GURU, TONGKAT KETIKA REBAH, AIR KETIKA DAHAGA

Ayahanda, Tokoh Guru Hilir Perak 1994

Ayahanda, Tokoh Guru Negeri Perak, 1994-

Kini, dia mungkin dah bongkok sabut, berkedut, kurus-kering dan tak se hensem, sesegak dan segagah dulu. Tapi dia 'Guru' saya dulu, kini dan selamanya.  Ilmu Al-Quran saya memang dari dia. Saya belajar seni 'bersuara' dari dia. Semangat 'menuntut ilmu' dan 'menyebarkan ilmu' juga dari dia. Hal-hal 'perguruan' ini, dia lagenda saya.

Kalau ada masa, singgahlah ke Pameran "Kasihnya Ibu" di Balai Seni Lukis Negara, ada beberapa cebisan surat dia yang saya ungkap sebagai karya. Punyalah dia risau saya sesat melarat di USA (agaknya saya yang paling terlebih 'kreatif' dan 'luar kotak'), saya selalu dikhutbahkan dalam banyak suratnya semasa saya di luar negara.

Cerita tentang dia memanglah tak ada dalam buku, kitab mahupun sebarang muzium. Apatah lagi, setiap masa saya asyik disimbah  berita caci-maki, kutuk-cerca sesama manusia (kalau takpun sebangsa), ataupun puji-puja hero-hero filem, tv, idola pentas, dan sokong-sakat pemimpin politikus-mondok. 

Di celah hiruk-pikuk ini semua, jasa ayahanda semakin hilang dicuri hari.......

Hari tu, saya balik kampung, buat sikit 'interview' tak formal tentang sejarah hidup ayahanda dan bonda (ni memang kerja saya sejak kecil). Selalunya, saya asyik menemu-tak-diduga ramai pelukis tersohor, kali ni biarlah saya kembali pada kisah ayahanda pula. Dekat sejam lebih, terbongkok-bongkok ayahanda sibuk cari dokumen-dokumen lama dalam almari yang berserabut. Orang tua kita, jika kita tahu meraikan perjalanan hidup mereka, memang bersungguh hendak berkongsi rasa. Kalau boleh, janganlah kita buat 'donno' tentang jasa 'guru-guru' hidup kita ni semua.  

Saya catatkan perjalanan ayahanda, itupun sekadar fakta. Isinya terlalu 'kaya' dan tak mampu nak saya usahakan sekarang. Tapi cukuplah kot setakat fakta dulu, buat bekal anak-cucu-cicit agar tidak mudah lupa jasa 'guru'. Manalah tahu, kot-kot memori saya dan yang sedarah-sedaging mahupun sekentot-sebulu pun turut hanyut dikejar KPI dunia. 

Ayahanda......

Pendidikan

Sekolah Melayu Teluk Kepayang, 

Sijil darjah 6 Sekolah Melayu Teluk Bakong, 1957 

Sijil Rendah Pelajaran Malaysia, 

Sijil Quran darjah 5 dan mengaji di Pondok Madrasah Akhlasiyah Teluk Kepayang dan lulus tauliah mengajar tahun 1957.

1948         
Berkahwin dengan Jamaliah Noordin (Bonda)

1947/8       
Dipilih menjadi Ketua Pemuda Perikatan Melayu Perak, cawangan Teluk Kepayang

1950         
Menerima cahaya-mata yang pertama, Puteh Saadiah (Kak Yong)

1952         
Berpindah dari Teluk Kepayang ke Pasir Salak, Perak untuk mengajar di Sekolah Quran

Belajar Al-Quran dan ilmu agama dari 

Habib Shamsuddin Bin Habib Alwi

Haji Abdul Ghani Bin Haji Ibrahim

Haji Abdul Latiff Bin Muhammad

Kronologi sumbangan kemasyarakatan

1953-56     
Menjadi Ahli UMNO cawangan Pasir Salak, Perak 
1954-64 

Setiausaha Persatuan Guru Agama Cawangan Hilir Perak

1955        
Berpindah ke Teluk Anson (sekarang Teluk Intan)untuk mengajar Sekolah Kebangsaan Lelaki

1957        
Membantu isteri berniaga jual kain di rumah

1957-76     
Ahli J/Kuasa Agung Persatuan Guru Agama Perak

1959-77     
Ahli J/Kuasa Badan Kebajikan Islam Hilir Perak

1960-77     
Ahli J/Kuasa Masjid Jamek Teluk Anson, Perak

1961-62     
Penolong S/usaha Kesatuan Guru Agama Malaysia Barat Cawangan Perak 

1963-77    
S/usaha Jemaah Penyusun Kitab Pelajaran Agama Dewasa Negeri Perak

1970        
Mengajar agama di Sek Ren. Jenis Kebangsan Horley Methodist, Teluk Anson, Perak

1963-77     
Dipilih menjadi Naib Ketua UMNO cawangan Jalan Selat, Teluk Anson (Selatan)

1969-75     
Dipilih menjadi Timbalan Pengerusi Tetap UMNO Bahagigan Teluk Anson, Perak

1970-78     
Dipilih menjadi Pengerusi Tetap Pergerakan Wanita dan Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO Bahagian Teluk Anson, Perak

1976-78     
Dipilih menjadi Pengerusi Tetap UMNO Bahagian Teluk Anson, Perak

1973-78     

Ahli J/kuasa Kesatuan Guru Agama Malaysia Barat Cawangan Perak

1974-75     
Pengerusi J/Kuasa Penyusun Buku Panduan Mengajar Agama Sekolah Rendah Perak

1974-76     
Hakim Pertandingan Membaca Quran Peringkat Negeri Perak

1969-77     
Pengerusi Jemaah Hakim Pertandingan Membaca Quran Peringkat Daerah Hilir Perak

1975-77     
Naib Pengerusi Persatuan Peniaga2 Kecil Melayu Cawangan Teluk Anson

1976-97     
Naib Pengerusi Madrasah Rumah Awam Padang Tembak, Teluk Anson

1976-97    
J/Kuasa Syarikat Perumahan Orang-orang Melayu Teluk Anson

TERIMA KASIH RUANG PUTIH

Terima kasih ruang putih, kerana mengizinkan huruf-hurud ini  d  i    e       j        a

BICARA (UNTUK) SIFU

Istilah 'sifu' memang saya muliakan. Ayahanda saya sifu. Sebab itu saya sangat segan jika dipanggil 'sifu'. Saya rasa tak layak. Dosa pun banyak. Kelemahan usah cakaplah.

Izinkan saya 'bicara (untuk) sifu'. Mungkin ada kaitan dengan pameran "Bicara Sifu" yang sedang berlangsung di Galeri Petronas, Kuala Lumpur, tapi dalam nada yang lain. 

Memanglah karya saya ada dipamerkan dalam pameran tersebut. Saya mengaku, bangga dan takbur saya membelon sikit. Mungkin sebab Galeri Petronas itu saya anggap berprestij, dan ramai yang berkunjung, belon saya kembang. Tapi saya lebih suka membaca pesan-pesan yang terkandung dalam katalog pameran, yang ditulis oleh Badrolhisham, Dr. Sareena dan Dr. Izmer. Ada banyak manfaat mentelaahnya. Tambah pulak, mereka ni semua kenalan saya yang pandai-pandai belaka. Saya tumpang tempias ilmu mereka.

Tapi apa yang saya nak tulis ni, bukanlah sangat tentang masalah penguasaan ilmu, kepentingan penyelidikan, kekurangan bahan ilmiah, kepakaran, kekeliruan paradigma, penjajahan teori, epistimologi, ideologi dan segala yang pandai-pandai tu. Itu semua ada ramai kenalan yang sudah bergelar 'dr.' boleh bantu, kalau tak pun perbincangan dalam 'facebook'. Saya nak tulis tentang keberadaan 'sifu' itu sendiri, tentang 'budi' dalam mukim sejarah seni visual di negara kita.   

Sabtu lepas saya singgah ke "Bicara Sifu" untuk urusan yang tiada kaitan dengan pameran. Belon ego saya yang kembang sebelum ni, jadi kuncup. Kuncup campur sedih. Selepas merayau-rayau di ruang pameran, ambil gambar, jumpa beberapa pelajar dari One Academy, sembang dengan rakan, saya teringatkan sifu-sifu dan murid-murid saya (ada yang dah jadi sifu juga). Mungkin sebab Hari Guru bakal tiba. Bila saya cari dalam pameran itu, hanya ada Prof. Madya Najib Nor saja. Dia sifu teater, rekabentuk produksi dan sifu fesyen saya.

Saya cari juga kot-kot saya tertinggal Ruzaika Omar Basaree, Mendiang Joseph Tan, Chong Kam Kow, Tan Tuck Kan, Ponirin Amin, Ariffin Ismail, Tajali Abdullah, Awang Damit, Zakaria Awang, Kamarudzaman Mat Isa, Fauzan Omar, arwah Ismail Zain, Sulaiman Esa, arwah Ahmad Khalid Yusoff, Amron Omar, Normah Nordin, arwah Redza Piyadasa, Yusof Ghani, Dzulhaimi Mat Zin, Abu Talib, Ali Rahman, Jahani Ali, Muliyadi Mahamood? Ini sifu-sifu tegar saya. Sebut Hasnul Jamal Saidon, ilmunya datang dari sifu-sifu ini. Namun, kelibat karya-karya mereka......tiada. Cuma ada karya-karya agung anak-anak murid mereka (termasuklah yang menulis ni). Saya rasa malu alah nak letak karya punyalah besar dan kalau silap baca, terlebih angkuh, tanpa kehadiran sifu-sifu saya. Saya rasa macam nak letak nama-nama mereka sebelah karya saya, tapi nanti kurator dan Pengarah Galeri Petronas marah pulak. Gitupun, itu mungkin sekadar saya nak tutup wajah nafsu dengan meletakkan salah pada orang lain. Agaknya badi karya besar ni masih belum dapat saya kikis, walaupun saya boleh menghujahkannya dengan berlindung di balik segala teori yang dikutip dari pelbagai kitab seni. 

Sifu-sifu lain pun saya cari juga, terutama yang singgah sebentar dalam diari seni saya, samada secara teori mahupun secara praktis. Ada diantara mereka ni, kalau tak silap, pernah main peranan penting dalam merangka sejarah pendidikan seni visual di Tanah Melayu, Malaya dan kemudian Malaysia. Nak tahu dan faham 'sanad' teori, epistimologi, ideologi, falsafah, paradigma, ambilan dan amalan dalam pendidikan seni visual kini, mungkin lebih afdal dicungkil salasilah penurunan ilmu dari seorang sifu ke anak muridnya (yang kemudian menjadi sifu yang mengajar anak-anak murid dan generasi bakal sifu seterusnya pula). Agaknya lebih molek kot, ditinjau sanad penurunan pelbagai ilmu dalam sejarah pendidikan seni visual di Tanah Melayu, Malaya dan Malaysia, dari dulu hingga kini.

Kalau nak ber'bicara' atau berpolemik tentang sifu kontemporari (masa kini) dan segala macam 'problem statements' yang melanda pendidikan seni hari ini, mungkin lebih baik dijenguk cerita-cerita derita, jerit-perit, susah-payah, pahit-getir, peluh-keringat insan-insan pelopor pendidikan terdahulu ni. Saya cari dalam pameran, tak ada. Saya selak dalam katalog, nasib baik ada, itupun berkat tekun rakan saya Badrolhisham, kuratornya.

Namun, mungkin elok juga jika saya ingatkan diri saya dan semua yang rajin membaca tentang cerita-cerita lain buat pedoman. Cerita O Don Peris yang pergi ke Academie Gereux di Paris dari 1912 hingga 1915, atau penubuhan Persatuan Lukisan Amatur di Singapura pada tahun 1909 boleh buat renungan. Khaw Sia pergi ke Sin Hwa Academy dari 1925 hingga 1932, bila pulang (Khaw Sia berhijrah ke Pulau Pinang pada tahun 1935), tentu ada pengaruh dari pendidikan mereka di Eropah dan China dalam persekitaran tempatan. 

Jika ke belakang lagi, mungkin elok ditinjau ilustrasi (gaya moden berdasarkan observasi) oleh Munsyi Abdullah dalam Hikayat Munsyi Abdullah mahupun ilustrasi Hasan Agha dalam Syair Indra Sebaha (1891), lukisan-lukisan 'moden' Mohd Said Hj. Hussain dan Abdullah Ariff seperti yang pernah dicungkil oleh Dr. Suhaimi, kenalan saya di UPSI. Ini antara bukti-bukti awal kemasukan pengaruh 'moden' dalam sistem pendidikan di Tanah Melayu. Penat-penat dia buat 'penyelidikan', tapi masih ramai yang kata kita kekurangan bahan-bahan ilmiah sebagai rujukan. Penulisan dan kajian tak mendalamlah, tak cukup bahanlah, ceteklah. Sedap betul buat pernyataan dari data sekunder. Lebih molek agaknya kalau dicari dan korek betul-betul kot, bukan hanya duduk dalam pejabat, 'google' sepanjang hari. Saya pun ada saka buat 'penyelidikan' begini, tak payahlah saya nak kutuk orang lain. Yalah, kalau berjumpa terus (dapatkan data primer)dari sifu-sifu macam arwah Ismail Zain, arwah Redza Piyadasa, arwah Ibrahim Hussein, Syed Ahmad Jamal, Jolly Koh, Yeoh Jin Leng, Sulaiman Esa, mahu teruk dan bingit telinga kena khutbah mereka. Saya pernah kena, sebab tu agaknya lebih selesa petik tulisan mereka je (data sekunder). Lepas tu, goreng, tabur 'problem statements' sana-sini. Itu penyakit sayalah, mungkin ada juga yang kena sampuk sama.

Penulisan Syed Syeikh Al-Hadi di Pulau Pinang yang menyentuh tentang polemik halal-haram melukis orang seperti yang diajar di sekolah orang putih ketika itu (1920an), mungkin boleh disentuh juga. Okla, Tuan Syed ni memang tak belajar ilmu seni visual, jadi mungkin tak layak dikategorikan sebagai sifu. 

Majalah Mastika (pada tahun-tahun 50an, sebelum dirasuk oleh cerita-cerita hantu dan maksiat), banyak menerbitkan artikel tentang seni moden, antaranya oleh M.Ashraf, Abdul Ghani Hamid, Adi Mas dan Abdul Kadir Ahmad. Nama-nama ni saya jumpa dalam tesis Dr. Suhaimi juga. Mungkin mereka bukan 'sifu', tapi takkan takda kaitan dengan soal 'pendidikan seni visual' langsung?

Perihal Nanyang (ditubuhkan oleh Lim Hak Tai pada tahun 1938)dan sifu-sifunya, mungkin dah naik tepu diceritakan. Namun, perlu juga diambil perhatian kerana kesan serta gemanya dalam konteks pendidikan seni di negara ini adalah besar. 

Sifu yang lain, Peter Harris, janganlah kita lupa. Dia 'superintendent' pendidikan seni zaman pra dan pasca merdeka di Tanah Melayu (dilantik pada tahun 1951, termasuk pernah ditugaskan jawatan yang sama di Kolej Gaya, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, sebelum dilantik sebagai Pengetua STTI). Sumbangan dan kesan peranan beliau dalam konteks pendidikan seni takkan nak buat-buat lupa kot. 

Sifu-sifu lain yang pergi menuntuk ilmu di Eropah, China, Amerika Syarikat, Australia dan ada juga ke Jepun, India dan Indonesia jangan dilupai. Mereka ni sifu pelopor yang menjadi guru, kalau tak pun 'wali' kepada ramai sifu-sifu generasi seterusnya.

Sumbangan Tay Hooi Keat, Syed Ahmad Jamal dan Yeoh Jin Leng sangat penting, sebagai antara sifu-sifu yang awal (mereka bukan saja perlu ditinjau sebagai pelukis, tetapi juga sebagai antara pelopor tempatan yang awal dalam pendidikan seni visual). Dulu tak banyak galeri komersial, promoter sikit. Semua kena buat sendiri, termasuklah dalam hal pendidikan seni.

Tay Hooi Keat, menubuhkan Penang Art Teachers Council pada tahun 1952. Syed Ahmad Jamal, Anthony Lau dan Yeoh Jin Leng menuntut di Malayan Teachers Training College at Kirby  antara 1951 hingga 1953. Jolly Koh, arwah Piyadasa dan Sulaiman Esa menuntut di Hornsey College of Art sekitar 1962 hingga 1965. Ismail Zain pernah ke Slade tahun 1963 kalau tak silap saya. Bila pulang, ada dikalangan mereka berkhidmat dalam kerajaan, menjadi sifu-sifu pelopor, termasuk sifu saya. Ilmu-ilmu yang mereka bawa perlu dikupas. Buku-buku, kitab-kitab dan guru-guru mereka kena kita kenali juga. Saya sendiri pernah rasa bahang mereka. Saya dapat tempias air liur mereka. Takkan lupa terus pada mereka ni, terutama jika nak berpolemik tentang 'kesifuan' dan pendidikan seni. Kalau boleh, cuba fokus pada sumbangan mereka dalam konteks pendidikan, bukan pengkaryaan.       

Specialist Teachers Training Institute (STTI, ditubuhkan pada 1960)juga melahirkan ramai sifu. Begitu juga dengan Malaysia Institute of Art (1966), School of Art & Design, ITM (1967) dan Kuala Lumpur College of Art (1968), ada ramai sifu-sifu seni pelopor (yang masih hidup). Agaknya, apakah teras pendekatan teori dan praktis studio ketika itu. Mungkin perlu dikorek dokumen kurikulum dan silibus lama. Mungkin perlu dikorek dan digali semula tesis-tesis para pelajarnya sejak dari awal hingga terkini, bukan main balun je buat hipotesis.

Perihal pengalaman 'sebenar' mereka dalam membuka denai-denai awal pendidikan seni visual di Malaya dan kemudian Malaysia, perlu dijadikan sumber primer yang tidak ternilai. Janganlah harap data sekunder je. Perlu disahihkan dengan bertanya terus pada mereka yang masih hidup. Sumber sekunder memanglah lazat dijadikan modal berpolemik. Saya kena mengaku sebab saya pernah rasa. Tapi ia tidak sekukuh dan sekuat sumber-sumber primer dari pengalaman 'alami' sifu-sifu ini. 

Apakah sumbangan mereka (dalam konteks pendidikan, bukan pengkaryaan) ini semuanya terkubur atau perlu dikuburkan, gagal atau tidak membawa apa-apa kesan berpanjangan? Adakah tapak-tapak awal pendidikan seni visual yang telah mereka bekalkan itu tidak berguna langung? Adakah usaha mereka merupakan punca segala macam 'problem statements' yang begitu sedap digoreng sekarang?  Sebenarnya Jolly Koh, Syed Ahmad Jamal, Sulaiman Esa dan Yeoh Jin Leng baru-baru ini ada ditanya soalan-soalan ini. Tapi, biarlah jawapan mereka keluar dalam penerbitan (jika bukan pameran) lain.

Pengalaman sebenar para sifu pelopor ini boleh dijadikan bekalan dan khazanah yang tidak ternilai kerana mereka adalah sifu-sifu yang pernah 'menempuh' dan 'mengalami' segala masalah,kekangan, polemik dan isu berkaitan pendidikan seni visual dulu.

Saya menjangkakan akan disimbah dan disegarkan-semula dengan suara-suara primer sifu ini menerusi pameran 'Bicara Sifu' (sekurang-kurangnya untuk merenung dan mengimbas-kembali), namun nampaknya tinggal harapan saja. Amnesia (mudah lupa) agaknya bukanlah teori kosong Tun Dr. Mahathir.

Untuk saya, rakan-rakan dan anak-anak murid pun boleh menjadi sifu. Malah, ramai rakan 'senior' semasa di UiTM saya anggap sebagai sifu tak rasmi.  Selain dari Zulkifli Yusoff, saya ada Nasir Baharuddin, Johari Said, Ramlan Abdullah, Jailani Abu Hassan, Mastura Abdul Rahman, Tengku Sabri, Taufik Abdullah, Fauzin Mustaffa, Amin Busu, Roskang Jailani, Suhaimi Tular, Rosli Zakaria, Hamdan Shaarani, Syarmiza Abu Hassan, Suhaimi Tohid, Hamidi Hadi, Syed Alwi, Aznan Omar, Daud Rahim, Izaddin, semuanya sekarang sifu di merata tempat. Ini diaspora UiTM yang menarik untuk diterokai dalam konteks pembangunan pendidikan seni visual. Yang jadi cikgu (sifu paling jati) tak usah cakaplah, lagilah ramai - Haron Mokhtar, Mustaffa Kamal, Abu Sareh, Mohd Noor Mahmud, Husin Saad, Saidon dan ramai lagi. Takkan pengalaman (data primer) mereka ni tak secanggih teori-teori yang mahu dijadikan bahan polemik?


Ini tak termasuk rakan saya Ray Lagenbach, Wong Hoy Cheong, Niranjan Rajah dan ramai lagi yang pernah mengajar bersama saya semasa di Cenfad dulu.

Namun, hati saya sejuk bila nampak karya Zulkifli Yusoff dan Azhar Manan. Namun begitu, Zulkifli Yusof tanpa Zakaria Awang, atau pun Ismail Zain dan Ibrahim Hussein, rasa canggung pulak. Kalau ada Zakaria Awang dan Fauzan Omar, mesti ada Sulaiman Esa dan Redza Piyadasa mahupun Jolly Koh. Azhar Manan, tanpa Fauzan Omar, lagilah kurang pedas. Hasnul Jamal tanpa Fauzan Omar dan Ismail Zain, jadi daun terbang je. 

Rakan-rakan di USM langsung takda. Saya teringat pada Zabbas, Ismail Hashim, Baharuddin Arus, Rahman Mohamed, Mat Desa dan yang paling berbekas, Najib Dawa (bekas bos dan mentor saya yang ganas). USM adalah universiti pertama yang menawarkan program seni halus di peringkat sarjana muda, sarjana dan phd. Ini sejarah penting. Langsung tak berminat nak tinjau ke? Tengok-tengoklah silibusnya ke, kurikulumnya ke, kalau susah, tanya saja nama-nama di atas, juga bekas pelajar USM juga. Wakil USM saya seorang saja, tapi akar pendidikan saya bukan USM, saya anak didik UiTM.
 
Bekas anak-anak buah juga ramai yang sudah bergelar sifu, malah ada yang dah dapat phd. Saya gembira terserempak dengan karya Noorazizan Paiman, antara 'murid' saya yang paling awal semasa setahun di UiTM; dan karya Zaimie Sahibil, bekas murid semasa di di UNIMAS dulu. 

Fikiran saya terbawa ke Rahah Hasan, Anuar Ayob, Ling Siew Woei, Helena Song,  Abuseni, Fairuz, Ashaari, Tan Sei Hon, Tan Hui Koon, Safrizal Shahir, Alizam Hassan, Aloysous Yap dan Roopesh Sitharan, namun sudah tentulah mereka tiada dalam senarai walaupun ramai dikalangan mereka sudah mula memberi sumbangan tersendiri dalam pendidikan seni.  

Saya juga tertanya juga, adakah 'Bicara Sifu' hanya berkaitan dengan sifu-sifu dan soal pendidikan seni visual dikalangan orang Melayu saja?

Takpalah saya mengaku, saya ni sentimental bila sebut hal sifu-sifu ni, terutama sifu-sifu yang pernah mengajar saya. Saya ikut pesan ayahanda, yang memesan supaya ikut model Rasulullah, termasuk dalam hal ilmu, dan hubungan sifu-murid ni. Soal ilmu ni, rentas bangsa, rentas masa dan rentas benda. Sebab itu saya rasa janggal dengan ketiadaan beberapa nama di atas.

Begitupun, janggal dan sedih diganti oleh rasa syukur kerana ada  dua universiti kerajaan yang paling dekat dengan saya (selain USM)iaitu UNIMAS dan UMS diwakilkan. Tapi ada ke ditinjau falsafah, visi, misi, kurikulum, silibus dan hasil-hasil sarjana muda, sarjana dan phd dari universiti-universiti awam ini? UNIMAS dan UMS dekat dihati kerana saya pernah tak tidur beberapa malam bersengkang mata merangka kurikulum program Seni Halus di UNIMAS (dengan sifu saya Fauzan Omar, dan sifu yang lain Zulkalnain Zainal Abidin, Niranjan Rajah, Wan Jamarul Imran dan Rashidah Salam) dan di UMS (dengan Fuad Bebit dan arwah Zul). 

Ada banyak pengalaman dan data praktis berkaitan dengan cabaran dalam merangka, menggubal dan membentangkan (kalau takpun terlentang) kurikulum serta silibus di UNIMAS, UMS dan USM yang tak ditinjau. Kalau setakat berpolemik menerusi sumber bertulis je, memanglah sedap. Saya dulu layan benda-benda ni. Tapi bila segala 'problem statements' dan hipotesis itu hendak diuji secara praktis semasa di UNIMAS, Cenfad dan USM dulu, nak terputus urat kentut dibuatnya. Baru padan muka saya yang masa tu hanya pandai main teori je, semua orang salah, saya je yang betul!

Sampai sekarang saya masih menjengah UNIMAS dan UMS, untuk mengajar secara sambilan atau memeriksa projek tahun akhir para pelajarnya. Sesekali saya periksa tesis para pelajar UM. Taklah bencana sangat seperti yang diwar-warkan.

Nasib baik, karya sifu Fuad (pendeknya sifuad), ada dalam pameran. Cuma sayang, penyertaan pelopor program seni halus di UNIMAS itu tiada, terutama Fauzan Omar. Saya juga tertanya, ASWARA (bukan AISWARA RAI)juga ada sifu. Tapi mungkin ia bukan dibawah Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi, atau mungkin sebab ia baru. Saya masih ingat kerja merangka kurikulumnya dengan Mad Anuar, Johari Said, Ruzaika Omar Basaree, Ham Rabeah dan Yusof Gajah. Mereka ni pun sifu juga.

Saya juga tercari-cari Siti Zainon, sifu yang saya teliti buku-bukunya dengan tekun. Nak berpolemik tentang teori pasca-kolonial kena lalu dia dulu. Begitu juga Zakaria Ali, sifu pertama yang menerima title Professor. Sedekah dia pada saya amat besar, terutama menerusi 'Dialog Seni Tampak'. Takkan kita nak lupakan dia. Dia tiada dalam senarai. 


Semua sifu-sifu ini, terutama yang pernah mengajar saya, ada keunikan dan karektor masing-masing. Ada 'budi' nya. Kalau nak ditulis, mungkin kena buat dalam blog lain. Nantilah.

Sifu yang paling saya muliakan tentulah ayahanda dan bonda, Saidon Pandak Noh dan Jamaliah Noordin, disambut oleh kakak-kakak dan abang-abang yang tidak jemu mengajar saya erti hidup. Guru-guru di sekolah memang saya ingat sampai mati, terutama Cikgu Aziz. Tapi cerita sifu zaman tv hitam-putih ni juga molek dinukil dalam blog akan datang.

Soal sifu ni rasanya bukan sekadar bahan untuk digoreng, berpolemik dan berteori saja. Ada yang lebih halus dalam hubungan sifu dan anak murid. Soal sifu ini lebih menyentuh 'budi'. Alangkah indahnya jika 'yang halus' ini juga diberikan tempat yang sewajarnya dalam apa jua aktiviti yang melibatkan istilah 'sifu/guru', agar berkat melekat dalam sanubari kita. Maksud saya, bawak-bawaklah pergi mengadap mereka (yang masih hidup) walaupun mungkin telinga kita perit mendengar leteran mereka. Sekurang-kurangnya, petiklah kata-kata hikmat mereka. Jagalah hati mereka. Malah, saya tak nampak juga usaha mengaitkan karya-karya dalam pameran tersebut dengan persoalan serta teori-teori yang dibincangkan. Takda pun karya yang dibedah dengan ilmiah berdasarkan teori-teori bijak seperti yang diperkatakan. Sentuh sambil lalu je. Kalau ada, boleh juga saya belajar.

Sebelum saya pulak berleter, lebih baik saya berhenti. 

Saya mengajak anda semua terus memanjangkan doa kepada semua sifu kita, samada yang sudah pergi mahupun yang masih bernafas.

CIPTA 1999, UNIMAS dengan sifu Fauzan dan sifu Niranjan

UMS 2010, Sabah, selepas Pemeriksaan Projek Tahun Akhir para pelajar Seni Halus, bersama Sifu-sifu di UMS, termasuk Fuad Bebit (barisan dua dari depan, dua dari kiri, Dr. Ismail (bertali leher) dan Along (sebelah kanan Dr. Ismail)

  

Bicara Seni di Galeri Chandan 2009, sifu filem, U-Wei Shaari, elias, Hamir dll.

Sifu pelopor, Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal, ketika perasmian Pameran Solo "Hijab Seorang Pelukis", 2010

RINTIS 2011 USM Pulau Pinang bersama para pelajar tahun akhir Rekabentuk &Teknologi Media Baru

CIPTA 2011 UNIMAS, Sarawak bersama para pelajar tahun akhir Seni Halus.

THIS IS NOT AN ASSESSMENT REPORT - TC & THE MASTERS OF VISUAL ART & DESIGN EXHIBITIONS IN USM

TC, u have set a very high and challenging bar for the future Masters students of the USM mixed-mode Masters of Visual Art & Design programme. The show at Galeri DuaPuluhTujuh is exactly the kind of 'research exhibition' that I had been wishing to appear more often in our higher institutions of learning. U have turned that wish into reality. I thank u for that.

You have given your heart and soul in curating 2 shows almost simultaneously. That is a tall order to complete. I could sense your drive, passion and love, which are sadly missing in many art exhibitions today. Of course in doing so, you may come out as annoying for some people, including me (except that I got to whack u by abusing my illusion of power). Well, nobody is perfect. 

Anyhow, I really wish (wish, again) that many more people (especially those who like to lament or babble about the lack of critical inquiries in the local art scene or practice, especially through their rantings, ramblings and writings)) could see the show (and its more finished version at the MGTF). 

I don't know the response from all the 'wali' at the School of the Arts USM. I hope they could be humble enough to shake your hand, give you a pat at the back, say congratulation (sincerely) and thank u a lot for doing USM (and them) a big favour. You deserve those. 

Please, and this is really important, please make sure that all your efforts (and your fellow Masters friends' works) are documented in the book that we planned. MGTF will be more than happy to help.

Meanwhile, do enjoy the fruits of your labour (intangible ones, not tangible). Tangible fruits of our labour (grades, assessments, prizes, purchases etc) are transient, elusive and most of the time, misleading. You know better than me about this. 

Focus on the intangible. Whatever positive frequencies that you have invested for your works during your Masters stint (in spirit, that is) will open, yield and attract likewise frequencies around you in the future. I am seeing a wonderful future ahead for u. You should do the same. 

I offer u my salutation and prayer. U have been a blessed gift to me as a constantly seeking fella.


For visual documentations, see: 


http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.182943565090937.53167.182305428488084

https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Silent-Dialogue-Semicolon-close-parenthesis-/182305428488084 

https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=123130034432517 

RE-VISITING NAJJAR

1990, Carbondale, Illinois, USA..........."Moral Destruction" (based on war in Iraq), mixed-media painting and site-specific installation

I was busy doing my work in the senior Fine Art Studio at the School of Art & Design building at the Southern Illinois University, Illinois, USA, when a man (I presumed another art student) stormed into the studio and asked me excitedly with a strong yet friendly voice, "Are you a Muslim?" 

I was caught by surprise, perhaps mostly by the slang.

What transpired after that encounter, and the eventual friendship that followed, have become one of the fondest memories of my stint in the U.S.A.

We became close friends, collaborators, supporters and partners-in-crime, especially in experimenting with myriads of smelly, non-conventional (if not toxic) materials for our paintings. Najjar became a part of the Malaysian community, and we even adorned him with a traditional Malay suit (complete with songkok, thus making him look rather like an African tribal King) for his wedding. In return, I became a small part of African-American community in Carbondale, teaching summer art classes at a Community Center there.

Najjar taught me more about the U.S.A than Hollywood movies, CNN/ABC news, NetGeo documentaries could. He made me 'experienced' the country that no book can substitute.

As an ex-convict who 're-verted'(his term) to Islam, his face emitted a refreshing aura of a cleansed soul. He taugh me more about faith and Islam than most ustaz, sheikh, imam or self-proclaim preacher could. He taught me more about 'race' or 'ethnic identity'  than any self-serving ethnic hero/savior, cultural activist, policy-maker and opportunist politician could.

Most importantly, he taught me about friendship more than most friends could. 

His energy was contagious, his sincerity touched deep into the soul.

I dont' think I can capture and narrate the experience through words.

It has been 21 years, and I am very proud to know that he has blossomed into a highly influential and respected figure amongst his own circles or networks of people. 

Najjar, today.....

Thursday, May 2, 2011

Najjar Abdul-Musawwir: The BlackArtistNews Interview 

ON THE EVE OF HIS EXHIBIT VOICE FROM A CREATIVE SOUL AT THE AFRICA INTERNATIONAL HOUSE USA/CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ART & CULTURE IN CHICAGO, ARTIST/EDUCATOR NAJJAR ABDUL-MUSAWWIR SPOKE CANDIDLY ABOUT ART, LIFE AND GOOD TIMES.

Najjar Abdul-Musawwir. Courtesy of the artist.

When internationally acclaimed artist, teacher and self-described “community cultural worker” Najjar Abdul-Musawwir speaks, he does so with jazzed dexterity. He rhythmically riffs off a question with perfect pitch and studied precision;  his tone gracefully responds to the moment by either accelerating in excitement or softening in seriousness. And even though his words, at times, expanded the perimeters of a question – not in a bad or confusing way – what the listener ultimately realizes is the artist’s unflinching devotion to his creative and spiritual practices.

BlackArtistNews: I recently came across a book by Debra N. Mancoff titled 50 American Artists You Should Know. Five of the artists listed in this book are African American. Would you like to take a stab at naming who they are?

Abdul-Musawwir: Are they contemporary or historical?

Both.

I would say Romy Bearden. Jacob Lawrence. They probably even have Aaron Douglas. Augusta Savage. Probably Jean-Michel Basquiat. I don’t know how many contemporaries they would have. They probably have Carrie Mae Weems or Howardina Pindell in there. Maybe even Kerry James Marshall.

I'll tell you who they are. Let me know if you agree with the choices.

Okay.

Henry Ossawa Tanner.

Okay. Definitely. Tanner.Yeah.

Romy Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kara Walker.

Ah, Kara Walker. I wrote an essay on Kara Walker.

Yes, I know. And there’s a YouTube clip of you reading an excerpt from that essay and you eloquently discuss why you find her work problematic.

Yeah. I appreciate her technique and approach. I love her father and his work. But in all due respects  the work she was creating at that time and the people who were celebrating it—those individuals – if you look at their background – always reported [on] our work that empowered them and their agenda and their interpretation of history. Those are the ones who are putting the money behind it and showing it and so forth. I know saying that will prevent me from having opportunities with these individuals but that’s not my concern. My concern is as an artist and in our world we’re supposed to have this freedom to critique and assess each another. If the real world says those who are backing it up have a financial investment and you tamper with that financial investment [then] don’t get involved. So it’s very much problematic. Henry Ossawa Tanner is my favorite – in terms of the historical. Of contemporary artists – he just passed – was Al Loving. He was my favorite.

When did he die?

Al Loving passed away in 2005.

It seems like I should know that. But I didn’t.

They had a nice write up – a small write up in the New York Times. But not a lot of people are aware that he passed.

I just recently discovered that Ernie Barnes died [in 2009.]

Yeah, Ernie Barnes passed. In fact I was on the highway travelling and my wife called me and said “Listen, Ernie Barnes, passed today.” And I said, “What?” Ernie Barnes was definitely one of my favorites as well.

I’m sure there is a generation of artists that – whether they realize it or not – were influenced by the work of Ernie Barnes. Most people know his work indirectly as he was the true creator of the paintings attributed to the J.J. Evans character on the TV show Good Times. Did that show have any influence on your interest in art?  

Ah, well see, I liked J.J. – he was a kid who was tapped into his passion – but  actually my interest in art happened as a result of watching my father and cousin sit at the table drawing all the time. My father used to draw these cowboys and horses and I thought that was the coolest thing since Kool-Aid. And then my cousin would create grid drawings from photographs. When he was finished, I would go “How you do that?” That kind of stirred my energy and I found myself trying to imitate [their work]. Also, like most kids I [loved] to draw cartoon characters. I was so engaged in art as a child [it would] get me in trouble. I would be in the library reading art books instead of going to class. It’s just something that’s been stirred within me since I was a child.

I know you teach but have you mentored any artists?

Yeah, I’ve mentored a few artists. Actually I was thinking about one the other day by the name of Esteban. Matter of fact his father just ran for mayor of the city of Chicago. I’ve been very impressed with the things he’s involved in.

Was he a student of yours?

He was student of mine at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) and then they’re some others that I’ve mentored like Najee Dorsey, the founder of [web site] Black Art In America, who I’ve known a number of years. I met him like in the early ‘90’s and I’ve mentored him in terms of painting and drawing.

How long has Black Art in America been online?

Black Art in America – it’s been close to a year or so. And it has grown so fast that I don’t know exactly how to phrase it – they have articles on there for artists, curators, collectors, museum directors and commercial art galleries. It’s a who’s who of black [visual artists] and [it’s a] very active [site.] In fact one of their strong points is that they encourage and engage dialogue and group discussion. It’s really impressive.

So what can viewers expect to see in Chicago between April 15^th and May 15^th ?

Aw man. (laughs) They are going to see the “Muhammad Ali of the Art World.” The “Muhammad Ali of the Art World.” They gonna be [exposed to] what I call a “formal aesthetic” and [viewing it] from the black experience. And I say that because my work is abstract; not representational. I’m looking at African Art [which] and even though [I am] I’m still bringing me to the table. And so on the 15^th there will be some paintings, mixed media art and two pieces that I’m hoping people will enjoy are African stools. Back in 1999 I went to Ghana and had an exhibition [in conjunction] with a conference. I submitted some paintings that I did using African stools as symbols. For instance you have one stool that only a chief can sit on, or only a woman can sit on or only just a grieving person can sit on and I [took] these three dimensional objects and used the idea of them symbolically as inspiration. I’ve always [felt] that abstract painting is the most profound way to approach painting because in the real world we live in the abstract – we don’t really know everything. We only know part of everything. A woman can lie next to a man for fifty years and still not know him. It’s all an abstract: she doesn’t know about him and he doesn’t know about her. That’s why I love Al Loving – God rest his soul – he said its right there in front of our face. [People are] gonna see it’s the idea of preserving a particular part of the black experience. I consider myself as much a part of the African American community in bringing progressive ideas and progressive activities to the black experience as many members of my community who businesses I support. I [also] support their political and social economic interests you know what I’m sayin’? As long as they’re supporting us as a whole as a community, you know? I want my artwork to have a voice [that] hopefully reflects that of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz better known as Malcolm X.  And I hope that it has the energy and the power and the craftsmanship that Muhammad Ali had. When I’m looking for African American Muslim artists there's not many of us in the art community. There are some out there but there aren’t many of us. There’s not a vertical movement. When I say vertical movement, I [mean] targeting universities, contemporary art galleries, museums, and more high-end institutions. Trying to extend [beyond] the commercial gallery and looking at a bigger audience. The show I’m having now at the African International House? That’s not a place you go shopping for art. (laughs) Okay?  You go there to be what? Informed.

Informed and enlightened.

You go there to  have an experience that you wouldn’t normally have anywhere else. It’s a place to be educated. It’s to be broadened. To enhance. Vertical artists who go after those particular venues wind up getting recognized or acknowledged by the historians, the critics and so forth and find themselves in museum collections and also in art history books. And so the reason I’m targeting this I know that’s the audience that’s going to be able to stand the test. Those individuals allow us [and] our artwork to stand the test of time. Meaning that other generations will be exposed to it.

You have some works overseas now. Where?

Not right now. I've been negotiating with a museum over in Malaysia which headed by Hasnul Jamal Saidon. He’s the director of the museum. 

What’s the name of the museum?

Muzium dan Galeri Tuanku Fauziah at the Universiti Sains Malaysia.

How did that come about?

It’s very interesting. I’ve been very active in terms of trying to have more international exhibitions. I had the one in 1999 in Ghana, one in 2008 in Turkey – at their fine art gallery in the capital. I was sending stuff out and Hasnul [saw it] and was like “Wow, it’d be great to have you come over and talk about the African American Muslim artist experience.” He noted that in Japan and Germany there’s an interest in this Muslim African American artist experience and he thought the timing was right and so I said I would love to have a show but he…we’ve been planning this show for two and half, three years because he wants me to do a residency.  So [the plan is] to do a residency at the museum, have an exhibition [of my work] and [present] a lecture. I’m also – and this hasn’t been confirmed to my knowledge – looking forward to doing a lecture at the National Art Gallery there which some say is the equivalent to the Smithsonian here in the States.

Right, right, wow. So you just mentioned being Muslim, were you born Muslim or did you convert?

Actually, I re-verted.

What does that mean?

Well simply said: a Muslim who submits to the creator. And that’s how I was when I was born into this world and other people’s ideas took me away from that. And I returned back to that from which I was created in. So it’s one of those things where [I’ve turned] back to the natural order of things.  The natural order of things in terms of who I am…I don’t submit to political leaders, I don’t submit to religious leaders, I don’t submit to anything, not even my parents, or anyone else and the only thing I submit to is the natural order of things. I adjust and [maintain] balance in my life in [hope] that it will benefit others.

Wow. So it's safe to assume that your spiritual practice definitely informs your art practice.

Without doubt or contradiction.

Do you listen to music while you work?

Man. You ain’t said nothin’ but a word. I dance while I work.

Okay (laughs) what do you dance to then?

Man, that’s a loaded question because it could be Wynton Marsalis or it could be Snoop Doggy Dog. It could be Jazmine Sullivan or Anita Baker; it [depends on] what mood I’m in. I’m a Jazz person, I’m a Blues person, I love music. It depends…if I’m thinking about a particular painting the ideas in my head about what colors I lay out on my palette and I look at those colors and I think about what I’m gonna do and I’m feeling like I need a lot of energy and a lot of marks and [fluency] then I’m gonna put on [some] hype music. I think it was Wynton Marsalis’s brother Branford. He did something that’s rarely seen and that’s a musical artist looking at the work of a visual artist and creating new music.

Oh, you’re talking about “Romare Bearden Revealed.”

Yeah. I play that in my class [and] in my studio.

Don Byron did a beautiful musical epitaph for Jean-Michel Basquiat and when you see it – when you hear it – you’re like…wow. (laughs)

And you know what? It’s funny that you said that because I was in my studio one day and we were talking about that Bearden project and [a] student asked me “If you had one musician to respond to your work and [set it to music] who would it be?” and the first person I thought of was Khari Lemuel in Chicago.

Khari Lemuel. Chicago. Okay.

Yeah, he sings and plays the cello like a bass. I had an opportunity to sit in on his music and his name just [flew] out my mouth.

I’m upset that I didn’t ask you that question!(laughs)

Right. (laughs)

What’s the most important lesson you want [to teach] your students even though they might not understand it now?

You know what? I’m going to have to tell you a story for people to get the meaning of what I’m trying to say.

Okay, the floor is yours.

[What] I want my students to get from me… is [to] have a better perspective [of] the visual world as it relates to people of color. When I say “people of color” I mean African American, Asian American, Native American and so forth and so on. I’ll give you an example: There was a student in my class who was white who cussed me out. He cussed me out in [my] class because he [felt what I was teaching was]”a bunch of bullshit.” He said, “I shouldn’t have to be made to feel guilty because I’m white and you dah, dah, dah-dah”…He’s going off…and so I told him to come back later and talk to me which he never did. Two years after he graduated he calls me from St. Louis and says “You know what? I want to apologize.” Now, I don’t even know who this guy is or was – at first. (laughs) ‘Cause I’ve had quite a few students go off on me like that so I wasn’t sure…so after he explained to me who he was I said “oh, I remember you” and then he said [again] “I want to apologize. Because I took your class and since I’ve been dealing with the art world and I started listening to the way white people talked around me ‘cause I’m white – everything you said [in class] was [actually] happening. [I’m] seeing that it’s true.”

Wooooooowwwww.

He said, “I couldn’t believe that this has been going on.” I said, “don’t worry about it. I appreciate your call and hope you do well in your endeavors.” He called me a year later and told me he left St. Louis to move to Illinois to work at a museum.  And he [invited] me to come to that museum and give a talk on African American artists.

Wow.

Now, check this out: when I got there he showed me a painting done by the [museum’s] founder, Eleanor Mitchell. And it was a painting of an Arab [person] I assume – he was pretty dark and he was holding the Koran – and on the back of the painting it had a first place award that she received from the Corn State Fair in 1963.

Shut up!

Okay? And so here it is this young man [who] cussed me out in my class. He called [again] invited me to be a part of the museum’s anniversary. He asked me to create a piece of art work inspired by something from their collection. Well, before the anniversary exhibit [got off the ground] he left and went to New York.  His replacement called and asked what painting I would like to do from their collection. I mentioned the piece by Eleanor Mitchell. He looked for it on his records and told me it didn’t exist. I said “yes, it exists. It’s in your vault behind some stuff.” He went back there and he found it. He said “wow.” He made the painting an [official] part of their collection.

Wow.

So I created my own version of the painting and they took both paintings and put them on [display.]

How cool is that?

Now, the story’s about to end.

(Laughs)

I get [contacted by] the same student to come to Niagara University in Buffalo, New York to give a talk, a lecture in [conjunction with] a [Basquiat exhibit].

Wow.

So I told him “yes, I would do it” but my talk will be about Basquiat [being] lost in his own backyard.

Hello! (laughs)

(Laughs) So he said “cool” and so [this] young man put me up in a hotel suite with beautiful French doors on the bedroom – I wish my wife was with me. I wasn’t expecting – I was expecting something pretty humble. But mind you, this is the same young man who cussed me out in my class. I didn’t kick him out, didn’t write him up, you see what I’m saying?

Yeah.

Because my job – what I say to myself is that I’m an educator. It’s my job to educate somebody and plant the right information within them like seeds and hopefully they will blossom during the course of their life, and he’s a perfect example of that. So that’s how I can answer that question. You feel me?

Links:

http://artanddesign.siuc.edu/facultystaff/najjarabdulmusawwir.html

9 comments:

Senyo_Twilight said...

Great article. Najjar is legendary and continues to move not only black art, but black culture forward.

May 6, 2011 8:32 AM

cHRISTOPHER M. bOOKER said...

[What] I want my students to get from me… is [to] have a better perspective [of] the visual world as it relates to people of color. This is important, and something that transpired during the time that I spent as your student Spring 11. This interview made alot of sense. I can close my eyes, and see you two gentlemen conducting this interview, at a coffee shop, or on a park bench somewhere. Najjar is moving at an outstanding pace, to bridge the gap between stero types and reality on the "colored" scene. The fact that Najjar completed a prison sentence, and was able to become a college professor afterward is incredible. Good luck with family, and business my brother..-EVADE N SURVIVE

May 8, 2011 12:28 PM

Alotaibi said...

This post has been removed by the author.

May 8, 2011 4:03 PM

Athena Ross said...

Wow...outstanding!!! I remembered Najjar telling us (his Art 227 students) this story about the boy cussing him out. Keep up the good work, even though I am not a painter, sculptor, or quilt maker, Najjar has still inspired me in a way no professor or artist ever has.

May 8, 2011 10:15 PM

Alotaibi said...

Great article. Good luck sir Bakr Alotaibi

May 9, 2011 10:39 AM

Brandon Carr said...

Through the stories told in the interview, it goes to show that he has come a long way as an African American Artist. Art is an important apsect of the black experience. As we develope a better perspective of the subject, we'll have a better understanding of our history and how it may affect our future.

May 9, 2011 11:50 AM

Jessica Krumb said...

As a current student of Najjar's it is so simple to picture his exact demeanor as he speaks during this interview. When he speaks everyone listens, and his tone is so captivating you know what he says has a lot of experience and meaning behind it. The story at the end is so inspiring to me as a young budding artist in my last year of undergraduate study. I can only hope that we can influence his life and artistic vision as much as he influences us.

May 9, 2011 2:58 PM

Ruilong Li said...

Najjar is a good professor who has lots of knowledge in this area.

May 9, 2011 6:02 PM

Faisal almarri said...

great article professor Najjar

Najjar, looking forward to seeing you in Malaysia soon - Hasnul