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PUBLIC ART: BAKAT MUDA SEZAMAN 2021 (YOUNG CONTEMPORARY AWARD 2021)


(Image courtesy by Malaysian National Art Gallery, link https://www.artgallery.gov.my/en/young-contemporaries-2021/?lang=en)

Contemporary Art or Public Art cultivates artistic experience between the maker and viewer. It celebrates the people, positioning it as a democratized art exclusively from the public to the public.  

'Bakat Muda Sezaman' is a biennial hallmark event organized by the Malaysian National Art Gallery. The presented theme for BMS 2021 is 'Art on Site'. An interesting approach sensitive towards the current global pandemic situation we find ourselves today. Art on site generates creative challenges towards the artist, within the ability and capacity of utilizing ideas, subject, materials, techniques, as well as content, towards respective location where they addressed themselves. Hence, such interesting event sparks significant curiosity, between expectations of the artist, artwork, authority, and audience. 

TATE Museum within its section of 'Art Term', describe contemporary art term as loosely used to refer to art of the present day and of the relatively recent past, of an innovatory or avant-garde nature

In the cannons of western art history, contemporary art can be identified by at least three (3) operational definition terms, the first is as described by TATE which refers to art of the present day. The second, is described as art after Modern Art (1860-1960), reasonably arts after the 60's, fairly after some of its last movements such as 'Pop Art' . The third, is described as art of the post-war, after the second world war (1938-1945), where establishments of blocs of capitalism vs communism or socialism. Apparently, Contemporary art remains significant towards the development of art, identical towards respective art scenes locally as well as globally.   

Contemporary Art is synonym as an artistic experience which celebrates its audience. The most significant audience on site is the public community itself. In fundamental practice, contemporary art breaks the stigma of art as an exclusive experience solely achieved by the artist, however it engages inclusive experience whereby the audience has the possibility to experience such art by themselves. To certain extent, art and artworks of contemporary art demands interaction by the public, it pierces the physical, mental, as well as emotional being of its audience upon evoking poignant experience which connects the art, artist, and audience. Thus, contemporary art such as public art, conceptual art, installation, performance art, video art, happenings, and many more cultivate such inclusive experience.

Contemporary Art take artistic experience beyond the four corners of the canvas. Contemporarily, art does not have to be confined around a square or rectangular canvas. Art is beyond the the canvas, outside of it, the medium does not dictates the definition of the artwork. The ideas transferred from the maker to the viewer is crucial rather than the material itself trying to frame the art experience. Every art experience is uniquely frame by any other viewer, the ability as well as capacity of the human being to think beyond the box, without being framed to do so, is a huge differences which separates humans from the other multicellular organism. Therefore, such curiosity and creativity sparked by contemporary art enlightens the idea of art towards reciprocal experience, complementing between its maker and viewer organically.

Contemporary Art propagates artistic experience which reflects values towards public community. The extrinsic value of an Art-form produced by the maker is as good as its selected site-specific location. Site-specific artworks, cherishes the sense of identity as well as belonging affecting its public community. Astonishingly, certain public arts become a hallmark identity towards its own location, viewers, tourists, artists, and art enthusiast from all the corners of the world, gathering to embrace magnificent experiences of phenomenal artworks such as, 'Cloud Gate' in Chicago by Anish Kapoor, 'LOVE' in Philadelphia inspired by Robert Indiana, 'Stravinsky Fountain' in Paris, by Niki de Saint Phalle, and many more. In consequence, contemporary art elevates space and place not only by its extrinsic existence, moreover within its intrinsic content value of utilizing, positioning, as well as promoting the locality of a site-specific location. 

In a nutshell contemporary art cultivate artistic experience inclusively, it enlightens the notion of art towards embracing ideas of its maker and viewer reciprocally, as well as it utilize, position, and promotes locality of its site-specific presence, essential in creating economical impacts and attractions, crucial towards the sustenance of a selected site-specific location.

For more information on BAKAT MUDA SEZAMAN 2021 - YOUNG CONTEMPORARY AWARD 2021, do visit: https://www.artgallery.gov.my/en/young-contemporaries-2021/?lang=en




'Keep on Charging!'

MUSADDIQ MOHAMAD KHALIL
Department  of Liberal Studies
UiTM Alor Gajah
PACAQ- UITM RIG 2021



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