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SPEECH BY MR
THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER OF SINGAPORE, AT THE EXHIBITION
OPENING OF ARTIST ZHU WEI'S WORKS, 8 APRIL 2005, 6.30 PM
Mr
Liu Thai Ker
Chairman
of the Singapore Tyler Print Institute
His
Excellency, Folco De Luca Gabrielli
Italian
Ambassador to Singapore
Ladies
and Gentlemen
Good
evening
I
am delighted to join you this evening to launch an exciting series of
prints by one of Asia’s leading contemporary artists, Zhu Wei. Today’s
event also celebrates the third anniversary of the Singapore
Tyler Print Institute and commemorates the tremendous support that
it has enjoyed during its brief history.
Contemporary
Chinese Print Series
2
Today’s exhibition, titled "New Images of the Strikingly
Bizarre", presents a powerful series of etchings and woodcuts
created during Zhu Wei’s residence at STPI in March and April last
year. It is the result of
intense collaboration between the artist and the printmakers and
papermakers of the Singapore Tyler
Print Institute.
3
The imagery within Zhu Wei’s work is familiar to those who have
followed his development. But
their execution and representation are new. They
reflect the artist’s constant movement with the times.
4
Zhu Wei is one of the leaders in the extremely vibrant world of
contemporary Chinese art. Like
several others, his work is inspired by the realities and the tensions
inherent in a society going through enormous transformation. Yet
Zhu Wei’s work stands apart from his contemporaries in many ways. His
work combines the aesthetics and artistic techniques of both Western and
Chinese art forms. Zhu Wei
draws on everyday, mundane activities as well as the various episodes in
China’s modern history. His
imagery may appear solemn and simple in nature, but conveys immense
meaning. I
am told that the print series will be exhibited in Hong Kong and New
York after this.
Global
City for the Arts
5
I am glad to see the Singapore Tyler Print Institute developing
well, and contributing to Singapore’s evolution into a global city for
the arts. The benefits that
a vibrant arts scene confers on a nation are immeasurable. The
arts enrich our cultural experience. But
they do more than this. The
arts and creative disciplines are one of the principal trainers of our
imagination. They
contribute to the spirit of boldness, the desire to do things
differently, and the diversity that is the hallmark of all innovative
cities.
6
That is why the Government is partnering with the arts community
to develop Singapore into a place where local, Asian and international
artists can present their works and forge new artistic collaborations
such as what we see today.
7
Since its establishment in 2002, the Singapore Tyler
Print Institute has brought together renowned artists from Asia for
collaboration in printmaking. Last
year, the Institute went beyond printmaking. In
collaboration with the Singapore Tourism Board and various private
organisations, the Institute arranged for the acclaimed Philippine
artist, Pacita Abad to "paint" the Alkaff Bridge that spans
the Singapore River at Roberson Quay. I
am also glad that the Institute is collaborating with local arts schools
like the Lasalle-SIA College of the Arts. The
collaboration enables
students to understand the workings of a print workshop and to train
with STPI's printmaking facilities.
8
Finally, I would like once again to commend the Singapore
Tyler Print Institute for
giving us the opportunity to examine Zhu Wei’s works at close
quarters. I am sure many of
us will approach the works with the same thoughtfulness
and honesty that Zhu Wei had put into their creation. It
is with great pleasure that I declare this exhibition open.
新加坡副总理THARMAN
SHANMUGARATHAM先生在艺术家朱伟作品展开幕式上的讲话
2005年4月8日星期五下午6:30
新加坡泰勒版画研究院（Singapore
Tyler Print Institute）
新加坡泰勒版画研究院主席LiuThai
Ker先生
Folco
De Luca Gabrielli阁下
意大利驻新加坡大使
女士们，先生们，
晚上好。
我很荣幸今天晚上能和在座各位一起参加朱伟作品展的开幕式。本次展览展出了由亚洲顶尖当代艺术家朱伟先生创作的一系列激动人心的版画作品。同时，今天这个盛会也是新加坡泰勒版画研究院成立三周年的周年庆，在这三年中，研究院作出了巨大的贡献。
中国当代版画作品
2
今天展览的名字叫做“新二刻拍案惊奇”，展出的是朱伟先生去年3月到4月在新加坡泰勒版画研究院访问期间创作的一系列有强烈冲击力的铜版画和木版画作品。这是艺术家与新加坡泰勒版画研究院的版画制作者们和造纸制作者们密切合作的成果。
3
朱伟作品中的形象对那些一直关注他的人而言是熟悉的，然而它们的制作和表现方式却是崭新的。它们反映出艺术家在时代中前行的步伐。
4
朱伟是极其活跃的中国当代艺术界的一个佼佼者。和其他几位一样，他的作品的灵感来源于现实和一个巨变中的社会的紧张感。然而他的作品又与他的当代同行们如此的不同。他的作品结合了西方和中国艺术的美感与艺术技巧。朱伟描绘平常的日子、世俗的生活，犹如中国现代史的片断。他创作的形象庄严而质朴，却传达了深远的含义。据我所知，这个系列的作品在本次展览之后也将会在香港和纽约展出。
艺术的国际都市
5
我很高兴看到，新加坡泰勒版画研究院正在蒸蒸日上，为新加坡成为艺术的国际都市贡献良多。一个活跃的艺术环境给一个国家带来的益处是无法估量的。艺术丰富了我们的文化经验。不仅如此，艺术和创造性的学科是我们想象力的导师。它们给我们以无畏的精神和去做不一样的事情的欲望，而这种多样性正是所有有创造力的城市的特征。
6
这就是为什么政府会和这个艺术团体合作，将新加坡发展成为一个无论本土的、亚洲的，还是国际的艺术家们都能够呈现他们的作品，并促进新的艺术合作的地方，正如我们今天所看到的一样。
7
自从2002年成立以来，新加坡泰勒版画研究院吸引了亚洲著名的艺术家来此进行版画上的合作。去年，研究院的这种合作延伸到了版画之外。在新加坡旅游协会和许多私人组织的协助下，研究院安排了受欢迎的菲律宾艺术家Pacita
Abad为横跨新加坡河的Alkaff桥绘画（给桥梁绘上色彩——译者注）。我也很高兴看到研究院和像拉塞尔艺术学院（Lasalle-SIA
College of Arts）这样的本地院校合作。这种合作不仅让学生们了解版画工作室的工作过程，也给学生们提供了用研究院的版画设备训练的机会。
8
最后，我再次感谢新加坡泰勒版画研究院给了我们这个探究朱伟作品的机会。我相信，我们中的很多人会在深沉的思考中怀着真诚的心灵来领略朱伟的作品，正如朱伟在其创作中所表现出来的一样。在此，我很荣幸地宣布——展览开幕。
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