Aung Myint
Encyclopedia
Aung Myint ʔàuɴ mjɪ̰ɴ; born 27 October 1946 is a Burmese
painter and performance artist. He is considered a pioneer in experimental art, rejecting traditional romanticism and confronting social and critical issues through a range of distinctive styles and media.
's contemporary art scene. Aung Myint co-founded The Inya Gallery of Art. In 1995, he made his first stage performance with the work Beginning n End. Aung Myint had his first solo exhibition in his Inya Gallery of Art in 1994, and since then has held many more in Yangon. He has also had solo exhibitions in Tokyo
, Germany
, Singapore
and New York
. He co-authored the book Myanmar Contemporary Art 1 with Aung Min.
and Jackson Pollock
, he refuses to categorize his work in terms of "isms". His work includes both representational and abstract images.
In the mid-1960s his work was semi-abstract, with cubist elements. This evolved through a period in the 1970s and 1980s when he "fragmented" his images, and then into a highly emotional style in the 1990s with splashing, smearing and dripping of paint in strokes, which strongly evoked the works of Jackson Pollock's "action paintings" but also derived its inspiration from the circle and swirls of the Myanmar alphabet. Other painters of the American New York School
of the post-war period, such as de Kooning, have influenced his work where in harrowing portraits the features of faces are tortured and twisted. But Aung Myint also reaches back into Burmese painting history for inspiration. In an unusual and provocative piece done in 2001 entitled Five Continents, he filled the bottom of the painting with images of Edvard Munch's "scream faces", in rows, as effigies of the Buddha might appear on the walls of Bagan
temples. The upper portion of the painting was divided into five panels dripping in violent red paint."
His more recent monochromatic drawings of mother and child are well known in Southeast Asia. According to Steven Pettifor, "the works are skillfully made using a single flowing line that conveys the artist's emotions and mood. These drawings are rooted in feelings of loss and abandonment from the death of his mother when the artist was an infant. The works also evoke the fluid line and form of works by such modernist masters as Henry Moore
and Pablo Picasso
". It should be emphasized, however. that the "flowing line" in such works derives from one-line painting, a term which in Burma refers to a technique used in the mural works of Bagan
and on into the Traditional painting of the early 20th century. In one-line painting an image is not painted in short strokes or dabs as is often the case in Western painting, but in a single flowing line from beginning to end.
The "Mother and Child" series won the "Jurors' Choice Award" at the ASEAN Art Award in Bail.
Aung Myint's work is held in the Singapore Art Museum
, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum
, National Art Gallery (Malaysia)
and in private collections in Singapore, Japan
, Thailand
, Germany, Netherlands
, Hungary
, Australia
and the USA.
Bamar
The Bamar are the dominant ethnic group of Burma , constituting approximately two-thirds of the population. The Bamar live primarily in the Irrawaddy basin, and speak the Burmese language, which is also the official language of Burma. Bamar customs and identity are closely intertwined with general...
painter and performance artist. He is considered a pioneer in experimental art, rejecting traditional romanticism and confronting social and critical issues through a range of distinctive styles and media.
Life
Aung Myint was born on 27 October 1946, and attended the Rangoon Arts and Science University, graduating in 1968 with a major in Psychology. A self-taught painter, Aung Myint began to exhibit his work in the 1960s. He became a leading figure in YangonYangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
's contemporary art scene. Aung Myint co-founded The Inya Gallery of Art. In 1995, he made his first stage performance with the work Beginning n End. Aung Myint had his first solo exhibition in his Inya Gallery of Art in 1994, and since then has held many more in Yangon. He has also had solo exhibitions in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He co-authored the book Myanmar Contemporary Art 1 with Aung Min.
Work
Aung Myint's paintings, installation art and performance art have a broad range of unique styles. Although he is interested in the work of artists such as Willem de KooningWillem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands....
and Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
, he refuses to categorize his work in terms of "isms". His work includes both representational and abstract images.
In the mid-1960s his work was semi-abstract, with cubist elements. This evolved through a period in the 1970s and 1980s when he "fragmented" his images, and then into a highly emotional style in the 1990s with splashing, smearing and dripping of paint in strokes, which strongly evoked the works of Jackson Pollock's "action paintings" but also derived its inspiration from the circle and swirls of the Myanmar alphabet. Other painters of the American New York School
New York School
The New York School was an informal group of American poets, painters, dancers, and musicians active in the 1950s, 1960s in New York City...
of the post-war period, such as de Kooning, have influenced his work where in harrowing portraits the features of faces are tortured and twisted. But Aung Myint also reaches back into Burmese painting history for inspiration. In an unusual and provocative piece done in 2001 entitled Five Continents, he filled the bottom of the painting with images of Edvard Munch's "scream faces", in rows, as effigies of the Buddha might appear on the walls of Bagan
Bagan
Bagan , formerly Pagan, is an ancient city in the Mandalay Region of Burma. Formally titled Arimaddanapura or Arimaddana and also known as Tambadipa or Tassadessa , it was the capital of several ancient kingdoms in Burma...
temples. The upper portion of the painting was divided into five panels dripping in violent red paint."
His more recent monochromatic drawings of mother and child are well known in Southeast Asia. According to Steven Pettifor, "the works are skillfully made using a single flowing line that conveys the artist's emotions and mood. These drawings are rooted in feelings of loss and abandonment from the death of his mother when the artist was an infant. The works also evoke the fluid line and form of works by such modernist masters as Henry Moore
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
and Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
". It should be emphasized, however. that the "flowing line" in such works derives from one-line painting, a term which in Burma refers to a technique used in the mural works of Bagan
Bagan
Bagan , formerly Pagan, is an ancient city in the Mandalay Region of Burma. Formally titled Arimaddanapura or Arimaddana and also known as Tambadipa or Tassadessa , it was the capital of several ancient kingdoms in Burma...
and on into the Traditional painting of the early 20th century. In one-line painting an image is not painted in short strokes or dabs as is often the case in Western painting, but in a single flowing line from beginning to end.
The "Mother and Child" series won the "Jurors' Choice Award" at the ASEAN Art Award in Bail.
Aung Myint's work is held in the Singapore Art Museum
Singapore Art Museum
The Singapore Art Museum contains the national art collection of Singapore. It has a collection of 7,750 pieces of Singaporean and Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art, and has an expanding collection of new Asian and international contemporary art.- History :Officially opened in 1996, it...
, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum
Fukuoka Art Museum
Fukuoka Art Museum is an encyclopedic art museum in Fukuoka, Japan. It contains a notable collection of Asian art and exhibits various temporary exhibitions - in November 2010 it hosted a large exhibition of Marc Chagall's work.-External links:*...
, National Art Gallery (Malaysia)
National Art Gallery (Malaysia)
The National Visual Arts Gallery of Malaysia was established on August 28, 1958, by Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia. The gallery is also a statutory body and an agency under the Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Tourism of Malaysia....
and in private collections in Singapore, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Germany, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the USA.
Collections
- Fukuoka Asian Art MuseumFukuoka Art MuseumFukuoka Art Museum is an encyclopedic art museum in Fukuoka, Japan. It contains a notable collection of Asian art and exhibits various temporary exhibitions - in November 2010 it hosted a large exhibition of Marc Chagall's work.-External links:*...
- Singapore Art MuseumSingapore Art MuseumThe Singapore Art Museum contains the national art collection of Singapore. It has a collection of 7,750 pieces of Singaporean and Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art, and has an expanding collection of new Asian and international contemporary art.- History :Officially opened in 1996, it...
- National Art Gallery (Malaysia)National Art Gallery (Malaysia)The National Visual Arts Gallery of Malaysia was established on August 28, 1958, by Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia. The gallery is also a statutory body and an agency under the Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Tourism of Malaysia....