NUMBERS & NICHESIS

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Colours

in Culture

Analog photography refers to

photography using an analog camera

and film. Whilst it might seem that

the ubiquity and sheer number of

digital cameras has squeezed analog

photography out of relevance, the

slow process of analog photography is

still dear to many photographers.

Most of us have a childhood

holiday memory related to the Kodak

disposable cameras, and this chase

of old school nostalgia feeds into

the revival of analog photography.

The slow dulling or discoloration

of a fuzzy old polaroid or a film

photograph indicates the unremitting

thread of time, causing us to

reminisce about a time long gone.

introduc tion:

colours in culture

1

THE CHIEF AIM OF COLOUR SHOULD BE TO SERVE EXPRESSION AS WELL AS POSSIBLE- henri matisse

© Jed Sullivan via Flickr 1 32

The almost ritualistic activity of transferring the

print from one chemical bath to another to the

gradual existence of the image shot until the final

satisfying shimmer, the feeling is unlike any other.

Besides nostalgia, the attraction of owning old

manual cameras and restoring them, is for their

unique ability to create certain effects, such as double

exposures on a single frame or chemical-looking

stains caused by unpredictable light leaks, that give

a photograph more character. The cameras, when

paired with certain kinds of film, result in a certain

visual effect unique to the specific pairing; a precious

one-of- a-kind colour saturation and grain on the

single piece of film -- technically referred to as an

‘exposure’ -- that digital tools would be hard pressed

to replicate, even in software applications like digital

darkrooms. Even then, there is no telling the final

results. Compared to the certainty of digital cameras,

there is an excitement in not really knowing how

your films will turn out. The disappearance of certain

types of film from Kodak, Fujifilm, Fotokemika and

Agfa, to name a few, has resulted in a scramble among

analog aficionados to acquire films that are slowly

being discontinued by manufacturers. It is pretty easy

to see why analog photography remains a mainstay

outfit at universities and professional photographer

studios. The manual darkroom process of creating

a photograph is still a valued and well-loved art.

54

© wiredforlego via Flickr3

Pervasive, sometimes

political, and with more

than the occasional pop-

culture reference, street

art is the 21st century’s

answer to frescos and

murals. Though irreverent

and rebellious in tone,

street art does not lack

artistic merit; with

many art movements

like Surrealism and

Constructivism informing

the myriad of visual styles

applied on the walls.

Favoured for its portability

and ease of use, spray

paint is the grafiti artist’s

weapon of choice. The rise

of street art has seen the

development of special

spray paints with higher

pigmentation and a variety

of colours and inishes

to be added to a grafiti

artist’s palette – as seen

here with Hang Tuah by

local artist CLOGTWO,

found in Atlanta, Georgia.

stree t art

76

Even though body art has

been part of human culture

for thousands of years,

in the last few decades

it has been associated

with anti-social behavior,

mostly because of its initial

popularity amongst the

perceived “lower classes”

of modern society. Having

ink on skin is much more

ubiquitous nowadays, with

a growing number of tattoo

enthusiasts from all walks

of life.

Pigment bases made from

heavy metals, metal oxides

or organic chemicals are

combined with carriers

such as ethyl alcohol or

water to create tattoo ink.

Some tattoo artists blend

their own ink to create

unique shades and colours.

Colours can also be

blended within the skin, as

seen with the watercolour

tattoo by Deanna Wardin.

sk in art

© Deanna Wardin via Flickr4 98

© Rosa Menkman via Flickr5' ' '

New technology has

enhanced the way we

perceive and create colour,

and given artists new ways

to make art. By introducing

noise, feedback and

compression in analogue

and digital media, glitch

artists like Rosa Menkman

conceive artworks with

colours and visuals only

available in a world

equipped with modern-

day technology.

“Glitch Studies Manifesto”

by Rosa Menkman is an

example of how glitch

artists create visual

artefacts by manipulating

video and pictures. This

“1980s VHS” aesthetic has

inspired other art forms,

like the Vapourwave music

genre, and is a commonly

referenced visual style for

dubstep music.

Glitc h art

1110

Lapis Lazuli is a semi precious stone that at one point could only be found in a single mountain range in Afghanistan. The pigment made from this gemstone was Ultramarine and it was so sought after that its price was said to have rivaled gold.

Cochineal insects found on cacti are harvested and ground up for their carminic acid to produce a bright red pigment. This pigment is used for dyes, paints, food colouring and even lipstick.

In the 17th century, Indian yellow pigment was manufactured by drying the urine of cows fed only with mango leaves. This process was eventually outlawed due to animal cruelty.

Pigment for Bone black & Ivory black is made by burning animal bones in a sealed oxygen deprived environment.

p igment s: how are the y made?

6

7

8

9 1312

sp otlight

Known for using a kaleidoscope of

colours for his ethereal artwork,

Ruben Pang (1980) describes his

work as “visual syncopation”, and

likens the viewer’s experience to

be “like searching for a melody in

white noise”. Oil paint is applied

onto large aluminum boards with

anything from brushes, to palette

knives and even his hands to create

his unique striking imagery. His

sold out shows and internationally

exhibited work in Milan and

Lugano belie his tender years.

© Juliana Tan 1514

Did you ind your way to art or did art ind its way

to you?

Feels like it's both. I feel like I was never “apart” from

art. I grew up with artistic parents—they put crayons

and paint in my hands before I could speak, read me

stories, always put on good music and rented all kinds

of videotapes. In that sense, art was always around me

since the beginning, and I didn't see it as a separate field,

it was just a very natural part of everyday life.

Around 16 years old, I made the decision that I wanted

my life to be immersed in art and I enrolled into art

school, promising myself that I'll be an artist (whatever

that meant) before I graduated. With hindsight, this

journey began long before that. It started with my

parents' nurturing and them allowing me to find my

own way.

Describe your approach to using colour in your work.

I think of it as a mental and visual expansion. There's a sense

of increasing returns—you'd think that if you keep painting,

eventually you'd cover the entire spectrum and run out of

colors to use, as if it's a process of attrition. It's really quite the

opposite. I also embrace automatism and improvisation.

There are times where I'm more of a spectator to whatever

unfolds on the painting surface. There's never a fixed

approach, and very little planning involved.

You could have used other mediums but you chose

paint. Why?

It never feels inert. Each color in oil paint is made of a

variety of pigments with various characteristics. There's

an alchemistic sense to it—that you've got to find a way

to “unlock” each color's potential and understand how it

behaves in various scenarios.

What are some of the misconceptions about being

an artist in Singapore?

Artists tend to think they need to know what they're

doing, that they have to come up with a concept and

execute it in a way that justifies the proposal, or perhaps

that they need art theory to back up the work they make.

This is how tools to enrich artistic practice end up

constricting creativity.

As a young artist yourself, what are your hopes for

the future of Singaporean art?

That we gradually become less dismissive, judgmental

and transactional.

Ruben Pang will be at library@orchard on

2 February 2017 (7pm) to share insights on

painting, art in Singapore and his work.

Find out more at www.nlb.gov.sg/golibrary

colours in

culture with

ruben pang

1716

Edited by Jack Fogg

Century, London,

UK, 2015

—

English 751.7309421 STI -[ART]

Stik is a London-based street and graffiti artist

known for simple two-tone stick figures. This

book is a collection of large format images of his

works and unofficial street art and murals in 200

glossy pages, spanning over three continents.

Stik

All rights reserved.

1

recommended re ads

1918 1918

Isaac Fitzgerald &

Wendy MacNaughton

Bloomsbury, New York,

USA, 2014

—

English 391.65 FIT

Behind every tattoo is a story, and Pen and Ink tells

what these stories are, and more importantly, the

people who tell them. From a rape survivor to rockers

to librarians, the reasons for the artwork and colours

behind their tattoos are both heart-warming, heart-

breaking, sometimes hilarious but always personal.

Pen and Ink: Tattoos and Stories Behind Them

All rights reserved.

2

2120 2120

Jasper Ffode

Penguin, New York,

USA, 2011

—

English FFO

Haruki Murakami

Harvil Secker, London,

UK, 2014

—

English MUR

All rights reserved. All rights reserved.

Shades of Grey: The High Road to Saffron

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

3 4

2322

editor

Joey Chin

writers

Joey Chin

Paddy Ong

Natalina Pereira

—

This publication is printed

on Cyclus Print. Its text

is set in Mercury and

Johnston ITC Std.

© National Library Board, Singapore 2016

the numbers & niches series

710: Landscape Architecture

Green Places

720: Architecture

Everyday Architecture

730: Sculpture

Toy Sculpture

740: Drawing and Design

Make It Work

750: Painting

Colours in Culture

760: Printing and Engraving

Silkscreen Printing

770: Photography

Analog Photography

780: Music

Music Journalism

790: Performing Arts

Set Design

800: Literary Arts

Singapore Poetry and Prose

image credits

1. © ‘Pigments’, by Jed Sullivan, Flickr, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0, https://

www.lickr.com/photos/jed-sullivan/6828999479/

2. © ‘pigments colorés’, by Bernard Lamailloux, Flickr, licenced under CC BY 2.0,

https://www.lickr.com/photos/lamailloux/11562818263/

3. © ‘Spray Samurai by Clogtwo’, by wiredforlego, Flickr, licensed under CC BY-

NC 2.0, https://www.lickr.com/photos/wiredforsound23/22179597181/

4. © ‘watercolor abstract tattoo’, by Deanna Wardin, Flickr, licenced under CC

BY-NC-ND 2.0, https://www.lickr.com/photos/graphicward/15429018576/

5. © ‘Glitch Studies Manifesto’, by Rosa Menkman, Flickr, licenced under CC BY-

NC 2.0, https://www.lickr.com/photos/r00s/4065386001

6. © ‘Lapis Lazuli’, by Orbital Joe, Flickr, licenced under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0,

https://www.lickr.com/photos/orbitaljoe/2269013356/

7. © https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/cochineal/, Published

Paris, La Librairie Illustrée, 1885-1891

8. © https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:An_Ayrshire_cow._Etching_

by_H._Beckwith,_ca_1850,_after_W.H._Wellcome_V0021640.jpg

9. © ‘Bones -2’, by zeevveez, Flickr, licenced under CC BY 2.0, https://www.lickr.

com/photos/zeevveez/6133248255/

24

numbers & niches is a 10-part, monthly series of

talks and curated content based on the library’s

Arts Collection. Sequenced according to the Dewey

Decimal Classiication, each issue shines a spotlight

on local practitioners and their speciic art forms.

We would love to know how you are enjoying

numbers & niches. Write to arts@nlb.gov.sg.

in t hi s i s sue

01

06

08

10

12

14

18

introduction

Colours in Culture

Street Art

Skin Art

Glitch Art

Pigments: How are

they made?

spotlight

Ruben Pang

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