Page 71 - The Guide To Malaysia 9th Edition

THE GUIDE TO MALAYSIA 67
Royal Selangor Pewter’s showroom at Pavilion KL. Pewter has played an important role in Malaysia’s industrial and artistic history.
Semenanjung artists, who would play a pivotal role
in developing modern Malaysian art. They were followed by the mid-20th Century Wednesday Art Group (WAG), led by Peter Harris, British Malaya’s first art superintendent. Harris organised weekly gatherings for fledging artists to hone their craft in an atmosphere of bohemian camaraderie that was reflected in their works. Key artists, such as Cheong Laitong (creator
of the Venetian glass
mural façade of Malaysia’s National Museum), Sivam Selvaratnam and Patrick Ng were all WAG members.
Proper art schools soon mushroomed, catering to a growing demand for formal art education. Malaysian Institute of Art and Institut Teknologi MARA (now Universiti Teknologi MARA) were among the earliest,
young Chinese migrant, in
a simple shop on 23 Cross Street, Kuala Lumpur, where he sold pewter incense burners and Chinese prayer items. His company has since grown into a global enterprise that crafts everything from utilitarian wares, such as plates and goblets, to decorative
and personal items like
tie pins, money clips and even superhero figurines. Royal Selangor’s Visitors Centres in Setapak Jaya and Penang are great places to get up-close-and-personal with this slice of Malaysian history. Guided tours are held daily, and visitors may enroll into their ‘School of Hard Knocks’ to handle pewter and take home their very own pewter bowl as a souvenir.
Fine Arts
The history of fine arts
in Malaysia begins in the twentieth century. Largely spurred by the accessibility of international travel,
young Malaysians set sail for Europe, to undergo formal art training and become inspired by seeing Picassos and Monets at first hand.
Oil painting flourished in the earlier part of
the twentieth century. Artists that drew on
this largely Occidental tradition included the Nanyang Artists and later the Angkatan Pelukis
An exquisite detail from the Essence Of Culture series by Awang Damit Ahmad, a highly regarded artist and art educator.