Burmese Contemporary Artists: Paint it the Way You See It.

Since 1988, while the clampdown on political activity inside Burma has continued and even ratcheted upwards, businessmen and visual artists have been allowed some degree of freedom, so long as they stay within unspoken boundaries, that is, they don’t do politics. As the even slight loosening of direct controls has produced a good deal of economic activity, albeit among families who have worked out deals with the power holders, in the visual and molded arts (paintings and sculpture) also, post-1988 has seen a blossoming of Burmese art. Some artists have even achieved commercial and personal breakthroughs in their art, perhaps setting up some degree of envy among exile artists such as myself, who now have to compete in the outside world.
In the early 90s, when I was still a graduate student in Philadelphia, I met two Burmese artists, Sonny Nyein and Min Wae Aung, who were on a USAID tour. In the decade since then, Min Wae Aung has become a highly successful Burmese artist, maybe the most successful Burmese artist, with his pictures of back-lit monks, viewed just so from a strange but engaging angle of 35 degrees looking downwards. He has also done similarly well with the intriguing back views of his friends; what might be called reverse portraits. The only danger artistically for Min Wae Aung is that he may settle for churning out copies where he “imitates himself.” He has already spawned too many imitators inside Burma.
I was also happy to see Sonny Nyein, sculptor, has been similarly successful with his sculptures exhibited in Chiangmai, Thailand. Burmese artists have so much to contend with, as do artists everywhere. They deserve a break.
For the last couple of years, with trips to Thailand, I have been fortunate to see more Burmese contemporary art. And some of the work is astounding.
The ones I like best are Zaw Win Pe, painting his large fauve (“wild beast”) style landscapes of, I was told, the Shan States. The colors are gorgeous and the strokes bold, some laid on the large canvases with a large palette knife. Zaw Win Pe told the owner of Suvannabhumi Gallery in Chiangmai that he had always wished to paint this way (boldly), and now (with the availability of materials) he was able to do so.
I am not quite sure of the economics of painting in Burma these days, but when I was there, during the socialist BSPP period (before 1988), art supplies such as canvas, primer, brushes and paint were extremely scarce. This and the fact that rewards such as prizes (though I have only heard of state literary prizes, not prizes for fine art,) are set by the military government, produced a stasis in art. A concern is the lack of aesthetic taste on the part of the generals, which can only be said to be kitsch.
Now after 1988, I have the impression that for a price, art materials can be bought or imported, artists can travel outside the country to some extent, and may be allowed to earn foreign exchange, which must be kept, apparently, in a government bank.
In any case, I am happy artists can do what they are best suited to do – make art.
Another painter whose abstracts have a purity and finesse about them is Bogie (I hope I am spelling his name correctly) which I am told, is pronounced “Bo Kyi.” In any case, the abstracts, on a creamy textured ground on canvas, are of “falling blocks” that have a refined sense of minimalism. It is like very calming music.
At a recent exhibition of Burmese paintings at PlanB Gallery in Washington, DC., (May 16-June 17, 2007), I looked for but did not see work by Min Wae Aung or Bogie.
However, I was happy to see a big fauve landscape by Zaw Win Pe, and a square 46 x 46” canvas of the Sunday Corner at the Shwedagone by Kyee Myint Saw, the night scene depicted in an erie blue light. The architectural details, including the half concealed face of the mythical Manok Thiha, Hpin Hna Khwa (Monok Thiha – or “lion with two rear ends”) are painted in boldly with a baroque touch and a lot of gold. I particularly like the artificial light from above falling on the folds of the white shirts of the men praying in the foreground; the pale aqua light, brushed in with horizontal brushstrokes, in the shrine alcove to the right.
There is a sense of stillness and calm with a vague sense of unease or impending doom, somewhere beyond the bold square format.
The other paintings in this show were less impressive, though all innovative in their own ways. Nan Nan, the only woman in the exhibition, showed big canvases featuring an over all design with Buddhist themes.
I liked the least, the back lit pictures of Burmese women fixing their longyis, which to me appeared unnecessarily coy and teasing, a half measure for not being able to paint nudes.
These are of course my personal reactions. Art is a very subjective thing and you either love something or hate it. If it elicits a lukewarm response, then it is hardly worthwhile to paint.
I am glad Burmese artists for the most part, are able to paint whatever they want and are starting to be recognized internationally. I wish for them all, the grand art tour to see the art of their international contemporaries.

Kyi May Kaung (Ph.D.) has had an abiding love of the arts and has painted since childhood. Since 2000, she has shown professionally in the Greater Washington DC area. Her exhibition of abstract expressionist paintings will be on display at Suvannabhumi Gallery in Chiangmai, Thailand, July 14 to 20th, 2007.