Art & Places

  • Art & Places,  Sarawak,  sculpture

    Art & Places: Sarawakians, Sarawak

    Sarawakians

    Named Sarawakians, the sculpture portrays unity in Sarawak. It has a body and many heads. A body depicting Sarawak and many heads depicting the many diversity of Sarawak people and cultures.

    This granite sculpture was sculpted by Robert Yong, an architect, in May 2003 and is located at the main entrance of Sarawak Cultural Village, Santubong, Sarawak.

    I wanted to contact Mr Robert Yong to ask about the creative process but could not find his contact details. If you know him, please do let me know.

     

  • Art & Places,  FT of Malaysia,  Kuala Lumpur,  sculpture

    Art & Places: The Wave, KL

    I was looking for some information about Whale and Dolphins sculpture when Niza told me it might be Abdul Multhalib’s work. I went google-ing his name and came across Arcawam’s blog article about local sculptures in Malaysia where it features Abdul Multhalib. Thanks to the writer/sculptor, Rosli Zakaria, I managed to get information about who sculpted Whale and Dolphins.

    So later, I became interested in finding more information about Abdul Multhalib and his works. From his website, I found out that some of his works are displayed here in KL and jotted down the list on my phone. Last weekend I made that effort (it’s not like I have to take cheap flights to get there, it was just a 20 minutes drive) with my son to go and find one of his outdoor sculptures named The Wave, situated at Wisma Selangor Dredging. But of course, this won’t be the only only as I’ll be making the hunt for his other sculptures when time permits.

    Abdul Multhalib Musa is known for his ‘fluid metal sculptures’ which seem to have been effortlessly carved out of metal. He has been granted numerous international awards and residencies in recognition of the works that he has done. An architect by training, Abdul Muthalib chose to be a sculptor and artist because he loves art more and according to him, he would be doing art and art related stuff, even if he was working as an architect. Using his knowledge in architecture, he created a one-of-a-kind style in his work. This is to bridge the highly technical aspect in architectural work and abstract representation of form more commonly associated to art. Cutting metals for these sculptures may be needing equipment like this Squickmons CNC plasma cutter here.

    Now let’s take a look at The Wave.

    The Wave by Abdul Multhalib Musa.
    The Wave.

    Yassin and the wave
    My son,Yassin, in front of The Wave.

    According to Abdul Multhalib, The Wave reflects the eminent presence of Selangor Dredging Berhad (SDB) over the years, creating a wave in the market that has been sustained since being established in the 1960s. The overall undulating element of the sculpture evokes a strong presence that is responsible in creating this continuous flowing motion. This is the intangible yet prominent force that the SDB exudes to its surrounding environment.

    The mound at the base of the sculpture creates an illusion that the sculpture is rising from the earth. This relates thematically to the history of SDB, beginning as a company that is literally, down to earth. The earth and the mound acts as a firm foundation and rising from this is the artwork, a steel sculpture design that reflects a modern and contemporary style of living. This is in line with the current focus of SDB to promote a better quality lifestyle for the Malaysian public. The sculpture conveys a new direction towards strength and innovation as SDB seeks to build lifelong relationships by being caring and respectful towards their stakeholders, the people and the environment.”

    The Wave was completed in 2006 and was made from mild steel tube. It stands at 2.2m high with 4.8m length x 5.5m width. This work gave rise to another similar work of his; ‘Swell‘.

    If you are interested to see The Wave, do visit Wisma Selangor Dredging, just opposite Angkasa Raya building at Jalan Ampang, very near to KLCC.

    Last but not least, I would like to extend my gratitude to Abdul Multhalib for taking the time to reply my e-mail regarding this particular work of his. Please do check out his works here: ((())) and Inchek Multhalib’s FB.

    Reference:
    http://www.multhalib.com
    Abdul Multhalib himself (through e-mail conversation)

  • Art & Places,  Family travel,  Kuala Lumpur,  sculpture

    Art & Places: Whale and Dolphins Sculpture, KLCC Park

    This Whale and Dolphins have always been intriguing to me. My son loves them and I bet other kids love them too!

    whale01My son (right) and his cousin Idham admiring Whale and Dolphins.

    whale
    Whale up-close.

    dolphins
    Dolphins.

    Whale and Dolphins were created by Australian sculptor, John Underwood in 1997. This multi-layered sculpture consists of a 6 meter high whale and two 2.5 metre dolphins. The concept reminds me of three dimensional topography charts.

    One might be wondering why whale and dolphins? As a mother to a kid whose fascination with these animals is humongous, I think I know why Underwood built these animals here. Whale and dolphin can only be found in certain part of the world but certainly not in Malaysia. He is bringing these animals to the local kids in the form of art. This is to let kids appreciate both the animal and art. This sculpture will spark questions of where the animals came from, the taxonomy, the ecology, the evolution, anything there is to know about them. It is our duty to educate our kids about these animals and maybe someday we can take our kids to see the real ones around the world.

    Bring your kids here to enjoy the shallow swimming pool while admiring great public art. Location: KLCC Park near Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur. View map.

     

    Some reference are from: Arcawam

     

  • Art & Places,  Heidelberg,  sculpture

    Art & Places: Madonna at Kornmarkt, Heidelberg, Germany

    “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” ~Michelangelo.

     

    madonna

    In the case of the beautiful baroque statue above, it was sculpted  by Peter von den Branden in 1718.

    Known as Madonna of the Corn Market (Kornmart in German language), this statue still stands proudly in the Kornmarkt, where she is appreciated not only for her religious meaning, but her artistic as well.

    As Mary (Maria) became the patron saint of Catholic belief in the Palatinate, this statue was built by the Jesuits for The Prince Elector, who was trying to persuade the people of Heidelberg to switch to Catholicism. He failed as many of the Protestants preferred to migrate out of Heidelberg.

    Mary demonstrates three typical characteristics of this period: Queen of Heaven, a virgin and Lady of Victory. She stands with her baby (Jesus) in hand on a gilded round cloud formation supported by four cherubs. The baby has his right hand raised in a blessing gesture wile his left hand holding a spear in the head of the snake dragon which represents the Protestants.

    The statue stands on a pedestal base (7.38m high) equipped with three fountains bowls and was created in red sandstone. Other materials include various metals such as copper, brass and iron.

    Information source:
    Tourism Heidelberg – Madonna of the Corn Market

    Wikipedia – Madonna Kornmarkt
    Databank – Konrmarkt Madonna

     

  • Art & Places,  FT of Malaysia,  Kuala Lumpur,  Malaysia,  sculpture,  TRAVEL/HOLIDAYS

    Art & Places: Dataran Merdeka Fountain, KL

    If you are visiting Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square)  in Kuala Lumpur, do take the time to look for the fountain situated near the flag-pole here. And also, please look at the very interesting details of the fountain.

    Dataran Merdeka Fountain

    Also known as Queen Victoria Fountain, this fountain was imported from England and assembled in 1897. The fountain was originally erected at Market Square, but was moved to Dataran Merdeka (previously known as Parade Ground) upon objection from the police as it obstructed the traffic flow. This fountain was erected as a tribute to the Queen.

    Close-up of QV Fountain

    The base of the fountain is a basin and from the centre, an octagon-shaped marble stones rise to support five tiers of basins and above them, a pinnacle where the water comes out. The basins are decorated with floral and shell reliefs.

    The art nouveau fountain features Heraldic creatures of lions and dragons that I supposed to represent the Victorian empire. Nevertheless, the iconic beasts have been characterized as having the intelligence, loyalty, honesty, and strength necessary to guard what is valued.

    The combination colors of green, blue and brown represents the colors of nature; tree, sky and earth.

    Location: Jalan Raja, 50150 Kuala Lumpur.

     

  • Art & Places,  Kuala Lumpur,  sculpture

    Art & Places: Barong-Barong, KL

    Kuala Lumpur has quite many public arts and I will try to cover as many as I can. This is another interesting looking piece of art that I want to highlight this week.

    barong barong

    Barong-Barong is located at ASEAN Garden, in the vicinity of Tugu Negara, Perdana Botanical Gardens, KL. Barong-Barong is a modern interpretation of old type architecture existing in the whole of ASEAN region. The artist, Jerusalino V. Araos from Philippines made Barong-Barong  from stainless steel and glass in 1987. According to Jerusalino, the structure is a combination of 1,024 joints. It is like a big Lego set that can be taken apart.

    Barong-barong, in general, is a shanty housing constructed from materials that can be salvaged around an area and is built with a degree of speed. Houses being built or rebuilt (after a fire, flood, or other calamities) are also referred to as barong-barongs. In most urban poor areas, particularly those often visited by demolition crews, barong-barongs are the practical housing units; light, recyclable, and easy to build.

    barong-barong (close-up)

    Jerusalino died of heart attack December last year at the age of 68.

  • Art & Places,  Kuala Lumpur,  Malaysia,  sculpture

    Art & Places: Towards Peace, KL

    When I visited Tugu Negara more than a week ago, I also got the chance to explore the ASEAN Garden located at the area. There are many sculptures in the garden and one that I like to highlight first is ‘Towards Peace’, a set of 6 sculptures that were created to present  ASEAN countries, namely Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Phillippines and Malaysia. The sculptures symbolise  the progress of growth, unity, peace and harmony of ASEAN.

    It was officially created in 1987 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of ASEAN (the Association of South-East Asian Nations) by Ms. Han Sai Por, a sculptor from Singapore.

    Towards Peace by Han Sai Por

    Han’s main sculptural expression depicts a sense of contrast between the hard surface of stone and the softness of organic shapes.

    Have you visited ASEAN Garden?