Art
SAN MINN: MODERN ARTIST’S SURREAL VISION The woman in the painting looked over her shoulder, head tilted, raven hair cascading down her naked back. She had an elegant, graceful form. Her exposed ear wore two golden studs. Her eyes were hidden behind two black uncaring voids. TEXT: ADAM PERRELL
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“ n “Friday the 13th,” he kills so many people, both men, and women,” explained San Minn, “like she is killing our Myanmar culture.” The murderous woman stared down with menace. Her hidden eyes followed us around the Trish Gallery as San Minn introduced more of his thoughtprovoking and emotion-evoking artwork. The juxtaposition of images and ideas
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in the room were testaments to a master creative. “2001 of Space Age” (1974) lands a lunar module formed from intertwined bodies on a barren moon to represent San Minn’s vision of mankind seeking a new frontier after Earth becomes overpopulated. “Mystical Longing” (1990) captures disparity in surrealism with the wealthy cruising through life on a luxury liner, the everyman swimming unassisted, and the pauper sinking as the lighthouse of society shows the way to a land he will never reach.
Magazine | NR 42, 2020
San Minn’s face lit up as he shared the stories behind each piece, detailing his ideas, exploring his thoughts, and exposing his heart. His inspiration is varied and when asked where he gets his ideas he replied, simply, “I read so many books. I combine my ideas and my book knowledge; I have studied so many brilliant books.” San Minn, 68, has a life of creativity in his veins and he has bled it out through paint on canvas. His ideas may not have always been popular
or politically correct—30 of his pieces were censored during his career— but he has stood by his ideology and creative instincts with determination. The artist portrays the world through their interpretation, not through the prescription of authority. A student in Rangoon Arts and Sciences University in the 1970’s, San Minn was part of an artistic movement that founded the “Wild Eye” Art Exhibit, an exhibit that continues to today. His youthful
