating leap to artistry is apparent, but the claim is also a gimmicky one. The “is it design, is it art” debate in a competitive market such as design inevitably comes off as a cliche – because everyone else is using it. When graphic design software and technology democratizes the ability to create visual illustrations, when every designer is creating art on his or her desktop, nothing (created in this manner) is art.
To show this I borrow from theorist Frederic Jameson’s seminar text “Postmodernism or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism.” First of all, it has to be noted that Jameson writes from a Marxist perspective, situating the context within the advancement of capitalistic organization of our economy and of our lives. Although Marxism may not be the end-all be all answer to everything, it being critical of capitalism makes it valid in this case (as with the tension between the economic successes of :phunk to Rolex against their artistic expressions). Jameson looks at our culture through the relationship between society and the economy and we can see how this relationship is a both a source of constant creativity and tension (“is it advertising, is it art”).
The set texts of postmodern studies generally agree that post-modernity is marked by the failure of a singular meta-narrative, an end-all be-all theory of how the world is, that there is no one absolute truth. Instead there can be many truths and each relate differently and are shifted according to our individual interests – everything can be a truth. To this extend, it is notable to highlight Jameson’s notion of the loss of “critical distance” in post-modernity; simply put, Jameson is saying that in a postmodern world where everything is critical, then nothing is critical.
For Jameson, the postmodern world is one where modernization is complete, where “it is a more fully human world than the older one, but one in which ‘culture’ has become a veritable ‘second nature.’” It follows then that if everything purports to be “cultural” then nothing is “cultural.”
By that claim, if everything is art, then nothing is art. Visually arresting images once qualified as art simply by the technical prowess of the creators, but now there is no lack of skilled illustrators, photographers, and designers. What then goes into the works that qualify them as art? Oscar Wilde said “No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did he would cease to be an artist.” For Wilde then, the role of artists is an intellectual one that sees the world differently – to represent our world differently. The continuous advent of different art movements, theories, and corresponding markets is testament to the continuous need for art and its practitioners to think differently from their predecessors and contemporaries – to carve out their own space. Artists of today bear the weight of having centuries of art history in techniques and movements, and must represent the world entirely differently. This explains, in part, the shift to Modern Art in the 1960s, where art became not directly representative in the artwork. No longer able to break new grounds in art techniques and execution, contemporary artists look at breaking new definitions and concepts of what art is. The minimum challenge we ask of them is to make their art coherent in their argument.
How is ‘New World’ new?
The artists’ notes for New World writes that the exhibition is a new take on old collected memories, a re-imagination of memories of their childhood visits to Haw Par Villa, the now-defunct New World Amusement Park, and their fascination with Disneyland.
Famous cyber-punk writer William Gibson once wrote that Singapore is “Disneyland with the death sentence.” Singapore is building a theme park right now (Universal Studios)… along with the rest of the world, theme parks are coming up everywhere as the world becomes globalised. A lot of universal values and themes are exported, shared and celebrated thru this globalised process… in a way the modern world is becoming more and more like a giant theme park… Theme parks are designed for entertainment, escape and education. They are for people of all ages, race, wealth, class ad culture.
“To all who come to this happy place – welcome.” – Walt Disney
The ‘New World’ is an imaginary “Global” themed / amusement park. It is a theme park inhabited with various emotional themes. The series of artworks visually explores the inner world of the modern society. What are the universal themes that we all understand and celebrate?
- artists’ notes for ‘New World’
:phunk articulates through their comic half-tone signature graphic design and illustration – blending various influences (Chinese mythologies, Japanese manga and otaku subcultures, Hong Kong comic and pulp fiction, and Western popular cultures) into an universe that is both welcoming and menacing, and definitely satirical. It is :phunk’s world of the uncanny memories and the world plays by their rules.
William Gibson’s classic (it’s been referred to over and over – check Wikipedia!) article in Wired magazine branding Singapore as “Disney Land with the death penalty” resulted in a ban from the government. While construction of the Universal Theme Park is currently underway in Singapore (not to mention the upcoming casinos a.k.a. “Integrated Resorts”) :phunk deliberately brings this up to confront the explicit endorsement of the building of the theme park and the implicit burying of Gibson’s criticism.
Where William Gibson writes that Singapore is a “relentlessly G-rated experience” :phunk plays with the illusion of living a life through G-ratings, in an innocently brutal way. Superficially fun, splendid in color, beautifully lulling us into the theme park – only to blatantly exhibit a macabre “Alice in Wonderland” quality in all of the art-pieces. Never mind if we may die – we are having fun! The anxiety of their play works because it tugs at the unspoken anxiety we all universally bear in growing up and staying grown up. Branding the word ‘love’ onto a bomb doesn’t make the bomb lovelier. It makes it all the more terrifying because of our adult and vested belief in love. An innocent child who doesn’t know better (of which by better I mean by adult understanding) will however happily hug and play with the lovely bomb. In such a way, this may be the best satirical move against any government’s semantics. (You don’t want to call a spade a spade? Ok…)
Where Good and Evil Co-exist
‘New World’ can be a few things. For one we know :phunk studio is made up of Jackson Tan, Alvin Tan, Melvin Chee and William Chan. And we know through their work they have become synonymous with the breakthrough of Singapore’s, and by extension Asia, design industry. Now ‘New World’ stops design work for work’s sake in work-obsessed Singapore and instead declares “we should play” and disregard the work ethos. In a way, the luxury of pursuing the arts only after achieving financial success is perverse to a nation wanting to cultivate itself as a arts and renaissance city yet this perversion is entirely acceptable in industrious Asia. Seen this way, ‘New World’ can be a pointed remark at the contradiction of how official party lines constantly harp on making art accessible but yet art rarely pays off in this money-conscious part of the world.
‘New World’ can well be a commentary on Singapore’s state of government and the nanny approach towards entertainment and work. In nanny states, there is the constant hawkish lookout for ‘bad people.’ The exhibition literature writes: “The multi-media collection of artworks collectively illustrates a dysfunctional tale of an apocalyptic society where good and evil co-exist.” But in our living reality, good and evil exists – so rather, a world where good and evil does not co-exist is probably the world that is dysfunctional. We are trained to see our world through Singapore’s sugarcoated lens in areas from government policies to commercial design and advertising, to never speak of the bad. ‘New World’ is not really new in the sense that it is a old world represented, so to draw from childhood influences with which we are familiar forces nostalgia upon us – we want to re-connect with these images, these once-enjoyable memories of play. But as a re-imagination, as a re-presentation, there are meanings we were never taught to want to enjoy. We ask what do we do with these memories? Because if ‘New World’ is a reflection of ourselves in our most innocent state, our own censorship alarm bells must be ringing.
It is easy to glance over ‘New World’ and celebrate merely yet another graphic design and commercial success of :phunk. To do so is not surprising but it will also fail the point of the exhibition. As we enter more competitive and difficult times, and as more nations contribute to the globalization of everything, if we cannot even imagine how the world looks beyond the contradiction of good and evil, where else can we go on from here? At the very least, ‘New World’ has already subverted our understanding of the world marked by polar opposites (good vs. bad) by allowing the beautiful and the grotesque to be equally represented in our memories – memories which we constantly sweep to be clean and good. To return to the argument “is it design, is it art” is to fall short and fall back into the capitalistic need to account for everything with a marketable value.
When I asked Jackson Tan at the exhibition opening if there were any particular piece which he favors, he explained that :phunk started out as a band in art school. Following the quartet’s realization that they may not be as musically-inclined as they wished (his words, not mine!), :phunk concentrated on design and infused their band ethos into their work. “We work like a band, and we think of our work as compositions. So we do not look at any single piece here as a standalone because we see it as a song. We don’t say we like one song – we like the entire album.”
And visually outstanding this album is.
New World runs till 29 September 2009, at Art Seasons Gallery, Singapore
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