During this fasting month alot of thoughts and ideas hav been flashing through my mind about what or how to keep my future fully occupied and productive other than sitting around and waiting for the next happening with the Art shows. I need to get a plan together so that my life will not slide into a rut too deep for em to dig out before i call it quits. I realize men of my age have very little time and fiscal advantages on our hands and so if anything is to be hacked out it has to been soon and without further ado.
My young artist friend Shaparin has been keeping me busy with all kinds of possibilites that i can look into in order to persue further what i have already set in motion years ago and that being a traveller artist cum writer of journals. he has been fueling my urge to hit the road again as we both have come to realize that I am at a point that i have to make a drastic choice in order to stay creative in the art scene. My last solo exhibition did not do so well as far as selli
ng works went eventhough it had alot of positive responses from the visitors who were mostly foreigners. The local Penang Art Scene is predominantly Chinese dominated and the fate of Maly Artists like me lies in their support in one form or another. I have no hope whatsoever from the Malay community here as the Datuks and datins a re not into Arts or the Aesthetics far less taking a look into the fate of the local Malay Artists whose very existance is struggle for survival. Most Malay patrons if there are any, are more into offering lip services or how it could benifit themselves and their clubs or institution when promoting the Local Artists. What is worse most have even lost touch what the Fine Arts is all about! Whatever allocation made towards the promotion of the Fine Arts often got lost into the bureaucratic cracks where instutions like the Penang State Art gallery and the Tourism Board have made sure that their share is being taken care of for whatever they deem more profitable to serve their purposes.
The connectivity between Malay Artists and the local Institution such as the University Sains and other universities is practically non existant except when there is a need for Artists to display their works at the galleries. This is much deemed as the service these institutions have rendered to the local Artists for which they should be grateful for. Never has ther been an effort made to look further and deeper into the lives of the Artists to see how they fare day to day and what could be done to eleviate their livlihood. Most Malay artist that I have had the opportunity to team up with in Penang have long regarde the Governmental Institutions or other potential benifactors for them is never forth coming a
nd they have to survive on their own.
Malay Artists in Penang wherever you can find them will not come up front and tell you that they are not making it and some will hide the turth to what or how they survive and very few in any really make it big time like their fellow contemporary artists in Kuala Lumpur. These artist also suffer from low self esteem and lack of confidence perhaps the result of the lack of support and the uncertainty of their future as full time artists. Self confidence and optimism is the crucial ingrediant in being an artist and lacking this slowly but surely kill the fire that burns the artistic passion to be creative. When this happens to the artists it is a matter of time before the decadence of society sets in like a process of petrification. Today most society has lost their sense of values in terms of what is real ans what is superficial when it comes to the Fine Arts. With the slow demise of true artistic talents through lack of support and care and consideration, the death of a healthy society is not too far behind. The role of the Artist as a creator, a record keeper and a neutral observer in the society is slowly becoming a thing of the past, shelved into the archaic wisdom of the ancient. Most contemporary artists today have become too engrossed in making it in the financial market or in making name for themselves through strong political connections and even nepotism. Those with strong financial backing strive to place their works into major shows and galleries even when their works are not up to par in the art world. It is not so surprising that successful artists like Latiff Mohideen refuses to have msuh to do with the contemporary art scene today unless there is mega bucks to be made. The criteria for what is Great Works of Art today is all too vague and anything and everything can be considered and is considered as work of art in Malaysia. It is pretty much on who dunnit and not what is really being done. The rites of passage in being an artist today is not in how long or how tedious a journey an artist had traversed in his quest to become recognized as a master but in where or who he studied and graduated under, what style and technique he had stumbled over that captured the intrest of those who patronised the art market. When asked to deliver a pseach or discuss their processes and intuitive lessons learned...nada!!
Needless to say the Art scene in Penang where the Malay Artists are concern, at least those who are not gainly employed as lecturers and teachers, are concern is abyssmal! I feel sad and sorry for myfellow artist who has done the damdest to survive as full time arists here and raise my hat to them for hav9ing survived thus far although not without help from their spouses, friends and relatives. It is so bad that to admit one as being a full time artist to someone is like admitting that one is unemployed.
So where do I go from here having thrown up all these negaitive vibes on what i is like on being a full time artist in this state of Penang. I need to walk away from where I am and take another look from the distance at the whole picture of what is transpiring in ans around the island and how it affects my life and my creativity. I have to step out of this box and revitalize my creative energy may even need to jump start it. Penang is slowly but surely choking me up and any sense of the will to transcend beyond what is will have to happen soon or i might as well join the dead artist society which I call the Penang Malay Artist Society.
My young artist friend Shaparin has been keeping me busy with all kinds of possibilites that i can look into in order to persue further what i have already set in motion years ago and that being a traveller artist cum writer of journals. he has been fueling my urge to hit the road again as we both have come to realize that I am at a point that i have to make a drastic choice in order to stay creative in the art scene. My last solo exhibition did not do so well as far as selli
ng works went eventhough it had alot of positive responses from the visitors who were mostly foreigners. The local Penang Art Scene is predominantly Chinese dominated and the fate of Maly Artists like me lies in their support in one form or another. I have no hope whatsoever from the Malay community here as the Datuks and datins a re not into Arts or the Aesthetics far less taking a look into the fate of the local Malay Artists whose very existance is struggle for survival. Most Malay patrons if there are any, are more into offering lip services or how it could benifit themselves and their clubs or institution when promoting the Local Artists. What is worse most have even lost touch what the Fine Arts is all about! Whatever allocation made towards the promotion of the Fine Arts often got lost into the bureaucratic cracks where instutions like the Penang State Art gallery and the Tourism Board have made sure that their share is being taken care of for whatever they deem more profitable to serve their purposes.The connectivity between Malay Artists and the local Institution such as the University Sains and other universities is practically non existant except when there is a need for Artists to display their works at the galleries. This is much deemed as the service these institutions have rendered to the local Artists for which they should be grateful for. Never has ther been an effort made to look further and deeper into the lives of the Artists to see how they fare day to day and what could be done to eleviate their livlihood. Most Malay artist that I have had the opportunity to team up with in Penang have long regarde the Governmental Institutions or other potential benifactors for them is never forth coming a
nd they have to survive on their own.Malay Artists in Penang wherever you can find them will not come up front and tell you that they are not making it and some will hide the turth to what or how they survive and very few in any really make it big time like their fellow contemporary artists in Kuala Lumpur. These artist also suffer from low self esteem and lack of confidence perhaps the result of the lack of support and the uncertainty of their future as full time artists. Self confidence and optimism is the crucial ingrediant in being an artist and lacking this slowly but surely kill the fire that burns the artistic passion to be creative. When this happens to the artists it is a matter of time before the decadence of society sets in like a process of petrification. Today most society has lost their sense of values in terms of what is real ans what is superficial when it comes to the Fine Arts. With the slow demise of true artistic talents through lack of support and care and consideration, the death of a healthy society is not too far behind. The role of the Artist as a creator, a record keeper and a neutral observer in the society is slowly becoming a thing of the past, shelved into the archaic wisdom of the ancient. Most contemporary artists today have become too engrossed in making it in the financial market or in making name for themselves through strong political connections and even nepotism. Those with strong financial backing strive to place their works into major shows and galleries even when their works are not up to par in the art world. It is not so surprising that successful artists like Latiff Mohideen refuses to have msuh to do with the contemporary art scene today unless there is mega bucks to be made. The criteria for what is Great Works of Art today is all too vague and anything and everything can be considered and is considered as work of art in Malaysia. It is pretty much on who dunnit and not what is really being done. The rites of passage in being an artist today is not in how long or how tedious a journey an artist had traversed in his quest to become recognized as a master but in where or who he studied and graduated under, what style and technique he had stumbled over that captured the intrest of those who patronised the art market. When asked to deliver a pseach or discuss their processes and intuitive lessons learned...nada!!
Needless to say the Art scene in Penang where the Malay Artists are concern, at least those who are not gainly employed as lecturers and teachers, are concern is abyssmal! I feel sad and sorry for myfellow artist who has done the damdest to survive as full time arists here and raise my hat to them for hav9ing survived thus far although not without help from their spouses, friends and relatives. It is so bad that to admit one as being a full time artist to someone is like admitting that one is unemployed.
So where do I go from here having thrown up all these negaitive vibes on what i is like on being a full time artist in this state of Penang. I need to walk away from where I am and take another look from the distance at the whole picture of what is transpiring in ans around the island and how it affects my life and my creativity. I have to step out of this box and revitalize my creative energy may even need to jump start it. Penang is slowly but surely choking me up and any sense of the will to transcend beyond what is will have to happen soon or i might as well join the dead artist society which I call the Penang Malay Artist Society.
No comments:
Post a Comment