Feh! The Back of My Hand

...to the National Art Gallery!

The jury is out on the newly renovated gallery - guilty. Guilty as charged: after millions of Ringgit in 'improvements', it is 'same-same but different'.

The place has been closed for 10 months and re-opens with as much fanfare as a bratty kid announcing a fart. There was an small feature in last week's Sunday Star with the decidedly unfestive heading: 'But where are the exhibitions?'

The article takes note of the 'improvements' with a barely concealed sense of dismay:

"Unusually for a purpose-built gallery, the flooring in all six sections is a shimmering carpet of glazed tiles. These not only distract from the art on the walls but also pose safety concerns."

"The renovations were urgently needed after a serious termite infestation of parquet flooring in at least two gallery spaces came to light, adding to other existing problems such as leaks – a malaise of many Malaysian public buildings of late! – and plumbing issues in the toilets.

Strangely, leaks were still observable as last minute touches were being put to the Malaysia@50 exhibition in Galeri 2A, though these were duly rectified. But for how long will the repairs hold? It’s unnerving to think of irreplaceable artworks being splattered with water or soaked."

Niamah!

Don't forget that the building is barely 9 years old.

You can almost hear the planning meeting with some official braying out 'yaaaaa, kita ... letak sensor kat tangga tu - nanti orang dekat je dia boleh jalan. Cam ni la baru world-class!'. How about 'yaaaaaa, kita... buat lebih galeri lagi. Kan ni Balai Seni Lukis Negara? Tada ruang? Habis tu kita gunakan pejabat-pejabat kakitangan je la! Ya, kita renovate, kita improve, buat paling best sekali!'

The rest of the article is almost too painful.

Whatever. I'm not going to grind my already well-ground teeth over this pathetic performance a moment longer than I already have. I sincerely believe that the Malaysian art scene has become stronger and more self-sufficient now that we realize that Balai is utterly incompetent. It has been MIA for close to a year - and you know what, it hasn't been missed. Galleries, collectors, artists, institutions and collectives have forged ahead, having shows left, right and center, and some damn good ones at that. I always intone that we get the government we deserve, but in this case, I maintain (with few reservations) that Balai doesn't deserve the artists the nation has. This Merdeka, it has embarrassed itself beyond redemption by its discreditable showing.

I officially declare Balai-bashing out-of-vogue. It just isn't worth the 2 seconds anymore. We are doing just fine without it.

(Ok, I get back to work now. *Mutter nutter*)