REFLECTION FROM NAJJAR ON HIS RESIDENCY IN MALAYSIA

Greetings to Everyone,

I have been extremely busy since I've left the States to begin my creative field work, public talks, exhibition, and artist/scholar residency from Morocco to Senegal and Malaysia. The international experience is providing me with a wide range of resources and opportunities to build on in the near future. 

I am presently at the University Science of Malaysia Museum and Gallery Tuanku Fajziah doing a residency and exhibition titled "Muhammad Speaks: Preserving an American Voice." I had the opportunity to discuss my exhibit with a high school class and their teacher. The teacher was somewhat familiar with the African-American Muslim history in America. 

The exhibit is a two gallery show: Preserve is an installation with scan computer treated transfer-process to printing paper posted on the wall with stuff burlap sacks. Six of the sacks are placed under prints, with three sacks on the opposite wall. On the front of the sacks are painted: FREEDOM SHARED SPACE and HARVEST ARTIST MIND. At the end of the gallery, on the wall, there is a seventh burlap sack in the center of eight prints arranged in a square shape, and on the sack the word PRESERVE painted. 

I had the words translated in Malaysian. The second gallery space is Malaysian Connection. This is an installation with prints and technology. On a twenty feet wall, there are two prints at each end of the wall and in the center of the prints is a projected video of me talking and moving from one print to the other referencing it information. On other wall, there is a print that has projected images of the visitors in the gallery space. They become a part of the exhibit. 

The last wall in that space has a large Red, Black, Green, Yellow, Red, White, and Blue square vertical forms representing the African-American flag and the Malaysian flag. This show is an experiment with place, art, and science. 

In addition, I have had the opportunity to meet with the respected Director of the National Art Gallery of Malaysia, and I am schedule to give public lecture the last week of my residency. I am also working on three large paintings in very nice studio space. 

Closing, here are a pic of the studio. Check out the balcony. 

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Thanks to Director/Professor Hasnul Jamal Saidon and his Dean, awesome staff/supports and all other, for their excellent professional assistance in making this artist/scholar residency a building block for greater international relations in the art world. 

I must thank the SIUC School of Art and Design, my Creative Assistant Lavon Pettis for the wonderful work she has done in maintaining the productive operation of career. And a special thanks to everyone. 

(Najjar Abdul-Musawwir, associate professor in the School of Art and Design, poses for a portrait Monday in his studio located in the Glove Factory. Abdul-Musawwir graduated with a Masters of Fine Arts from SIU in 1997 and began his tenure-track position at SIU in 2002. Along with teaching painting, drawing and art history classes, Abdul-Musawwir is an internationally exhibiting artist. “I deal with abstractions as a means to have a discussion on abstract ideas,” Abdul-Musawwir said of his own work. – Brooke Grace | Daily Egyptian)

Media coverage :
http://hasnulsaidon.blogspot.com/2012/11/media-coverage-shows-by-najjar-musawwir.html