The Primacy Of Painting: The Institutional Structures of the Singapore Art World from 1935 to 1972

Abstract

The topic of this thesis is the history of the institutional structure of the Singapore art world from 1935 to 1972. This thesis examines the social and historical conditions that shaped the Singapore art world and its institutions, revealing the institutional structure of the art world as one that was devoted to the production, reception and distribution of painting. These institutions, in their physical manifestations, include art societies, art academies, and government agencies concerned with art. But institutions also exist as intangible organising principles (beliefs and customs). Institutions of art, then, are diverse, ranging from organisations to discourses on art and aesthetic ideologies. Understanding the structure of these institutions of the Singapore art and its mediation between other spheres (political and literary spheres), provide insights into the history of art in Singapore and its institutional structure through the lens of the social history of art.