Theme 2 Society

SOCIAL COMMENTARY

Social commentary may be found in many mediums of expression from literature to music.  Art uses visual communication to illustrate the diverse facets of different ways to life.  People, places and pursuits evolve over time and alter to suit changing circumstances.  Social class, economic welfare, health concerns and political beliefs are some of the many issues that can be explored in social commentary paintings.

By studying these artworks, we can understand the various ways that daily experiences may be used as subjects and interpreted by the artists.  Art is able to access an audience beyond linguistic barriers and the use of direct visual language and metaphors encourage the viewer to re-explore social issues and elicit different responses because we view the subject from a changed perspective, in a different context removed from reality.

Questions

1. Summarize the themes or issues presented or discussed in the artwork.

2. Discuss how the subject of this artwork may or may not be relevant to you.

3. How does the artist’s choice and use of medium or technique affect the presentation of themes in the artwork?

Liu Kang (China 1911 – Singapore 2004)
Life by the River

Oil on Canvas  126 x 203 cm   1975

Collection of SAM

Tan Tee Chie (China 1928 – present)

Brobak Birds Competition

Woodcut   48 x 63 cm   1966

Collection of SAM

Antonio ‘Tony’ Leano (Philippines 1963 – present)

Urban Cosmetics

Oil on Canvas  213 x 451.5 cm  1993

Collection of SAM

This painting quotes the poem: 

‘While men carried

Their dead with a stretcher,

They left a dead cat on the road;

But even if they would bury the cat

They would do it

Not because it has a soul

But because it stinks.’

Cheong Soo Pieng (China 1917 – SG 1983)

Drying Salted Fish

Chinese ink and watercolour  55 x 88 cm  1960s

Collection of SAM

  

I Wayan Bendi (Bali 1950 – present)

Kebakaran (The Firefighters)

Acrylic and ink on paper   50.3 x 70.3 cm   1999

Collection of SAM

Chua Mia Tee (China 1932 – present)

Workers in a Canteen

Oil on canvas  89 x 126 cm  1974

Collection of SAM

  

Fernando Cueto Amorsolo (Philippines 1892 – 1972)

Marketplace during the Occupation

Oil on Canvas 57 x 82 cm 1942

Collection of SAM