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AZN · #1 (**permalink**) 08-07-2008, 12:03 PM

Tang's dynasty
Tang's dynasty
The Straits Times
Publication Date : 07-08-2008

For many, Tang Da Wu, artist and founder of The Artists Village, is a mystery.
The 65-year-old Singaporean is very media-shy, and even eluded journalists when he was one of four artists representing Singapore in the Venice Biennale last year, a biennial contemporary art event in Italy.
The Straits Times was unable to get an interview with him at press time as he was on the plane from Britain, where his only son, Ben Zai, 24, lives.
Tang, often hailed as one of the most influential artists in Singapore, was born Thiang Kian-Hong, the eldest of four sons. It is unclear if he has any sisters.
His father was a journalist at the now-defunct Malaysian daily Sinchew Jit Poh. His second brother is artist Thang Kiang How, who was the president of the Modern Art Society of Singapore in the 1980s.
Tang studied at the National Youth Leadership Institute and obtained a diploma in youth and community works in 1968, while being a painter on the side. He had a 1970 solo show of paintings at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce which was sponsored by the Singapore Art Society.
He then moved to Britain to further his studies in art in the 1970s, where he changed his name to Da Wu, or 'big mist' in Chinese.
He studied at the Birmingham Polytechnic's School of Fine Art, where he obtained first-class honours in sculpture; and later in Goldsmiths College at the University of London, where he got a master's in fine art.
He returned to Singapore in 1979 and put up a bold show in 1980 called 'Earthworks' at the National Museum Art Gallery. It consisted of plates of earth, lumps of soil and pieces of soiled linen, which he had hung in gullies at Ang Mo Kio, then a public housing development site.
His work revolves around the relationship between humans and their environment. A famous example is 'Tiger's Whip' (1991), a series of performances and installations which dealt with the plight of the near-extinct animal.
He won the prestigious Arts and Culture Prize at the 10th Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes in 1999. The annual award is given to those who have made outstanding contributions to the arts and culture of Asia. He was awarded for his originality and influence in performance art in Southeast Asia, among other things.
Artist Vincent Leow, 46, says Tang is an eccentric man of few words.
He says: "When I first got to know him, I found him really supportive. It was very enriching for a young artist then, because he shared his books and his knowledge of art outside Singapore.
"He's a very hands-on kind of person, very improvisational and has good ideas. But he doesn't really talk much. You can't really tell who he is."

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