Group 90

Infobox Art Group
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name = Group 90

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startdate = 1987
location = Lasalle-SIA College of the Arts (Telok Kurau Campus)
Singapore
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nationality = Singapore
field = Figurative art, Figure drawing, Figure painting
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Group 90 is an informal arts group in Singapore, committed to the study and interpretation, and promotion of the human nudity as an art form. It was founded the late Brother Joseph McNally, along with founding members S. Namasivayam, Chia Wai Hon and Sim Tong Khern, who subscribe to the European art tradition of using the human body in developing artistic mastery in depicting form, perceptual acuity and fluency in drawing.cite news|last=T. K.|first=Sabapathy|title=Among the studies, some engaging pictures|location=Singapore|publisher=Straits Times|date=1994-03-17]

Before 1987, Singapore had no avenues for expressing nude in art. Both Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and the Lasalle-SIA College of the Arts did not offer life drawing classes, and the conservative Singapore art market did not favour nude-themed art for fear of offending people of other races with an aversion for nudity, in the society. Save for the few exceptional artists who favoured the depiction of human figure in art, like Liu Kang, Cheong Soo Pieng, Ng Eng Teng, and contemporary artist Yeo Siak Goon, artists in Singapore generally favoured landscape art. They painted scenes of Singaporean Chinatown streets, or scenes of old Singapore River, and even so they avoided painting human figures in the scenes, whenever they could. Chia attributed the lack of interest in human figures by Singaporean artists to a number of reasons: one being a discipline that is time-consuming and difficult to master, and most of all there were great difficulities in getting models willing to pose in the nude.citation|last=Wai Hon|first=Chia|title=The figure in art in the Singapore context|publisher=Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts]

Unafazed by negative perceptions, Brother Joseph McNally in 1987 decided to introduce life drawing and painting from a nude model, in the College art curriculum. McNally appreciated the immense value of knowledge of human anatomy to good draughtsmanship, and urged the then-College art lecturer S. Namaysivayam to instill good foundation training to the students of the College through the subject. Namasivayam, who himself had not drawn a life model since his artschool days in the 1950s, was uncertain about his ability to teach the subject well. He was unable to afford hiring a model on his own to practice drawing, and thus he contacted his artist friends whom he knew would be keen to join him. Sim, Chia and fellow Lasalle lecturer Loh Kee Yew, along with artists like Ong Chye Cho, Chew Yew Seng and Keong Hean Keng heeded his call. [citation|last=Wai Hon|first=Chia|contribution=Group 90 and the art of the nude|title=NUspiration|location=Singapore|year=2008|pages=1-2]

This group of artists and amateurs convened at a drawing studio in the old Lasalle-SIA College of the Arts Telok Kurau campus on Saturdays, with support from the College administration. For the first time in history, this gathering provided opportunities for enthusiasts to study the human body live from a posed model. It also enabled exchanging of ideas on figurative art between members. Group 90 later shifted their weekly drawing sessions to the Stamford Arts Centre on Waterloo Street, and later to LaSalle's premises on Goodman Road.cite news|last=Clarissa|first=Oon|title=Drawing from the body|location=Singapore|publisher=Straits Times|date=1998-07-16] The group continued to grow and attract art enthuasiasts like former chairman of the Lam Soon Group, T. C. Whang, and Sir Roy Calne who shared the same passion for artistic expression of the human nudity through painting and drawing mediums. Professional artists like the late Dr Earl Lu, Liu Kang, and the late Dr Ng Eng Teng joined the Group in 1991.cite web|last=Sheares|first=Constance|title=In Conversation with Ng Eng Teng|publisher=National University of Singapore|date=2001-01-11|accessdate=2008-07-30|url=http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/post/singapore/arts/sculptors/ngengteng/bodies_transformed/bt_conv.html]

On March 15 1991, the art group opened their first public artshow "Figurama", organized by the Nrityalaya Aesthetics Society at the gallery of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. This exhibition featured 82 paintings themed on female nudes by 14 artists, created during their weekly sessions at the Stamford Arts Centre. "Figurama" not only was the first artshow for the group, it also marked the first of its kind in the history of Singapore art. The works on display impressed visitors, and received good reviews from art critics. Sabapathy commended on the excellent quality of the works on show, and its bold expressionscite news|last=T. K.|first=Sabapathy|title=Humanity unveiled|location=Singapore|publisher=Straits Times, Arts & Entertainment|date=1991-03-15|page=10] It was also at the opening of the show that the group officially adopted the name 'Group 90'. Since then, the group continued to hold figurative art exhibitions of works by its members, once every two years.cite book|title=nuSense: An exhibition of drawings and paintings of the nude by members of Group 90|location=Singapore|publisher=Procomp Prinset Singapore|isbn=981-047812-7] Each artshow by Group 90 in the successive years, demonstrated not only their undying committment to healthy study of the nude but also the flowering of various ideas and techniques towards expressing the art form with various mediums. Namasivayam for example, expresses explosive dynamism and 'Michelangelesque' rendering in his charcoal / pastel drawings. Ng Eng Teng in contrast, expresses with 'silent potency' to achieve a sensual yet strong sculptural form; a reflection to his bronze sculpture works that Ng is known for. Founder-member Loh Kee Yew's free flowing lines exude a Zen-like flow in his thoughts, demonstrating high level of mastery with the ink and pen that is signature in his works. [citation|last=Wai Hon|first=Chia|contribution=Group 90 and the nude|title=Art of the nude|year=1994|location=Singapore|publisher=Federal Marketing & Printing Pte Ltd|pages=2-3]
The exhibition "Nuphoria" held in the year 2000, generated immense interest and responses from both the local press and the public. Among the many viewers attending that artshow, students from junior colleges and Polytechnic were seen sketching the artworks on display, interacting and fielding questions to the artists present at the show. This unprecedented public interest in nude art saw light for the first time, and broke the taboo associated with the art form - something that the Group had hoped for since their inception. [citation|last=Tong Khern|first=Sim|last2=Wai Hon|first2=Chia|title=Nuphoria 2000|location=Singapore|year=2000|pages=5-7]

Members of Group 90

* Chia Wai Hon
* Choy Weng Yang
* Earl Lu
* Joseph McNally
* Liu Kang
* Ng Eng Teng
* Roy Calne
* S. Namasivayam

Artworks by Selected Members of Group 90

Major Exhibitions

References