Coming into Intelligibility: Decolonizing Singapore Art, Practice and Curriculum in Post-colonial Globalization DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Bee Kim Koh Graduate Program in Art Education The Ohio State University 2014 Dissertation Committee: Professor Christine Ballengee-Morris, Adviser Professor Deborah Smith-Shank, Adviser Professor Sydney Walker Professor Amy Shuman Copyright by Bee Kim Koh 2014 Abstract This study examines how select aspects of art and practice are apprehended in Singapore, in terms of how they come into being, how they are known, lived and responded to. Situated within the broader context of postcolonial globalization, the study considers how art and practice can be understood within situated conditions in Singapore as a means towards decolonizing the pre-constitution of subjectivity of Singapore art in the curriculum. This qualitative research uses grounded theory, Adele Clark’s situational analysis and case study to examine the interviews and works of six art/design practitioners. The work draws on concepts from Karen Barad’s theory on the materialization of entities in human and non-human actions and relations, Michel Foucault’s grid of intelligibility, and Appadurai’s disjuncture and difference in the global cultural economy. Using these concepts, the study considers how subjectivities are made intelligible or constituted within physical-discursive conditions in phenomena. The research investigates how practitioners come to know aspects of art and practice; how they experience, enact, and act against pre-existing subjectivities embedded in structures of practice; and how they respond to these structures in and through their work. The study examines how art/design practitioners traverse and transgress pre-existing subjectivities, and reconfigured these ii dynamically through splicing strategies in their ongoing becoming in the global cultural economy. iii For Jason, Lisa and Matthew iv Acknowledgments To Jesus, the Word and Author of Life, the true Author of this work, to You, be all glory, honor and praise. To my family, thank you for your support, encouragement, and for always being there for me. Thank you for putting up with the disruptions and absences. May we all be better together for the experience. I am humbled by the love, support, encouragement, wisdom, and generous contribution of many people who have all made this dissertation possible. A heartfelt thanks for the help, support and generous contribution from the following people: Khairuddin Hori, Michael Lee, Weng Choy Lee, Sam Lo, Donna Ong, Zul Othman, Dr Suriani Suratman, Gek Lin Tan, Hans Tan, and Natasha Wei. I am inspired by your contribution to art in Singapore. I thank you and I salute you. A big thank you to the many giants who lent me their shoulders. I want to thank my advisers, Professors Christine Ballengee-Morris and Deborah Smith-Shank, whose regular concoctions of encouragement, unstinting support, and measured admonishment, fed and sustained me throughout the research and writing. Thank you for your patience, for believing in me, and sparing no efforts to see me through. I want to thank my dissertation committee members Professors Amy Shuman and Sydney Walker for their v wisdom, advice and encouragement. I have learnt much from you as I had from your classes. A very special heartfelt thanks to Professor Patti Lather, a giant in her field who is never too big to listen and learn from others, including her students. From you, I have learnt gumption, leadership in scholarship, generosity of spirit, and compassion. To the countless professors who left indelible impressions in my academic formation, I cannot thank you enough: Professors Pat Stuhr, Vesta Daniel, Candance Stout, Terry Barret, Arthur Efland, Margaret Wyszomirkski, Patty Bode, and Graeme Sullivan (Penn State University). Many thanks to friends: Steph Fernandes, Christie McCracken, Christina Mathison, Shadwa Mussad, Hyesun Shin, Li Shao, Jenny Huang, Meimei Liu, Ruth Ow, Craig Kehl, Kirsten Thomas, Michael Kellner, Kate Collins, Verónica Betancourt, Dianne and Ed Efsic, who walked the journey with me, chauffeured me, fed me, and in many instances, prayed me through. Last but not least, I am most grateful to the Singapore Ministry of Education, for sponsoring my studies at The Ohio State. vi Vita 2010 to present ..............................................PhD student, Department of Arts Administration, Education & Policy, The Ohio State University 2010................................................................Singapore Ministry of Education Postgraduate Scholarship recipient 2009................................................................M.A. Educational Research, University of Durham, United Kingdom 2008 – 2010....................................................Senior Curriculum Specialist, Art, Ministry of Education, Singapore 2005 – 2007....................................................Curriculum Planning Officer, Art, Ministry of Education, Singapore 2002 – 2004....................................................Head of Department, Aesthetics, St Margaret’s Secondary School, Singapore 1998 – 2002....................................................Curriculum Planning Officer, Art, Ministry of Education, Singapore 1995 – 1997....................................................Art and English Language Teacher, River Valley High School, Singapore vii 1995................................................................Postgraduate Diploma in Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 1994................................................................Winner of the Alan Mohun Prize for outstanding achievements in Fine Arts, University of Leeds, United Kingdom 1994................................................................B.A. (Honors) Fine Arts, University of Leeds, United Kingdom 1990................................................................Singapore Public Service Commission Overseas Scholarship recipient 1989................................................................National Junior College, Singapore Publication Lather, P; Rama, P; Luke, J; Sanders, M; Dunn, J & Koh, B. K. (2013). Finding One’s Self Through Foucault: An Essay Review. Review of Foucault, Power and Education by Stephen J. Ball. Education Review, 16(4). Retrieved from http://www.edrev.info/essays/v16n4.pdf Fields of Study Major Field: Art Education Minor Field: Comparative Studies viii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... v Vita .................................................................................................................................... vii Fields of Study ................................................................................................................. viii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... ix List of Figures .................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Reimagining Singapore ..................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Postcolonial Subjectivities, Singapore, and the Global Cultural Economy .... 26 Chapter 3: Performing Diffractive Methodology – Singapore as Method ....................... 96 Chapter 4: Practitioners in Singapore ............................................................................. 134 Chapter 5: The Case of the Sticker Lady and Street Art in Singapore ........................... 145 Chapter 6: Coming to Art, Being Artists and Responding to the Global Cultural Economy ......................................................................................................................................... 165 Chapter 7: Coming into Intelligibility............................................................................. 227 References ....................................................................................................................... 242 ix Appendix A: List of sample of interview questions ....................................................... 262 Appendix B: Select Snapshots of Interviews .................................................................. 263 x List of Figures Figure 1. Space, time and matter as dimensions in phenomena. .................................... 110 Figure 2. Research Schedule. .......................................................................................... 118 Figure 3. Sample screen shot of coding and codes used for transcribing interviews using MAXQDA11 software. ................................................................................................... 128 Figure 4. Sample screen shot of memos on aspects of a code during the coding process. ......................................................................................................................................... 129 Figure 5. Sample screen shot on frequency data on codes used in transcription. ........... 131 Figure 6. Samples of Sam Lo’s stickers on traffic structures. ........................................ 136 Figure 7. Hans Tan, Spotted Nonya collection,