Friday, May 18, 2012
Art Radar Asia : What the ballet ban means for contemporary art in Malaysia in 2012
LINK: http://artradarjournal.com/2012/04/18/what-the-ballet-ban-means-for-contemporary-art-in-malaysia-in-201/
What the ballet ban means for contemporary art in Malaysia in 2012
CONTEMPORARY ART LAW GOVERNMENT
In
early April 2012, the Malaysian government cancelled a ballet show due
to, by some accounts, the “revealing” outfits that were to be worn by
the performers. Just how pernicious is censorship in Malaysia, and what
does this mean for Malaysian contemporary art?
Vienna Parreno and Krzysztof Osinski, 'Self Mark 1', 2004, type
photograph mounted on aluminium. One of the censored works in the
Malaysian leg of the travelling show "Open Letter".
Though their account is still disputed by government officials, some local critics are claiming that the Singapore Dance Theatre performers’ visas were denied because
of concerns over the “indecency of their costumes”. This was not the
only incident of censorship in Malaysia this month. After a post on the
Department of Information’s Facebook page seemingly outlined a
“directive” for media outlets to stop depicting LGBT (lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender) characters,Information, Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yaim confirmed that there was a guideline in development to avoid portraying LGBT figures on screen.
Igan D'Bayan, 'Gothika Filipina 2', oil on canvas.
With censorship in popular media and performing arts seemingly on the
rise in Malaysia, has the Muslim majority nation’s morality crusade
impacted the visual art world as well? There is certainly no shortage of
examples.
In a 2006 travelling show of Southeast Asian-born artists living in Australia entitled “Open Letter”, two works by artist Vienna Parreno were removed and
a third installation piece altered for the Malaysian leg of the
exhibition. The reason was ostensibly because they depicted nudity. The
pieces were removed from the exhibition without consulting the artist.
The National Art Gallery in Kuala Lampur, the exhibition venue, removed
the works without consulting or even notifying the artist.
In another case, after painter Igan D’Bayan was invited, along with nine other Filipino artists, to be included in the Asian International Art Exhibition from
November 2009 to January 2010 at the National Art Gallery, his work
‘Gothika Filipina 2′, a macabre take on Grant Wood’s iconic ‘American Gothic‘, wasremoved from the show for depicting, “the secret part of a woman”.
And censorship’s impact on visual art is not limited to the works themselves. Foreign arts publications such as ArtForum often
find their content censored by the Internal Affairs Department before
hitting bookshelves. On the (now seemingly defunct) site Censored in Malaysia, the blogger posts pictures of delayed editions of the Financial Times with the arts images blurred to remove nudity or smoking.
Gan Tee Sheng, 'Exhibition I', 2009, oil on canvas. Part of the
exhibition "Blank Page", which looks at the relationship between
contemporary art and censorship in Malaysia.
The issue lies in a debate over how modern Malaysian culture is to be
defined. Though the Malaysian constitution guarantees free speech to all
citizens, it also allows for government intervention to protect the
safety of the nation, a loophole that has given the government license
to shut down artwork they deem harmful to the culture or morality of
Malaysia. The primary means of control is through the issuance of
licenses and permits, forcing galleries and other outlets to consider
their economic interests and long-term survival, with many ultimately
choosing to toe the line and self-censor.
Such was the case when Valentine Willie Fine Art removed a multimedia piece by artist Fahmi Reza that satirised the then new prime-minister Najib Razak.
The gallery removed the artwork quickly after the opening to pre-empt
any “complaints” that might threaten the enterprise. The relative dearth
of independent exhibition spaces in Malaysia also weakens the position
of those who hope to push the boundaries of what is deemed acceptable.
Screenshot of the website of censorship-free Malaysian gallery, Minut Init.
The censorship policy is nearly monolithic. However, Chinese and Indian
ethnic minorities as well as the moderate Muslim community often push
back against what they see as oppressive restrictions that stifle
creativity and growth. Censorship cases are often followed by vocal
outcries from the arts community. Other institutions with less public
exposure or reach have also hosted controversial exhibitions.
Wei-Ling Gallery has organised several exhibitions that should have run afoul of the country’s censors, such as “Blank Page“, which invited artists to directly address censorship in their practice, or the provocatively-titled “What’s Your Porn?” Established in 2010, Minut Init gallery was founded on the principle that “freedom of expression is paramount, sans censorship or discrimination”.
As Southeast Asia’s presence in the international contemporary art
community continues to grow, it remains to be seen whether censorship
will be a major hindrance on the path to global recognition.
PR/KN/HH
Thursday, May 17, 2012
June: Wow's Minut Init Article
June:Wow
We Are Not A Blog
karm says:
awesome find, june:wow! never knew it existed…and so close to home!June says:
You will love it Karmy!
