When there are no answers, we question

With globalization,

it is futile for Singapore to persist in establishing a national identity in art.

It is hardly wrong to say that globalization does not render identities vulnerable, lest say one's national identity. With the blurred lines between boundaries brought about by technology, sending of information is made easy. As such, who can say that any individual living in a life of modernity were never influenced by any external factors? Be it lifestyle, or even simple thoughts.

To establish national identity in art, there are some factors which are necessary to ensure the gradual development.

Firstly, national identity in art requires national identity among people. Art is a way of self-expression or a tool to express the artist's belief or message. And in order to cultivate the want in the people to show national identity in their artworks, there must first be strong heritage, common identity or sense of belonging towards the country in the people.

Singapore, unlike other countries, is unique. Being a small nation of only 710.2 kilometers square large, despite having heritage dated way back to the 2nd Century AD, currently among approx. 5 million of the residents in Singapore, only a little more than half (2.91 million) of the population were born locally. To add on, the country is also always encouraging for more well-skilled foreigners to settle into Singapore to resolve problems such as the aging population as well as to boost Singapore's economy. Art Renaissance City such as France on the other hand, has heritage which dates way back to 1,800,000 years ago, and among approx. 65 million of the residents in France, 64 million of them are French people (people born in France and are legal citizens of France). To have 98% of the citizens having a long ancestry and heritage, it creates a sense of belonging and national pride among the people. Therefore, it would then allow for them to relate to their country and choose to adopt a style or input specific symbols or images related to their nation.

With Singapore being a cosmopolitan society, encompassing people who have various languages, cultures, traditions and are from countries, people are prone to portray themselves in accordance to these various aspects, which are varied. As such, it would be difficult to establish a common national identity in art when everyone is so drastically different.

Secondly, art has to fully integrate into one's life. In the case of Singapore, art has not been a heavy emphasis for the nation in the past, as such it is unable to undergo a constant long built-up of national identity in art. Just like how national identity requires time for it shape itself, national identity put into any different context needs as well. An example would be national identity in language (Singlish), which Singaporeans change, alter and eventually adopt. Language, being a part and parcel of everyone's life, which aids in communication and plays a significant role in daily activities, incorporates into the culture which then fosters the identity. Since art has not been present when national identity is being cultivated, it is difficult to establish a common national identity in art when it is not something familiar which everyone is able to strike a chord with.

However, due to such reasons, Singapore is forced to cultivate national identity in art at a later date, when society would then be more modern than the past. Yet, globalization which comes along with this time period brings about several obstacles to establishing a national identity in art.

There is an easy access of media such as prints (newspaper, magazines), world wide web and television programmes. Due to the widespread of these commonly accessible media, there are often different portrayals of events, issues or even how various countries are being perceived. An example would be the coming General Elections in Singapore where many internet forums are set up for discussion of the various party candidates and their election speeches. As there are many different free voices and perspectives being heard in such forums, one might easily be swayed or persuaded by them, affecting them with their perceptions or views, causing them to develop a positive or negative inclination towards the issue.

Examples would be controversial art pieces such as Edouard Manet's Luncheon on the Grass (1863) which was deemed as indecency for having two fully-dressed man sitting in company of a naked female, where she on the other hand stared right into the eyes of the viewer. Also, another piece would be Manet's Olympia (1863) which too was controversial due to her confrontational stare and suggested that she was a courtesan- an occupation barely spoken publicly about during those times.In this two art pieces, both portrayed a negative light on Manet and dismayed him.

With the influx of information about different countries, ideologies, criticisms, opinions and etc., one is no longer restricted within his own four walls, and are continuously able to virtually step into different parts of the world through platforms such as social networking sites like facebook or twitter, or through mass media sites like youtube. Thus, it is a challenge to keep one's citizens to remain rooted their own culture and country when they might possibly be more fascinated by others. An example would the current massive K-pop craze which helped put Korea in a positive light and promoted the country greatly.

Examples would be that of Yin Lum's series, Travelling Palette (2007) which was done when she travelled to Bintan Island, Indonesia to depict the rich flora and fauna there. Another would be watercolour works done by Ong Kim Seng, which depicted several countries he had been to such as India, Nepal, Europe, Tibet and many more. Without globalization, it would be impossible for one to explore beyond their country, lest say understand more about other countries and be influenced to learn or adopt their ways in their works.

In my opinion, national identity in art is still seen in some Singaporean artists, but not all for it is indeed tough for Singapore to establish a commonly-held national identity in art among everyone, especially with the added-on obstacle brought about by globalization. However, to say that such efforts would be eventually "futile" is too hastily determined and absolute. In order to establish national identity among people or in art, it requires time. No one can predict what might happen in the future, where people might one day come to bond as a whole when a crisis strikes- such as the commonly debated about end of the world in 2012- and result in people turning to art as a mean to express themselves as beings in Singapore, a place they might have taken for granted of all along. Who knows? Only time can tell. At the same time, I see importance for Singapore to establish national identity in art. Not only does it bring about cohesiveness among Singaporeans, it would also bring art in Singapore to greater levels and deeper depth in meaning. As such, despite numerous problems the country faces, it is still something that she ought to strive to achieve.