At the National Gallery Singapore #2

When COVID-19 restrictions were lifted for libraries and museums, I went to visit the National Gallery Singapore recently. An art museum that opened on November 2015 and located in the Downtown Core of Singapore, it oversees the world's largest public collection of modern Singapore and Southeast Asian art, consisting of about 9,000 artworks.

This was the third time back but there is always never enough time to see them all. I only went to one exhibition there, titled, Something New Must Turn Up: Six Singaporean Artists After 1965. And yes, some of the artworks inspired me to write some poetry on them.

I did a series and they are over at my other blog, i write too. I have chosen a few to showcase here.

If you want to see the whole lot, 7 of them, please click this link.


At the National Gallery Singapore #2


#11

photo by dsnake1


love poem on the 7th day of the 7th month

the moon
sliding onto
a tall branch
is trying
to get into your room


14/08/2021
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#13

photo by dsnake1


checker board of fields under the sun


looking out of the train
at the rice fields of Japan.

oh, just a dream...


24/09/2021
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#17

photo by dsnake1


when insomnia whispers into your ears


let the night die for a moment
hear the whirl of the ceiling fan
let the air run over your sweat
like snakes slithering on sand.


18/09/2021
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"...and then, I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?”

-- Vincent van Gogh

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© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2021

one busy day at a contemporary art museum

reminds one of the emperor's new clothes...

colour pencil sketch by dsnake1


one busy day at a contemporary art museum


the crowds have come to gawk and ogle.
they are talking of technique and colors.
he came too but his brows knit into a frown.
why, they have hung the picture upside down.



21/08/2019
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The artwork is a copy of Mondrian's "Composition  with Red, Blue and Yellow" (1930)

Happy Holidays, Friends!

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“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”

― Daniel J. Boorstin

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© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2020

At the National Gallery Singapore

A few months back, I went to visit the National Gallery Singapore, an art museum located in the Downtown Core of Singapore. Housed in two iconic Singapore buildings, the former Supreme Court Building and City Hall, it oversees the world's largest public collection of modern Singapore and Southeast Asian art, consisting of over 8,000 artworks. It was opened on November 2015.

I went back twice to revisit the artworks, but there is always never enough time to see them all. But that is enough for some of the artworks to inspire me to write some poetry on them. Maybe the next trip will inspire more verses?

I did a series and they are over at my other blog, i write too. I have chosen a few to showcase here.

If you want to see the whole lot, 10 of them, please click here


At the National Gallery Singapore


#3

The Face in Meditation by Abdul Ghani Hamid
photo by dsnake1



untitled


silk flowers -

the faces
in the doctor's waiting room.


05/06/2019
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# 7

Untitled (Grey and Green) by Arthur Yap
photo by dsnake1



friday


this morning, it is sunny and bright
but was it that day in Golgotha?
did the birds chirp from the olive groves?
and children play in sand-dusted streets?
or was it just a mob calling for blood?


revised 03/05/2019
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#9

Nude by Ta Ty
photo by dsnake1



wilted roses


wilted roses in a vase

wet tiles
after she has used the bidet

still
a scent of flowers
after she has left.


May 2019
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Why did I visit this museum? Because I was bored and free that day, and there is no admission charge for citizens, and a friend was willing to tag along. I did not go in search for beauty or truth or life's meanings, and instead I found beauty, and the truth hurt because I realised how little I knew of local art. As for life's meanings, I tried to understand why a broad brushstroke was used, why the artist painted only on one colour, or a riot of colours. I stood before the artwork and the painting tried to talk to me. The friend said we should come back another day, and I agreed.

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© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2019

the four sisters

This is a painting by the artist Rick Mobbs. Over a decade back, Rick offered on his blog a weekly image prompt for us wannabe writers to ponder over it. He called the project The Storybook Collaborative. Those images are paintings that he had done, and out of it were some very good poems.

The below poem has been sitting in my thumb drive for some time. Perhaps I took too long to ponder?

painting by Rick Mobbs



the four sisters



"Can we not raise our hands in anger?
beat our swords into ploughshares instead?"

and Peace
raises her hands and releases the white petrel
where it circles the storm clouds

says Hope
and the golden flame in her hand
flickers but still burns strongly in the wind

says Love
and the stalk of red rose
bends with the wind but does not break

says Faith
and her hands cup the the sunrise
weighing the golden orb of the growing sun

and they look at the grey skies turning black
the sea sneering and scattering the dunes

and they are not afraid.




written 10/09/2010
revised 08/06/2018
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And if you think the dark clouds will clear : Pink Floyd, A Great Day for Freedom

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© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2018