Re-examining the Objects of Mystical Reality

In the 1960s, when Malaysian artists seemed to be influenced by the Abstract Expressionist art movement of the West, a group of Malaysian artists known as the New Scene were interested in the “cerebral and impersonal”, analytical and constructivists aspects of art making. They were mostly interested...

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Main Authors: Abdullah, Sarena, Chung , Ah Kow
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eprints.usm.my/30909/
http://eprints.usm.my/30909/1/Full_paper_JATI_Sarena_and_Chung_Ah_Kow.pdf
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author Abdullah, Sarena
Chung , Ah Kow
author_facet Abdullah, Sarena
Chung , Ah Kow
author_sort Abdullah, Sarena
building USM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description In the 1960s, when Malaysian artists seemed to be influenced by the Abstract Expressionist art movement of the West, a group of Malaysian artists known as the New Scene were interested in the “cerebral and impersonal”, analytical and constructivists aspects of art making. They were mostly interested in space, colour and materials that were exhibited in art exhibitions such as The New Scene, experiment ‘70, and Dokumentasi 72. Only the partnership of Redza and Sulaiman Esa, in their effort to provide an alternative aesthetic to the Abstract Expressionists, lasted. Both artists’ propositions on objects of real time and space were presented in the exhibition Towards a Mystical Reality in 1974 in which they took over the role of the critic by framing their own propositions, ideas, and concepts written in the manifesto published in conjunction with the exhibition. This essay attempts to discuss random objects without any aesthetic value selected by these artists as works of art by employing Dickie’s Institutional Theory. Furthermore, it will examine a few aspects from the theory that justify the exhibition and its content as art and thus argue that it has its own aesthetics that demand our own contextual analysis and understanding.
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spelling usm-309092017-09-20T09:55:55Z http://eprints.usm.my/30909/ Re-examining the Objects of Mystical Reality Abdullah, Sarena Chung , Ah Kow NX1-820 Arts in general In the 1960s, when Malaysian artists seemed to be influenced by the Abstract Expressionist art movement of the West, a group of Malaysian artists known as the New Scene were interested in the “cerebral and impersonal”, analytical and constructivists aspects of art making. They were mostly interested in space, colour and materials that were exhibited in art exhibitions such as The New Scene, experiment ‘70, and Dokumentasi 72. Only the partnership of Redza and Sulaiman Esa, in their effort to provide an alternative aesthetic to the Abstract Expressionists, lasted. Both artists’ propositions on objects of real time and space were presented in the exhibition Towards a Mystical Reality in 1974 in which they took over the role of the critic by framing their own propositions, ideas, and concepts written in the manifesto published in conjunction with the exhibition. This essay attempts to discuss random objects without any aesthetic value selected by these artists as works of art by employing Dickie’s Institutional Theory. Furthermore, it will examine a few aspects from the theory that justify the exhibition and its content as art and thus argue that it has its own aesthetics that demand our own contextual analysis and understanding. 2014-12 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://eprints.usm.my/30909/1/Full_paper_JATI_Sarena_and_Chung_Ah_Kow.pdf Abdullah, Sarena and Chung , Ah Kow (2014) Re-examining the Objects of Mystical Reality. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies (JATI), 19. pp. 203-217.
spellingShingle NX1-820 Arts in general
Abdullah, Sarena
Chung , Ah Kow
Re-examining the Objects of Mystical Reality
title Re-examining the Objects of Mystical Reality
title_full Re-examining the Objects of Mystical Reality
title_fullStr Re-examining the Objects of Mystical Reality
title_full_unstemmed Re-examining the Objects of Mystical Reality
title_short Re-examining the Objects of Mystical Reality
title_sort re-examining the objects of mystical reality
topic NX1-820 Arts in general
url http://eprints.usm.my/30909/
http://eprints.usm.my/30909/1/Full_paper_JATI_Sarena_and_Chung_Ah_Kow.pdf