Malaysian Art Coming Next

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32336, 30 June 1970, Page 9

Malaysian Art Coming Next

Contemparary art form | Malaysia is to be the! subject of the next tour-; ing exhibition in the Robert McDougall Art Gallery. The exhibition, provided by the National Gallery of Malaysia and sponsored on its New Zealand tour by the Queen Elizabeth Arts Council, contains 136 works in various media by about 50 artists. The exhibition will, in a temporal sense, be one of the most up-to-date overseas shows to visit Christchurch. None of the items is more than two years old, and most were made late in 1968 or early in 1969. But it is something of a surprise packet. Although the McDougall gallery’s director (Mr B. D. Muir) has received catalogues, he has not seen any of the exhibits, and he does not know whether the i works are regional, ethnic or “international” in style—or a mixture of all three. However, the catalogue indicates that it is an interesting show. In a note in the catalogue, the drector of the Malaysian National Gallery (Mr Frank Sullivan) says the show covers all media in use in Malaysia except ceramics. “In seeing such a reprejsentative display of our art it should be remembered that in the fine arts Malaysia is a neophyte among the nations, as our development ; in these fields of expression i really began only 20 years (ago. “For centuries past, music , and song, dance and poetry, and a rich variety of folk ; crafts have been an integral , part of our heritage; but, , strangely enough, this was not the case with the fine ■ arts, such as painting and l sculpture. “In fact, the fine arts in Malaysia can truly be said to i be a direct result of our s birth as a free nation. Since ! World War 11, parallel with - our emergence into full

| national independence, the 'spirit of freedom dramaticialiy exploded in all forms of creative artistic expression. “Malaysian artists, there-! fore, are in a most enviable: position as they are neither: handicapped nor overshadowed by having a long tradition in fine arts either to live up to or surpass. They are lucky enough to have started virtually from scratch. “So it is not surprising that art in Malaysia should be distinguished for its high degree of individuality and variety, very healthy elements indeed in a practising democracy and a highly cosmopolitan multi ■ racial society.” The exhibition, which is on show in the National Gallery in Wellington at present, will open in the McDougall on July 12, and will stay until August 1. Later it will go to Dunedin, New Plymouth and' Auckland.