Syed Ahmad Jamal
Acrylic on canvas
(203x274.5 cm)
1999
INTERPRETATION
When
it comes to interpreting a work of art, different scholars would have different
opinions and perceptions. For this research paper our approach will be based on
Ahmad Rashidi Hassan’s method of analysing Sufi artworks in Malaysia. Referring
to a few well-known quotations made by Syed Ahmad Jamal himself, we were led to
believe that his work contain elements of Sufism. Before elaborating on this
aspect, we would like to first clarify the definition of the title of the work
itself, which is ‘Semangat Ledang’.
“Semangat” or “Spirit”
- A
conscious, incorporeal being, as opposed to matter: the world of spirit.’ In
this context this definition explains that a spirit is something intangible
that is the opposite of corporeal form.
- ‘The
principle of conscious life; the vital principle in humans, animating the body
or mediating between body and soul.’ Here, the definition explains that the
spirit is the driving force or in other words- the potential energy that moves
an organism to become kinetic.
- The
word ‘spirit’ is also synonym to life, mind, consciousness and essence.
Ledang
or gunung ledang is a mountain located in west of Malay Peninsula between the
border of Muar and Melaka Malaysia. Gunung Ledang or Mount Ophir in English is
a subject of Malay interest and passion for centuries. It was depicted
numerously in the Malay’s traditional literature and oral traditions. For
example, In the Hikayat Hang Tuah, Gunung Ledang was depicted as a mountain of
great spirituality which has being a place where Hang Tuah and his Fellow
brothers come to seek knowledge and meditate. It have also being mentioned in
several traditional songs such as in the song walinong sari.
Walinong
la yang sari
Puteri
bestari
Puteri
yang cantik dari gunung Banang
Dari
gunung Tahan, gununglah Ledang
Turunlah
Tuan
In the course of this research we have found
that Mount Ledang was not only related to the Malay people but it has been
known to have an ancient relation to other culture. Gunung Ledang was known by
two other names, which are Mount Ophir and Mount Kim Sua. "The word “Ophir” have
been said several times in the bible which have being a place where king
Solomon received a cargo of gold, silver, sandalwood, precious stones, ivory,
apes and peacocks each every three years" (http://www.wordnik.com). “Ophir”
is a Hebrew word "dust," namely, gold dust.” (Robert Jamieson
1871).The other name is Mount Kim Sua which is used by the Chinese seafarers to
address Gunung Ledang The word “Kim
sua” is probably derived from Hokkien or
Taiwanese word kim, or in
characters 金 meaning gold and sua, or 山 meaning mountain.
National Cultural Congress
The
emergence of modern paintings and art making in Malaysia has been heavily
influenced by the art scene from the west. Since most of the art pioneers in
our country received their art education abroad, the paintings produced were
greatly westernized. The urge to forge an identity that would reflect the
values of the nation, the society, the local culture and Islam has driven
artists to hold the National Cultural Congress 1971. The most important result
that were obtained from it was that the decision that the National Cultural
Congress has to follow the original citizen of this region, other related
cultures that are relevant and appropriate can be adopted into the national
culture, and Islam is the important elements in creating the national culture.
Various
artists and art enthusiasts presented their ideas for discussion. Even Syed
Ahmad Jamal participated. According to Mazlan Abdul Karim and A. Rahman Mohamed
(USM, 2011), Syed Ahmad Jamal stated that the concept of Malaysian Visual Art
is not only about depicting coconut trees, paddy field, boats, etc but is more
than that. Muliyadi Mahmood mentioned in his book, Modern Malaysian Art (2007)
that Syed Ahmad Jamal stated:
‘In
the Islamic tradition, artists and craftsmen are guided by certain principles in
their creative activities. At the core of their consciousness is the concept of
Tawhid, that is the Oneness of Allah, a firm belief that underlies their faith
in Allah the Creator. In practice, every act of a true Muslim (artist) is
carried out in total awareness of this concept. Nature must not be idolized,
but regarded as a matter deprived of essence. Thus, abstraction is acceptable.
However, abstraction in Islamic art is totally unrelated abstraction of Western
Art, which emphasizes the artist’s role, albeit in an abstract manner. In
Islamic art, nature is not emphasized in order to open up to the viewer’s mind
to thoughts about the beauty of Islam” According to http://dinmerican.wordpress.com, Syed Ahmad Jamal has quoted “My artwork has an Islamic soul and a contemporary form”. The painting above supports the artist’s statement. By observing the picture above we can see that the ‘contemporary form’ was depicted through formal elements such as bright and fresh colors, semi abstractions, the type of materials used and also the brush stroke. This style of execution is unsurprisingly evident as Syed Ahmad Jamal has furthered his artistic studies in a western country- thus the western influence. However in terms of content, the title itself reveals that it is based on a traditional aspect of the painter’s background. When he stated that his artwork has an ‘Islamic soul’, it can be anticipated that the work will contain elements of Sufism and Tasawuf, especially with the arrangements of the subjects.
Another
quote by Syed Ahmad Jamal is ‘As a Painter I want to capture the essence and
immortalise it in painting’. Referring to the keyword which is ‘essence’, we
believe that in order to successfully interpret this work it is important for
us to understand the essence of Islamic aesthetic and also Ledang itself.
Dr
Ahmadrashidi Hassan (2012) have elaborated in his writing ‘Sufism in the
contemporary Art of Malaysia’, that the ultimate aim of Sufism is to experience
the spiritual dimension, to inquire the spiritual wisdom and to perceive the
worldly life spiritually. People who claim to have had gone through Sufistic
spiritual experience would use artistic elements and principles to express
their spiritual experience rather than emotions. In
attempt to interpret Sufi artworks Ahmadrashidi Hassan has come up with a few
ways. The first is to understand the style that was used by the artist. The
second is to identify the images chosen by the artist to express his spiritual
experience.
Pucuk Rebung And Gunungan
“Semangat Ledang bukan hanya berdiri sendiri
sebagai mitos sejarah melayu Melaka tetapi juga jauh di belakang telah wujud
semangat dunia melayu dengan simbol gunungan, dan pucuk rebung Simbol gunungan juga adalah ikon dengan motif
yang menjati diri Sejak kewujudan kesenian warisan” (Siti Zainon Ismail)
Pucuk
rebung and gunungan is a form of motif which has been existed in the Malay
traditional culture for centuries. It is an ancient form of motif which can be
recognized by its triangular shape and
format. The Motif existed in Malay traditional culture approximately before the
Dong son era which predates the influence of Hinduism, Buddhism, or even Islam
so it is possible to state that Gunungan and pucuk rebung can be recognized as
the Malay original motif. This
particular motif was not only used in Malay Peninsula but can be found
throughout Malay Archipelago as far as Sumatra and Java, mainly served as an
important motif in designing batik, songket and woodcarving.
According
to Wagner (1959) “Pucuk Rebung can be classified as not only a decorative
design but it is considered to be a symbol of Malay spirituality, representing
the spirit of paddy and fertility probably before the Dong Son era”. Though it
status and exact meaning is still unknown, it can be seen that this motif is
developed through the observation of the Malays towards the characteristic of
bamboo shoots which always grows upwards and constantly following the light,
thus it can be accepted as a symbols of
progression, growth or fertility
Pucuk
rebung also associated with other form of motif which is the motif gunungan,
pohon Hayat, Pohon budi, and Pohon Meru. Although these motif differs I term of
application and purposes, they shared
the most important characteristic which is the triangular shape. These motif
including pucuk rebung according to Abdullah Mohamed (1978) reflects the
knowledge and the cosmological belief of the Malays about the spiritual world
and the real world, and furthermore these particular motif would almost always pointed to one of the major components in Islam which is Sufism
CONCLUSION
As a conclusion Syed Ahmad Jamal can be defined as a contemporary
artist with an Islamic and Malay soul. He was not only one of the pioneers of
Malaysia’s contemporary art movement but also a person who appreciate the Malay
traditional art and Islamic faith. He seem to realized that the malay society
or the Malay world nowdays would have no choice than to accept the needs and
the effect of modernization, thus he manage to teach us not to only embrace the
modernization but on the same time appreciate and practice the malay
traditional art along with its ethic and religion which is Islam. Of course,
this is just one of the many form of interpretation that can be done towards
his artwork, although it may differs from what have been stated by others, we ,
in that sense must appreciate his capability on manipulating icon,symbols and
images that would leads to various study and research, hence, new
knowledge.Through this research we were able
to learn how he manage to creates a painting which harmonious in term of
composition, color application, subject and more importantly how he was able to
convey the message of the painting using this elements successfully.
By: Mohamad Hanif Hafiz and Fiqah Qari (2012)
nice , i like this
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