HISTORY OF MALAYSIAN ART

(VCL 215)Prof. Dr. Muliyadi Mahamood

Liberal Studies Department, FSSR03-5544 4013, 017-284 0593

muliyadi2004@yahoo.com; yadi@salam.uitm.edu.my

OBJECTIVES

THE STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

1. UNDERSTAND THE DEVELOPMENT OF MALAYSIAN CONTEMPORAY ART IN RELATION TO SOCIO-CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY.

2. ANALYZE STYLISTIC DEVELOPMENT OF MALAYSIAN CONTEMPORARY ART.

3. CONDUCT RESEARCH ON MALAYSIAN CONTEMPORARY ART IN TERMS OF FORM, CONTENT AND CULTURAL CONTEXT.

SYLLABUS CONTENT

I. EARLY MALAYSIAN ART• COLONIAL PAINTERS• PENANG WATERCOLORISTS• NANYANG PAINTERS

II. THE PRE-INDEPENDENCE ERA• WEDNESDAY ART GROUP• ANGKATAN PELUKIS

SEMENANJUNG/SEMALAYSIA• CONTEMPORARY BATIK PAINTERS

SYLLABUS CONTENT

III. THE POST-INDEPENDENCE ERA

• UNIVERSAL STYLE IN MALAYSIAN ART

• THE NEW SCENE PAINTERS

• ARTWORKS OF THE POST-NATIONAL CULTURAL CONGRESS: SEARCHING FOR IDENTITY

SYLLABUS CONTENT

IV. THE PLURALIST ERA

• PAINTING, SCULPTURE AND PRINTMAKING.

• INSTALLATION AND ELECTRONIC ART

• NEW MEDIA AND DIGITAL ART

EVALUATION

• COURSE WORK/ASSIGNMENT : 40%

• FINAL EXAM : 60%

• TOTAL : 100%

TEXT BOOK

• Muliyadi Mahamood, 2007. Modern Malaysian Art: From the Pioneering Era to the Pluralist Era (1930s-1990s). Kuala Lumpur: Utusan Publication and Distributors Sdn. Bhd.

MALAYSIAN CONTEMPORARY ART 1930s-2010

1930s-1960s:

• PENANG WATERCOLORISTS

• NANYANG PAINTERS

• WEDNESDAY ART GROUP

• ANGKATAN PELUKIS SEMENANJUNG

• BATIK PAINTINGS

Abdullah Ariff, 1948. “Coconut Plantation-Dawn”, water color, 38x56cm.

Georgette Chen, 1960, “Mother and Child”,

oil paint, 64 x 80 cm

Nik Zainal Abidin, 1959. “Wayang Kulit Kelantan”, oil paint, 81.6 x 106.7 cm

Mazli Mat Som, 1961. “Menanti Nelayan”, oil paint, 76 x 92 cm

MALAYSIAN CONTEMPORARY ART 1930s-2010

1960s:

• UNIVERSAL STYLE IN MALAYSIAN PAINTINGS

1970s-1980s:

• THE SEARCH FOR IDENTITY

1990s-2010:

• THE PLURALIST ERA

Syed Ahmad Jamal, 1961. “Tulisan”, oil paint, 33 x 74 cm

Ibrahim Hussein, 1969, “My Father and the Astronout”.

Sulaiman Esa, “Garden of Certainty II”, 1995.

Yusof Ghani, 1988. “Siri Tari X/88”,

Mixed media, 128 x 183 cm

Awang Damit Ahmad, 1998. “Marista Pun-pun”, mixed media, 153x183 cm.

ART APPRECIATION

ART WORK• FORM

• CONTENT

• CONTEXT

METHODOLOGIES OF ART HISTORY

• FORMAL ANALYSIS

• CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS

• BIOGRAPHY

FORMAL ANALYSIS

• FORMAL ANALYSIS: DESCRIBING AND ANALYSING WHAT YOU SEE IN A WORK OF ART; LOOKING AT THE WORK OF ART TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE ARTIST WANTS TO CONVEY VISUALLY.

FORMAL ELEMENTS

• COLOUR

• LINE

• SCALE

• SHAPE

• LIGHT

• COMPOSITION

COMPOSITION

• BALANCE

• ORDER

• PROPORTION

• RHYTHM

FORMAL ANALYSIS

• IN A SENSE, THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS PURE FORMAL ANALYSIS, TOTALLY DIVORCED FROM CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS.

CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS

• CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS: TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE WORK OF ART IN A PARTICULAR CULTURAL MOMENT.

CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS

• THIS CAN MEAN FOCUSING ON THE WORK OF ART IN ITS OWN TIME OR AT ANOTHER POINT IN HISTORY. IT CAN ALSO MEAN LOOKING AT THE SOCIAL, POLITICAL, SPIRITUAL AND/OR ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WORK.

CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS

• PEOPLE INVOLVED

• PHYSICAL ASPECT

• SOCIAL ISSUES

CONTEXTUAL QUESTIONS:FOCUS ON THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN

THE CREATION

• WHO WERE THE PATRON, ARTIST, VIEWERS?

• WHAT SORTS OF RECORDS DID THE ARTIST LEAVE ABOUT THE CREATION OF THIS WORK?

• DID THE ARTIST SAY ANYTHING ABOUT HIS OR HER INTENTIONS IN CREATING THE WORK?

CONTEXTUAL QUESTIONS:FOCUS ON THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN

THE CREATION

• WHAT WERE THE PATRON’S MOTIVES IN SPONSORING THIS WORK?

• WERE OTHER ARTISTS OR WORKSHOP ASSISTANTS INVOLVED?

CONTEXTUAL QUESTIONS:FOCUS ON THE PHYSICAL WORK OF

ART, ITS LOCATION AND USE

• WHEN WAS THIS WORK MADE?

• WHERE WAS IT ORIGINALLY LOCATED?

• DOES THE WORK MAKE USE OF RARE AND COSTLY MATERIAL?

• DOES IT INCLUDE MATERIALS THAT HAVE RITUAL OR SYMBOLIC VALUE?

CONTEXTUAL QUESTIONS:FOCUS ON SOCIAL ISSUES

• WHAT WAS THE POLITICAL, RELIGIOUS OR SOCIAL CONTEXT IN WHICH THIS WORK WAS CREATED?

• WHAT IS THE SUBJECT?• WHAT POLITICAL, RELIGIOUS AND/OR

SOCIAL MESSAGES ARE BEING CONVEYED?

• WAS THIS A NEW OR INNOVATIVE ARTISTIC STYLE?

WORK OF ART

“THE WORK OF ART IS NOT ONLY A SOURCE OF COMPLEX PERSONAL

EXPERIENCE, BUT ALSO HAS ANOTHER KIND OF COMPLEXITY. IT IS

THE OUTCOME OF AT LEAST THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONDITIONS: PSYCHOLOGICAL, SOCIOLOGICAL

AND STYLISTIC” (ARNOLD HAUSER, 1959).

WORK OF ART

• PSYCHOLOGICAL

• SOCIOLOGICAL

• STYLISTIC

THE CRITICAL PROCESS

• ATTENDING TO VISUAL FACTS

• NAMING AND DESCRIBING THE FACTS

• ANALYZING THE FACTS

• INTERPRETING THE EVIDENCE

• JUDGING WORKS OF ART(FELDMAN, 1994)

ART CRITICISM

• DESCRIPTION

• ANALYSIS

• INTERPRETATION

• JUDGEMENT

• Thank you.