Myanmar art show
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, November 22 2013 : An art exhibition of Myanmar contemporary artistes would be held for five days at Nupilan Memorial Complex here from tomorrow with Neo-Gene (Contemporary Artists, Manipur) hosting the event.

Speaking to newspersons at the exhibition venue today event host secretary Ch Lalit Singh said the Myanmar art Exhibition, where nearly 200 paintings would be put on display, is a component of the ongoing Manipur Sangai Festival.

Stating that the paintings are the work by five Mandalay Art Club members namely Ingar Oo, Bo Bo Ko Ko, Myint Tun, Phyu Pyar Nyunt, Kyaw Min Do and Nyo Pyar (team leader), Lalit said the acrylic and oil colour based paintings mostly depict landscapes and culture of Myanmar while some of them have Indian art influences.

soliciting visit by art lovers of Manipur, he also informed that interaction sessions with the visiting artists would be organised at the venue to promote cordial relationships between the people of Manipur and Myanmar.

Speaking on behalf of the Myanmar Art Club, Myint Tun conveying that myanmar traditional art is derived from Indian traditional art cited frescoes in Bagan temple of Myanmar similar to those found in Ajanta temples of India to illustrate his point.

Informing that Bagan is the source of Myanmar culture and religion, even though there had been 'Pyu' culture in the earlier period, Myint Tun said after coming under the British rule post the Anglo-Myanmar War II, Myanmar tradition and culture were overwhelmed by European cultures leading to gradual dilution of the erstwhile kingdom's artistic uniqueness.

He, however, said that despite dominant presence of western art taste some royal artists ensured survival of the Myanmar traditional art form.

With a group of English gentlemen founding the Burma Art Club in Yangon around 1920 not only were British artists invited to the Club to get familiar with the Myanmar art work but also organised exposure trips for Myanmarese artists to England, Myint maintained naming U Ba nyan as the first among Myanmar artists to study in England.

The revival of the Myanmar art form under the British rule technical suffered setback during the stint of the Socialist Government from 1962 to 1988 as the Myanmar art movement became weaker with the Government organising art exhibitions only twice during the said period.

Nevertheless, start of the military regime from 1988 onward witnessed growing popularity of both contemporary and traditional Myanmar art form consequent to setting up of numerous art galleries and exhibitions along with establishment of two art schools and same number of cultural universities in Yangon and Mandalay, Myint Tun elaborated expressing elation that art is blooming currently in Myanmar under the new democratic Government.

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