Tan says the process of
developing a fresh approach has not been easy. The experimental works are
the tip of the iceberg, and much effort has gone into the wastepaper basket.
"Contemporary artists need time
to develop images and ideas," he says. You have to take time to understand.
It's very hard to let yourself out once you have developed traditionally.
But once you do, you want to keep on in the direction you have to go."
That direction has result-ed in
works which may surprise those who are acquainted with Tan's elegant Chinese
brush paintings.
The predominant color of
Landscape is black. Ink has been poured and sprayed on to a sketch in such a
way that it roughly adheres to the pre-deter-mined composition.
The ink causes the rice paper to
"bleed", creating blurred edges. The process of pouring and spraying is
repeated to achieve variations in shade, and details are painted onto the
finish-ed design.
Landscape is allusive,
graphically effective and not at all overshadowed by the method which has
been employed in its creation. It is from the latest stage of the artist's
progress from his traditional roots per-haps the final stage.
