Chew Teng Beng: The Malaysian Modern Artist who turned Paper into a Form of Contemporary Fine Art (2024)​
Dr. Chew Teng Beng: A Retrospective
Published by Wisma Kebudayaan Soka Gakkai Malaysia
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When I was asked some time ago by Vicky Ho, the head of Art and Exhibitions of Soka Gakkai Malaysia (SGM)’s Culture Center whether I would be interested to take up the role of guest curator for the exhibition they’re organizing for senior artist Dr. Chew Teng Beng, I must admit I was a tad hesitant. Though I’ve heard of the artist and had seen some of his works, mostly his handmade papers, I was not sure how or where to place him in the context of Malaysia’s short modern and contemporary art history. Like many, my first introduction to the artist probably came from the writings of senior art writer Ooi Kok Chuen, who was initially with the New Straits Times (NST) paper and later, The Star. As a young person in the 1990s who was interested in the local art scene but reference materials and publications were hard to come by then, I looked forward to the articles on Malaysian artists, exhibitions and related events which appeared mostly in the weekend editions and Dr. Chew was of course one of the many artists respectfully covered by the writer over the years. Later, I saw one of his works in the exhibition catalog titled ‘Vision and Idea: Re-Looking Modern Malaysian Art’ published by the National Art Gallery. It had cultural elements (Chinese joss papers) coupled with burning effects which I thought was interesting. After that I had not heard much about him until I came upon his retrospective exhibition catalog published by the Penang State Art Gallery just a few years back. That was the extent of how much I knew about the artist before this.
Though hesitant, I was also curious about what makes the artist ‘tick’.
What could we discover about the artist that can tell us a bit more about the motivations behind his works? Is there something more to the artist’s hand made paper works beyond mere craft? And what about his abstract paintings and prints? I did not know he was also an early practitioner of this approach. Who were his influences that led to the shift toward abstraction? Does culture, spirituality or philosophy have a part in informing his art making process and what messages is the artist trying to convey through his works?
It was these questions and more that prompted me to accept Vicky’s invitation.
Though the curatorial team and myself were given access to the artist’s studio in Penang earlier this year to assess and select suitable works as well as relevant materials for the exhibition and this catalog, it proved challenging as the artist was at that time, away in New York with his family. We were essentially feeling our way in the dark and had to make do with what was available and hoped for the best. Of course, prior to this we’ve communicated through whatsapp and had emailed back and forth for a few months. Dr. Chew was as informative and helpful as possible in terms of providing details about his background, work, etc by sharing through whatsapp, pages and pages from catalogs shot with his hand phone. However, I was looking for specific answers to the questions I had in mind regarding his work and background which I felt these materials could not provide adequately. I then emailed a set of questions which he replied by writing his answers on notepaper, which he then shot and sent to me via whatsapp. These replies were typed by one of the members of the curatorial team which is now the Q&A section on pg173 -pg178. As a rule, I make a point of having a Q&A section either in the catalogs or as part of the exhibition wall text in some of the shows I’ve curated. I find them useful as the answers came directly from the artist themselves while as curator, I wish to present my own take which may differ from their perspective, thus providing another way of reading or appreciating their works. Furthermore, the answers proved useful as quotes to explain or provide background context about certain works.
A few months after, we made a second trip up north upon Dr. Chew’s return to Penang. It was most rewarding as the artist showed us more works, materials etc that were not available to us before or had been overlooked prior. The discussions we had were fruitful while the casual conversations with the artist about his education, art events in the past, some significant figures in the local art scene etc, proved most illuminating. All this of course, made the curatorial direction much clearer. In addition, we now have more interesting items for display to boot. Among those, his final year project from his time at the Specialist Teachers Training Institute or STTI (1964) which were entirely made by hand. From the binding, design layout, lettering to the illustrations and the innovative stenciled motifs. It looked more like an old codex manuscript of lost mystical knowledge than a student’s final year academic submission. Of interest are the stenciled motifs interspersed between the pages which were similarly employed by a well known contemporary artist in his paintings 2 decades later. After confirming with Dr.Chew, I now know where that late artist took his inspiration from. The other important item were the hand made papers he created for his doctoral thesis, ‘Papermaking from Selected Malaysian Fibers: An Investigation of its Artistic Potential through Creation of Original Paper Artworks’ (1987). We later decided that we should also exhibit the beautiful samples of papers he made because 1) the claim of its artistic potential and 2) a concerned artist’s modest effort to address the dire impact on the ecology from the projected increase in consumption of paper in the future. With these hand made papers, Dr. Chew had already provided solutions to 2 pressing problems. Firstly, how local plantation owners can dispose of what’s left of the pineapple and banana plants once its fruits have been harvested and secondly, where local paper and pulp manufacturers can source for cheap, alternative materials for making their paper products without felling more trees unnecessarily. These plantation owners and manufacturers could collaborate with positive results for the ecosystem. Strangely however, there were no takers when Dr. Chew first mooted this idea back in 1987. Perhaps this time around they might take notice?
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Now that we have finalized all the items for the exhibition, the next step was to decide how best to display them in SGM’s Culture Center. In retrospective exhibitions, a complete series of works from different periods by the artist are presented in chronological order, from the earliest to the most current so as to show the artist’s evolution. A series is a cohesive body of work be it paintings, prints or sculptures numbering between 10 and 30 or more that are similar in style, approach and medium. The choice of subject matter, the materials as well as the medium used gives us some indication of what the artist was preoccupied with at that moment in time. The amount of time it takes to complete the works for a series usually ranges between 6 months to a year or two. However, Dr. Chew’s concept of a series is open ended without limiting himself to a specific style or number of works. He explores different mediums and approaches within a series without setting a cut off point as some works could be from the same series but years apart and different in its medium or materials used. Since many of Dr. Chew’s works are in the collection of institutions and private individuals, we are unable to show the full scope of his artistic ingenuity. For example, it would have been wonderful to be able to show more of the crinkled canvas sprayed paintings (CCSP) for which he pioneered and was adopted by other artists. On display is a piece from 1970, possibly the earliest example of this work. Most of Dr. Chew’s early abstract paintings from the late 60s too are now in the hands of anonymous collectors in the States. Fortunately, we have a few examples that show his decisive shift from semi abstract to full abstraction. This is of historical significance as abstract art in Malaysia reportedly took root in the late 60s with the debut exhibition of GRUP, consisting of 6 artists who are now regarded as pioneers in this approach. Dr. Chew’s formal inclusion into mainstream art history of Malaysia as one among these illustrious figures of abstraction is long overdue.
When Dr.Chew returned to Malaysia in the early 70s under a special invitation from the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) to help establish its fine art program, his output from then is understandably sporadic. Besides his work with the university, he was very much involved in the Penang art scene either as a committee or board member, Vice Chairman or as Chairman through art bodies such as the Penang Arts Council, Penang State Art Gallery, Penang State Museum and the National Advisory Council on Culture of Malaysia. He had also curated a number of important exhibitions through some of these institutions over the years.
Fortunately, we have assembled more than enough interesting, though a handful, of works that shows the artist at the peak of his artistic prowess. What is lacking in quantity is more than makes up for in terms of quality. Selected early drawings, naturalistic and abstract paintings, prints, supporting materials such as catalogs etc, will be displayed on the ground floor. Selected early and later hand made paper art and pulp for which he is the acknowledged pioneer in first employing indigenous fibers to create handmade paper as a creative medium, including some of the beautiful samples he produced for his doctoral thesis are given the prominence it deserves with the mezzanine floor dedicated solely to displaying them. A selection of his late abstract paintings done in the 2000s and latest pulp artworks are displayed in its full glory on the 1st floor.
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As a fan and a promoter of abstract art, I was genuinely surprised to see that Dr. Chew had already adopted the art of abstraction by the late 1960s. I had always assumed that only the members of G.R.U.P, which stands for Gerak (movement), Rupa (form), Ubur (torch) and Penyataan (statement) consisting of Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal (1929-2011), Yeoh Jin Leng (b.1929), Datuk Ibrahim Hussein (1936-2009), Cheong Lai Tong (1932-2022), Dr.Jolly Koh (b.1941), Abdul Latiff Mohidin (b.1941) and Anthony Lau (b.1933-2016) were the early local practitioners of this approach back when they made their debut group show at Samat Gallery in 1967. Interestingly, more than a few of these figures happened to be the artist’s teachers at the Specialist Teachers Training Institute (STTI) in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. Before them, I was aware that one of our pioneer artist and educationist, Datuk Tay Hooi Keat (1910-1989) had produced some works, ‘Plant Scape’ (1959) being a prime example, that was edging towards abstraction but since he did not follow through in his later works, history did not regard him as such. Both Tay Hooi Keat and Anthony Lau were instrumental in encouraging the artist to further his studies. In that same year when GRUP made their debut, Dr.Chew was already in the States studying at the Cranbrook Academy of Art under a Fulbright-Hays scholarship. His shift to abstraction was complete by then and he would go on to win competitions while exhibitions of his paintings were well received by the American public. The situation for the aforementioned local abstract artists however were different. They were faced with challenges from both the conservative public as well as fellow art practitioners who at that time, saw their works as alien (read Western) and nihilistic because of its non representational approach. Though Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal had earlier claimed that they were abstract expressionists, a tag which is more associated with some of the post war abstract artists in America and a war devastated Europe, I pointed out that the spirit behind their works were more closely related to the early abstract art pioneers of pre-war Europe, who celebrated innocence, freedom and spirituality. In Europe, abstraction came about due to a number of factors; a response to the influence of the Renaissance that had dominated western art practices for almost 400 years, the result of socio-political, economic and cultural changes due to the ideological, scientific and industrial revolutions. The situation in post-Merdeka Malaysia was different though it had posed its own particular challenges for local art practitioners. Questions of national identity/ culture versus the individuality of the artist did not result in two opposing camps; rather we saw that many, including the abstract artists, actively sought inspiration from their respective cultures and from the local landscape. It’s the imposition by politicians that the abstract artists resisted as they fear their works may end up being used as political propaganda instead. The abstract artists in Malaysia were unlike the radical Avant Garde in the west driven predominantly by the fervour of left leaning ideologies that aimed to break and replace the status quo. These artists were mostly in the civil service and were excited to experiment with a new visual language they saw that could encapsulate their thoughts and feelings, especially the mood of the times. The role of representational art especially after the invention and widespread availability of commercial photography seemed inadequate in capturing to presenting an individual’s unique perception and experience of life and their surroundings. Though he was skillful in representational art, having received training early on from his artistically gifted father, Dr.Chew’s shift to abstraction came because he felt imagination was more important than mere imitation.
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The dichotomy between traditional craft and fine art, some say, is an artificial one, the idea being fairly recent. Though I am partial towards the idea of Art (with a capital ‘A’) being superior to craft, I can appreciate how a different approach, slight modification or imaginative use of a craft object can transform it into a medium or platform for personal self expression when presented in the right context. The dichotomy between them is discernible in terms of their intent and function. Valued for its beauty, utility and affordability, traditional crafts (ceramics, textiles, basketry, jewellery, ornaments, carpentry, paper products etc) are more than just industry driven goods or objects of leisurely pursuits. Traditional arts and crafts employ shapes, patterns, motifs, symbols and even the materials identifiable with certain worldviews exclusive to a group, tribe, society or civilization. Narratives based on myths and history that give meaning are conveyed and our place within the scheme of the cosmos are affirmed. Our attitudes are also molded and regulated through the use of such objects or attires worn during rituals of commemorations and religious celebrations. We must therefore appreciate traditional arts and crafts as objects that represent us collectively as a group of people who have adopted a certain set of values and practices based on a worldview that had evolved over the millennia into a culture to be passed down and observed steadfastly as tradition.
The ideas and practices of modernity have to a large extent done away with the burdensome rituals and superstitious observations imposed by one’s own cultural traditions. These ideas and practices came to us during the colonial period which had undeniably influenced the way we viewed art and craft. Traditional craft has specific aims and functions, and the craftsman’s work is done once all criteria for making the object looking and functioning the way it was design to look and function are fulfilled while an artwork, created based on feelings and the imagination is never complete until the artist deemed so (out of satisfaction, exhaustion or exasperation!). While the craftsman honors the lineage and affirms the superiority of the tradition he or she inherited or subscribed to by adhering faithfully to the formula, blueprint or recipe handed down during the process of preparation and production, the artist honors the individual uniqueness which he or she embodies by seeking to create something new or never seen before. This can only be done through trial and error and experimentation of different mediums,styles and approaches.
What is unique in the case of Dr. Chew is that he took to the craft of paper making the role of an artist by exploiting the ‘materiality of the material’, the textured surfaces, the deckle edges and more, to make the medium itself the object of art. With his handmade paper art, we are seeing an innovation that is equivalent to what the late Datuk Chuah Thean Teng@Teng (1914-2008) had done for traditional batik in Malaysia. Both Teng and Dr.Chew had elevated an age-old craft into a modern and contemporary form of fine art respectively. Instead of producing the customary motifs and patterns associated with batik, Teng was the first to have used the traditional djanting to draw and dye images of the then Malaya and later Malaysia, as the land of gentle and contented people living in peace and partaking in nature’s bounty in a style influenced by post impressionism which was popular among the 1st generation of artists in Malaya.
Why paper? one may ask.
‘Whenever I look at handmade paper, I always derive so much visual pleasure from it. I feel as if there is a spiritual being which is communicating with me; the materiality of the object is speaking to me; and I am spellbound by it. Handmade paper has also intrigued practically everyone--artist, craftsman, scholar and others. …it is revered for its purity, chastity, strength, and wholesome character--in fact a worthy offering to the divine.’ (pg 361)
Dr. Chew Teng Beng
‘Papermaking from Selected Malaysian Fibers: An Investigation of its Artistic Potential through creation of Original Paper Artworks’ (1987)
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I believe that Dr. Chew’s view on paper stems from his positive experience of seeing and experiencing how it was used in his Chinese culture. Paper has a very long and important history in China. As one of the four great inventions of China (the other three being gunpowder, navigation compass and printing), paper has both utilitarian and symbolic purposes and permeates in almost every aspect of Chinese culture. Dr.Chew remembered being fascinated by how ink from the brushes used by his grandfather would spread in unpredictable ways on the surface of rice paper traditionally used in Chinese brush painting and calligraphy. That was the beginning of his lifelong interest in paper and its properties.
Paper is a common material used in traditional Chinese art and crafts such as paper cutting, kites, lanterns, umbrellas, hand fans, etc while paper charms are used in rituals, healing, protection from psychic and even physical harm. The Chinese were the first to issue and use paper currency. This concept is extended to the burning of joss paper as one of the offerings in ancestral worship and to some deities in Chinese folk religions. More recently, even clothes, cars, houses etc made from paper are burnt as offerings to the deceased (usually a relative or a friend) with the belief that these paper made objects will magically transform into the things it represents for the receiver to use in the afterlife. In the world view of traditional minded Chinese, paper is the only material possible to accomplish such a super natural feat.
For his doctoral thesis, Dr. Chew specifically chose to use pineapple and banana plant fibers for a reason. During his many sketching excursions to the countryside in his younger days, he saw the huge amount of wastage caused by the discarding of these plants after its fruits have been harvested. He thought to himself of the various potential ways these plant fibers could have been put to good use. The idea of turning waste into a resource for the creation of something creative and useful stems very much from Dr. Chew’s childhood experience where his late father taught him and his brothers as kids to use materials from their natural surroundings to make toys and other objects for games and entertainment. This period was mentioned elsewhere by the artist with fond recollection. In contrast to the later generations of today that had easy access to all sorts of toys and fancy gadgetry, he felt they have missed out on the pleasures of creating and making things for themselves, an activity that would have encouraged their creativity and imagination.
With his doctoral thesis, the artist accomplished three important things. Firstly, he had turned 2 untapped resources into samples of beautiful handmade papers. Secondly, these papers can be specifically produced according to a set of instructions or recipes which he had meticulously recorded. And finally, due to its properties, when cooked, mixed and made in a number of ways, produces interesting textures that when observed and studied in a phenomenological approach gives rise to aesthetic feelings of pleasure, even fond recollections of the past and finally excitement of its potential future applications.
What an achievement!
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I would like to reiterate the point that whether his paintings or prints, even with his hand made paper, his art is non representational. He is and remains a committed abstractionist. With his introduction to phenomenology while studying in the States, it has profoundly influenced his approach to aesthetics. His works are not didactic or political rather; it is his own personal experiences of the peoples and places, the past and present, that he is sharing with the viewer. These experiences come from a place of love, gratitude, remembrance and always, a deep appreciation for the local landscapes. How it is presented are in turn metaphors for the indescribable, humbling but also self affirming phenomena of being alive.
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