Have the desire, artists told
Kota Kinabalu: Art should be seen as another tool to raise one’s socio-economic status and standard of living but artists must have the desire to excel instead of looking at it as a quick way of getting money.
Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said the problem with some local artists is their nonchalant attitude and their lack of ambition when it comes to changing their fortune through their art.
“You know, a good quality batik, like the one produced at the Keningau Handicraft Centre could fetch up to RM500 and more. Some exporters actually bought them in bulk and retailed them for RM1,500 each.
“A good and passionate artist would only need to produce three or four pieces of high-quality batik a month and they could already live off the proceeds. All they have to do is spend some sleepless nights producing these works of art,” he said when officiating the 1st Sabah Design Competition 2016 here, Monday.
Some artists however, he said, tend to think only in terms of quantity and not quality when producing something because of over-commercialisation.
He recalled his experience of meeting the world-famous batik designer the late Iwan Tirta whose cheapest product is sold at thousands of ringgit.
Masidi said when he asked Iwan why the extravagant price for a batik shirt, Iwan told him it was because he does not sell shirts, but his art.
“There are differences between a good batik and a plain batik. A good batik is a labour of love while a plain batik is the one you buy because you want to attend a function. So aim to produce a good batik instead of a plain one,” he said.
On another note, he said the competition, which is organised by the KDCA Women’s Council in partnership with Sabah Arts Gallery and Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu, will help to preserve the local cultural heritage and improve its quality so that it would become a marketable product in the international market.
He said Sabah has a lot of cultural heritage that could be showcased to the larger audience but the lack of expertise and desire to commercialise it hinders its progress.
“The objective of KDCA Women Council in organising this competition is to give space to artists to feature their products and add value to their art through this competition which emphasises high-quality and saleable art.
“I believe that Sabah has much cultural heritage which we could further improve and innovate so they could be used to generate higher income to participants and what we need is people with experiences in this field to show us the way forward such as KDCA Business Development Committee Organising Chair Jo Luping,” he said.
Masidi said Luping’s experience in New Zealand is very valuable towards producing the same result locally.
Some of the products, created for the competition, will be put on display at the Sabah Arts Centre if only to convince Sabahans that sometimes, there are things which they have taken too lightly in the past are actually of very high value to some people.
Meanwhile, KDCA Women’s Council Chairperson Joanna Kitingan said the competition aims to celebrate contemporary Kadazandusun design in conjunction with the Kaamatan month.
The competition is divided into two categories namely 2D for paintings and prints and batik of maximum size 100 x 100 cm and 3D for contemporary objects inspired by traditional handicrafts, weaving and basketry of maximum size 100 x 100cm.
The closing date for submission is Sept 1 and selected and winning designs will be exhibited at Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu and Sabah Arts Gallery. For those whose designs were chosen for further commercialisation, a commission will be paid alongside any cash prizes that are to be won.
“Our long-term vision is to innovate traditional Kadazandusun design and transform it into contemporary objects of design, so that we can sell our unique Kadazandusun arts and crafts to an international market,” said Luping.
Through projects such as this competition, she said, they hope to portray and celebrate Kadazandusun culture as well as develop Kadazandusun women artisans and Kadazandusun communities.
“We will start by developing a database of artists and designers through programmes such as this and design competition.
The aim is to eventually market these designs onto an international stage,” she said.
Further information can be obtained by contacting Flavian at 017-8115240 or Elaine at 016-8360127 or email them at kdcawc@gmail.com or find them on Facebook under KDCA Women’s Council.
Source: Daily Express
