National Gallery logo draws heated debate

I am among those who feel that much improvement can be made to the new logo of the National Gallery Singapore (Gallery Logo: Boxed In Or Building Block?, Life!, April 8).

From my layman's perspective, the argument is not so much about what the logo represents - whether it consists of two boxes (full or empty) or two rectangles. I am sure we can leave the interpretation to those with more imaginative minds.

My main complaint is that the new logo looks odd and incongruous. Having tried my best to look for beauty, I'm afraid all I can see is a long row made up of two rectangles of different sizes and proportions standing side by side. And why have two logos of the same design, one in grey and the other in red?

Perhaps the visual impact will be better if the two rectangles are superimposed to shorten the original row, with one rectangle in grey and the other in red? The area that is superimposed may then take on a maroon colour to signify a merger of whatever that may be represented by the two rectangles - boxes or buildings?

Chia Ai Tong William

From the abrupt change of its moniker (omitting the descriptive "art") to its nondescript logo and typeface, the National Gallery is polarising opinions to an unprecedented extent. We are not even talking about the art yet.

When the idea of a national art gallery was first mooted years ago, I had the impression that it would be a repository and champion of modern art, complementing the contemporary role of the Singapore Art Museum.

With the appointment of Mr Eugene Tan, with his experience in contemporary art, as director, its focus also encompasses the contemporary. It is obviously imperative that the National Gallery, even before inspiring visitors with its art, should inspire confidence with its mission and objective laid out clearly from the outset. It behoves the gallery to be absolutely certain about its image, focus and direction.

The considerable attention bestowed upon the National Gallery is an encouraging sign that the public is concerned with the growth of the visual arts scene here.

Colin Lim

Corrie Tan's column on the national gallery is interesting, perceptive and touches on a broad range of ideas without losing the focus. When I first saw the logo, I thought it was incredibly drab so I'm glad I can think of it symbolically now.

Hannah Yeo

The National Gallery logo is simple. It is the two buildings it is housed in. Good. But it is a little too simple.

How about adding a dome on top of the taller box? That will make it look like the former Supreme Court building.

Add an artistic and nostalgic touch by making the lower edge of the dome slightly embedded in the top of the box. That should fix it.

Y.G. Yap

I refer to the articles on the newly renamed National Gallery Singapore by Deepika Shetty (S-E Asian Focus For National Gallery, Life! April 3, and DBS Gives $25m To National Gallery, The Straits Times, April 3).

As if to pre-empt the anticipated slew of brickbats the renaming of the the art gallery will likely engender, National Gallery director Eugene Tan has said: "We want to be known simply as the National Gallery. Gallery itself implies the word art."

This renaming comes after several names had been bandied about in the past two years or so. These names included National Art Gallery of Singapore (NAGS), The National Art Gallery (TNAG) and National Art Gallery (NAG). These acronyms have been the butt of jokes, but at least the word "art" tells us what the gallery is about.

To have the word "art" removed from this new name when all the proposals in the past have included it is a surprising turnaround and I wonder how much of this decision is due to the need to avoid the negative connotations of the acronym.

It may seem a matter of semantics, but some of us feel that having "art" in the name will provide some semblance of identity for this new gallery, especially when we already have a National Museum, until such time as the name of the National Gallery can stand on its own for the visual arts.

Lim Fang Kiat

This article was published on April 12 in The Straits Times.

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