One of the more interesting speakers at the TEDx Talks yesterday was Red Hong Yi, the Sabahan artist who became a youtube sensation with her painting of Yao Ming using a basketball youtube/watch?v=naQPxXNyRWc She has become quite an artist-celebrity, with her art works being seen by hundreds of thousands of people (her Yao Ming youtube video has more than 900,000 views). She has even been named by Esquire Magazine as a “Brilliant Malaysian Creator”. I have seen the video of her famous Yao Ming painting before, but never thought much of it. Using a basketball to paint an image of a basketballer, is to me a mere gimmick. And painting famous celebrities is so 60s Warholish (resurrected by the Chinese pop artists in the 90s) - hardly an artistic slam dunk, in my humble opinion. What piqued my interest in her as an artist though – was the fact that two friends whom I met at the TEDx Talks, both raved on about what a wonderful artist she was. These same friends probably wouldn’t recognize the works of some of our Malaysian artists whom I think are truly wonderful! That got me thinking that old question again – who decides what is good art (and the value of art)? Is it that cabal of museum curators, art writers, gallerists, and collectors? Or the viewer who consumes the art? Does it matter? I am not sure what she charges for her art works – but I wonder how much of the “value” of the art work, can be attributed to her celebrityship? And what’s wrong with that anyway – we pay for “brand names” all the time after all? Perhaps we should view her more as an entertainer – who as part of her performance, happens to create art works? Artist or entertainer – perhaps these distinctions are so blurred, they no longer matter in this age? What is undeniable is that her art works have brought joy to many people, and for that she definitely deserves the applause of the 1,800 participants at the TEDx Talks.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Aug 2013 01:40:51 +0000
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