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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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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 |
