Page1 School of Architecture, Building and Design Foundation in Natural and Built Environments English II: ENG 30605 ENGLISH FINAL PROJECT: RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT REPORT FNBE April Intake 2014 Group members: Arvindhan a/l Balasingam 0319753 Canisius Bong Wei Pheng 0318914 Chow Hong Da 0318571 Ong Eu Xuan 0319050 Ong Jia Min 0318003 Maximilian Lim Jake Yang 0319604 Tan Yit Fong 0319133
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Pag
e1
School of Architecture, Building and Design
Foundation in Natural and Built Environments
English II: ENG 30605
ENGLISH FINAL PROJECT:
RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT
REPORT
FNBE April Intake 2014
Group members:
Arvindhan a/l Balasingam 0319753
Canisius Bong Wei Pheng 0318914
Chow Hong Da 0318571
Ong Eu Xuan 0319050
Ong Jia Min 0318003
Maximilian Lim Jake Yang 0319604
Tan Yit Fong 0319133
Pag
e2
SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN
FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT
PRESENTATION TITLE: English Final Project: Research Assignment Report
GROUP MEMBERS:
Names Presentation / Research Report Roles.
Arvindhan a/l Balasingam 0319753 Description of the history of trade/business
08/12/2010 - 30/12/2010 GM Choo's Art Review TMS Art Gallery
Pag
e13
3.3 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
WEI-LING GALLERY
1. Number of contemporary art galleries in KL: 9 2. Top 3 contemporary art galleries:
a) Galeri Petronas b)Valentine Willie Fine Art
c) TAKSU Gallery
a) Galeri Petronas
GALERI PETRONAS is formed by PETRONAS, Malaysia's national oil and gas company. GALERI PETRONAS manages and administers the PETRONAS sponsorship programme for visual arts. As such, the corporation provides and maintains the gallery as
a world-class venue for Malaysian artists to display their artworks. The gallery also hosts foreign exhibitions to encourage exchanges between local and foreign artists for their
mutual benefit.
b) Valentine Willie Fine Art
Valentine Willie Fine Art Founded as a pioneer consultancy for modern and
contemporary Southeast Asian art in 1996. We strive to represent the best of regional
work, from the historically important to the cutting edge and run a busy yearly program of exhibitions at our galleries while also working with regional institutions and independent initiatives on touring and offsite projects.
c) TAKSU Gallery
Established in 1989, TAKSU is a leading Southeast Asian contemporary art gallery
and specialist. Representing a wide selection of fine art with a distinctly urban edge,
TAKSU is at the forefront of the contemporary art industry in the region. From young
talents to critically acclaimed names in the industry, TAKSU’s stable of artists are
distinguished by talent, academia, as well as regional and international awards. [6]
Pag
e14
3. How do the businesses compete with their competitors? Strategies and how
successful:
They do not see other contemporary art galleries as competitors. In their
opinion, everyone are in the same phase and have their own strategies in
handling their business. As for Wei-Ling Gallery, they aim to promote new
local artists and exhibit their works in the gallery. Occasionally, local artists
come to them to promote their own works. Their main focus is to observe the
growth of contemporary art in Malaysia. Wei-Ling Gallery is one of
Malaysia’s top contemporary art galleries.
Besides that, the Wei Ling gallery in Brickfields has won a few architectural
awards for adaptive re-use of a building. This promotes the gallery through
the architecture of the building.
4. What are the obstacles faced by new business who wish to enter their
markets today? Are they easy or difficult to overcome? Why?
It can be tough to find artists to exhibit their works in new galleries because
certain artists would rather go to more popular galleries to promote their
works.
5. What is the nature of their markets, and justifications.
Wei ling Gallery is a perfectly competitive market. It exhibits various works
from local artists and sells these works to those who are interested in these
artworks. [9]
Pag
e15
G M CHOO ART GALLERY
1. Number of contemporary art galleries in Jonker Street, Melaka: 20
2. Top 3 contemporary art galleries: a) Li Chi Mao Art House
b) The Orang Utan House c) Tham Siew Inn Artist Gallery
a) Li Chi Mao Art House 11 Lorong Hang Jebat
Dedicate to the works of Taiwan powerhouse, Yang Di-Pertua Prof. Li Chi Mao, he is but scholar, calligrapher, brush
maestro and art educationist all in one. A “Living Legend Artist”, entitled in 2007, he has been honoured by numerous
presidents around the world. It is hard to miss the Chinese master junkboat that houses the art gallery that was modelled after the great China explorer Admiral Zheng-he, so do step steep into the oriental representations from none
other than Li Chi Mao. [15]
b) The Orang Utan House 59 Lorong Hang Jebat
In the words of Valentine Willie, Cham stays away from the “chocolate-box art-kittens and still life and swaying coconut
trees” and resorts to bold and downright weird that show the philosophy of his art which is the dualism of life and the attraction of opposites; Yin and Yang. Trained in France and a
member of the prestigious Association des Artistes Independants, he has chosen “staying here (Melaka) and fighting” despite the
fact that his works have made their way in more than 40 countries. [16] [17]
c) Tham Siew Inn Artist Gallery
49, Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock
Home to the works of the president and/or vice president of the
Klang Artist Society, Malaysian Watercolour Society and the
Malaysian Watercolour Organization that has exploded on an
international scale. Sakura Bank, Samsung Electronics and Tourism
Malaysia are just some of the worldwide collectors of his work.
Not to mention, Tham Siew Inn’s watercolours have crossed 4 continents and been
exhibited in 40 countries making a name for himself that is unparalleled. [18]
Pag
e16
How do the business compete with their competitors? What strategies were employed
and how successful are they?
Each artist has their own style. As such, art galleries tend to not have much competition
within each other. Our products are very different from one another, hence I guess you can
say that is our “strategy”. We are also located in close proximity which proves to be an
advantage as tourists and locals can visit one place, particularly Jalan Tokong and Heeren
Street at Jonker Walk, inviting more customers in. I feel though that the traditional arts
here do better as tourists want to immerse themselves in our culture and locals want to
uphold their place as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What are the obstacles faced by new businesses who wish to enter their markets today?
Are they easy or difficult to overcome? Why?
The obstacles that are faced by G M CHOO gallery include the government poor handling
of the taxes. As such, the people have less buying power and the art industries suffered
from it. GM CHOO said that it is not easy to overcome this problem because this problem
is under the government’s hands and the artist can only hope that the government would do
something about it.
What is the nature of their markets and your justifications?
The nature of the market in Melaka is perfect business and type of competition. This is
because every artist has their own style and each costumer has their own taste towards art.
For example, the Orang Utan House presents more modern pop art that are a hit with the
young adults while the Clay House down the street sells a traditional art that I don’t. As
such, no art gallery truly has the market power to influence the prices of artworks. [10]
Pag
e17
3.4 SUMMARY OF COMAPRATIVE ANALYSIS
WEI-LING GALLERY
G M CHOO ART GALLERY
Lim Wei Ling FOUNDER G M Choo
5 employees (excluding
22 artists that they fund) WORKERS
6 employees (3 trainees, a
clerk & himself)
Brickfields (HQ) The Gardens Mall
E&O Hotel Penang
LOCATION Malacca, a town recently declared as a world heritage
site by UNESCO in 2008
3 NO. OF BRANCHES 0
Inconsistent NO. OF CUSTOMERS 2 per month
Weekdays: 12p.m.-7p.m.
Sat: 10a.m.- 5p.m. BUSINESS HOURS
Weekdays: 8a.m.-7p.m.
Weekends: 8a.m.-4p.m.
Contemporary art MAIN PRODUCT Batik painting
Sculpture, Photography,
Books
OTHER TYPES OF
PRODUCTS
Oil Paintings, Abstract Art
Painting, Landscape Art Painting, Batik Stamping Art
Produce and fund new/good local artists
STRATEGY
Increase publicity through
showcasing more artwork at
exhibitions
Expansion of the current platform of our local arts
to an international scale
FUTURE PLANS
To travel more such as parts of China to hone his skills
until he retires
Everyone and anyone
who has an interest in art / Tourists (expose them to
the local art scene)
TARGET MARKET A wide range from children
to the old
[9][10]
Pag
e18
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Wei-Ling gallery in Brickfields is built in an interesting pre-war building that has
been beautifully refurnished which meets the requirements of an outstanding
contemporary art gallery while GM Choo art gallery has its rustic charm with its Chinese
Palladian shophouse. But even a top art gallery has its flaws and can be improved further.
Based on our research regarding both the galleries, we have proposed a few
recommendations on the future plans of this gallery.
WEI-LING GALLERY
a) Reorganizing use of space
What is important in a good art gallery is space. Walking into the gallery through the
entrance, one will see a large collection of antiques and old furniture that crowd the
space. Because of this, there is only a limited amount of space that a group of people can
pass through. A large group of visitors will feel cramped as they walking through this
area of the gallery. We suggest that the gallery make more space for people to walk by so
that visitors may enjoy the art pieces without having to give way for others to walk.
b) No. of staff
Furthermore, the staff members in the gallery seemed too busy to address to the visitors.
"Never forget the basics, no matter how busy: always acknowledge a visitor's presence;
never underestimate your clients," quoted writers and reviewers from Artinfo Canada, a
hub for Canadian news. So, we recommend the staffs to keep themselves in check and
always acknowledge their visitors.
In addition to that, there were only a small number of staffs working in the gallery. We
visited both the Wei-Ling Contemporary Art Gallery in The Gardens Mall and the Wei-
Ling Art Gallery in Brickfields. Based on our experiences, there was only one staff
member manning the gallery in The Gardens Mall and only a few people working in the
gallery in Brickfields. From this, we propose that they increase the number of workers.
Figure 1: Disorganized paintings on the floor
and artworks that are out of reach of
Canisius’ view
Pag
e19
GM CHOO ART GALLERY
(a) Renovate/ Expansion of space
The store is quite old and traditional. If the store is renovated with better
technologies such as having air conditioning the art gallery would attract more
customers due comfortable ambience. Costumers won’t stay long if the gallery is
hot and stuffy due to the tropical weather of Malacca. This lowers the probability
of potential customers and eventually, sales. Besides that, expansion of space
would better the coordination of the placing of paintings and would make room
for the many more to come as it would allow customers to better navigate the
gallery without worrying about tripping over the many paintings piled up around
the floor.
(b) Display of paintings
When we visited the gallery, we noticed that he had his artworks in disarray with
all kinds of paintings stacked up and competing against one another. Most of the
paintings couldn’t be viewed either. The different types of paintings such as the
Batik art paintings and oil paintings were simply placed,
uncategorized and untitled. Our recommendation is that G M Choo Art Gallery
would hire a professional to organize in a manner not only best displays his art
works but create a visually interesting space. There should also be categories
based on the type of art pieces.
Figure 2: Batik paintings stacked upon one
another, collecting dust
Figure 3: Different types of paintings of
different orientations hung on almost whatever
space the wall could hold
Pag
e20
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arts.com.my. (2014). History of Malaysian Art. Retrieved 10 January 2015, from
5.10 p.m Met Shaza Sofi (Associate of Wei-Ling Gallery)
5.20 p.m Interview began
6.30 p.m End of interview
6.35 p.m A tour of the gallery
7.00 p.m Departure from Wei-Ling's Art Gallery
8.25 p.m Arrival at Taylor’s Lakeside Campus
Pag
e31
GM CHOO ART GALLERY (Jalan Tokong, Malacca)
Saturday, 3rd of January 2015
Time Agenda
8.00 a.m Departure from Taylor Lakeside Campus
10.30 a.m Arrived in Melaka Bandaraya
11.00 a.m Arrived in G M CHOO's Art Gallery
11.30 a.m Met G M CHOO himself, artist and founder of the gallery
11.35 a.m Interview began
12.30 p.m End of interview
1.00 p.m A tour of the gallery
1.30 p.m Batik painting (guided by GM CHOO)
2.30 p.m Depart from GM CHOO's Art Gallery
3.00 p.m Survey for other art galleries around GM CHOO
4.00 p.m Departure from Melaka Bandaraya
6.30 p.m Arrival at Taylor’s Lakeside Campus
Pag
e32
APPENDIX .7- TRANSCRIPT
WEI-LING GALLERY
Max: So, when was the business founded?
Sofi: The Gallery was started in 2002. It used to be Townhouse Gallery before it became
Wei Ling Gallery.
Max: Is Wei Ling the founder of the gallery? Is she the only founder?
Sofi: Yes, She's the only founder and the director of the gallery.
Max: So, what kind of art does Wei-Ling Gallery focus selling?
Sofi: Our main focus is contemporary art. Although we also host exhibitions, local
contemporary is our main focus.
Max: So how many branches do you guys have?
Sofi: We have 3. We have this one, in Brickfields. Wei Ling Contemporary at The Gardens Mall, which we just relocated to a larger space, and one in Penang at E&O Hotel.
Max: So do you guys have any competitors?
Sofia: I don't quite think we look it that way. If you are in this industry, it is because you
wanted to see the growth of local art. Hence it is more like a community rather than a competitive industry.
Max: So, I see that the gallery is housed in a pre-war building.
Sofi: Yes, it's a pretty old building. It used to be by Wei Ling's father. He is an architect, Professor Jimmy Lim.
Max: So generally, do you find it hard to manage this gallery?
Sofia: It's not difficult. I wouldn't say it's difficult. Obviously it's difficult in the beginning but we enjoy it.
Max: Currently, are the people at Wei-Ling looking to expand the business physically?
Sofi: I’m not so sure about that one.
Max: What is your position in this gallery?
Sofia: I'm just an associate of the gallery.
Canisius: What is the main product that the gallery sells?
Sofia: Well, we don't call it as product, it's actually art. So yeah, we sell photography, sculpture, we have installation. There isn't a particular type of art.
Canisius: How often you guys produce this product, sorry, art?
Pag
e33
Sofia: It’s not how often we produce. It's all by different artists. Some artists produce only produce two artworks a year. Some only produce one for years. It's not us at Wei-
Ling who produce. It's our artists who produced the artworks and we source for them. There isn't a timeline for it.
Max: Do they usually come to the people at Wei-ling or does the gallery approach them?
Sofia: It work both ways.
Max: Oh okay, I think that's all. Thank You.
Pag
e34
G M CHOO ART GALLERY
这个业务几时开始?
When did you start the business?
大概二十五年前我在这里开一间店,在这里经商到现在。
About twenty five years ago, I’ve opened this shop until today.
那么,您是这家店的创办人吗?
So, you are the founder of this shop, I presume?
是的。
Yes.
开店的时候当时您几岁?
How old were you when you opened this shop?
那时候我大概是六十九岁左右。
Around 69 years old.
为什么您会想要开一间画廊?
Why do you wish to open an art gallery?
我在工作室做画了整十年,把我的绘画批发给画廊。
I’ve worked in studios for a decade, I even had my art sent to other galleries for sale.
原来您之前有经验,那么过后为什么您决定想来这里开画廊?
So you had past experience as an artist, why did you chose to open a gallery here?
过后我发现这里(马六甲)有很多游客,在这里开店可以做门市,也可以做生产和批发。
I find that here in Melaka, many tourists come here for a holiday. By opening a shop here, I can both sell my art, and produce artworks for distribution to other galleries.
Pag
e35
这样,您的店的主要产品是什么呢?
So, what is your shops main products?
我的店主要是卖 batik(蜡染)画最多,在马来西亚画 batik 多数是马来人,华人
batik 画家数一数二。我也有画油画,也有买些特别的画拿来卖。
My shop mainly sells batik art, which is mostly done by local malays in Malaysia, and I am one of the few Chinese batik artists. Other than that, I sell oil paintings, some of which I bought from other artists to resell.
您的客户多数是什么人呢?
What are your main clients?
有外国人,本地人都有。本地马来人和华人都爱来买画。
It’s a mixed bag. We have foreigners and locals who equally like my art. Local malays
and Chinese love my batik art.
您的店一年大概能赚到多少钱呢?
What is the annual profit of your shop?
一年大概也只赚到几千令吉。
I earn around a few thousand in a year.
您有没有分行呢?
Do you have other branches?
没有,但是我有把画寄卖到吉隆玻,新加坡的画廊里做门市。
No, but I do sell my art to galleries at Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and other places.
可以大概说一说这家店的历史吗?
Could you tell us a little bit of your shop’s history?
这间店一开始生意很好,因为那时候世界经济还不错,但是七年前马来西亚的经济
风景大爆跌,生意就受影响。现在生意还在慢慢地跌,应为政府的行政处理不好。
At first the shop was great business, as the local economy was great, but ever since the
economic crisis in Malaysia occurred seven years ago, my business has been getting
Pag
e36
worse as time goes on. Today, due to poor management of the government, the business has been slowly decaying.
那么您有没有竞争对手吗?
Well, do you have any competitors?
每一个人都有自己的画法,所以竞争也没什么。
Every artist has their own style, so competition is minimal.
可以说出几间店吗?
Could you list out a few competitors?
在这里有二到三十几间画廊,你可以看地图有几间比较有名的。
In Melaka you can find twenty to thirty galleries, a dozen famous ones you can find on
the world map.
你觉得他们的店会不会与你发生竞争呢?
Do you think their shops will be competing with your business?
对我来说,我拿第二,没拿第一。我的店产品也多样化,所以比较吸引多游客。
To me, I always strive for second, never aiming for the best. My products are varied, so my shop will attract more customers.
一开始开店要用到多少钱呢?
How much money did you need to start this business?
开始的时候大概用到至少三万令吉,租金和装修用到两万了。
Around 3 million ringgit, with two thirds of it used for rent and renovations.
你刚刚开始经商的时候有什么要注意呢?
What do you need to take caution of when you started this business?
Starting a business like this requires a bit of foresight. In Melaka, my shop is the only batik art gallery, so competition is minimal. As an artist, we must know what good art is,
and change artworks that are not good enough. We also have to look at other’s art, observe more on the public’s demands and abosorb people’s good points.
一张画可以卖多少钱呢?
How much does an artwork cost?
价钱从大概几百块,可以到五千一万块。
The price can range from a few hundred to five hundred million.
您大概一年可以画出几幅画?
How many pieces of art could you produce in a year?
作一幅画比较有自由,想画就画,有时候想挑战自己就能花到几个月画一幅画,有
时候一幅画几个星期就完成了。
As an artist, creating artwork has more freedom in time. Sometimes I wish to challenge myself, I could take months to create a masterpiece. Sometimes I can make simple
artworks in a few weeks’ time.
那么您整样决定画的价钱呢?
How do you set the price of a piece of artwork?
我是看做画是用到多少时间,材料和创作复杂度来决定价钱。
I would see each individual artwork by the time taken, the materials used, and the complexity of the artwork.
这样您的画,如果别人卖得贵,您也卖贵呢?
If others sell their artworks at a high price, would you do the same?
不会的,我有我的价钱。
No, as I have my own price for my artwork.
Pag
e38
REFERENCES
[1] Arts.com.my. (2014). History of Malaysian Art. Retrieved 10 January 2015, from