Australian National University Asian Modernisms | Michelle Lim Seok Ling

Asian Modernisms Michelle Lim Seok Ling

Essay Topic: Reclaiming and preserving national identity and cultural pride in the face of colonialism emerges as an important project for several Asian artists in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. Discuss the potentials and pitfalls of neo-traditional and revivalist practices.

As a fisherman observes the tides and waves before heading out to sea, so too should we examine the cause for preservation and reclamation before diving into a whirlpool of potential effects.1 In the mid-nineteenth century, when colonialism was at its peak and the power-expanding campaigns of the West were evident across Asia, the Malay Peninsula witnessed unprecedented western influence that came in waves of language, religion, values, laws and art. Subsequently a western hegemonic culture, namely that of the British, was found washed up on the shores of the

Peninsula.2 Realising that their values and lifestyles were being threatened by the imposing western culture, several Asian artists residing in the Malay Peninsula took up the task to retrieve the identity and values that were quickly drifting away.

In this essay, the potentials and pitfalls of neo-traditional and revivalist practices are discussed and illustrated with the works of four influential artists in the Malay Peninsula during the early twentieth century. Their conscious efforts to shape the identity of Malaya ran parallel with anti- occidental emotions and questioning of Asian values3 led them to experimentation which was only expected in a situation where there was no official direction or definition of national culture and identity.

It would be a fallacy to say that the loss of national identity and cultural pride in the East was simply the result of usurpation brought on by the West. 4 Such simplification would deny due

1 Jit Krishen, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, (1994), 12 2 Jit, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, 22 3 Australian National University. Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Art and Social Change – Contemporary Art in Asia and the Pacific, (2005), 253 4 Das Gupta Shakti, Tagore’s Asian Outlook, (1961), 13 Australian National University Asian Modernisms | Michelle Lim Seok Ling responsibility of the locals5 to safeguard such priorities.6 It is necessary to recognise this responsibility in order to honestly reassess errors7 that resulted in social and cultural extremes, most visible through either the eradicative, anglicised Asian art or the insipid indigenous art, that were formed respectively through either furiously imitating the West8 or romanticising lost glory.

It is an instinctual response to seize back what was taken away,9 but as the cliché goes: it takes two hands to clap. The undeniable power held by the fairer of the two striking palms was a fact inseparable from the causation of events.10 However, the actions of the colonialists are hard to pin down, especially when their cultural power was not brought by blunt force, but persuasion and coercion.11 As such the initial reception of western culture and methods by the east, made the struggle between modernity and tradition all the more tricky.

When moving forward entailed falling further into the grip of the West and moving backward meant grasping for a time of irretrievable glory, Asia remained stagnant.12 The dichotomy between modernity and tradition prolonged Asia‟s deep slumber. It propelled great thinkers like Rabindranath

Tagore to rally for a reawakening of her great beauty,13 rousing not just her body through mobilising people of Asia but more importantly, her spirit, from which her people drew strength. This spirit embodied values and cultures that Asia‟s peoples identified with and took pride in.14 It required a new approach of awakening, as the oscillation between East and West clearly showed no progress.15

During his influential visits to South East Asia in 1927, Tagore‟s calls for the people of

Malaya to reawaken their nation through a harmonious spirit of co-operation resonated across the land.

Co-operation was not simple in a land of cultural milieu controlled by British colonisers; this will be

5 Tagore Rabindranath, Towards Universal Man,(1961), 57 6 Das Gupta, Tagore’s Asian Outlook, 69 7 Clark John, Modernity in Asian Art, (1993),6 8 Das Gupta, Tagore’s Asian Outlook, 5 9 Kapur Geeta, When was modernism, (2000), 344 10 Australian National University, Art and Social Change – Contemporary Art in Asia and the Pacific, 62 11 Said Edward W., Orientalism, (1991), 12 12 Das Gupta, Tagore’s Asian Outlook, 10 13 Das Gupta, Tagore’s Asian Outlook, 61 14 Das Gupta, Tagore’s Asian Outlook, 71 15 Clark John, Modern Asian Art, (1998), 17 Australian National University Asian Modernisms | Michelle Lim Seok Ling further elucidated in my first case study. Tradition needed to be reinvented and mysticism abandoned16 while allowing certain values to be carried forward into modernity, before the people of

Malaya could take pride in a common identity.17

At one of the busiest crossroads between East and West, South and North, the island of

Singapore that was part of the Malay Peninsula before 1965, provides an interesting starting point.

From as far back as when a crownless Prince of Palembang was first drawn to its beauty and lushness, as the legend of the Srivijaya Kingdom goes, till today, it attracts millions of visitors annually with its diverse culture and rich history. Yet the most significant period of foreign influx Singapore witnessed was in the early nineteenth century. Besides the British colonialist, this period in Singapore also saw a flood of immigrants from China and India seeking economic betterment promised by the British.18

This sleepy fishing village was soon transformed into one of the most important port-of-calls in Asia, becoming a British Crown Colony by the late nineteenth century. With such importance placed on a multi-cultural Singapore, the British colonialists practised “divide and conquer”19 tactics to ensure their political dominance. This was evident in their urban planning and education policies that systematically segregated ethnic groups through physical space and language use.20

Due to the colonially-designed political system that divided the indigenous Malays and their

Asian migrant counterparts there was little unity before the disadvantaged locals of post-World War II

Malaya finally decided to rally and unify for change.21 To unite, one must first identify whom or what with to unite. In the mid-twentieth century, a bubbling of solidarity motivated by socialist and nationalist influence emerged with the communist insurgency and the formation of United Malays

National Organization.22 The search for an elusive Malayan identity thus began.

16 Kapur, When was modernism, 273 17 Piyadasa Redza, Modern Malaysia Art – An Introduction, http://www.goodenei.com/post/2009/03/10/Masterpieces-from- the-National-Art-Gallery-of-Malaysia.aspx 18 Piyadasa Redza, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, (1994), 15 19 Piyadasa, Modern Malaysia Art – An Introduction, http://www.goodenei.com/post/2009/03/10/Masterpieces-from-the- National-Art-Gallery-of-Malaysia.aspx 20 Piyadasa, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, 23 21 Piyadasa, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, 38 22 Piyadasa, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, 36 Australian National University Asian Modernisms | Michelle Lim Seok Ling

Nanyang Artists and Communication

Amongst the many seeking a common identity in Singaporean art history, Lim Hak Tai (1904

-1963) was a pioneer who recognised the importance of pride and identity, especially in a society as diverse as Singapore. This led to his founding of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, which was closely related to the Nanyang Group of artists. Through this group, Lim advocated for art that reflected the reality of the “Southern Seas”, to create an art from their immediate surroundings that all could identify with, rather than reminisce about traditional Chinese themes that would be alien to locals.23

One of the most successful artists following Lim‟s direction was Cheong Soo Pieng, whose innovation can be seen in his 1959 work Tropical Life (figure 1 below). By synthesizing Chinese traditional practices, using Chinese ink on rice paper and applying horizontal compositional reading from left-to-right or right-to-left, with Western-derived styles of bold colours and stylised figures bearing hints of Cubist influence,24 Cheong produced works that displayed a harmonious blend of styles and presented a familiar local subject of a rural Malay scene, albeit idyllic and stylised.25 Its immediate stylistic qualities merited its modern status,26 while upholding tradition and values in its subject and media.

(Figure 1) Cheong Soo Pieng, Tropical Life. 1959.

23 Chia Wai Hon, The Aesthetics of Asian Expressions, (1994),110 24 Piyadasa, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, 32 25 Piyadasa, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, 39 26 Australian National University, Art and Social Change – Contemporary Art in Asia and the Pacific, 192 Australian National University Asian Modernisms | Michelle Lim Seok Ling

Much like his peers who came before Cheong, Chen Chong Swee was competent in Chinese ink and brush painting as well as Western watercolour technique. He produced the 1950 Washing by the River (figure 2 below). Based on a traditional Chinese hanging scroll, Chen‟s bold attempt at fusing Chinese artistic heritage with Western scientific technique to create a local subject was a first of its kind.27 Chen faced a dilemma analogous to that of the nation‟s struggle between progressive modernity and conservative traditional values.28 He eventually overcame it with stronger conviction and a cause that the making of art was meant to communicate sincerely with others by constantly updating his traditional Chinese paintings with the modern world.29

Today, communication in multi-cultural Singapore means having to transcend cultures, languages, traditions and adapt to the ever-changing landscape of the modern world and its politics.

According to Piyadasa, the Nanyang Artists‟ foresight and neo-traditional practices safely secured their position as pioneers in this movement.30

(Figure 2) Chen Chong Swee, Washing by the River. 1950.

27 Chen Chong Swee: An Overview, http://www.postcolonialweb.org/singapore/arts/painters/chenchongswee/3.html 28 Chia, The Aesthetics of Asian Expressions, 109 29 Chia, The Aesthetics of Asian Expressions,111 30 Piyadasa, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, 31 Australian National University Asian Modernisms | Michelle Lim Seok Ling

Nik Zainal Abidin and Cultural Continuity

Across the short strait that divides the now mutually independent nations of Singapore and

Malaysia, I would like to visit the works of Nik Zainal Abidin, a self-taught Malay artist living at the north end of the Malay Peninsula in Kelantan.31 His reinvention of traditional art practices was very similar to that of the Nanyang Artists in that he transformed the time-honoured wayang kulit (puppet theatre) － a 4-dimensional art form － into 2-dimensional watercolour painting.32 The effect of this was to release this otherwise esoteric craft into the modern world.33 He successfully fused a traditional art form with modern modes of making. For the first time, ancient stories such as Ramayana were translated into a „language‟34 that could be read by other ethnicities and that was not limited by cultural boundaries.

In Abidin‟s 1961 painting Kelantanese Wayang Kulit (figure 3), the bright colours applied contrasted with the monochrome colours of a traditional Wayang Kulit made of skin and wood. It symbolised a reaching out into a new dimension, as though stories of the night were finally coming into day.35 Abidin‟s hybrid works had much potential as a vehicle that would have allowed for cultural continuity and pride,36 regardless of how small a number of practitioners or how unschooled the audience were. The point where streams of western ideas and local genius meet is evident in neo- traditional works like those of Abidin and his peers, presents a unique branch of modern art where the devalorisation of the self and individualism became an act or rather, an art of solidarity with other surviving minority cultures of the time.37

31 Piyadasa, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, 41 32 Piyadasa, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, 44 33 Australian National University, Art and Social Change – Contemporary Art in Asia and the Pacific, 42 34 Nik Zainal Abidin, http://www.artsasia.com.my/exhibits/05rare/nik.html 35 Nik Zainal Abidin, http://www.artsasia.com.my/exhibits/05rare/nik.html 36 Australian National University, Art and Social Change – Contemporary Art in Asia and the Pacific, 4 37 Australian National University, Art and Social Change – Contemporary Art in Asia and the Pacific, 68 Australian National University Asian Modernisms | Michelle Lim Seok Ling

(Figure 3) Nik Zainal Abidin, Kelantanese Wayang Kulit. 1961.

The revival of the tradition of shadow puppetry and its stories demonstrated elasticity in neo- traditionalism that allowed traditional values to work through modern times and vice-versa. 38

However, the balance of East and West seen in the application of neo-traditional or revivalist practices by artists such as Abidin does not reflect the socio-political reality of that period, which will be addressed in my last example of a group that took on the inevitable task of political confrontation in their art.

Majlis Kesenian Melayu and political tools

Returning to the heart of the Malay peninsula where the Majlis Kesenian Melayu „Malay Arts

Council‟ took form in the mid-1950s,39 we witness a production of art from this group that was quite distinct, despite sharing similar hybrid concoctions with the Nanyang Artists and Nik Zainal Abidin.

The intangible difference that stands out in the works of the Majlis Kesenian Melayu (MKM) was their intentions and driving force; it was more than just a search for identity or experimentation toward nation-building.40

The tendency of MKM toward figuration opposed to an idyllic landscape of lushness, was influenced by the Indonesian painters of the PERSAGI group and their movement against the “Mooi

Indies” at that time.41 The themes and application as such was largely a collective, educated decision42

38 Clark, Modernity in Asian Art, 35 39 Piyadasa, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, 36 40 Modern Malaysia Art – An Introduction, http://www.goodenei.com/post/2009/03/10/Masterpieces-from-the-National-Art- Gallery-of-Malaysia.aspx 41 Piyadasa, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, 42 42 Australian National University, Art and Social Change – Contemporary Art in Asia and the Pacific, 63 Australian National University Asian Modernisms | Michelle Lim Seok Ling to agitate the British colonialist. The MKM slogan was Seni dan Masyarakat „Art and Society‟,43 compared to that of their counterpart, Asas 50 - a Malay writers‟ group, whose slogan was Seni Untuk

Masyarakat „Art for Society‟. Although tamer than Asas 50, MKM artists still produced political works with anti-colonial sentiments.44

Take for example Ahmad Hassan‟s work of 1960, Old Fisherman Mending His Net (figure 4).

His expressive brush strokes and the lone figure depicted with his chore at the foreground, reflected the surrounding environment and expressed the contemporary socio-cultural atmosphere of Malaya.45

The passionate throws of brush strokes used by Hassan conveyed his views46 of the social classes while confronting a conservative audience with the knowledge that a Malay artist was behind making of such western style art47 depicting the predicament of his own people. As such, the effects and intentions of neo-traditional practices in this instance, results in a powerful tool of resistance and persuasion by altering indigenous materials to fit into the contemporary allowing an indigenous voice to be heard by viewers other than Malaysians themselves .48

Despite its potential to galvanise the masses into national unity, the atmosphere brewing in the subtle works by MKM was instead perceived to be manifested in the tragic racial riots49 which took place on 13 May 1969.

43 Professor Dr. Zakaria Ali, A brief survey of Malaysian Art, http://malay-maoriseminaripm.blogspot.com/2008/09/brief- survey-of-malaysian-art.html 44 Clark, Modernity in Asian Art, 187 45 Piyadasa, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, 42 46 Abdul Shukor Hashim, Raja Zahabuddhin Raja Yaacob, The Aesthetics of Asian Expressions,94 47 Piyadasa, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, 37 48 Australian National University, Art and Social Change – Contemporary Art in Asia and the Pacific, 7 49 Piyadasa, Modern Malaysia Art – An Introduction, http://www.goodenei.com/post/2009/03/10/Masterpieces-from-the- National-Art-Gallery-of-Malaysia.aspx Australian National University Asian Modernisms | Michelle Lim Seok Ling

(Figure 4) Old Fisherman Mending His Net by Ahmad Hassan. 1960.

Collective Pitfalls

Chen Chong Swee was perhaps right in his belief that art was a mode of communication.50

From the class-specific audience projected by the Majlis Kesenian Melayu artists to future generations influenced by Nik Zai Abidin‟s culturally strong paintings and finally, to the people of a dynamic, plural society celebrated by the Nanyang artists,51 the ability to communicate values and ideals was most successful in the application of neo-traditionalism and revivalism. Ironically, the same works that communicated hopes and intentions of a multi-coloured nation and culture did not quite meet their full potential because of their diversity.52 Within the fragile walls of a nascent Malaysia, western capitalism continued in its lapping up of eclectic Asian art seen in the outburst of revivalist practices brought on by various ethnic groups and their individual traditions and values.53 Within its own people however, this eclecticism only added pressure to the cracked walls, releasing floods of blood in the 1969 racial riots.

In addition to the implementation of “Bumiputra” policies by Tungku Abdul Rahman that provide special rights to the indigenous Malays, the conservative nationalists‟ response to the racial

50 Chia, The Aesthetics of Asian Expressions,111 51 Piyadasa, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, 37 52 Piyadasa, Modern Malaysia Art – An Introduction, http://www.goodenei.com/post/2009/03/10/Masterpieces-from-the- National-Art- Gallery-of-Malaysia.aspx 53 Australian National University, Art and Social Change – Contemporary Art in Asia and the Pacific, 66 Australian National University Asian Modernisms | Michelle Lim Seok Ling riots was to enforce specific policies that steered the nation away from anything non-Islamic54 that included traditional arts such as Wayang Kulit55 and its potentials.

It could be argued that the indigenous Malays were never looking for a common identity amongst the different communities. The much sought after identity in fact was one that is divorced from foreign cultures which they saw as a cause of their plight. Indigenous Malays were particularly disadvantaged56 in comparison to other ethnic groups during the period of British colonial rule, resulting thereafter in an aggressive approach to gain hegemony. Thus, the failures and tragic results that led to the deaths of hundreds and the culmination of cultural minorities‟ traditional practices after the 1969 racial riots, were a watershed in the painful building of the post-colonial Malaysia.57 These pains are still evident today. With the unapologetic marginalization of non-Bumiputras seen in events such as the Kampong Medan massacre in March 2001, － with an estimated deaths of over a hundred

Indians58 － minorities in Malaysia return to the mouth of the river in search for identity, pride and more importantly, respect.

Conclusion

Many streams may flow into a river, but when do they become one? The unique case studies from the Malay Peninsula shows that it takes more than just a common interest in a nation‟s identity and similar art practices such as neo-traditionalism or revivalism 59 to stir up a homogenous consistency that is capable of keeping future foreign influence out.60

54 Hashim, Raja Yaacob, The Aesthetics of Asian Expressions, 91 55 Piyadasa, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, 19 56 Piyadasa, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, 23 57 Australian National University, Art and Social Change – Contemporary Art in Asia and the Pacific, 62 58 Mahathir a ‘War Criminal’ too, http://www.indianmalaysian.com/sound/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=390 59Piyadasa, Modern Malaysia Art – An Introduction, http://www.goodenei.com/post/2009/03/10/Masterpieces-from-the- National-Art-Gallery-of-Malaysia.aspx 60 Clark, Modernity in Asian Art, 192 Australian National University Asian Modernisms | Michelle Lim Seok Ling

The less poignant case of Singapore, which became an independent republic after 1965, witnessed the pitfalls of neo-traditionalism and revivalism in the same manner as its neighbour through post-colonial racial riots even before May 13, 1969. However, this young nation decided to go against the currents of polarisation and marginalisation by adhering to plurality and found its way to tolerance and understanding.61 For a country without sincere political freedom or human rights, its people today celebrate cultural diversity but as a cover for underlying social tensions which have an historical origin and exist to this day. The reasons for this performance of solidarity may lie in a pragmatic approach62 by Singapore‟s government, whose main focus of commerce and trade requires constant upkeep of technology and communication with the world.63 This could not be achieved without a national spirit of camaraderie64 fuelled by mutual respect of values reflected in the country‟s state policies and application of meritocracy across the board; regardless of race, language or religion.

Similarly, neo-traditional artists‟ aims to maintain their values and tradition while wanting to communicate with the outside world65 were realistic in their ideals and methods of relating to the west on equal terms. Methods which translate into diplomatic subordination66 to colonial masters are but a necessary evil for any pre-independence or post-colonial countries67 as they learn to ride the waves in an open sea in autonomy, careful to not run into storms of neo-imperialism and regressive capitalism.68

61 Das Gupta, Tagore’s Asian Outlook, 7 62 Piyadasa, Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art, 15 63 Australian National University, Art and Social Change – Contemporary Art in Asia and the Pacific, 542 64 Australian National University, Art and Social Change – Contemporary Art in Asia and the Pacific, 63 65 Australian National University, Art and Social Change – Contemporary Art in Asia and the Pacific, 50 66 Das Gupta, Tagore’s Asian Outlook, (1961), 61 67 Australian National University, Art and Social Change – Contemporary Art in Asia and the Pacific, 67 68 Geeta Kapur, When was modernism, 334 Australian National University Asian Modernisms | Michelle Lim Seok Ling

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Rare and Important Malaysian Works from 1900 to 1994 -Nik Zainal Abidin, http://www.artsasia.com.my/exhibits/05rare/nik.html, 2005

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