Reminder: From the Streets to the Malls: The Cultural Assimilation of Graffiti Art: Panel Discussion March 5

Presents

From the Streets to the Malls: The Cultural Assimilation of Graffiti Art

A panel discussion featuring Daze, Milenko Prvacki, Tan Boon Hui and Zaki Razak

5 March 2010, 7.00 pm

Fortune Cookie Projects
Artspace@Helutrans
39 Keppel Road #02-04
Tanjong Pagar Distripark
Singapore 089065

RSVP: howard@fortunecookieprojects.com

In conjunction with the exhibitions DAZE and Is This Home, Truly? Fortune Cookie Projects cordially invites you to join us for an evening's discourse on the worldwide phenomenon of graffiti art.

Since its emergence from the gritty streets of New York in the 1970s, graffiti art is one of those rare art forms that have been embraced by a global community. From the Bronx to Beirut to Berlin to Beijing, practitioners around the world have influenced everything from fashion to advertising. Graffiti imagery has become a pervasive component to the urban landscape. Not only that, but graffiti art is now showcased by museums and galleries worldwide and avidly collected by institutions and individuals.

This assimilation raises myriad questions about acceptance and authenticity, from both the public and the artists themselves. The speakers represent a cross-section of artists, curators and instructors who will share personal and professional points of view.

The speakers:

Daze. Born Chris Ellis in New York in 1962, Daze was one of the pivotal figures in the emerging graffiti scene in the late 70s. Together with artists such as Crash, Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat they pioneered a new urban art form that retains a potency and vitality that has influenced artists around the world. Daze was one of the first street artists to enter the gallery world, exhibiting at the renowned Sidney Janis Gallery in 1982. Since then his work has appeared in galleries and museums the world over, including the Grand Palais and the Fondation Cartier in Paris, The Brooklyn Museum and the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. His work is to be found in the collections of the Ludwig Museum in Aachen, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and The Tate Gallery in London.

Milenko Prvacki was born in Serbia, then Yugoslavia, in 1951. He graduated with a Master of Fine Arts at the Institute of Fine Arts, Bucharest, Romania, in 1975. He has lived in Singapore since 1991 and is currently the Dean, Faculty of Fine Arts at Lasalle College of the Arts. A practicing artist, he has exhibited in Singapore (ICAS, SAM, TAKSU, Art FORUM, NUS Museum), Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Sydney (MCA), Berlin, Bucharest, Belgrade, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, Bangkok, Zagreb, Nurnberg, Karlsruhe, Vienna, France, Italy and Budapest. His work can be found in the permanent collections of the National Museum and the Museum of Modern Art in Belgrade; Museum of Contemporary Art, Nurnberg; Museum of World's Portraits, Tuzla, Bosnia & Herzegovina; Gallery of Contemporary Art, Pancevo, Yugoslavia; Museum of Contemporary Art, Novi Sad, Yugoslavia; Obaine Gallery Collection, Piran, Slovenia; Singapore Art Museum, UOB Bank, National Library, ICAS, SMU, Singapore and the Gallery of New South Wales in Syndey.

Tan Boon Hui is Director of the Singapore Art Museum since August 2009. He is currently working on developing the contemporary art programming of the Museum. Previous to this, he was Deputy Director for Programmes at the National Museum of Singapore. His portfolio included the development of large scale festivals and events, institutional relations and international projects for the Museum. His work has focused on creating new possibilities for contemporary artists to engage with historical and social issues within the context of a history museum. He has a specific interest in the contemporary re-making of traditions among young artists. He curated the Museum's Opening Festival in December 2006 and has been the programmer for the Museum's major festivals including a performance and film festival on the Arab World in 2007 called 'Under the Crescent Moon'. Significant commissions include '120' a landmark site specific performance by Ong Keng Sen & Theatreworks to celebrate the 120th Anniversary of the Museum. He has also conceived 'Art-On-Site', a unique public art programme which invites artists to create work that alters perceptions of the Museum's public spaces. The programme has become one of the most important public art platforms in Singapore that regularly provides opportunities for Asian artists to create exciting new work that represents a new level in their artistic practice. In 2008, he has also programmed the large scale outdoor Night Festival within the civic and cultural district.

Zaki Razak, aka Lilpinkdevil, was trained in graphic design. He later made a switch to fine arts, graduating with a BA (Hons) in Fine Arts from the University of Huddersfield, UK in 2006. Though he has made work as a street artist during 2004-2006, he still continues as an observer and analyst of the local graffiti/street art scene. He received a residency at The Land Foundation in Chiang Mai, Thailand, culminating in a solo exhibition. He curated a group exhibition of 'progressive' street artists at the National Youth Council, Singapore and exhibited at 1a Space in Hong Kong. He is the curator of Is This Home, Truly? Zaki is currently completing the Master of Fine Arts programme at Lasalle College of the Arts.

The Organisers

Fortune Cookie Projects, an international art advisory and curatorial firm with offices in Singapore and New York, has long been active in organising exhibitions of major artists throughout Asia. Mary Dinaburg and Howard Rutkowski, the principals of Fortune Cookie Projects, each have over thirty years experience in the international contemporary art market.

Projects featuring prominent artists such as Sigmar Polke, Georg Baselitz, Jorg Immendorff, A.R. Penck, Per Kirkeby Julian Schnabel and Markus Lupertz have been realized in Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hong Kong and Manila. Most recently Fortune Cookie Projects curated the first comprehensive exhibition of paintings, photographs and video by William Wegman for Singapore, Seoul and Beijing.

Fortune Cookie Projects has also been instrumental in curating exhibitions and securing platforms for Asian artists at institutional and commercial venues throughout the United States and Europe.

Contact

Howard Rutkowski, +65 9382 1700, howard@fortunecookieprojects.com

Fortune Cookie Projects
Artspace@Helutrans
39 Keppel Road #02-04
Tanjong Pagar Distripark
Singapore 089065

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