Study Notes

Malaysian Modern Art History

The Pre-Independence Era (1930s-1957):
● Three main factors influenced the early development of modern
Malaysian Art: ​English colonization, the immigration of
foreigners and education​.
● Since the 18th century, Malaysia had been inhabited by European
travellers, colonials and Chinese traders.
● The ​British​ introduced to Malayans the genres of​ landscape
painting Realism​.
● European Art, particularly ​French​, began to have its effect on the
whole region with movements such as ​Impressionism, Post
Impressionism, Cubism and Surrealism​.
● After the Second World War​, the centre of art shifted from Paris
to ​New York​.
● American movements like ​Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art,
Minimalism, Conceptual Art​ influenced art in Malaysia.
● A few writings suggested that modern art in Malaysia started
c1930​ with ‘pioneers’ such as ​Yong Mun Sen, Abdullah Ariff,
Lee Kah Yeow​ and others.
● The Arts Council (Majlis Kesenian)​, formed on April 15, 1952, as
the first public body that dealt with fine arts in Malaya.
● Arts Council members were of various races and supported by
both British expatriates and the Malaysian government
● There were​ several art associations/groups​ in urban centers
which were formed mostly by Chinese immigrants along with
certain British expatriates.
● Art associations/groups examples:
○ Penang Impressionists (1920 in Penang)
○ Penang Chinese Art Club (1936 in Penang)
○ Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (1938 in Singapore)
○ The Wednesday Art Group (1952 in Kuala Lumpur)
○ Angkatan Pelukis Semenanjung (1956 in Kuala Lumpur)

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Study Notes

Penang Impressionists (Watercolorists)

● Formed in 1920.
● Comprised of expatriate Europeans and two local talents, namely
Mrs. ​Lim Cheng Kung​ and ​Abdullah Ariff​.
● Watercolour was the most popular medium in that time.

Penang Chinese Art Club

● The arrival of artists from China in the 1930s played a significant
role in the development of Modern Malaysia art.
● In​ 1936, Yong Mun Sen​, the "Father of Malaysian painting",
formed the Penang Chinese Art Club along with some local artists
after his arrival to Penang from Singapore.
● In 1941, Penang Impressionist and Penang Chinese art club were
disbanded because of the second world war.

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA)

● Since China had ideological conflicts and political instability, many
Chinese chose to leave China for Southeast Asia, or what they
describe as ​Nanyang​.
● NAFA had a predominantly Chinese outlook in terms of staff and
students until the late 1950s.
● The academy was founded in ​1938​ by ​Lim Hak Tai ​in​ Singapore.
● Financially supported by a group of Chinese businessmen.
● Yong Mun Sen​ was a Malaysian artist and one of the founders of
NAFA (widely known as the Father of Malaysian Painting).
● It was the ​first art academy in British Malaya​ to offer full time
courses in painting and sculpture and was responsible for the
emergence of important group of artists.
● The “golden period” of the academy was from 1947-1960.

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● NAFA’s style characterized by: ​‘western’​ approach in oil painting,

‘Chinese’​ approach in Chinese ink and Calligraphy, a
synthesis/mix​ of ‘western’ and ‘Chinese’ influences.
● Artists​: ​Cheong Soo Pieng​, Georgette Chen Li Ying, Chen Wen
Hsi and Chen Chong Swee.
● Cheong Soo Pieng​’s “​Tropical Life​” (1959), for example, shows
clearly the synthesis of Western and Eastern art traditions known
as the Nanyang style, and people and life in Singapore and Malaya
as a subject matter.
(​Chinese ink and gouache on Chinese rice paper​)

The Wednesday Art Group

● In ​1952​, the Wednesday Art Group was founded in Kuala Lumpur
by​ Peter Harris ​(English painter, art educator and Art Education
Inspector for the Education Ministry).
● Included artists such as ​Patrick Ng​, ​Ismail Mustam​, ​Syed
Ahmad Jamal​ and ​Dzulkifli Buyong​.
● Most of the WAG members were​ self-taught​.
● This is the first art group that attracted a fair number of Malay,
Chinese and Indian members (Multi-racial).
● Their artworks were mainly about ​self expressionism​ and
investigation of new ideas.
● Was more concerned with the ‘modern’ art by developing an
interest in a ​Western​ stylistic outlook.

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● The group also held various outdoor activities including figure

drawing, figure painting, and sketching at various places.
● Unlike the Nanyang artists who migrated from China, WAG
members, such as Patrick Ng, was born in Malaya.
● Unlike the APS and Nanyang artists, the lack of any effort to
search for a common identity among WAG artists is apparent.

“​Spirits of the Earth, Sky and Water​” by: ​Patrick Ng​ (1959)

(The work is divided into three sections: the upper part represents
the spirit of the air, the middle part represents the spirit of the
earth, and the lower part represents the spirit of the water).

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Study Notes

Angkatan Pelukis Semenanjung (APS)

● Established in ​1956​ by Java-born painter ​Mohd Hoessein Enas​.
● Its name changed to ​Angkatan Pelukis SeMalaysia​ in 1968.
● Formed on a basis similar to Angkatan Senirupa Indonesia or
commonly known as ASRI (which co-founded by Mohammad
Hoessein Enas).
● Established at the United Malay National Organization (​UMNO​)
political party’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
● The APS group was the first Malay art group that was ​officially
registered​ in this country.
● Artists​: ​Mohd Hoessein Enas​, Idris Salam, Mazli Mat Som, ​Syed
Ahmad Jamal​, Mohd Salehuddin, ​Abdul Latiff Mohidin​.
● Included mainly ​Malay​ artists.
● Its emphasis was on ​skill, technical aspects​ and the mastering of
materials ​not​ on philosophy, creativity or finding common ideas.
● The reason for the formation of APS was to ​compete with the
preexisting cultural groups​, especially the Arts Council.
● Whereas WAG was more concerned with individual self expression
and artistic modernist pursuits, APS were more concerned with
their ​Malay nationalism​ and producing works that ​uplifted and
romanticized the Malay​ as the beneficiaries of the land.
● Focused on​ Malay rural life and hardship​ and attempted to
contribute to the regeneration of Malay society. Example:
“​Admonition​” by: Mohd Hossein Enas

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● Modernization and urbanization in the country had brought in many

modern values​, which challenged the values upheld by the elderly
in a traditional Malay society. For example, themes of forbidden
love. What used to be an arranged marriage, for example, had now
to be a love marriage, what used to be obedience had to be
independence of mind and thoughts.
● The changing Malay experiences, lifestyle and reality have
been ​suggested as​ themes in their works​.
● APS ​did not have a definite stylistic approach​, except for that it
is mainly denoted by the ​academic realism and uplifting the
Malay community.

The Post-Independence Era (1957s-2000s):

● The real modern art developments in Malaysia started after 1957.
● With more people involved, art shaped indirectly by the political
and social reality of the country’s ​plural society.
● Modern Malaysian Visual Art has been under the ​influence​ of:
○ Malay Society and its way of life
○ Animism and Hinduism influences
○ Traditional Local Culture
○ Mythology, Legends and Folklore
○ Islamic Influence
● After 1970s, artists (​New Scene
Artists​) began to shift from
conventional and abstract styles
towards ​conceptual​ and intellectual
approaches. E.g: Tang Tuck Kan,
Choong Kam Kow, Sulaiman Esa,
Redza Piyadasa.

(​Redza Piyadasa, “The Great Malaysian

Landscape” (1972))​

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● “​Mystical Reality​” artists shifted their artistic practices towards

Eastern philosophies such as Taoism and Zen rather than Western
ones. They questioned the nature and function of art. E.g:
Sulaiman Esa and Redza Piyadasa.
● The most famous artistic groups after independence are:
○ Group Anak Alam (Children of Nature Group)
○ Persatuan Pelukis Malaysia (PPM) (Malaysian Artists
Association)
● The Pluralist Era refers to the development of Malaysian art from
the 1990s that witnesses a variety of styles, approaches and
meanings (traditional, islamic, western).

Group Anak Alam

● Founded in 1974.
● Focuses on the role of the individual artist in the development and
expansion of the scope of art.
● Some of the members were involved in theatre and poetry as well.
● Consists of ​Abdul Latiff Mohidin​ (the founder), Zulkifli Dahalan,
Ali Rahamad and Syed Ahmad Jamal.
● The style which this group follows is experiment and free form (no
specific theme and principle in their artworks).

Persatuan Pelukis Malaysia (PPM)

● Officially launched on 25 April ​1980​ at the National Art Gallery.
● Syed Ahmad Jamal​ was its first president.
● Aims to:
○ Develop art in line with the country’s cultural aspirations.
○ Mind and elevate the moral, social and material situation of
artists.
○ Cooperate with the government for the advancement of art.
○ Encourage and promote art in the country and abroad.
● Variable activities such as exhibitions, seminars, talks and visits.

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Study Notes

Abdullah Ariff
(1904-1962)
● Abdullah Ariff is one of the earliest active Penang artists in
producing illustrations and artworks during the early 20th century in
Malaysia (Pre-Independence Era).
● He was born on June 15, 1904 in Georgetown, Penang.
● He was a self taught artist and he worked as an art teacher at the
local Anglo-Chinese School, Penang.
● One of the earliest local members of the Penang Impressionists.
● According to one of his ex-student, Tan Lye Hoe, Abdullah Ariff's
philosophy of art is "Art knows no barriers".
● He was given the title ‘​Father of Modern Art in Malaysia​’ through
an exhibition held at the National Arts Gallery under the same title.
● Abdullah Ariff was acknowledged as a pioneer of watercolour
painting in Malaysia. He was well-known for his meticulous
masterful handling of the medium. His paintings appear to have
more crowded details​.
● His earlier works reflected his ‘worldly’ knowledge in terms of
technique and medium. He was also very familiar with printing
techniques such as linocut, produced illustrations, caricatures, and
posters. He was actively involved with the ‘illustrative and graphic
design’ industry to the extent that he established the Ariff
Advertising Agency in 1955.

1- “Mother and Child”

Watercolor - 1930

It recorded local people in their day to day activities.

The mother and her son, perhaps going to the
market. The mother is portrayed as wearing her
batik ​sarong ​and covers herself with another piece
of ​sarong ​while the boy was carrying a basket with
him, a normal daily scene.

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Study Notes

2- “Two Chinese Women”

Watercolor - 1930

- Two women were portrayed as wearing a

large brimmed bamboo hat.
- One woman is carrying her boy at her back,
and another was leaning to the front carrying a
heavy bundle at her back.

3- Old Chinese Lady

Watercolor - 1932

- In this artwork, Abdullah Ariff depicted an

interesting topic and an ancient occupation.
- This artwork represents a humanist portrait.
- Humanistic subject was also one of the artist's
favourite topics.
- It is a simple and ordinary idea, there are
three umbrellas indicating that the weather
could be very hot or the Old Chinese Lady is
seeking a shower proof’s shield.
- This records an old occupation, which is a
tailor​. A basket full of waste and recycle
clothes that cut into small pieces so that if there
are customers bring the torn clothes, the old
lady can make some minor alterations.
- He used ​wet on wet​ technique.

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Study Notes

4- Counterhall
Oil on board - 1932

- The subject matter that the artist chosen in this painting is a village
scene, it is recognized as a “​Kampong​” scene.
- It is one of his earliest work. It was painted using oil on board. The
scene showed a cloudy ​sky​, stormy ​sea view​ and there is a main ​road
leads to the view of the sea and sky.
- Beside the road, there is the ​house​ hidden behind a ​tree​ and on the
road some ​chickens and ducks ​wandering around.
- The artist has used a wide range of blending tone to show the sky, the
sea, and the kampong in this artwork.
- Large and quick brush strokes was applied in the sky and the clouds.
- He used ​dry on dry​ method to paint the ​house, plants and coconut
trees​.
- The artist also tried to explore and master various strokes and
bleedings in this painting.

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Study Notes

5- Coconut Plantation Dawn

Watercolor - 1948

- The freshness of the rural atmosphere in the early morning.

- The goats are wandering and eating grass mark the foreground.
- Middle and background of the painting are marked by two villagers
climbing the coconut trees.
- The painting’s style is influenced by the western values.

6- After the Torrential Downpour

(After the Heavy Rainfall)
Watercolor - 1955

- Ariff was interested in painting Nature and Landscapes.

- This painting shows a beautiful landscape of a tropical jungle, It is a
scene which reveals a new look for the jungle after a rainy day.

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Study Notes

​ f the jungle form this artwork, with

- One can almost feel the ​freshness o
the strong hues of greens, browns, and dark reds which creates the
vibrant tones resembling the plants, trees and flowers in the jungle.

7- Chinese Junk
Oil on Canvas - 1956

- This is a representational art created in oil on canvas, which shows

wind powered junks, a common scene in Malayan water, heading for the
ports of the Nanyang region.
- This painting on oil shows four junks, skilfully painted, which shows the
artist’s mastery over oil paints.
- There is a strong influence from the impressionist technique in this
painting.

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Study Notes

8- Bumi Yang Bahagia Lombong Bijih Timah Malaya

Watercolor - 1960

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Study Notes

- Could be translated as ​the Lovely Malaya Tin Mine Land.

- The tin industry was the major pillar of the Malaysian economy during
the late colonial and early independence period.
- The scene is of a tin mine captured with warm colour scheme with
foreground, middle ground and background created a recessive form of
depth and space.
- With the angle perspective that the artist applied in this painting, it
gives a wide and magnificent feel to the viewer that could also be seen
as an artistic documentation of the economic activities of the country and
yet the precision of Abdullah Ariff’s rendition came to the extent that the
image of the three workers was drawn at the bottom left of the painting.

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Study Notes

Syed Ahmad Jamal

(1929 - 2011)
● He was born on September 19, 1929 in Johor, Malaysia.
● He had a deep sense of observation and appreciation for the
natural atmosphere of his environment, as his family lived in a
small community where rubber plantations were abundant.
● Due to his keen eye of observation, Jamal used to find himself
gazing at the clouds and sky in fascination and speculated that
perhaps God lay amongst those clouds.
● He studied at ​Chelsea School of Art in London​.
● He was a lecturer at University Malaya, and the ​head of Balai
Seni Visual Negara (National Art Gallery)​ from 1983 to 1991.
● He was called “​Malaysia’s father of Abstract Expressionism​.”
● Throughout his career, Syed Ahmad’s artistic style had been
through various changes. His landscape and (early) portrait
paintings were stamped with his personal input and style, with
traces of analytical Cubism and Abstract Expressionism, before his
art matured into Symbolism.
● During the 1960’s and 70’s, his style leaned towards ​abstracts​,
while in the 2000s, his paintings became more ​spiritual​.
● His Abstracts were marked sometimes by ​Jawi​ and later, ​Naskh
calligraphy​ strokes and gestures.

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Study Notes

1- “BAIT” or “Umpan”
Oil on Board - 1959

- ​Calligraphic​ element can be seen from this abstract expressionist

mode of painting.
- Syed Ahmad Jamal gave more attention and prioritized the ​arcs​ of the
shapes​, unlike other western artists like Jackson Pollock and Mark
Rothko who completely declined the use of shapes and played a lot with
colours.
- The shapes were bent and curved to picture actions or a more
aggressive situation. This is said to most likely show that he was feeling
emotionally unstable, disturbed or raged while producing the piece.
(​Who said that?!!​)
- The curves and swirls successfully visualized a tense situation between
the ​predator and prey​. The tendency towards creating the curves and
arcs has involuntarily made Syed Ahmad Jamal develop an interest to

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Study Notes

the arts of calligraphy that convey natural meanings through the

effortlessly beautiful curves.
- The struggle in Syed Ahmad Jamal approach to his painting can be
traced by analysing the two different elements in his oil on board
artwork. It’s the​ struggle of identity between the Western and his
own Malay Muslim identity​. He admired the superiority of the Modern
Art in the west but at the same time he was trying to uphold the locality
of Malaya which based on his Malay Muslim identity.

2- “Mandi Laut”
Oil on Board - 1957

- Syed Ahmad Jamal’s early pieces showed that he tried to experiment

and play with shapes, space and environments and emphasized on the
relationship between shape and situational
background.
- In ‘Mandi Laut’, the brush strokes gave the
image the feel of ​Europe influence​, but the
situation of the girls in the painting who are
bathing by the sea nevertheless showed the
culture background and familiar
environment ​which can easily be found in his
homeland at that particular period of time.
- His tendency towards the elements of nature
and its relation with human beings was very
obvious and distinct in this piece.
- The use of similar tones of color of the
elements that have been slightly curved and
tilted caused the unity between nature
characteristics and humans’ actions.
- The elements were very well harmonized without any trace or sign of
awkwardness. His discoveries and creations were viewed as the earliest
abstract pieces in the field of Malaysia’s contemporary visual arts.

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Study Notes

3- “Gunung Ledang”
Acrylic On Canvas - 1978

- This piece was the process of the

harmonization of geometrical
shapes, especially triangles, which
became his strength and identity in
the other pieces he created after
that.
- He said that the story behind this
particular art piece involved a
personal experience. He made it as
a symbol and a story that is a
combination of the tragic ​MAS
airplane crash​ that took place in
Tanjung Kupang ​and Malay classic
literature called “Gunung Ledang”​.
- This unfortunate episode happened in Tanjung Kupang in 1978, which
has taken away the lives of all passengers on board, including Syed
Ahmad Jamal’s close friend named Datuk Ali Haji Ahmad, who was the
current minister of agriculture in Malaysia at that time.
- He expressed his emotions, sorrow, sadness and delicate feelings in
the form of a painting. A landscape view with the shape of mountains
was his favourite element whenever he was working and producing art
pieces. All paintings produced have the characteristics and elements of
nature; flora and fauna; this is because he loved drawing something that
feel very close and familiar to his artistic soul and interest.

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Study Notes

Peter Harris
(1923 - 2009)
● The ​pioneer​ of early art education in peninsular Malaysia and
Sabah, and founded the Wednesday Art Group (WAG).
● He was active between 1952 to 1960.
● He acted as the Art Superintendent in the Federation of Malaya
(1951-December 1960).
● Worked as an art teacher in Sabah Teachers Training College
(later Gaya College) from 1962 to 1967.

Three Sisters, 1963, pastel The Productive Gardener

1987, watercolour

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