Re-Placing the Making - Group Exhibition at Semper Depot, Austria

An international art exhibition at The Exhibition Space ATELIERHAUS AKADEMIE DER BILDENDEN KUNSTE, 1060 Wien Lehargasse - Ehem. Dreihufeisengasse 6-8, Vienna. Austria on 13 July 2011. Curated by nasir baharuddin and the artists are shima abu hasan, aminah abd rahman, abu hasan ahmad, samsuddin lappo, annabelle Ng,

This exhibition will features the idea of placing and site specific hypotheses about integrating pattern of distance. It tries to cross a new culture border about imagination and spatial representations of a place in relocating the visual imagery to a different setting. Artists were portraying the passion of imaginary and how to put in place as fiction of thought. So, Austria was chosen as a destination in relating the imagination of place as a reality and would be bought in relocating the painting to different readers. It is a suggestion on how a location will be built and speculates a new distance within artistic sensation, which might construct interrelation communication and discover various deliberate meaning.

Re-Placing the Making
Nasir Baharuddin

With ‘make’, ‘place’ comes into being. The place of creation. However, the task of ‘making’ is not merely confined to the ‘re-placement’ of what has been produced. The art of ‘making’ is planned in such a way that its ‘placement’ achieves an all-encompassing reaction to what has been ‘made’. ‘Re-placing’ means to see the connection between what is made with the situation and atmosphere from its existing location to another. This is the outcome when the re-placement of the making is carried out contextually.
The aim is to enable what is ‘made’ to transcend beyond the realm of its place of making, either tangibly or ‘spiritually’. It is hoped that a multitude of images will result from the play of ideas that takes into account socio-cultural context as well as the fictional landscape thoughts of its original environment. The aspiration is to channel the object of these ideas into a language to be ‘read’ at its intended location. Production is the process that gives rise to suggestions on what the information and source of a creation are, and generates pictures on its ability to function as something that is responsive, illustrative and which is capable of shaping views.
This exhibition attempts to show the link between place, through the agency of the visual object, and cultural patterns to be enjoyed as a language that can be interpreted by a diversity of readers. This would be a most interesting observation indeed because the artist wishes to personify the spirit and soul of the ‘self’ while his visual language speaks of ‘codification’ outside its geographical character.
This is evident from the personalities and styles which the artists convey, in the spirit of sharing, through their statements that represent the ‘self’ in relation to their immediate environment. The nature of these dialogues are not meant to set ‘boundaries’. Rather, it suggests a visual language that is more engaging and open, only that these statements are relayed in different manners.
Picasso once said, “While a painting is being done, it changes as one’s thoughts change. And when it’s finished, it goes on changing, according to the state of mind of whoever is looking at it … it isn’t up to the painter to define the symbols.” Picasso went on to say, “otherwise it would be better if he wrote them out in so many words! The public who look at the picture must interpret the symbols as they understand them.” From these two statements, it can be said that ‘production’ invites speculation on the object of production.
The object of production, among others, conceptualizes acceptance, giving, knowledge and change. This means that an art work will constantly suffer changes in its interpretation from the moment a person begins to think until the world around him itself experiences changes. A fragmentation of information which never ends and links different understandings to one another as dictated by his experiences.
A change in place will also give rise to a change in interaction. The change provides a more comprehensive reflection of meaning to the perception to what has been done. The reflection of meaning will engage the artist into a discourse about his art work in relation to the changes in his social surroundings. Hence, it becomes the artist’s responsibility to plan and to know how the reaction to a social setting outside his environment behaves as this will consequently pull audience from outside his own socio-cultural context. As such, the location of the change of place plays a responsive role towards reflection, perception, and review of social reality according to an experience beyond the perimeter of his thoughts.
In other words, when a change in location occurs, it will promote a discursive arena at the placement of production, allowing for interpretation to take place according to the social thinking patterns of that location. Promoting a discursive arena lies with the relationships between location and context of production as well as the choice of language to be used. This is achieved from the object discourse or the image framework structured in a more open and effective manner so as to form a history in the mind regarding the reflection of the picture produced.
The historical picture reflection will act as the background image and process of how an interaction is formed in establishing a more constructive shift of thought. As such, the experience of making provides diversification in the nature of making where its activities become non-static and continue to function in creating values or a change in values. This depends on what is done and its connection with the power of perception and the outcome of interaction.
In fact, the interaction outcome will determine whether a work of art will cross boundaries, be it the boundary that exists within the self, the environment or the social system as well as the cultural activities that are connected to the change of place based on a different worldview. This matter will have a bearing on the definition and functions of art, whether the concept of art is seen from the perspective of beauty and not viewed from outside the boundary of art which can serve to introduce the approach to a person’s state of being. For example, it can be viewed from the aspect of its form of discipline, or its language, the material presented, history and political culture as well as its context of production.
The context of production not only acts as the foundation, it also needs to take into account the question of innovation which will show the dichotomy between commitment and quality according to the role played by the artist’s surrounding. Walter Benjamin explains, “the dichotomy between commitment and quality which informed the contemporary debate around the role and place of artists, stating that rather than presenting an either/or scenario, political commitment or tendency and high quality had to go hand in hand.” Benjamin’s explanation tries to connect work of art as a social product in relation to the context of time, whether the product of the art work is able to leave a mark of production that corresponds with its time.
In other words, the way it is juxtaposed and its connection with the prevailing condition of time. This should be clearly understood since every place and situation, either consciously or unconsciously, will generate a reflection of sign as well as the cultural activities of an environment. As such, every sign that creates an agent from the product of culture will mirror the power of thinking, its status, in addition to the strength of values from the ‘spirit of self’ as the display of image relating to the cultural system it holds. This behaviour of values should be looked at as a picture of an artist’s actions as every production will create a change in language and location and whether it can be turned into an acceptance or will it generate critical reaction from its place of display. The willingness and preparation in creating a location will place a production value to its placement in a responsive manner.
Contemplating about the change of transformation to a place of making causes an artist to play a role and to be committed not only as a form of interaction, but also in shaping a mind shift and able to create a social change on what is being suggested. This is because art not only creates the process of interaction, it is hoped that from the mark it makes, art can also provide a stimulus to the way of life and in the shift of perception to what it should be.
This responsive does not only apply to the artist but also to the audience so that every reflection of production will give a stimulus to a person’s visual system to enable him to experience the existing differences which will later prove to be significant to his life. It is hoped that the artistic marks will give inspiration to various social contexts, and that the attitude of openness towards the boundary of the mind will give a new light and open all kinds of possibilities to be viewed as a suggestion of change.
Although the form of production is in its placement, various fragmentations will take place due to the diverse nature of socio politics. However, it is hoped that this diversity will create opportunities of similar in nature, or to be considered as a continuity with potential. This is what is keenly hoped for as art is not only seen as the clash of values and commitments as well as the way it is presented, but rather how the clash plays a role in the social system of a place as a social reality. It is to be emphasized that every production will give rise to a discursive clash but due to the inherent nature of reality, assessment can be made on what is being suggested and its ensuing reaction.
It is difficult to establish whether a production is truly successful or otherwise as it is subject to a person’s experience and his cultural background. It is also dependent on how the negotiation of acceptance takes place as what is voiced by Arundhati Roy when writing about contradictions on a contemporary Indian writer, “how such a role cannot be fixed or externally regulated, but rather it is a role that needs to be constantly negotiated.” Negotiation is a mechanism where crossborders are seen as an opportunity/a potential that may play a role in creating continuity in the existing location of production.
In a similar scenario, it cannot be denied that there will be an overlapping of aesthetics in the artistic political scenario, but this can be assessed from the aspect of quality, commitment and the form of suggestions as well as ability. What is important is how awareness is created and how change can be effected especially in terms of self space and the availability of reference according to time. An artist should not be wrapped up in his ‘cocoon’ of expressions only but should make the effort to assimilate himself into the social system of not only at the place where he lives but also in the social systems elsewhere. The question of whether an art form is ‘new’ or ‘old’ should not be a point of contention but what should be emphasized is how it functions to weave into to the socio-culture and politics of production.
Whether an art is considered ‘low class’ or ‘high class’ is not fundamental as it is only a template to fill the empty space of an institution so as to feast the eye. It is merely a creation of a visual sensation based on style and trend of materiality and representation. And its discussion is confined within the four walls of that institution only. What is important is how it is able to create a shift in its relationship with the socio-cultural context and politics of a place and see its significance in the ever changing visual language. As what Clement Greenberg advocates about art, “Pastiche, trickling down and bubbling up of high/low culture, and a general blurring of borders and cultures were presented as alternatives to medium specificity, as well as to modernist transcendental ideals. Artists and theorists working within and around feminist frameworks in particular paved the way in the exploration of alternatives to the grand narratives of modernism.”
Consequently, how the role of the ‘soul’ becomes the key basis in the work of art, to surpass genres, geographical and historical backgrounds which operate collectively to be diffused through art space in a gallery or museum. To serve to the public a suggestion of production leading to an event relating to aspiration and innovation of awareness on creation and response. The process that begins in an intimate space and later, spilling into a public space. The aim of every operational can be linked to the diversity of cultures, patterns of thinking and cultural issues in the effort to invite society for a collaborative stand on views and hopes arising from a production. More importantly, it is to build a process of negotiation on the fragments of layers of meaning of everyday life. And later on, to be able to penetrate artistic environment of different contexts, as an assessement and measure of the connectedness of an issue.
In closing, it is hoped that this exhibition will pave the way to a two-way connection through the medium of art production so that for every suggestion, there will be a reflection and not merely existing as a static visual material that is non-responsive or tied around the illustration within ‘a square world’. Further, to show how it is channeled through a package of cultural system of a people and their pattern of thinking and how it is linked into a different system, all stemming from the talk about the ‘beauty’ of a production.


1. Arundhati Roy, 'Shall we leave it to the Experts?', http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20020114&fname=Arundhati+Roy+%28F%29&sid=1 , p.2, 24/5/2003
2. Beatrice Leal : How art changes in different contexts
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=10644.
3. An extension thought from Ilaria Vanni : What does art really do? A reflection on art, context and agency.
http haikureview.net/node/31://www.
4. Greenberg, Clement "Modernist Painting" (1961) rpt. in Art in Theory 1900-1990: An Anthology of Changing Ideas. Charles Harrison and Paul Wood Eds. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 1992, pp. 754-760
5. Walter Benjamin, 'The Author as Producer(1934)', rpt in Art in Theory 1900-1990: An Anthology of Changing Ideas. Charles Harrison and Paul Wood Eds. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 1992, pp. 483-489
6. A special thanks to Petronas Gallery Curator Badrul Hisham Tahir, Museum Director of Tengku Fuziah, University Sains Malaysia, Hasnul Jamal Saidon, Assistant Curator of National Art Gallery, Faisal Sidik, Raja Mariam Raja Mohammad, and all Malaysian Artists for their contribution in giving the inspiration and thoughtful in writing this article, directly or indirectly.

Vienna Art Fair, Austria.

A trip to Vienna, Austria. An art Expo of Vienna 13-15 Mei 2011.

Inner-Scape. An Exhibition of BICARA SIFU. An installation at petronas gallery. Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia

Title : Inner-Scape

Medium : 7000 Plasticized transparencies + Water + Colour Chemical + fluorescent light. Size : (Free Size Installation) Year : 2011

Concept/Methodology

The ‘inner-scape’ is a proposal about combining the interior and landscape design within architectural space composition. It tries to reinvent how the revolution of materials as a new element of presenting and defining interior and landscape spaces into new method of design formation. Created to avoid the conventional definition in perceiving landscape and interior design into constructive methodology, where the revolution of materials becomes a dialogue in processing the design approach and presentation.

STATEMENT

This installation designed to reflect upon the role architecture plays in contemporary society and its relationship within gallery spatial or private spaces. The work conveys an ephemeral event installation by way of new techniques and approaches, which ambiguously projecting what can and can’t be done. The space that accommodates the installation is seen as a flexible spatial surface and the location are thus transformed into a laboratory for spatial experimentation. The used of materials such as lighting devices, plastic transparencies, form and colors formation as a language to opens up the possibilities for interaction and participation into unexpected visual attraction and surprises.

It creates the possibility in transform the work into visual formation of language. About how the idea of presenting and delivering the role of installation as architecture plays for ‘space composition’, invading between space decoration and space interaction. Plastic transparencies that become bricks were arranged with a calculative and programmable setting that can grow and stretch itself to the infinite. It suggests reinventing, readapting and becoming smaller or larger size of formation based how the space being introduced and reconfigured according to what’s most pleasing they are.

BICARA SIFU - Pameran Akademik dari Institusi Pengajian Awam, Malaysia.

An academic exhibition from the public art institutions in Malaysia.

Senario dan corak penulisan : Kaitan dalam kajian di Malaysia

Nasir baharuddin

Tulisan ini dilakukan atas pemerhatian mengenai bentuk penulisan dan pengkaedahannya dimalaysia. Terutama dalam konteks hubungkait dengan senilukis Malaysia. ia lanjutan hasil daripada perbincangan dengan tgk Sabri melalui blog beliau off walls off pedestal.

Di Malaysia penulisan seni khususnya mempunyai berbagai pattern/corak: yang paling disukai adalah berbentuk descriptive. Kerana ia berpaksi pada huraian atau lapuran akan sesuatu event. Jadi tak hairan ia bersifat narrative. Refleksinya dalam bidang pengkaryaan seni, interpretationnya juga ia dilaksanakan secara naratif. Oleh itu scenario painting pelukis banyak berwajahkan illustrative. Dengan kata lain ia berbentuk penerangan, umpama lapuran akhbar. Ini bukan bermakna ia tak boleh dilaksanakan tapi yang penting apa significancenya dalam konteks social inquiry. Terutama dalam pembinaan ethical responsibility.

Perlu dijelaskan apabila sesuatu interpretasi dilaksanakan ia tertakluk pada representing socio-cultural meanings. Interpretationnya adalah terletak pada bagaimana seseorang ‘membaca’ atas apa yang dilihat. Kerana apabila ia dikaitkan dalam konteks seni visual ia tertakluk pada image based research dimana pendekatannya adalah secara semiotic, or social semiotics and multimodal texts. Khususnya apabila pelukis itu mengambarkan aksi sesuatu isu dalam masyarakat. Dalam seni lukis/rupa Malaysia, pengkarya jarang melihat ‘rupa’ atau’ imej’ sebagai suatu social semiotics. Ia hanya diangkat sebagai suatu event. Itu saya sering katakan seninya lebih bersifat narrative. Bukan representing meaning. Kerana apabila berpandu pada’ rupa’, interpretationya tak boleh lari daripada social semiotics yang dikutip daripada kefahaman visual anthropology. Soalannya adakah seni lukis Malaya berada dalam kondisi begini. Itu sebab ‘seni rupa malaya’ atau SERUM tak ada derumnya. Jadi tak heran sampai hari ini masih terpingga dengan hala tuju. Kerana kalau pelukis masih berpaksi pada interpretasi wajah ‘rupa’ atau ‘gambar’ maka sepanjang masa lah kita bermasalah. Ini pemerhatian saya, kerana rupa bukan untuk dihuraikan tapi perlu dimaknakan atas kapasiti sesuatu huraian.

Oleh itu dalam menjalankan operational terhadap ‘rupa’ ia memerlukan kepada pengkaedahan ‘observational’ and interpretation. Dan sudah tentu pelayaranya meredah kepada bidang falsafah dan persoalan hermeneutics, phenomenology dan discourse analysis. Dalam kancah perdebatan secara naturalistic inquiry dengan mengunakan pemerhatian/pengamatan secara konstruktif. Sebagai contoh, ‘isu rupa’ terletak pada huraian secara teoritikal yang agak etnografik – kerana kaedah etnografik secara literalnya bermakna menulis/menceritakan tentang sesuatu peristiwa, orang atau ‘rupa’. Olahan maklumat atau data images dirungkai melalui focus group secara naturalistic inquiry dalam kondisi discourse analysis. ‘RUPA’ dikupas secara pendekatan teoritikal dan bukan dibaca sebagai ‘lambang’.

lantas, kadang-kadang operationalnya agak ‘grounded’ bergantung pada sesuatu ‘case’, dan membentuk fakta/data secara explorative. Ini banyak dilakukan oleh clement Greenberg dalam penuisan seninya. Tapi dimalaysia kaedahnya hanya setakat chronological dan illustrative. Tidak secara groundednya. dimalaysia dalam hal ini untuk menampakkan lebih creative dan intellect ia diolah secara ‘penggunaan jargon’ – emphasis pada terminology. Bila tulisan banyak menggunakan jargon maka seseorang beranggapan lebih hebatlah ‘maknanya’.

Ada setengah tulisan berbentuk historical, berlandaskan fakta. Kebanyakan dilakukan oleh sejarawan seni. Methodnya adalah agak tertumpu pada life history and narrative approaches with chronological structures. Percaya dan taksub pada fakta. Oleh itu tak hairan kebanyakan historical life research berbentuk ‘data presentation’. Kaedah ini amat digemari di Malaysia. Ia terbentuk hanya pada bagaimana merancang data dan membina formasi pengetahuan dipersembahkan secara chronological. Bagi sesetengah orang ia amat membosankan. Ia cuma penting sebagai suatu dokumentasi material atau dipanggil archival research.

Seterusnya penulisan secara ‘impact’, impak disini bermakna menulis mengikut sesuatu isu, seperti persoalan gender- soal race, membina polisi, akta dan the politic of the art. Selalunya ia berguna bagi seseorang yang amat gemar pada field work sebagai action research. Jadi kalau kita nak bercerita pasal painting berkenaan kisah kaum lelaki/wanita, sifat perkauman, mencari identity dan sebagainya, jadi inilah paradigmnya. Kalau tak jangan perasan sengaja-sengaja nak buat cerita pasal perkauman dan identity.

Satu lagi tulisan berbentuk idea descriptions atas pembinaan kaedah secara constructive. Ia menjangkau daripada persoalan falsafah, hermeneutic dan seterusnya poststructuralism kepada psychoanalysis. Atau daripada structuralism (kaitan dengan pengalaman di Malaysia Ismail Zain) kepada poststructuralism – radical hermeneutics – yang jauh panggang dari api apabila kita kaitkan dengan scenario di Malaysia. Pelukis dan pengkarya perlu melihat dari kajian ini kalau mahu bercerita kepada pembinaan hala tuju secara progresif. Saya tekankan kerana situasi di Malaysia dan dunia amnya telah dirangka oleh system komunikasi berangkai dan jaringan informasi secara virtual dan simulasi. Suasana seni juga telah dirancang akan suatu predication on achieving rationality. Atau the reaity of actuality that reach us through fictional devices – berpaksi ada sumber ilham dan hubungan antara ‘intersubjective’ kepada ‘intrasubjective. Dan mengarap fiksyen as a screen for a desire. Berperwatakan ‘terbuka’ dan menerima ‘plurality as one’. SOALNYA DI MANA POSISI KITA(PELUKIS DAN PENGKARYA) SEKARANG DALAM MEMBINA SENI LUKIS MALAYA….tepuk dada tanya selera….kalau tidak buat je lah asal laku… cukup….yang mana .akhirnya berbalik pada soal bagaimana perspektif pengurusan di bentuk dan pengetahuannya dilaksanakan. Sebagaimana yang telah dibincangkan sebelum ini.

Dalam pengkaedahan ini kalau dilihat dalam dunia islam ia telah berlaku berkurun yang lalu, alghazali telah menghurai dalam ihya ilumuddin, ibnu arabi – alfutuyat al-makkiyyah yang menceritakan beyond fiction, atau sheikh abdul kadir jailani – the secret of the secret. Atau dalam kitab tajul muluk. Yang mana semua buku2 tersebut apabila dibaca …sampai hari ini tak faham-faham dan bersifat KABUR dan menimbulkan keraguan. Tapi alghazali pernah berkata ‘keraguan adalah suatu kenderaan bagi menuju kebenaran’. Hasilnya bagaimana dunia barat melihat islam sebagai suatu ‘seeking the truth’ dimana berduyun-duyun makhluknya memelok islam atas kapasiti discourse analysis dan inquiry.

hasratnya, semata untuk membentuk dan menyelongkar proses pengetahuan sebagai suatu perkembangan wacana dan bagaimana kesinambungan pengetahuan dapat dibentuk hasil dari cabang pengetahuan.

Cuma yang menuju kepada kebenaran tersebut perlu ada PEDASnya, kerana ia berupa perasa. Supaya ada rasa untuk berubah. Kalau tak pedas ia kurang enak, melainkan kalau seseorang itu ada penyakit buasir. Itupun sebab dia sakit, kalau tidak pedas itu SYOK….bergantung pada kuantiti pedasnya.

tuhan tidak akan mengubah nasib seseorang melainkan dia perlu bangun dan berubah nasibnya sendiri. Hahahaha…….

ulasan forum BMS2010

seperti biasa pameran bakat muda sezaman bagi tahun 2010 telah berlangsung dengan jayanya serta telah sempurnalah tugas masing-masing. Yang menang pasti menerima hadiah kerana ia berbentuk pertandingan dan ada hadiah. namun agak pelik bahawa dari hasil bicara seni atau forum dan mungkin juga postmortem yang dilakukan baru-baru ini kebanyakannya menyuarakan rasa tak puas hati serta mempertikaikan apakah pendirian dan hala tuju BMS atau kata lain 'bukan menang saja.'. tapi apakah kesannya kemenangan tersebut. dapat juga diperhatikan para pemenang juga terkeliru dengan apa yang dia menang. seolah mereka tak yakin tentang apa yang mereka lakukan serta seolah tak bersedia atas kemenangan tersebut. ini suatu yang menyeronokan.

secara lalu boleh dikatakan kehebatan pemenang seolah tak berapa hebat dan saya yakin mereka cuma masuk-masuk untuk cuba mendapatkan hadiah dari hasil undian kawan-kawan. kerana tahun 2010 formatnya mengikut undi. namun dari reaksi panel dan penuntun rata-rata agak gusar tentang apa yang berlaku, kerana pendirian pun tak terjawab dan halatuju pun nampak kabur. nampak gaya nya seolah pameran ini tak memberi apa faedah. walaupun sesetengah mengatakan ia masih penting. pentiing tu saya rasa kerana mungkin mereka beranggapan mereka ada 'chance' untuk cuba menang lagi bagi tahun-tahun mendatangnya.

tapi dari forum tersebut ada yang mengatakan tiada excitement, kurang impact factor, artis kurang baca, ada kata tak baca sejarah, tak relevan lagi dan sebagainya. oleh itu saya cadangkan pihak tertentu agar tamatkan lah riwayatnya dan bina episod baru. penilaian ini penting dilakukan demi melihat seni tanah malaya ini lebih makmor dan memberi keuntungan yang berlipat ganda demi membina kekayaan budaya negara tercinta ini. amin

Bicara Seni BMSezaman 2010