Tan Tee Chie, Brobak Birds Competition, 1966, Woodcut
What you need to know about the artist & artwork:
- Tan Tee Chie was a graduate from NAFA in 1951 and became a lecturer there.
- Uses traditional 1-point perspective.
- Documents an Asian pastime: bird competitions were, and still are in some places, a form of entertainment. The birds are judged on their singing abilities, and as birds are eliminated from the competition their cages are removed from their stands.
- Singapore still has these competitions regularly.
- Is a way to document the everyday and to preserve traditions for future generations.
- woodcut is a type of printmaking technique where the artist removes the areas that he/she wants to keep white. The ink is applied only to highest surface on the block of wood, or those NOT carved away. Typically, artists will use line (like hatching and crosshatching in ink, except that they would carve away what they want to be white) to create values and depth, although Tan Tee Chie's woodcut is relatively flat lacking in tonal values.
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