A Note on Terap Ulang by Teh Weng Jen, an architecture student at Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Room 014

'Terap Ulang' can be directly translated to

'repetitive pressing', name of a foundry just

a walk away from the School of the Arts.

This single storey atelier might seem

inconspicuous to most passer-bys, or even

frequent dwellers, as the wall signage does

not reveal more than its name. But when

most people failed to notice what this place

is, a group of enthusiasts who knew their

ways is here learning to make their worlds;

on prints.

One of these printmaking buffs is Josephine Puah.

Josephine is a student of Graphic Communication, but

extended her Interests In Fine Arts. "I really like

printmaking," she said when asked the reason of being

where she is now. In her final level of mastering Seni

Cetak, Joseph ine beamed with clear pride when she

talked about prints. It is difficult not to be satisfied when

one with passion for printmaking gets to learn in this

well-equipped ; properly maintained workshop. "It has to

be really clean when we print," she started, "So, as you

can see, this studio has been taken better care compared

to others."

Indeed, regarded the best equipped printmaking studio in

the region, Terap Ulang has been a renowned and

communal getaway for artists and students from different

backgrounds to ink. Students gain free, direct access to

the studio with simple conditions - keep it ventilated, keep

clean, keep safe. Windows have to be wide opened before

printing takes place. Aprons and gloves are available to

protect printmakers from noxious chemicals and sharp

tools. "Printmaking takes time, very repetitive and it

demands accuracy," Josephine Introduced some of the

works hanging on the wall. "It's even dangerous because

of the chemicals we Inhale, so maybe It isn't  a very good

idea to linger here." She ended with both of us laughing in

unison .

Some of the printmaking techniques may consume not

just hours, but days, such as stone lithography and

etching. It all depends on the artist's demand. Some of

the other important techniques included intaglio,

drypoint, monoprint, woodcut and serigraphy. Different

techniques and to-be-inked materials yield different

results. It's all up to the printmaker's creativity.

Students of Terap Ulang acquire skills In stages. Seni

Cetak 1 started off with woodcut and linocut; Seni Cetak 2

moves to more challenging techniques such as Intaglio

etching , drypoint and monoprint; Seni Cetak 3 gets to

make tonal prints using lithography, and the famous

serigraphy, better known as silkscreening. Under the

tutelage of Associate Professor A. Rahman bin

Mohamed, students of Seni Cetak 3 are currently going

through the chills and thrills printmaking for their final

projects.

One of them is Jacob, who was making measured

drawings for a printing press when I was brought over by

Josephine to the place he work - Room 104. Jacob is a

familiar acquaintance. I met him during my first years of

university in the Jazz Band . As a man of his age, his

courage of learning is certainly applaudable. He is a

learner that does not seem to ever rest on his laurels.

The printing press he was measuring Just now? Turned

out it was designed and built by himself for his final

project. Alongside with the other huge Charles Brand

etching press in the room , this piece of tabletop press -

anonymous yet - did not look a tiny bit inferior. Fabricated

by Jacob himself, this press was made of used metal

components that he could find anywhere. On top of the

press hanged a little mock-up model Jacob carpentered .

Jobs were done after numerous experiments, and it is

now ready to be brought to it's inaugural printing.

"I want to sell It, but my wife won't, .. he explained, "She

said its the only one."

We sipped on instant coffees and talked

about printmaking, film photography and

arts.

We even talked about architecture.

I get to know the future whereabouts of

these passionate artists-in-the-making .

And I arrived at a point to realise that Terap

Ulang is not merely a foundry to make

prints, but more than that - It forges the

ember of passion in these fellow

printmakers. 

page layout, photography and illustration 
by Teh Weng Jen for the Typography class project

The Studio

 Etching Press

1 Large Motorized Charles Brand Etching Press 36 x 60 inches bed plate
1 Floor Model Charles Brand Press 18 x 36 inches bed plate
3 locally made tabletop etching presses 18 x 36 inches bed plate

Rintis Shift 2013

RINTIS stand for ‘Research and Innovation Towards Integration and Sustainability’. It is an annual exhibition to showcase the final year student’s best artwork in School of the Arts, USM.

Mission

• To introduce School of The Arts and Universiti Sains Malaysia by combining all final year students’ artworks from various art field in School of The Art.
• To promote arts to Universiti Sains Malaysia students, students of Higher Learning Institution, school kids and to the community in and outside of Penang.
• To give exposure to the public regarding the latest designs that could be made and produced by the students of Universiti Sains Malaysia.
• To show the ability of the final year students of Universiti Sains Malaysia is moving forward as the industrial demands.
• To attract the interest and to give chance to the students, and to attract agencies for giving out career opportunities for the students in related field.
• To train the students to communicate with each other in preparing for RINTIS.
• To give opportunities for the final year students of the School of Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia to organize an annual event besides participating in producing the art works to be exhibited in RINTIS.

RINTIS is a platform where fusion of various art and design disciplines such as Communication Graphic, New Media Design & Technology, Product Design, Fine Art, Music and Drama & Theatre will come forth, collaborate and showcase our best artwork

SHIFT symbolically represent our goals to bring the transformation through art, design, media, music and performance with cross-disciplinary approach in championing the needs of creative industry and the sustainability for future generation, especially in this time of rapid convergence of technology and time-based media.

RINTIS SHIFT 2013 will be presented to you in the natural environment of leading learning institutions in Malaysia, where we dig our knowledge, develop our skills and earn our undergraduate degrees.

In conjunction with Rintis, Studio Terap Ulang will hold an Open Studio from Monday May 20th. until Wednesday May 22nd.

All are invited to visit our studio and attend our printmaking demonstrations.

Our guests from Thaksin University, Thailand will demonstrate on the process of aluminium plate lithography .


Some of the photos taken at the workshop/ demonstration

DAY ONE, Monday 20th., May

 Encik Mat Desa making his marks on the aluminium plate

 Guests from Thaksin University, Thailand doing demonstration on the usage of various greasy materials for drawing and painting on the plate.

DAY TWO, Tuesday 21st., May

 Saiful Kadir of Terap Ulang at the press,

All the participants enjoyed the workshop and demonstrations very much!

Universiti Sains Malaysia - Thaksin University Printmaking Workshop and Exhibition

Elizabeth Briel

 Elizabeth Briel, an American artist/ writer spent three months in the year 2011 at Studio Terap Ulang as a resident artist. Above Picture : Elizabeth making paper in Thailand.

Cyanotype Workshop With Elizabeth Briel

Cyanotype is her medium of choice. During her residency at Terap Ulang, Elizabeth conducted several workshops and demonstrations on cyanotype to students at the School of The Arts, USM as well as to the communities off campus.

 Workshop in conjunction with the2 nd.  International Performing and Creative Industries [ PACIA ] Seminar

 Participant developing the print

 Elizabeth installing her in-progress exhibition at Galeri 26, USM.

 Working on her large negative transparency for her final art piece

Juhari Said

Juhari Said, Resident Artist / Creative Fellow at Studio Terap Ulang in the year 2009.

Juhari Said Website link

Juhari giving final touches for his "Samudera" series

Samudera

Juhari concluded his residency at Terap Ulang by having a solo exhibition at the Tuanku Fauziah Museum and Art Gallery , USM, entitled "Samudera" [ The Ocean ].

	Notes to the Ocean
	by Safrizal Shahir Seeing the Heartstrings In the context of modern Malaysian art, the position of Juhari Said as a committed and specialised printmaker is undeniable. After 25 years as a professional artist specialising in creating prints, Juhari Said has built a distinguished reputation in the discipline. Since the 1980s, the mutual-bond between printmaking and Juhari Said has been most intimate. It is easy for any observer, follower or researcher to gather this deep co-relation. It is also not overreaching to say that any discourse on Malaysian printmaking will eventually lead us to the artist Juhari Said or his works, and vice-versa. His unassailable position as master printmaker can be attributed to Juhari Said’s unwavering sight towards obtaining print specialisation by sheer consistence and attention to specifics. Such single-mindedness is a choice that itself may not appeal to some artists. Yet, the way of istiqamah or unwavering path in the search of Truth—yields secrets and meaning, given patience and time. Yet, in the local experience, many artists avoid giving such specific, single-minded effort to any one particular genre. This writing attempts to briefly discuss such devotion in order to discern the fundamental questions as to how and why Juhari Said and his works came to be within the context earlier cited. What are the motivations or themes that drive his soul to the singular pursuit of printmaking? Truly such core question has been the staple of study by art scholars down the ages. Georgio Vasari had repeatedly enquired on the ‘motivations’ that resulted in Michelangelo being labelled a ‘mad artist’ creating works of such ‘madness’. Yet, the explanations that persistently come-forth are not easily ingested nor are they consistent. It is not one that can be measured scientifically. The irony is that such phenomenon occurs all too often, and certainly in the case of Juhari. The consistency Juhari Said applies in printmaking has led him into a journey of self-discovery. This endeavour is not limited to just attaining the technical adeptness through which the artist attains the status of master printer. In actual fact, the resulting outcome sees the spirit, aspiration and motivation of the artist uncovering something that is very much personal and intimate. To this writer, it is such phenomenon and where character takes root in artistic exploration that what renders an artist special and important. The resulting works are travel notes, reflections of that journey. They rest and reside within the soul and thinking of the artist himself. On the exterior, we speak of themes used by the artist alongside his ideas, style, influences, technique and such. Yet what is his biggest motivation, so overwhelming that it causes all that is apparent to come into being? In this aspect, the question to ponder is what, for over the past 20 years, has driven Juhari Said to entrench himself in printmaking, with no sign of possible retreat or waning in his appeal of it. By the usual academic measure and reaction of art scholarship, researchers will study the variables to the phenomenon. Tools are devised to grasp and examine the situation. Indeed there have been many research methods created and applied for explaining the artistic situation. Through structured means, the researcher makes enquiries to the artist, people surrounding him or observe social factors that influence an artist to all ends. We can certainly attempt this, yet this writer is more inclined towards exploring the fundamental humanity of the individual in question. No different from the question put forth by Paul Gauguin in 1897 in the seminal writing piece titled “Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?” These fundamental questions are most fascinating when viewed within the context of identity and life-journey of a steadfast artist like Juhari Said. In a way, it can narrow down to the inspiration, motivations or any instrument that has stimulated him to become the artist that he is. This writer will not prolong such questions in this essay for it warrants another in-depth study by itself. This brief observation, in moderation, serves only as an appetizer to the main course headed for by this essay.  The Stage of Intimacy Observing the artistic exploration of Juhari Said, one is struck by the relationship Juhari Said has had with wood. On the surface, this relationship seems to be due to the simple fact that he started out twenty years ago by utilising wood blocks in the making of his art. Undeniably, the indulgence into woodcuts resulted in specialization—with all its inherent benefits—and thus we began to see his reputation grow. Woodcut blocks enabled him to explore a variety of methods and techniques. Yet as we go a deeper into Juhari Sad’s background and life experience, we see that wood has always been an instrument that is intimate, important, critical and comfortingly familiar to the artist. His late father, a carpenter skilled in building Malay houses, forged the early bonds between the artist’s and the wooden material. Juhari himself notes how as a child he would often watch his father at work building their family home. There is no clearer indication than this of what started Juhari Said’s lifelong regard for the material. From the 1980s, Juhari Said’s works has displayed the uniqueness of wood, whether as an instrument, a feature or highlighting its inherent qualities. This observation is inevitable given Juhari Said’s focused fascination with woodcut printing. His early works in the series ‘Death of The Princess dan Garden’ saw the first explorations of the material’s qualities. Between 1985 and 1987, through the Garden series and other works, we saw Juhari Said focusing on wood characteristics as an instrument or tool to realize his vision. In formalistic manner, the attention to form took the works onto their own unique place. The wood characteristics became the main vehicle for presentation of the works and stamped unique traits to the created forms. Wood or wood blocks thus became Juhari Said’s chosen material for his printwork. His focus on woodcut printing again brought his vision to higher ground, as exemplified by the body of works created during a Japan Foundation fellowship-stint in Japan in 1994. By the mid 1990s, Juhari had endeavoured to produce works that fused wood and the wood characteristics itself as elements of the final created form. Eventhough he had at this juncture of his career, embarked on a radical experimentation and exploration, the elements of wood kept appearing across his works. The intimacy of woodcut print flared again in 1997 when the artist began exploring old Malay proverbs and idioms. Wood took the highest position, and a critical one at that, in the creation of images. His works in the Okir exhibition showed wood elements making a distinct departure from previous efforts, signaling also Juhari Said’s entry into a different phase and paradigm. Penyapu Diikat Sutera This writer feels there is indeed ‘something’ in this bond Juhari has with wood. It is like an echo, a yearning, perhaps even an assertion of his Self. The intimacy between him and wood is a fascination that leaves it own imprints, especially after it has been harnessed to a state of creation yielding various forms. The long intimacy between the artist and wood has brought Juhari Said to explore creativity, identity and meaning varying throughout his artistic life-journey. Certainly, many views can be extricated out of the relationship between Juhari Said and wood in the context of his creative work. Studies from the aspect of sociology, culture, psychoanalysis or at least formalistic approaches will yield a rich context to the matter in question. Challenging Borders The works displayed in this exhibition is the culmination of a process different from the usual techniques and process often associated with printmaking. Juhari Said’s approach in the latest body of works is a continuation of the exploration undertaken since his Garden series of the 1980s. Printmaking as a medium of expression in visual arts has been raised and moved to a more critical axis in terms of definition, form, basic principles, technique and concept. In a way, this situation reflects the modern art’s desire for innovation and novelty. The duality of modern art that celebrates modern ideologies with new forms of expression while at the same time stimulating criticism of itself has resulted in the character and form of the modern art itself. The paradigm of self-criticism adopted by art movements down the ages has been lifted by post-modern art to a highly critical level. The nature and character of printmaking with its great emphasis on technical order is   harnessed by Juhari Said as the main pulse of his latest exploratory works. Going down  the history of printmaking, it becomes obvious that it is not easy for an artist to aggressively pursue innovations in the print final presentation or techniques. For example, the intaglio process such used in engravings of 15th century Italian and German artists, is still in force today, and accepted as a permanent technique of printmaking. This permanence and convention became the cornerstone of Juhari Said’s attempt to give new value and character to the print form and character itself.   The basics of printmaking necessitates a prime matrix or block that is then used to print as many copies as needed. Based on this principle, Juhari Said begins to impart new interpretations and values in perception, form and techniques of the printed artwork itself. In this latest body of work, Juhari Said has deployed the use of the matrix or block itself as the main focus. In the process of embossed printing, serigraphs, intaglio (impression) and also lithography—specific focus is given by the artist to the block or matrix because it is with this that all printed images will be produced. The specific attention given includes aspects of cutting, scratching, drawing, chipping or whatever techniques needed until the desired image is formed. There is also thought given to the placement of colour. From this ‘finished’ block or matrix, all copies will ensue either printed on paper or other formats. In this new series, Juhari Said had applied new interpretations and values in the preparation of the block or matrix itself. In other words, the matrix IS the artwork itself. Juhari Said does not merely print with the prepared block, but also exhibits the block. This takes place because Juhari Said intends—while still grounded within the conventions of the medium—to broaden the definitions and interpretations of printmaking techniques. This conveys the message for the observer to emphatise and understand the printmaking process first before connecting to the resultant image. Okir In many ways, the exhibition takes a critical tone expecially in its presentation of forms and creative interpretation. Juhari Said has thrown a different interpretation when he gave indication that these works are a particular form of printed art. Conventional print art only exhibits the resulting print from the block or matrix. In terms of technical definition, the block or matrix is already a part of printed form itself. At a deeper level, Juhari Said is broadening the limits of printmaking and its practice with this new interpretation based on printmaking’s own conventional technicalities. While every work of print art requires a block or matrix, Juhari Said has build a new bridge to expand the potential of printmaking in terms of its presentation. As mentioned oft times before, the field of printmaking is too staunch in the rigidity of the technical process—it stands accused of being too faithful to conventions for any courting of re-interpretations to take place. Any deviation or change in technique may easily lead to disqualification of the resultant work as printmaking art. This has resulted in a slower growth for printmaking as compared to painting or sculpture. Back to the artworks of Juhari Said in this exhibition, we may ask: what is really printmaking art? Is there such a thing as ‘new’ printmaking art? Could this be an alternative form of printmaking? Or is it clearly, that these works are not printmaking art at all. The answer to all these questions depends on the viewpoint of the observer. It is also tied to currently applied interpretations and definitions, which in turn link themselves to particular ideologies. This writer reckons that if these works are aggregated into the field of printmaking, they pose a critical and challenging proposition. Different though if they are regarded as sculpture or installation art. After perusal of the fundamentals to these works, the writer opines that if they are defined as print art, then they satisfy print art characteristics and features only in the conceptual-sense. This is because Juhari Said has clearly grounded these works upon the central ideas and definitions of printmaking itself. That is, Juhari Said moves upon the basis of block exploration and matrix, very crucial elements in printmaking. This becomes relevant and significant in terms of the interpretation of printmaking definitions. In these terms, these works produced are indeed print art, the outcome of a conceptual interpretation of printmaking’s technical order and physical requirements. Which also means these works are highly critical, successful and progressive in concept.  Yet, even as we used the same conceptual approach to defining these works as print art, they themselves do not comply to the technicalities and principles of printmaking. Thus, a different analysis occurs here when, out of necessity of timespace and changing technology, we begin to adopt a different ideology. We can use the analogy of still film, celluloid, magnetic tape and digital data. Any change in old forms will give a new outlook to the future. Any change may bring about a new school of thought, character and open a new world for the heir of an old lineage. In the debate of printmaking definitions and interpretations: conceptual, technical and principles—a new space is required to discern the issues and questions at hand, critically and in-depth. Visual Glimpses Back to the latest works of Juhari Said, now displayed in this exhibition titled Samudra (in Sanskrit, meaning ‘ocean’); it is physically apparent that these new pieces are different from his previous works. One gets a bigger ‘sense’ of exhibition from these new pieces.  Sense in terms of shape, colour, thread and space. The difference can sometimes feel like a break in the tone of Juhari Said’s other bodies of work that are predominantly black and white. Clearly outstanding is the primary shape of the art forms themselves that resulted from an application of cubes and layered wood. A portion of the created vertical organic forms remind us of basic features of epigraphs and megaliths that has existed for millennia in South-East Asia. Delima, wood & oil paint, 208 x 40 x 8 cm., 2009 The closest example would be the sword-like megalith of Pengkalan Kempas. Conversely, the lined impressions and wood carvings seem to be a continuation of traditional carvings practiced for over 500 years in Nusantara (South-East Asia). From a visual context, the works of Samudra while may be seen as having a Western axis, yet reverberating behind and throughout the forms across the entire body of work is the Nusantara soul. Wood and ceramic, the most familiar elements in traditional Nusantara art, have similarly become the basic staples of the works in Samudra. This represents the lineage of the main protagonist to his artistic traditions. Juhari Said’s struggle to accomplish his block or matrix is clearly inscribed in every slash, cut and the application of multi-layered colours. Once again the observer is exposed to the process of printmaking, and this exposure that in itself is unique. Unique because we are faced with an artwork that printmaking itself regards as unconventional. This peculiarity in a way has liberated the art piece from the confines of the paper or even the print machine. In another aspect, the applied printing techniques have been raised to become the main theme of this entire effort to progress and liberate printmaking itself. Safrizal Shahir Taken from the Samudra Catalogue, published by Pusat Pengajian Seni dan Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah, Universiti Sains Malaysia Penang, 2009