英文摘要 |
Late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century witnessed the transformation of shuhua tradition of the East into the modern concept of meishu under Western influences. It was an era plagued by wars and socio-political turmoil that triggered a major tide of migration. Among those on the move were artists who had studied art in China or abroad. The new world inspired new directions in their artistic careers, while they themselves also became catalysts of cultural fusion, and pioneers in shaping modern art in the lands where they resided temporarily, or permanently settled. All were immediately confronted with a challenge to define themselves in the context of new versus old, East versus West. Many strove to assert the uniqueness of the specific places they resided while at the same time stressing the common grounds of mankind and links with their homeland in order not to find themselves marginalized in the newfound land. This paper begins in Xiamen, and examines the impact of the network of Chinese diaspora on modern Asian art from a perspective beyond the political boundaries drawn after the Second World War. The career of Lim Hak Tai-the respected artist and art educator acknowledged as the Father of Nanyang Art after he passed away-sheds light on the significant relationship between the Xiamen network and the art of the littoral states of Asia. In the 1950s, British colonies in South East Asia witnessed a forced severing of ties between ethnic Chinese and their homeland in China due to the establishment of the communist regime in China and the anti-communist policies adopted by the colonial government. The period also witnessed active civil rights movements among the colonized ethnic Chinese who had shifted their orientation from China toward South East Asia. The transformation of their mentality was delineated in the two major works of Lim Hak Tai: Telok Ayer Temple (1952) and Hok Lee Bus Incident (Riot, 1955). Comparing these two paintings clarifies what Lim Hak Tai attempted to achieve via art: depicting the local life as it was, taking root in new lands, and attending to local needs with a global perspective. In other words, to maintain both local uniqueness and universality/modernity that reached beyond local limit, as manifested in both the writings and the artwork of Lim Hak Tai. |