THE National Arts Council of Singapore has condemned two recent performances, in which one man clipped his pubic hair and another vomited, as ''vulgar and completely distasteful''.
The acts, part of a week-long series of activities organised by two artists' groups, have divided the arts community, with some members concerned that they will cause a conservative backlash against a loosening of censorship.
Daniel Wong, programme co-ordinator for the Substation, a theatre which has been in the forefront of efforts to extend the official boundaries limiting political and social comment, said he was angry and did not think the acts were art.
The controversial acts took place during a 12-hour New Year's Eve event, which included poetry reading, musical performances and what the organisers called performance art.
The New Paper, a lively afternoon tabloid from the same stable as the Straits Times, carried a front page picture of Josef Ng with his back to the audience and his briefs down, reportedly snipping off pubic hair.
Ng, in his 20s, also burned his arm with a cigarette in protest against press coverage of the arrest of 12 alleged homosexuals in 1992.