Source:
New Straits
Times
(Malaysia),
Monday, July 20, 1987
The
sculpture took 45 days to build during the third Asean sculpture symposium in
Jakarta in Nov/Dec, 1984.
Well, miniatures of this mammoth
curvilinear contraption are now available as gold earrings and silver pendants
in limited editions of 1,000 each. All will be duly numbered and signed by the
artist.
The
“unisex” earring (without clips), which can be ordered in 18K and 20K, is
scaled down three million times its original size while the pendant (without
necklace) is reduced 338,035 times in size!
These
are but part of a five-pronged event that marks, and includes, the publication
of a catalogue entitled Part of A collection of 3-D Works By Lee Kian Seng.
The
catalogue, also in limited editions of 1,000 at $5 each, will be available at
the artist’s gallery, The Klang Art Centre from July 31, and at the National
Art Gallery from Aug 1.
The
preface of the catalogue is written by NAG director Syed Ahmad Jamal, who is
also an established artist.
A
limited edition of 1,000 posters of Mankind (1972), another of Kian
Seng’s poignant metallic 3-D work that guards the NAG entrance, will also be
on sale at the production cost of only $2 each.
To
round up the 3-D potpourri, the leading Malaysian artist will be exhibiting at
his Klang Art Centre form July 31 to Aug 2 photographic records of his 3-D
works, including the processes and a few photographs on his Happening Art, his
witty “Hammer and Nail” (1977) series and a mild-steel model of Peace,
Harmony and One and its “extensions”, namely the earrings and pendants.
(One
of his most intriguing Happening Art works was at the opening of the NAG in
1984, at what was formerly the Hotel Majestic.)
Though
Kian Seng’s unofficial foray into jewellery art may look frivolous, it is
actually a provocative statement by one who is always noted for his avant-grade
creations – his technical excellence, brave innovation and uncanny
sensibility.
Having
miniature replicas of one of his most celebrated 3-D works is also his way of
emphasising that art is everywhere, and is with and around everyone all the
time.
It
also functions as a variation of Public Art.
By
making his 3-D work intro an utility item, he has also given his work a new
lease of life and a freedom and mobility that is very much in keeping with its
inherent message of unity and harmony.
“Art
is very much part of the living traditions,” intoned Kian Seng, who will be 40
next month.
By
converting his work into a fashionable idiom, one that is both contemporary and
popular – especially so when gold and silver are metals revered by generations
and generations of diverse peoples – Kian Seng has also demonstrated the power
and versatility of art, either in its monumental or smaller manifestations.
Seventy
per cent of the prices must be paid when orders for the gold and silver
collectors’ items are made with
either the artist or his fellow artist-wife Shoko Lee at the Klang Art Centre.
The
price of the 20K earring is the same as the 18K’s, except that the 20K earring
weighs 3.25gm while the 18K kind weighs 5.25gm.
Since
the mid 70s, Kian Seng has also conceived 30 other 3-D models which he has kept
under wraps. Such is his industry and versatility – he is adept in handling
various styles and media, for example batik, lithograph, oils and water-colours.
His
research and experience with lithography and other print-making techniques have
also stood him in good stead, in making him a more consummate artist.
Besides
Mankind, Kian Seng has two other 3-D works in NAG’s permanent
collection – the wooden Resumption and Consumption (1975) and The
Pair (which he did in 1968, when he was only 20 years old) which is of two
fused mountain goats done in reinforced cement.
All
in, the NAG has collected 12 of his works including the installation, Of
Image, Object, Illusion, Off Series Mechanism (which won the Major Prize in
the 1977 Open art and graphic competition); the 1964 oil, The Beggar and the
Bird, and the erotic batik quadtypch, Shoot, Shoot, Bang Bang (1973).
His
strapping 13-foot, three-ton reinforced concrete sculpture, Unity (1970),
meant for the Expo ’70, was later bought by the Seibu Railway as one of the
permanent exhibits in the Unesco Village in Tokyo.
His
other more notable 3-D works are the 1973 mixed media, Male and Female;
the 1974 mixed media (metal, wood, plywood) Poker; and Moon and Rock (1974),
his “waterfall” copper bas relief commissioned by Merlin Hotel, Cameron
Highlands.
The
underlying theme in his works is the Taiost philosophy of Ying-Yang; the essence
of harmony, and the counter-action and inter-action of the male and female
elements.
Picture: Lee Kian Seng and his wife Shoko Lee with a model of the Peace, Harmony and One sculpture. The earring he is wearing is a scaled down version of the sculpture.
By Ooi Kok Chuen ,New Straits
Times
Malaysia