Kin Maung
Encyclopedia
Kin Maung was a Burmese painter and sponsor of the arts who was influential in the art world of Mandalay
, Myanmar
. More importantly, however, he was the major force for the development of a modernistic movement in painting in Burma, which began in the early 1960s.
In 1952, Kin Maung became a bank manager, and thus he is often referred to as Kin Maung (Bank) to differentiate him from another Burmese painter Kin Maung (Yangon). The names of both Kin Maung (Bank) and Kin Maung (Yangon) are sometimes spelled as "Khin Maung".
) U Hla and the London School of Fine Arts. He started drawing cartoons and commercial paintings in 1935. He was interested in modern art and graphic art, and after World War II
first began teaching these subjects to two young Mandalay artists, Win Pe and Paw Oo Thet
, who would both, in turn, have a great impact on the movement in modernistic painting in Burma.
He wrote and gave workshops about modern art, explaining the principles to other artists. In the 1960s, when a movement in modernistic painting began to bloom for the first time in Burma, he exhibited his works in Rangoon, as his students Paw Oo Thet
and Win Pe and many other painters with modernistic inclinations were also doing. Along with Bagyi Aung Soe, he is considered one of the founders of modernistic art in Myanmar, but it is very likely that Kin Maung's interest preceded Aung Soe's as he was roughly 15 years older than Aung Soe and there is evidence that his first fully conceived work of modernistic painting occurred as early as 1945 or 1946. In Southeast Asian terms, this would roughly put him on par in time with painters such as Affandi
in Indonesia, who were turning to modernistic painting during the same decade. With respect to Burma, Kin Maung may be accurately called the "Father of Modernistic Painting" there.
Kin Maung helped organize art exhibitions in Mandalay and Yangon
, and in 1971 he was one of the founders of Lokanat Galleries, an early art gallery in Yangon which is still active today. He worked closely with other Mandalay artists such as Aye Kyaw, Ba Thet
and Aung Khin
. Kin Maung died on 20 December 1983 in Mandalay.
, which was 800 years or so old. This leap in thought was rather brilliant, for it revealed to Burmese painters who were interested in modernising stagnant forms of painting in Burma, namely naturalism and realism, that they did not have to wholly mimic or entirely borrow from the outside world to do so. They could find plenty of inspiration for figurative or non-figurative abstraction in the history of Burmese art itself, in the ruins at Bagan.
Mandalay
Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma. Located north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of one million, and is the capital of Mandalay Region ....
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
. More importantly, however, he was the major force for the development of a modernistic movement in painting in Burma, which began in the early 1960s.
In 1952, Kin Maung became a bank manager, and thus he is often referred to as Kin Maung (Bank) to differentiate him from another Burmese painter Kin Maung (Yangon). The names of both Kin Maung (Bank) and Kin Maung (Yangon) are sometimes spelled as "Khin Maung".
Life
Kin Maung (Bank) was born in 1910 at Tantse , Shwebo District, the second son of a merchant, and became interested in painting at an early age. He began his formal training through a correspondence course from the London-based Press Art School in 1933. In 1934, he took further correspondence courses from (PyinmanaPyinmana
Pyinmana ) is a logging town and sugarcane refinery center in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. The administrative capital of Myanmar was officially moved to a militarized greenfield site two miles west of Pyinmana on November 6, 2005. Pyinmana is approximately north of Yangon...
) U Hla and the London School of Fine Arts. He started drawing cartoons and commercial paintings in 1935. He was interested in modern art and graphic art, and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
first began teaching these subjects to two young Mandalay artists, Win Pe and Paw Oo Thet
Paw Oo Thet
Paw Oo Thet was a Burmese painter, prominent in the Mandalay art scene who became one of the initiators of a modernistic art movement in Burma in the early 1960s.-Early Training:...
, who would both, in turn, have a great impact on the movement in modernistic painting in Burma.
He wrote and gave workshops about modern art, explaining the principles to other artists. In the 1960s, when a movement in modernistic painting began to bloom for the first time in Burma, he exhibited his works in Rangoon, as his students Paw Oo Thet
Paw Oo Thet
Paw Oo Thet was a Burmese painter, prominent in the Mandalay art scene who became one of the initiators of a modernistic art movement in Burma in the early 1960s.-Early Training:...
and Win Pe and many other painters with modernistic inclinations were also doing. Along with Bagyi Aung Soe, he is considered one of the founders of modernistic art in Myanmar, but it is very likely that Kin Maung's interest preceded Aung Soe's as he was roughly 15 years older than Aung Soe and there is evidence that his first fully conceived work of modernistic painting occurred as early as 1945 or 1946. In Southeast Asian terms, this would roughly put him on par in time with painters such as Affandi
Affandi
Affandi was born in Cirebon, West Java, as the son of R. Koesoema, who was a surveyor at a local sugar factory. Affandi finished his upper secondary school in Jakarta, but he forsook his study for the desire to become an artist. Affandi taught himself how to paint since 1934...
in Indonesia, who were turning to modernistic painting during the same decade. With respect to Burma, Kin Maung may be accurately called the "Father of Modernistic Painting" there.
Kin Maung helped organize art exhibitions in Mandalay and Yangon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
, and in 1971 he was one of the founders of Lokanat Galleries, an early art gallery in Yangon which is still active today. He worked closely with other Mandalay artists such as Aye Kyaw, Ba Thet
Ba Thet
Ba Thet was a Burmese painter who worked in Mandalay, Myanmar and who was known as an advocate of experimentation in the arts. He was an associate of Kin Maung,...
and Aung Khin
Aung Khin
Aung Khin was a Burmese painter who became prominent in the Mandalay art world. He is well-known as one of the foremost and earliest of modernistic painters in Burma.-Training, Memberships, and Associations:...
. Kin Maung died on 20 December 1983 in Mandalay.
Work
Kin Maung's painting techniques were influenced by European theories and techniques, derived initially from the British artists in Myanmar during the colonial era. He is known, for instance, to have done early paintings in the British Watercolor School style, which his Mandalay predecessors, Ba Zaw, Saya Saung, and Ba Thet, were fond of (though Ba Thet would ultimately rebel against this style). Later, he became intensely interested in the 20th century European and American movements in modernistic painting. His work was not aggressively modernistic, but it did show cubist and other vanguard influences. The most provocative aspect of Kin Maung's work, however, is that in searching for a modernistic idiom which would suit Burma and not disenchant the conservative tendencies of Burmese culture, he also deeply sought inspiration from the mural painting of BaganBagan
Bagan , formerly Pagan, is an ancient city in the Mandalay Region of Burma. Formally titled Arimaddanapura or Arimaddana and also known as Tambadipa or Tassadessa , it was the capital of several ancient kingdoms in Burma...
, which was 800 years or so old. This leap in thought was rather brilliant, for it revealed to Burmese painters who were interested in modernising stagnant forms of painting in Burma, namely naturalism and realism, that they did not have to wholly mimic or entirely borrow from the outside world to do so. They could find plenty of inspiration for figurative or non-figurative abstraction in the history of Burmese art itself, in the ruins at Bagan.