Dato' Siti kat Vietnam & London??

ZacharyDerwoods · Post time 6-5-2007 10:34 AM

Giving back through art
By LI-EN CHONG

ONE of this country抯 prominent art personalities, Laura Fan (file pic), has contributed to the development of Malaysian art as a critic, educator and curator, and a special project close to her heart is the annual World Wildlife Fund抯 (WWF) Art For Nature fundraising exhibition. Held annually at the Rimbun Dahan gallery on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, the exhibition showcases the works of Malaysian and international artists. This year抯 event is themed 00:15 Superstar (poster shown right) and will be on display from the May 13 to June 3 at the gallery located in the lovely grounds of art enthusiasts Angela and Hijjas Kasturi抯 beautiful home. Here, Fan shares her views on the upcoming event. How did you arrive at this year抯 theme? 揫b]I select themes from everyday concerns. A recent event that struck me was Siti抯 (Nurhaliza) wedding. Although she is a Malaysian celebrity, I received text messages from London and Vietnam asking about the wedding. Personally, I am detached from popular concerns but the fact that everyone was expected to have an opinion about the wedding surprised me and made me realise this is a theme worth exploring to indicate the spirit of our times.擺/color] How do you think the theme draws parallels to the celebrity glamour that surrounds the contemporary art world? 揟he international attention given to, for example, the demand for contemporary Chinese art and the explosion of art fairs such as the Frieze and Zoo Art Fairs in London, as well as the hype surrounding emerging artists stimulated my curiosity about hype and art. 揑t is interesting how collectors collect for different reasons and there are as many different styles of collecting as there are personalities. Traditionally, collectors have been reticent but since the brash self-indulgence of Charles Saatchi (known worldwide as an art collector and owner of the Saatchi Gallery in London, and for his sponsorship of the Young British Artists team) we cannot discount the presence of collectors that actively scout and bring discussion into the public arena.