WANTED: Someone to restore Arteri and give it 2nd life. Interested? Email: mail.sharonchin.com
Image from (MEM) Myanmar Electronic Music Community
According to the title of my paper, ‘transformation’ means to show some outline of final situations or results. Therefore, I think transformation means having effect. One such ‘effect’ is Digit – Art Festival, an event held in Nov 2009 at Alliance France in Yangon.
This event was a marriage of digital music, graphic art and video art created by French, German and Myanmar artists. Without the emergence of Techno and Electro music in the 90s in Myanmar, I think it would be difficult to imagine this kind of Digital Art Festival. Similarly, without leading performance artists (such as Po Po, Aung Myint, Htein Linn) and their contribution to the performance art scene in mid 90s, it would be impossible to initiate Beyond Pressure International Performance Art Festival today.
Under Socialist rule, Myanmar artists were rarely able to put eyes on Western art movements. Although [modern and] contemporary art developed in the West after World War II, Myanmar artists could not get the chance to discuss those movements. After the fall of the Myanmar Socialist Party in 1988, media in Myanmar opened up greatly. Articles written about the revolution of contemporary art around the world appeared in Myanmar magazines and influenced Myanmar artists widely. Many Myanmar artists became aware of innumerable changes happening around the world.
Image from (MEM) Myanmar Electronic Music Community
The Burmese Socialist Party tried to promote its so-called “Burmese way to Socialism” and it recognized only traditional art and culture that copied the model of the old Soviet Union. For example, only two art books written about modern art were permitted to be published in the Socialist Party Era, which lasted for 26 Years. Limited as they were, those two books were able to introduce Myanmar artists to abstract art and the mixture of modern and traditional art.
In the mid 90s, many art ‘-isms’ around the world invaded Myanmar through art and literature magazines. Consequently, leading artists (such as Po Po, Aung Myint, Htin Linn) and many others reapplied those post-WWII avant garde art forms in different ways. Their tendency to taste new forms of expression, music and technology, and combining all those new things with art, created new media forms that influenced young generations through the just opened door of Myanmar. Modern technology like satellites and computers changed peoples’ way of life. The booming of news media reached many people and we could easily access information about art events like never before.
Image by Raspel
After 2000, the so-called mid-90s generation of Myanmar artists and their successors stepped into the world of Internet Digital Culture. Internet provides not only knowledge but also creates a cyberspace for artists where we can exchange our views and experiment in transforming new forms of art. From then on, high technology has influenced some parts of the art scene.
Artists have begun to set out on the journey to extend the boundaries of the dominant art scene and of course their own expression. They choose to deal with many issues such as social, economical, political, environmental and of course, individual (loss of identity, for example) concerns that are a reflection of daily life.
Symposium, workshops, events and festivals encourage new media art practice as well as new expression.
An internet cafe in Yangon. [Taken during my recent trip there for 2nd Beyond Pressure Performance Art Festival. More posts on that coming up! – SC]
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Moe Satt is founder and organizer of Beyond Pressure artist-run initiative in Myanmar which organizes Beyond Pressure International Performance Art Festival, now in its 2nd year. He lives and work in Yangon, Myanmar. He started practicing art in 2005 after graduating with a Bachelor of Sciences (Zoology), showing his art in the galleries and the on the pavements of Yangon. He tries to reflect the order and disorder in the positions of people and the never-ending justification in terms of human internal validity. He has participated in several local and international performance art festivals such as Performance Site Myanmar 05, 8th Open International Performance Art Festival (Beijing), 9th Asiatopia Performance Art Festival (Chiangmai), #4 Perfurbance International Group Performance Art Festival (Jogjakarta) and 5th Tupada Action & Media Art Festival (Manila). He was also artist in residence at Rimbun Dahan, Malaysia and Hooyong Performing Art Center, South Korea. In 2007, he attended the CDCE (Community Development & Civic Empower) program at Chiangmai University, Thailand. Recently, his performance art pieces play with the meaning and meaninglessness of hand actions.
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Great to read about this..
Thanks for dropping by Varsha! :D
Great Yangon memories. I think of you often.
Is making art in Myanmar dangerous?
Making art with subtlety is not dangerous… but ranting and raving about the obvious will put you in, I guess, for 7 – 10 years
… then again, if you are a foreigner and not Burmese, your country’s mission can probably get you released in a few months. But I wouldn’t rely on that!
Just curious, Dictatorial regimes tend to have much state sanctioned Art and sculptures, usually grandiose and magnificent albeit kitschy.
Is this the case with myanmar? Are artists pressured to glorify the revolution or the ruling party at all?
Unlike other countries with Dictatorial regimes, did not come across any grand sculptures of generals at street corners or roundabouts in Yangon. Perhaps they are saving them for their new capital??
We always recieved news messages from Myanmar people, they are complainted about committees of temple and please see at below.
Thanks
Dear Sir and Madam,
We are Myanmar group in Malaysia; we lived in Malaysia over decade and always went to one of temple in Taman Desa Jaya, Kepong, Kuala Lumpur and we were very sad and regreting with the committees of temple because they are using our monks in wrong conception of Buddhist teaching or Buddhist rules. We came to temple to help our monks and respected of our religion.
That temple is president of name:Yip Kum Fook, that our monks said and he is invited our monks from Myanmar to in charge of that temple but without pay anything to our monks, added he and his not respecting of our monks and sometime he ordered of his people to collected item such as paper, mineral water etc. without inform any words to our monks. In our religious believed we can’t take anything of holy place, if we done we are sin.
In pervious, our monk said the committees always asked money from him, when our monks gave RM20,000.00 in cash on 2001 to the committees, then committees keep silent, later committees make problem with our monk again and cancelled of our monk Visa permit to stayed in Malaysia, then our monks( Sadayaw Nandiya) go to Australia and our monk not come that temple at long time. “Yip Kom Fook gave our monk notebook computer for to cover of that amount of money our monk said”
Many local people around temple said, now no more people come to this temple because committees is always make problem and we are heard from local people said: Yip Kum Fook ordered of his people to put fire of Hindu temple at Taman Daya, Kepong because he needed that place to make his business about many years ago. “Everybody known what he done for Hindu temple at Taman Daya, Kepong”
Last time also he invited police to arrest the monks at holy place(temple) and locked the temple without afraid and shameful of people because he believed committee is big and has more authority, also his son always say to people: this temple is belonging of his father. “This temple donated from public, we are work hard for this temple”
This temple the committees always changed the monks, now they change the new monk to in charge of temple, this new monk also complaint the bad things of committees because committees also wait for donation box only, they without help anything to our monks. And committees controlled of our monks not to talk more or complaint more, our monks lived there as slaver and afraid of committees members.
In new building where remaining of Buddha statue marble; we have renovation of Buddha statue because that Buddha statue is put very low, we lift to highest the committees don’t like and unhappy. In our country, anyone be able to come temple to worship the Buddha but in Malaysia is different temple controlling by committees.
We hope everyone preserve of Buddhist teachings, and please safety of our monks, not see only money as this of temple. When we asked some of our people ( Myanmar) and local people, the committees are very low of idea because is very narrow mind and without education of religions. And committees will not disturbing of our monks, monks are like our father to take care of Buddhism and temple is like our place of resolving of our problem.
Recently, our monk(Sadayaw Ashin Indaka original from Madalay, Myanmar) has been staying in this temple also unhappy because the committees are not pay anythings to him, he is working in hardly to advise people and we also unhappy and very sad when heard the bad news from our monks. Sometime the committees people came and shouting in the temple without have any reason and done what they need to do, our monk said, the committees of this temple don’t have Buddhist teachings in their mind, may be next time Buddhist can destroy.
From Myanmar Buddhist group in Malaysia but many word complaint by local Buddhist community in Malaysia. If anyone receive of this message(email), please forward or send to your friends to protection Buddhism in Malaysia.
Art is a good way to show the world how your own country is alive and a major part of the growing world and Myanmar is a beautiful place with a great deal of good people
Agree with the last comment on thsi post to quote “Myanmar is a beautiful place with a great deal of good people”
Myanmar is very dear to my heart as my wife is from there I do believe that just like satellites and computers can change people’s life, the young people of Myanmar will change Myanmar for the better simply because it is a beautiful country and the people of Myanmar are brilliant