Bagyi Aung Soe is recognized by many of his contemporaries in Burma as one of the pioneers of modern art – if not the father of modern Burmese art. It is actually his non-figurative illustration for Kyi Aye’s writing in the Shumawa issue of January 1953 which gave rise to the label of “seik-ta-za-bagyi”, meaning “mad art” – an expression still used in Burma to refer to “modern art”. His career spanned more than four decades, beginning in illustration work in the year of Independence in 1947, until his death in July 1990. The question of whether the study of Aung Soe’s work should be based on his contribution as an illustrator or an artist aside, this paper looks at a prominent aspect of his production from the last decade of his life in the 1980s. It represents the fruits of his research into an art both Burmese and modern. Works from this period of maturity display the unusual combination of a Burmese Buddhist and mystical content with styles which counter conventional modes of representation in Burmese Buddhist graphic art.
Read MoreThere is no doubt that Aung Soe viewed himself as an artist, a painter – not an aspiring weikza. He did not intend his works to be subsequent supports of meditation although they certainly look like instruments of spiritual study, so abundant in Indian folk art. That Aung Soe’s late works were the fruits of meditation and spiritual purification, and that he was open to others keeping them for good luck, do not mean that he intended their first function to be an idol or a prayer book. His notes suggest that he was perfectly convinced that the abundant Buddhist and mystical symbols were mere remnants of sacred teachings whose pertinence had eroded over the centuries. What he attempted through art were interpretations of the principles of spiritual and mental conditioning behind the conception and fabrication process of religious or mystical symbols and diagrams. He was fascinated with the application of mental power to art. Moreover, the fact that he did not reserve himself to the use of sacred symbols and language to express his spiritual experiences speaks volumes about his position with regard to the sacred as an artist. In many works, the most basic graphic components like lines and colours are used to transcribe the visions and sensations resulting from the fire, wind, water and earth elements observed in the body during insight meditation. On the other hand, sacred symbols like “om” undergo makeovers to adopt new forms which veil or camouflage the initial sacred symbolism. Based on the principle of repeating supposedly magically charged consonants like “ka-ga-na-la” and “sa-da-ba-wa” to intensify their power, Aung Soe also elaborated original graphic symbols and compositions out of letters of the Latin alphabet. Legibility becomes secondary to the combination of forms; the rethinking of forms becomes the focus.
