The Star Online: Lifestyle: Arts & Fashion
The Star Online: Lifestyle: Arts & Fashion |
| Posted: 21 Aug 2011 01:01 AM PDT LACK of support is a constant grouse among young artists, especially those working in the harder-to-define area of contemporary art. The Penang State Art Gallery aims to change this by creating more space for them to showcase their work. "We always find ways to encourage young talents. Those who are established are always welcome to hold solo or group exhibitions at the gallery. All they need to so is submit a proposal," says gallery director Haryany Mohamad. She cites Kedai Runcit No.12 as an example of the artworks it wants to encourage. In fact, she even got the gallery staff involved by compiling and showcasing a documentation of their own kedai runcit experience and its heritage in Penang. Haryany feels the state's visual art scene has always been vibrant, but perhaps, it's only now that it's catching the attention of art lovers nationwide. "Penang, especially the Penang State Art Gallery, is the main platform for visual and contemporary art in the northern region. We are very active – we organise more then 15 exhibitions per year." |
| Posted: 21 Aug 2011 01:01 AM PDT Nostalgia and heritage have a place in contemporary art, as a current exhibition shows. TUCKED somewhere in the mind of most Malaysians – okay, maybe those of a certain age – is the little sundry shop or kedai runcit. This is the place with the hidden treasures of your childhood, and the main source of many a family's essentials. It used to be the heartbeat of the kampung or taman, and played a big part in the rites of passage of most – the first paper doll, the first game card, first friend, first child, or first buku tiga lima (buku hutang or credit account). Alas, now, in the era of convenience stores and hypermarkets, the kedai runcit is fast disappearing, leaving us only with a sense of loss and longing. This is what Shooshie Sulaiman, 38, hopes to trigger with the art situation/performance piece she has curated at the Penang State Art Gallery, titled Kedai Runcit No.12. These emotions are what our individual history and identity are made of, says the National Young Curator Award 2009 winner. "I want to awaken these nostalgic memories that people have packed away in neat boxes and hidden out of their sight." The antiquated structure in the sombre space of the gallery is definitely a sight to behold. With its wooden shutters and signs in Jawi and Chinese, the installation is a relic that belongs in the history tomes and showy coffee table books. But at the gallery, it comes alive. And like a real kedai runcit, the "store" is strewn with various sundry items you might need and want, including those that you may have long forgotten, like the sugar-top biscuits, the tikam-tikam game and the kukur kelapa (traditional coconut grater) There is even a Chopper bicycle! (Only to try, not to buy, unfortunately.) Interspersed with these daily household wares are the artworks of five emerging Malaysian artists. Haslin Ismail, 27, presents her intricate paper-based works – pop-up deconstructions of old books and three-dimensional encyclopaedic boxes, while ceramic artist Rozana Musa, 29, invites visitors to pick out her ceramic fruits and vegetables from the real ones on display. Home-grown (Penang) artist Hoo Kiew Hang sets up an altar for his religious-inspired, pop art sculptures. Izat Aris, 25, uses his drawings as labels and packaging to spice up some common retail wares, while painter Linda Nordin, also from Penang, digs up her collection of antiques and old trinkets. Within this kedai runcit setup, the artists' works are installed to align with the nitty gritty of the store, placed in jars, hanging plastic bags and old biscuit tins and on rickety metal shelves. In the process, explains Shooshie, the young artists need to negotiate the layout of the store and the material culture of the retail goods to create a semblance of harmony between contemporary art and the ordinaryobjects. Crucially, the display is not only for show – visitors are expected to do more than window-shop. "We want people to experience it like a real shop. They have to interact with everything that is here. They can touch and hold, and they can buy," says Shooshie. Of course, she has her own favourite kedai runcit etched in her memory. Interestingly, she is still a regular customer at the sundry shop, which has been in operation for 48 years in Ayer Panas, Setapak, Kuala Lumpur. The installation is like an art fair in itself, she adds. "I love the shop. It is an art phenomenon and I get so much joy from the high aesthetic value in the mashing of the daily activities with our heritage and culture and the individual history of the shop." To her, this is art in its natural form, whereby the aesthetic is derived honestly, without conceit. "Look at the way fruit sellers arrange their ware, for example. They do it in a way that will attract buyers - the balance, composition and colour come naturally. It's the same in a kedai runcit - the way things are arranged and displayed creates a genuine aesthetic. Combined with the survival spirit and daily necessities of the store owners, it creates arresting art," she says. The shop also highlights issues that are rife in the current local art scene: Can we put monetary value on art? How do we evaluate the critical value of art? These are questions Shooshie wanted to throw at the younger artists involved in the exhibition. "My question to them was, if they could do something without the purpose of 'creating art', would it still come out as visually interesting as art?" Looking at Malaysia's contemporary art scene, she says many young artists today are technically competent and theoretically apt, yet their works lack depth. "Many do not draw from their experience or even emotions for their work. When they want to create, they simply Google to draw from the information available on the Internet and other people's experiences," she laments. "If they want to talk about the taste of coffee, many would not think of drinking it to get the taste. They will go on the Net to read about how coffee tastes like." Contemporary art in the country is often an adaptation of outside values about art and global ideas, Shooshie adds. "We not only lack originality but are also confused about our identities. "More importantly, young artists in the country are not aware of their responsibility towards our culture and society." This is what she hopes to spark in those involved in the Kedai Runcit project: to start thinking about who they are and what they want to create. "An artist needs to be sensitive to the value of something and do due diligence when he creates any artwork. One's process is the essence of one's art. "First, he needs to tap into his emotions. I find young people today are scared of their emotions. They need to understand that the bad memories along with the good feelings are what one is made of." Ultimately, Shooshie and her loose art collective, 12, aspires to promote and elevate contemporary art in the country. "Previously, when you went to a contemporary art show, all you saw were paintings. These days, when you talk about contemporary art, people think of digital art and multimedia." The group hopes to show the public, as well as the young artists involved in Kedai Runcit, that contemporary art is more than that. She relates an "incident" after the exhibition opened early this month. "A group of art students came over and said, 'Kak, we are here to see the art show.' When I told them, 'This is the show', they answered, 'No we are here to see the paintings, you know the art you hang on the wall.' I didn't know what to say." Yet, at the same time, Shooshie is heartened by the response from the public. "Many visitors wanted to share their nostalgic memories of kedai runcit. We invited the Sundry Shopkeepers Association to the exhibition and I think it left an indelible impression on them. "One member even brought us some plates and asked if we could help sell them. "Then there was a 17-year-old who was really excited about the kedai runcit. He had never seen one; the only kedai runcit he knows is from his mother's and grandparents' stories." The Kedai Runcit No. 12 was first installed at the Art Stage in Singapore, in January this year. The response was different as sundry stores as we know them no longer exist there, Shooshie says. "Here in Penang (and perhaps all of Malaysia), the nostalgia holds more resonance as it is still a part of our daily lives and highlights the heritage and culture issues that we are grappling with." And this, she believes, is what contemporary art should be about. Kedai Runcit No.12 is on until Friday at the Penang State Art Gallery (penangmuseum.gov.my), which opens from 9am to 5pm daily. For details, call 04-261 3144. Related Stories: |
| Posted: 21 Aug 2011 12:55 AM PDT East and West and what the artist knows best reflect the fluid Nanyang style. IF you trace the origins of the Nanyang art style, you might just end up on the island of Bali. It is said that the pioneering artists of this style were so captivated by the sights and sounds during a visit that they incorporated these elements into their works upon their return home. Trained in both eastern and western art techniques, their works gave rise to a new art style exclusive to Nanyang, which literally means southern sea and encompasses the region south of China, in particular Southeast Asia. The Bali stint happened decades ago. One wonders how the Nanyang style has changed over the years and how it is defined today. Is it really a product of east meets west, as is commonly believed? Is the artist obliged to depict local subjects in his artwork to make it truly Nanyang? In Stepping Forward: Nanyang Today, the first collaboration between Soka Gakkai Malaysia and Club Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), 44 NAFA alumni from Malaysia and Singapore showcase over 60 paintings which tackle various subjects in various techniques and media. The exhibition in Kuala Lumpur is in line with the association's mission to promote world peace, according to secretary general Koh Sia Feai. "We believe that the promotion of arts and culture is essential for achieving world peace. We hope this exhibition will also serve as a platform for debate on what the Nanyang style is today," he says. And what a platform it is. Judging by the diverse range of artworks on display, the Nanyang style seems to be a rather fluid concept. So what is it? NAFA Alumni Association Malaysia chairman Yeo Eng Hin calls it unique – the Nanyang style borrows from both the east and west but, largely due in part to its strong sentiments of local life, is not identified as merely "western" or "eastern". "An artwork might have western techniques combined with Chinese aesthetics but we have established a style that is uniquely ours. In terms of subject, I must mention the Baba and Nyonya culture. It is something that you cannot find anywhere else in the world. "I think focusing on what is unique to our region is the direction that the Nanyang style should develop in. After all, what is the point in doing something that is exactly the same as artists from other parts of the world?" Yeo says. It sounds simple enough to inject local flavour into art to make it "Nanyang", but is it really a no-brainer? Singapore Watercolour Society president Seah Kang Chui says an artwork that is done Nanyang style must adequately capture the beauty of natural tropical light. "To me, the Nanyang colours are strong warm shades like orange, purple and red. Western artworks tend to use weaker, softer colours a lot more than Nanyang works." But Club NAFA secretary Poon Lian prefers to ponder on the big picture. "Is the depiction of local life in the artworks confined to attap houses and plantations, or has the Nanyang style changed with time?" he asks. Although it is undeniable that lush greenery, kampung houses, coconut trees, boats and fishing villages remain popular subjects for artists, Poon considers modern buildings and skyscrapers the most recent addition to the Nanyang style. "Yes, it is no longer like the old days. The scenery around us has changed and artists should have the courage to change as well," agrees Yeo. One issue with this, however, is that modernisation often ends up looking the same everywhere. Are artists in danger of producing artworks that are copies of each other? "When you look at the buildings in Shanghai, Singapore or Malaysia, you realise that globalisation often results in the city losing its familiar face and strong characterisation. "It's indeed a big challenge, particularly for artists of the younger generation who only know the new face of the city, to try and carve a strong Nanyang identity in their works," says Ng Peng Yew. And although the artists have different views on what constitutes the Nanyang style, it seems the consensus is that a prerequisite of what is called contemporary works does not necessarily mean the artist has to explore a new subject. Rather, it's how the artist incorporates new thoughts and ideas into the art piece and challenges the conventional way of presenting his work. "We might be using Chinese art media like rice paper and Chinese ink, and western media like acrylic and oil, but the question really is – what do we do with these materials and techniques?" says Lim Choon Jin. "What sets the Nanyang style apart is how the artist puts his own experiences and feelings into the artwork. The artist interprets his understanding of the region he lives in and offers his own take on subjects that are unique to this part of the world." According to Cheah Thien Soong, one thing that spurred the evolution of the Nanyang style was Singapore's split from Malaysia in 1965. "Artists in Malaysia and Singapore went their separate ways in their interpretation and development of the Nanyang style. Some were educated locally, others abroad. It is inevitable that the Nanyang style ended up being a mixture of the traditional and contemporary, east and west. It has blossomed into a style that is diverse, versatile and distinctive," Cheah says. He feels this style should be included and recognised in art history. "If you ask me, the history of art in this region is incomplete without the Nanyang style." Stepping Forward: Nanyang Today is on until Aug 28 at Wisma Kebudayaan SGM (No. 243, Jalan Bukit Bintang) KL. Opening hours are 11am-6pm daily. Call 03-2141 2003 for enquires or visit sgm.org.my. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Lifestyle: Arts & Fashion To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan