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Art of Myanmar refers to visual art created in
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
(Burma). From the 1400s CE, artists have been creating paintings and sculptures that reflect the Burmese culture. Burmese artists have been subjected to government interference and censorship, hindering the development of art in Myanmar. Burmese art reflects the central Buddhist elements including the mudra,
Jataka tales The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre is ...
, the
pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...
, and
Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...
.


Art of the Shan Period

Art historians do not have an agreed-upon definition of Shan art. It is believed to have originated between 1550 and 1772 CE, which was around the time that the two kingdoms of Lan Na and
Lan Xang existed as a unified kingdom from 1353 to 1707. For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The meaning of the kingdom's name alludes to the power of the kingship and formidable war machine of the ea ...
were both under the support of the Burmese. Many pieces of Shan artwork depict a
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...
in a seated position, with his right hand pointed towards the Earth; this position is commonly known as the Maravijaya Posture. In Buddhism, the Maravijaya pose represents Buddha calling the Earth Goddess to witness Gautama Shakyamuni’s victory over Mara. Sculptures made in this art style were usually made of bronze and later would be sculpted with wood or in lacquer. Traditional Shan art typically had a Buddha with the characteristic monk's robes, or adorned with a crown and decorated with various other mediums like putty and glass. Shan sculptures are distinctive and easily recognizable when looking through the history of Burmese Buddhist art. Shan sculptures are often identified with oval shaped faces, soft smiles, and closed relaxed eyes.


Recent history

From 1962 to 1988, during the Cold War era, postcolonial Myanmar was isolated from the rest of the world as a way to maintain independence. In 1989, Myanmar began to open international trade and state control was relaxed. This allowed Myanmar's artists more opportunities to engage with international artists. In 1997, access to the internet allowed a contemporary art community in Myanmar to grow. However, government censorship, conflict, economic hardship and isolation have affected Myanmar artists and their art. For instance, the government restricted art to religious depictions and expressions of the natural beauty of the nation.


Government censorship

The government of Myanmar banned or confiscated artwork on prohibited subjects censored art exhibitions. The prohibited subjects included political criticism, nudity and even the use of certain colours. In 1970, censors defaced unapproved artworks with stamps reading "not allowed to show" on the front and back. Approved paintings depicted the political leader Ne Win (1910 2002),
socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...
and its agrarian utopia, the purity of Burmese culture and Buddhism. Some artists became defiant of the censorship.


Notable Burmese artists

* Director Win Pe ( my, ဝင်းဖေ), a cartoonist, painter and film director, worked for the Ludu Kyi-bwa-yay Press in Mandalay. His work was censored by the government. Win Pe said, "The military wanted to be sure of themselves, their security… that there was no direct assault against them through art." * Aung Khaing Khaing was a semi-abstract painter. In 1984, at the Bogyoke Aung San Market, Khaing attempted his first solo exhibition of works influenced by those of
Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...
and Monet. During his exhibit, government censors visited him on three separate occasions. During the first few visits, the censors removed around thirty paintings they deemed inappropriate. On the final visit, all remaining artworks left on display were deemed unacceptable to be viewed. In protest, Khaing no longer displayed his paintings. However, in October 2013 at the Bogyoke Aung San Market, he held a solo exhibit. * Maung Theid Dhi During a more severe period of art censorship in Burma, Maung was arrested for not complying with censors' orders to alter his artwork. In 1974, at the Wild Eye Art Exhibition in
Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
, Maung exhibited a self-portrait on wood surrounded by a metal chain. Government censors interpreted this piece as a criticism of government restriction of Burmese life, and removed it from the exhibit almost immediately. The censors allowed Maung to retrieve the painting later. However, when it was returned, the work was missing its original adornments. Maung later put the same piece in another exhibit, but this time wrapped in leather and rope and placed atop the skull of a deer. Soon after displaying the new piece, censors arrested him without explanation and Maung spent a week in jail. After his release, Maung continued to exhibit the same piece. As a result, censors and detectives arrived at his home accusing him of creating political artworks. Several such visits caused Maung and his family great distress. Maung was arrested again for his “suspicious” artworks. Such distress left Maung too afraid to create paintings based on his political sketches but he did create paintings depicting the censors.


Contemporary art in Myanmar

The
contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic co ...
of
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
reflects the fact that the country existed in isolation from 1962 to 2011, and is a country with deep rooted
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
beliefs. The art often relates to Buddhism and the difficult socio-political situation. In this age of
globalization Globalization, or globalisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is the process of foreign relation ...
, Burmese contemporary art has developed rather on its own terms. One of the first to study western art was
Ba Nyan Ba Nyan ( my, ဘဉာဏ်, ; 1897 – 12 October 1945) was a Burmese painter who has been called the greatest name in modern painting in Myanmar. His oil paintings were quiet and academic in their style, but display occasional flashes of vi ...
, one of the pioneers of Western-style painting in the country along with
Ngwe Gaing Ngwe Gaing ( my, ငွေကိုင် ; 1901–1967) was a Burmese artist who worked in both oil and watercolor. After the death of his teacher Ba Nyan, he was recognized as the greatest living painter in Myanmar. He had great influence on t ...
and others.
Lun Gywe Lun Gywe ( my, လွန်းကြွယ်, ; born 24 October 1930) is a Burma, Burmese painter who works in oil and watercolor. Outside of Myanmar his work has been exhibited, often in solo shows, in Japan, the Republic of Korea, the People's ...
(born 1930) is a prominent master of Burmese painting, and the mentor of many younger generations of artists. Lun Gywe is a master with colours, often in an
impressionistic Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passag ...
manner, and the beauty of women features prominently in his work. His works appear in the
National Museum of Myanmar The National Museum of Myanmar (Yangon), ( my, အမျိုးသား ပြတိုက်), located in Dagon, Yangon, is the major one of the two national museums for Burmese art, history and culture in Myanmar. Founded in 1952, the five- ...
and the
National Art Gallery of Malaysia The National Art Gallery of Malaysia ( ms, Balai Seni Negara) is a public art gallery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The gallery is situated along Jalan Tun Razak, on the northern edge of central Kuala Lumpur. It is located next to the Istana B ...
. Aung Kyaw Htet (born 1965) is a devout
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
who grew up in a small village, two factors which have a strong influence on his art. His paintings of religious life in Burma show
monks A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
and nuns in a realistic manner, though non-essential objects are omitted from the paintings to focus on the religious aspects. Aung Kyaw Htet paints the faces of monks and nuns in great detail to show their humanity. His works are represented in the
National Museum of Myanmar The National Museum of Myanmar (Yangon), ( my, အမျိုးသား ပြတိုက်), located in Dagon, Yangon, is the major one of the two national museums for Burmese art, history and culture in Myanmar. Founded in 1952, the five- ...
and the
National Art Gallery of Malaysia The National Art Gallery of Malaysia ( ms, Balai Seni Negara) is a public art gallery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The gallery is situated along Jalan Tun Razak, on the northern edge of central Kuala Lumpur. It is located next to the Istana B ...
. Other artists whose works have been included in the permanent collection of the
National Art Gallery of Malaysia The National Art Gallery of Malaysia ( ms, Balai Seni Negara) is a public art gallery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The gallery is situated along Jalan Tun Razak, on the northern edge of central Kuala Lumpur. It is located next to the Istana B ...
include
MPP Yei Myint MPP Yei Myint ( my, ရဲမြင့်, ; also spelled Ye Myint; born 1953) is a Burma, Burmese artist. He was born in 1953 in Myingyan and studied at the State School of Fine Arts in Mandalay. Yei Myint is a student of Win Pe, who taught at t ...
,
Myint Swe Myint Swe ( my, မြင့်ဆွေ, ; born 24 May 1951) is a Burmese politician currently serving as Acting President of Myanmar as well as First Vice President. He previously served as the acting president after the resignation of Pres ...
, Min Wai Aung and
Aung Myint Aung Myint ( my, အောင်မြင့်, ; born 27 October 1946) is a Burmese painter and performance artist. He is considered a pioneer in experimental art, rejecting traditional romanticism and confronting social and critical issues thr ...
. The younger generation of upcoming international contemporary artists include Nyein Chan Su and The Maw Naing and the Gangaw Village Artist Group. Other contemporary artists include Po Po (born 1957), a self-taught artist who lives and works in
Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
, and works with various media especially with installation works. He has staged solo exhibitions since 1987, such as "Untitled" and "Solid Concept". He participated in the Kwangju Biennale 2000, the Flying Circus Project 2004 and Yokohama Triennale 2005.
Wah Nu Wah Nu is a contemporary artist from Myanmar. Early life and education Wah Nu was born in 1977 in Yangon, Myanmar. In 1998, she graduated from the University of Culture, Yangon where she majored in music. Career After graduating, she laun ...
was born in Yangon in 1977, and launched her artistic career after graduating from the University of Culture, Yangon in 1998, where she majored in music. Since then she has mainly been adopting painting and video as media. In 2004, she held her first solo exhibition, "Cloud Department" in Yangon, followed in 2005 by "Self-Identity" at the Art-U Room gallery, in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, Japan. She showed in group exhibitions including ''Bangladesh Biennale 2004'', ''Fukuoka Triennale 2005''3rd Fukuoka Triennale 2005
,
Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since anc ...
, Japan, 2005.
and ''Another Seven Artists'' in Yangon 2008. Recently, she participated in the 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in Brisbane with her husband, Tun Win Aung, who works in multimedia installations and performance arts. Most of the young artists who were born in the 1980s have greater opportunities to practise art inside and outside the country.
Performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
is a popular genre among young Burmese artists, including Aung Ko, Moe Satt, Mrat Lunn Htwann and Nyan Lin Htet. Nyan Lin Htet started making performance art in the early 2000s and later joined the contemporary theatre group Annees Folles for intensive theatre training with Japanese theatre director Arata Kitamura in Japan. Since 2005, Lin Htet has been involved in the international performance art and theatre scenes. After founding the Yangon-based experimental theatre group Theatre of the Disturbed in 2005, Lin Htet directed theatrical adaptations of dramatic and literary works by Samuel Beckett, Eugène Ionesco and
Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...
as well as dramatic works by local playwrights including himself. In 2007, he was awarded the two-year artist-in-residency programme at the
Cité internationale des arts The Cité internationale des arts is an artist-in-residence building complex which accommodates artists of all specialities and nationalities in Paris. It comprises two sites, one located in the Marais and the other in Montmartre. Approximatel ...
in Paris, with the support of Alliance Française de Rangoun and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.


See also

* List of Burmese visual artists *
Sitt Nyein Aye Sitt Nyein Aye ( my, စစ်ငြိမ်းအေး, ; born 24 April 1956) is a Burmese artist. Sitt Nyein Aye came from a small village, near Nyaung-U Township in Upper Myanmar.Christina Fink, Living silence: Burma under military rule'. ...
, painter * Htein Lin (born 1966), painter and performance artist *
Asian art The history of Asian art includes a vast range of arts from various cultures, regions, and religions across the continent of Asia. The major regions of Asia include Central, East, South, Southeast, and West Asia. Central Asian art primarily c ...
* Yangon Gallery


References

{{Reflist


External links


Artstream Myanmarhomepage of New Zero ArtspaceYadanapuraPansuriya Art Post, of Pansodan Art GalleryGoldleaf Contemporary Myanmar Art
*http://myanmartevolution.com Burmese art Burmese culture
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...