1993 APT1 Conference : Identity, tradition and change

An Islamic Identity In Contemporary Malaysian A r t:Achievements And Challenges He who knows himself, knows his Lord. (Hadith) This is an age of identity crisis. Who are we? What are our roots? Where do we belong? These are the questions of our age. (1 ) Introduction Central to the creative commitments of many Malaysian artists since the early history of Modern Malaysian art has been the search for national cultural identity. The desire to define and delienate the essence that embodies the "Malaysianess of Malaysian" art, provides the driving force behind their creativity. What are the defining nature, root and vital compo­ nents that constitute our collective identity? What is the criteria in determining the overall concept of our national selfhood and who should determine it? These are some of the soul-searching questions that assailed the conscience of our artists in their struggles to invest their art-with greater meaning and intellegibility. Even in the scholarly discourses of art crticism and art history, the issue of identity pre­ dominates. To many critics, desirable qualities in an artwork such as originality, authenticity and innovativeness are often determined by and associated with, the element of identity. It is not unusual to hear foreign critics dismiss­ ing works by Malaysian artists mainly be­ cause they fail to evoke this mysterious, undefinable essence! In retrospect, the nation­ ally-sponsored art, exhibitions, and confer­ ences such as "Rupa dan Jiwa (1979), Akar- akar Peribumi (1979), and lately, - The Malaysianess of Malaysian Art - the Question of Identity (1991) are but implicit and indirect means of provoking and challenging our artists to persist in their quest for this elusive essence of our Malaysianess. Diversity of Approaches Given the multi-racial, cultural and reli­ gious background of Malaysian artists, the quest for identity has led them to adopt differ­ ent interpretations and approaches. While to some, our cultural selfhood is identified with the elements of the "Southern Sea and localness of place" (Sabapathy and Piyadasa:1981), to others the answers lie in the elements of ethnicity, regionalism, or spiritu­ alism. (2) Hence, forms which propose identity are traceable to the early water­ colours of rice-fields and coconut-palms by Yung Men Seng, the the batik painting of Chuah Thean Teng, the languid portrait of Malay girl by Hoessein Enas, the Pago-Pago series of Latiff Mohidin and the Alif-Ba-Ta of Ahmad Khalid. Post-Indepedent Period : Challenges Unlike the preceding decades of the 40's and 50's the search for identity started to gain momentum and became more urgent, and decidedly intense in the the Post-Independent period of the 70's and 80's. That among the rest of other Malaysian artists, the Malay group was the most affected, is undeiable. Historically, apart from the surging spirit of Malay nationalism, the driving force behind their rejuvenating search for identity is attrib­ 19