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May 14

AKTIVITI 13 MEI 2012 GALERI PERSADA KG BUDAYA SARAWAK

Sejarah Awal Seni Visual (I) Terdapat kepercayaan bahawa pengembara- pengembara Eropah dan Inggeris telah meminta pelukis-pelukis negeri-negeri Selat yang berketurunan Cina atau Melayu untuk melukis gambaran kehidupan tempatan yang bermotifkan flora dan fauna. Ini disebabkan oleh minat mereka atau sebagai rekod sejarah. Lukisan-lukisan dan catan-catan tersebut banyak ditempah oleh pegawai-pegawai Syarikat Hindia Timur yang ditempatkan di Malaya. Pihak Inggeris telah memperkenalkan genre lukisan/ catan lanskap dalam aliran Realisme, zaman Pre-Raphelites, Turner dan Constable. Ini telah berterusan sehingga abad ke 19 apabile Seni Eropah terutamanya Seni Perancis mula memberi kesannya kepada seluruh rantau dengan pergerakan-pergerakan seni seperti aliran Impresionisme, Kubisme, Surealisme, Futurisme dan Konstruktivisme. Sumbangan golongan Cina kepada perkembangan seni Malaysia dan Singapura berpunca daripada pendatang dan pelawat Cina seperti Xu Beihong yang telah bermastautin di Pulau Pinang untuk beberapa tahun. Mereka juga telah berkunjung ke Singapura untuk sesuatu jangka masa. Mereka telah menerima pendidikan dalam lukisan berus Cina dan kaligrafi di China. Pada mulanya penghijrah-penghijrah awal dari China adalah untuk mencari sara hidup. Seni halus tidak pernah difikirkan . Hanya selepas mereka bertapak kukuh dan berjaya dalam kehidupan, barulah terdapat beberapa penghijrahan berdasarkan kretiviti artistik mereka. Terdapat yang terlibat dalam pendidikan Seni dan ada pula yang menjadi pelukis amatur. Antara yang berjaya dalam bidang seni ialah Lee Kah Yeow, Wang Yau, Reverend Chuk Mor, Reverend Pak Yuen, Chai Horng, Chung Hong Kong dan Zhen Wei Sin. Kesimpulannya pada awal tahu 1920an terdapat pelukis yang mempamerkan hasil karyanya. Pameran seni lukis yang terawal di singapura ialah pameran Lian Xiao Oh pada tahun 1924. Disusuli pula dengan pameran pastel He Qui Qo pada tahun 1926. Aktiviti-aktiviti seni yang awal di Pulau Pinang bermula apabila pengasasan Pulau Pinang pada tahun 1786 oleh Sir Francis Light di bawah Syarikat Hindia timur. Pelukis-pelukis Inggeris yang tinggal di Pulau Pinang gemar melukis pemandangan laut dan keindahan alam semulajadi pulau itu. Kemungkinan terdapat pelukis tempatan yang membekalkan lukisan-lukisan kepada para penaung Syarikat Peniagaan Eropah. Perkembangan seni lukis moden boleh dikesan sehingga tanuh 1920an semasa kumpulan penang Impressionist ditubuhkan. Kumpulan ini terdiri daripada ekspatriat Eropah yang kebanyakannya merupakan surirumah bangsa Inggeris. Disebabkan sikap-sikap kolonialistik pada masa itu, pelukis-pelukis tempatan Pulau Pinang tidak dibenarkan menyertai Penang Impressionist. Dua orang pelukis tempatan yang diterima menganggotainya ialah Puan Lim Cheng Kung dan Abullah Ariff. Abdullah Arif diterima dalam kumpulan itu kerana perkhidmatan beliau sebagai pendidik seni diperlukan, manakala Puan Lim pula isteri seorang jutawan yang dapat memberi sokongan kewangan.Tahun 1920an merupakan peringkat yang penting dalam sejarah seni lukis Pulau Pinang. Yong Mun Seng telah datang ke Pulau Pinang dari Singapura dan mendirikan studio seninya. Pelukis pertama yang mengadakan pameran seni lukis di Malaysia adalah Ooi Hwa yang telah mempamerkan karya-karyanya di Pulau Pinang pada tahun 1927. Ooi Hwa dan Lee Cheng Yong mungkin merupakan pelukis pertama yang pergi ke luar negeri untuk mempelajari seni di Akademi Seni Halus Shanghai. SITC (Sultan Idris Training College) ditubuhkan pada tahun 1922. Mata pelajaran Pendidikan Seni diajar di samping subjek-subjek lain. Komponen subjek Pendidikan Seni diajar bersama-sama dengan pertukangan tangan seperti membuat bakul dan lain-lain seni pertukangan rakyat ketika itu. Sukatan Pelajaran yang digunakan adalah pelajaran menggunakan mengkuang untuk membuat bakul bagi tahun pertama. Mereka dikehendaki mencipta corak-corak baru dengan menggunakan rotan dan buluh. Kerja-kerja tahun pertama disambung pada tahun ke dua dan penggunaan rotan dan buluh adalah lebih meluas lagi pada tahun ke tiga. Buku teks yang digunakan ialah ’Kitab Rajah-rajah Anyaman’ oleh guru anyaman Mr. W. Olaguera. Penuntut-penuntut diberi pilihan untuk pertukangan kayu bagi melatih membuat perabot-perabot seperti meja kecil, almari buku, tongkat dan sebagainya. Dalam tempoh tiga tahun terdapat enam kelas pertukangan kayu. Pilihan seterusnya adalah menjilid buku di mana hanya sebahagian kecil penuntut tahun tiga sahaja yang mengikutinya. Menganyam jaring bagi permainan bola sepak, hoki dan bola tampar. Pertukangan tanah liat di mana hanya sebilangan penuntut sahaja dipilih untuk belajar membuat tempat bunga, periuk dan lain-lain daripada tanah liat. Pada tahun 1935, sekumpulan pelukis di Singapura merupakan penuntut Sekolah Seni Halus Shanghai, Sekolah Seni Shanghai dan Universiti. Mereka telah menubuhkan Salon Art Studies Society yang kemudiannya ditukar kepada Persatuan Pelukis-pelukis Cina. Persatuan ini menumpukan perhatian kepada perlaksaan pameran karya-karya pelukis asing, terutamanya karya pelukis-pelukis HongKong dan Cina. Pelukis tempatan turut diberi peluang untuk meluaskan pengalaman. Pameran tahunan mereka telah menjadi tradisi berterusan tanpa sebarang sekatan melainkan pada tahun-tahun peperangan 1942 hingga 1945. Ramai ahlinya merupakan staf Akademi Seni Halus Nanyang. Akademi Seni Halus Nanyang diasaskan pada tahun 1938 oleh pengetuanya, Lim Hak Tai. Lim Hak Tai, seorang pelukis ternama dan berwawasan memperkembangkan kesenian dengan menubuhkan institusi yang pertama dan paling lama di Singapura. Di antara pelukis-pelukis terkenal yang menjadi tenaga pengajar ialah Cheong Soo pieng, Georgette Chen Li Ying, Chen Wen His dan Chen Chong Swee. Para pelukis ini telah datang ke Singapura selepas Perang Dunia ke Dua. Mereka dilatih di akademi-akademi Seni di Shanghai, kanton dan Amoy. Mereka juga didedahkan kepada pengaruh modenis aliran-aliran di Paris. Pelukis-pelukis Nanyang memainkan peranan yang besar dalam perkembangan tradisi seni moden di Malaysia dan Singapura melalui aktiviti-aktiviti mereka. Mereka terkenal kerana menggabungkan konsep Barat dan Timur dalam hasil karya mereka, yang kemudiannya dikenali sebagai Nanyang. Apabila Cheng Yong kembali pada tahun 1932, beliau mengadakan pameran solo di Philomatic Union, Acheen Street. Pameran ini telah memberi kesedaran kepada pelukis-pelukis tempatan yang telah melukis bersendirian dan tidak sedar akan kewujudan pelukis-pelukis lain. Pada tahun 1936, pelukis-pelukis Cina telah berkumpul di bawah pengaruh Yong Mun Sen, dan menubuhkan Kelab Seni Lukis Cina Pulau Pinang. Di antara pengasas kelab ini termasuklah Lee Cheng Yong sebagai Presiden, Yong Mun Seng sebagai Timbalan Presiden, Quan Kuan Sin sebagai setiausaha, Tay Hooi keat sebagai bendahari dan Kuo Ju Ping, Tan Seng Aun, Tan Gek Khean serta Wan Fee sebagai ahli jawatan kuasa. Mereka telah mengadakan Pameran seni dan Fotografi yang pertama. Kebanyakan karya yang dipamerkan adalah mengikut aliran Realisme Barat dan Post Impressionism di samping beberapa lukisan berus Cina tradisional. Pelukis-pelukis di seluruh Malaysia dan singapura telah diundang untuk menjayakan pameran ini. Pada tahun 1937, kumpulan Penang Impressionist yang mengadakan pameran tahunan secara tetap, telah menjemput ahli-ahli Kelab Seni Lukis Cina pulau Pinang. Jemputan ini amat menggalakkan pelukis-pelukis tempatan memberi sumbangan yang positif. Pameran ini merupakan pameran terakhir Penang Impressionist sebelum dibubarkan sebelum bermulanya Perang dunia Kedua. Kebanyakan ahlinya yang aktif telah pulang ke Eropah atau pun telah dipindahkan. Kelab Seni Lukis Cina Pulau Pinang telah mengadakan dua atau tiga lagi pameran di bawah pimpinan Lim Cheng Ean (ayah P.G. Lim dan Lim Kean Siew, pengumpul karya seni) dan seterusnya dipimpin oleh Ong Keng Seng. Ketika peperangan, aktiviti-aktiviti pertubuhan terpaksa diberhentikan untuk sementara waktu kerana kawalan keselamatan yang dikenakan di kawasan desa dan pantai. Akhirnya, pertubuhan ini dibubarkan sebelum kemaraan jepun pada tahun 1941. Pada tahun 1949, persatuan seni Singapura telah ditubuhkan oleh beberapa ekspatriat seperti Dr. Gibson-Hill yang mengetuai Raffles Museum and Library, Richard Walker yang merupakan pengetua Seni Sekolah-sekolah Singapura, Francis Thomas iaitu guru Sekolah St Andrews, Suri Mohgani iaitu pelukis tempatan dan Liu Kang yang juga Presiden persatuan tersebut. Walau pun Liu Kang bukan seorang guru seni beliau disanjung tinggi sebagai pelukis yang cekap dan penglibatan aktifnya dalam Persatuan Pelukis Cina dan Persatuan Seni Singapura. ((PETIKAN DARI AZIZE M YUSOPH ESENI VISUAL)

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Mohamad Zawawi

May 02

Eastern European Tour - Karlovy Vary the Spa City.

Today is actually the second day of our tour in Europe. We were up early for our Subuh prayers which is about 5 am local time which is about 11 am in Malaysia. Unfortunately breakfast is only possible at 7 am local time and having woke up at 5 am, there is no way I could go back to sleep. At the Derby hotel in Karolavy Vary, wifi connection is only available at the lobby area on the first floor. There is little that I can do before breakfast.

Breakfast at the hotel is always an enjoyable meal. The breakfast spread is great in most of the hotel where we stayed. It will be good enough to supply the energy for the whole morning.
Immediately after breakfast we strolled around the hotel area. En. Baharom and his wife joined us. Having done the same on the evening before after arrival, I knew full well what to expect and to see.

During the morning walkabout around the hotel area before leaving for the Spa City I saw these two police couple who were on their beat. They obliged our request for a photograph with them.

Further down the road we met these not so female persons in the midst of preparing their stall for the roadside sale. They were so happy to be photographed. They must have felt that I have failed to detect their true gender. Their protruding voice box on their throat and their voices were a dead giveaway.

Though the Spa City was just a twenty minutes ride by car from our hotel, the bus ride through the hilly and winding road took us through posh areas and crossing a very clean and beautiful river. This is the river that will pass through Spacity down river and later through the town of Karlovy Vary.

Wild ducks seems to thrive on the river. If they were in Malaysia, they would become food on the table in no time.

Since buses are not allowed into Spacity, all the twenty of us had to be transported via a shuttle bus from the bus parking area. This is a good policy as congestion in the Spacity is avoided.

Veronica was our local guide for Spa City in Karlovy Vary. Lin on her left was the tour leader from POTO Travel.

Upon embarkation from the shuttle bus, Veronica started briefing us about the Spa City in Karlovy Vary. The Spa City was founded in the 14th century by King Charles IV. You can read more about it here. Some better pictures here.
As we walked to various colonnades we came across many beautiful buildings housing shops and hotels.

Grandhotel Pupp is famous for it being once the location for the filming of The James Bond film Casino Royale.

These three Malaysian tourists didn't stay at the Grandhotel Pupp but just posed beside another guest's Jaguar.

Shops selling Bohemian Crystal. If you ask for the price, that means you can't afford it. If you can afford it, just point at the items that you want and pay either cash or via credit cards.

A marvellous set of ceramic on display.

This hotel is so posh and expensive that nobody stayed there. It belongs to a very rich Russian.

That is the name of the hotel and perhaps also the name of the owner, Felix Zawojski.

The well dressed can be seen in Spa City walking on the street. How about these two below?

Always eager to do a good deed, I helped this war veteran to push his wheel chair. Later we waited for our cup of coffee.

Along the road we saw workers washing the street before laying the tables when getting ready for business.

Veronica showed us the highest flood level that had hit The Spa City. That was some flood and all tourists will be reminded of it. I forgot the year it happened. If you insist on knowing it, either you google for it or take this trip like I did.

These 9 pieces of metal plates produce a different tone when stepped on. It needed quite a jump to produce a note. A 62 years young Pak Zawi became tired after making several attempts at producing a tune. Personally I doubt it was melodious at all as I was tone deaf.

That is the name of the gadget.

Finally our group reached the colonnade where we were supposed to do some water tasting.

Steam seems to rise where the hot water surface in the river.

Tasting the water at the spa. The temperature of the water gets hotter as you go to the next spout. The last one is the hottest and at 72 degrees Celcius and you can't cup it with your hand to drink it. You need a special cup with a spout to drink it. The spout will ensure that the mineral contents of the water especially iron will not stain your teeth. In the 14th century, the army had to drink 11 liters of water daily to remain healthy. I bet their internal organs will be coated with iron oxide after a year of treatment. Different doses are recommended for different ailments.

A geyser in the building spurts hot water all day.

You can buy your water tasting mugs at souvenir ships within and without the buildings. It is something to remember Karlovy Vary the Spa City by.

Wow!

A group photo upon exiting the spa.

The ladies wanted to be on their own.

An interactive map being used by a tourist to locate a place.

Ornately decorated wooden colonnage.

More Picture below..

Glorious tulips.

Legend has it that a fragile old man came to Spa City for treatment. After the treatment he emerged to be a young strong man as depicted in the sculpture below. Will I emerge a younger man after leaving the place? Younger at heart, maybe.

Graffiti on a park table.

Another wild duck.

My next post will be about Prague, the capital of Czechs Republic.

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ashari3677

Apr 30

SARAWAK CULTURAL VILLAGE 2012

'Baruk' Rumah Tradisional Kaum Bidayuh Setiap kawasan pasti mempunyai keunikannya tersendiri bagi menarik kedatangan pelancong ke tempat masing-masing. Begitu juga dengan Kampung Opar. Bagi mereka yang belum pernah melihat rumah 'Baruk' iaitu rumah tradisional kaum Bidayuh boleh berbuat demikian di kampung itu dan di mana-mana penempatan kaum tersebut. Rumah 'Baruk' yang ada di kampung ini telah dibina pada 1952. Rumah ini bertujuan untuk menyimpan tengkorak musuh yang ditawan oleh nenek moyang pada masa dahulu. Keluasan rumah ini ialah 25 kaki dan ketinggiannya 45 kaki dari paras tanah ke atas. Rumah ini unik kerana bentuknya bulat dan dindingnya condong sedikit keluar. Kalau dahulu, rumah itu dijadikan sebagai kubu ketika menghadapi kesusahan peperangan. Sebelum balai raya dibina, ia dijadikan sebagai pusat pertemuan penduduk kampung untuk membincangkan apa juga perkara berkaitan pembangunan kampung itu sendiri. Selepas itu, rumah 'Baruk' hanya dijadikan sebagai pusat untuk mengadakan rawatan perubatan secara tradisional seperti mengubat rasukan jembalang dan sebagainya. Petikan dari : Perpustakaan Desa Kampung Opar, 94000 Bau, Sarawak.

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Mohamad Zawawi

Apr 30

The Tour of Eastern Europe - KUL - FRA

From Malaysia To The Czech Republics

The preparation for the trip was started when we received the confirmation from our travel agent POTO Travel and Tours Sdn. Bhd that the package is on after they managed to get twenty pax for the trrip. Bags to be used for the trip were brought out and below you can see the packed bags, two of which were to be checked in and the other smaller two will be hand carried. The hand carried baggage will contain items that will be used at airports while on transit such as prayer clothes and mats and cooked food during the trip.

I had specially bought a pair of suede shoes for the trip. Since they were new I have yet to break it in. When I tried it on, on the day of departure it felt too tight and so I opted for a pair of old leather shoes which was used mainly for work when I was still working some seven years ago. It was supposed to be comfortable alas slightly tight as over the seven years that I retire, I have rarely used the shoes and my feet must have expanded due to the too much use of slippers and sandals.

The new suede shoes was not broken in yet so it was left behind.

Anyway even the old pair of shoes that I wore on the flight became too tight for my feet over the 13 hours flight from KL to Frankfurt excluding the 3 hours transit in Abu Dhabi. Fortunately for me my wife packed in another pair of old sandals which turned out to be extremely comfortable as there were many walk abouts and long bus rides during the tour.

Waiting for our bus upon arrival in Frankfurt.

During the flight, we were told that the European Union countries were very strict about visitors bringing in poultry, beef and whatever other products into their country. For fear of getting into trouble should we be caught, all the members decided to declare everything including all the boiled eggs, serunding, sambal ikan bilis and whatever else that we brought in. We proceeded to the red lanes of the custom check point. To our amazement and joy there was not a single custom officers manning the counter be it the red lane or green lane. At such an unearthly hour as 6.30 am I guess these people love their sleep more.

Outside the airport this very new 40 seater bus was waiting for us. A forty seater bus for a group of 20 tourists mean a very comfortable ride as each one of us could hog to a double seat. They are definitely much more comfortable than the plane ride and everyone of us can afford a window seat.

Frank, the driver of the bus complained to the tour leader Lin from Malaysia to remind her next time not to call the bus in yet until all the members of the entourage are ready to board the bus. It seems the long wait had incurred him a very hefty parking fee when parked in front of the airport terminal.

See how spacious is the inside of a 40 seater bus with just 20 passengers.

All the seats in the bus are equipped with a seat belt. Should you be caught not wearing it during a ride, the penalty is Euro60 and the thought of having Euro60 which is equivalent to RM240 is too much to bear so all of us were strapped to our seat.

We left the airport and headed for Romerberg the old section of the city of Frankfurt. Upon alighting from the bus, I was surprised to see how severe the trees at the Romerberg square were pruned. I remember when I was here a few years ago for my European Tour, there were some foliage on the trees.

Since we had been here before, we were not that anxious to see the fantastic architecture of the old buildings around the area. My wife opted to immediately shop for souvenirs to remember Frankfurt by. I bought a cap.

Fridge magnets anyone?

The old buildings.

Another moment in our life for the visit to Romerberg.

The must see statue in the area. Another statue at the extreme right of the picture had been demolished for a certain development.

Being an early Saturday morning the street were still empty of people. Only later bus loads of tourists start arriving.

The Indonesians seems to have left their mark in Romer. Jemaat Kristus Indonesia as the signboard says. What happen to our Malaysian dakwah group?

A cruise boat still berthed along the River Maine.

What are those people doing so early in the morning across the river?

Since we still have an hour left to explore the area, my curiosity got the better of me and together with another couple from the group, we crossed the river via this old bridge nearby.

The tower on this side of the river has a lift inside it so the disabled person or the elderlies will not have to face any difficulties.

The bridge was constructed in 1911 and completed in 1946. A renovation was made in 1992/1993. That is my guess as to the meaning of those words on the plaque. Any of you has a better guess?

Padlocks on the bridge. Pray tell me why people do this?

My earlier hunch that it was a flea market at the end of the bridge. It was confirmed when I asked a passing cyclist. The participants of the flea market were still trying to display their wares but those that were displayed were interesting items like porcelein, bicycle parts and whatever knick knacks that are often found at such a place.

Since we didn't have too much time on our hands, I just picked up an American felt hat which was still in a very good condition at Euro15 after a Euro5 discount from the female vendor. We joined the group only to be told that the bus will only leave in another hour's time. What a missed opportunity. If only I had known that, we would have stayed longer and perhaps find some treasures to bring home.

The autobahn in Germany.

At 10 am, we hit the highway for our first town in The Czech Republic by the name of Karlovay Vary which is famous for its spa. In fact it is named as the Spacity. The drive from Frankfurt will take us some four and a half hour including rest stops for the driver and bus which is mandatory in European countries. After a two hours drive the driver must stop some 15 minutes to rest and refresh. A longer rest is need after several more hours. The driver can choose to driver longer but he will require longer rest at the end of it.

It was after entering The Czech Republics that we received the call from Kelantan that my wife's brother in law had passed away after suffering some breathing difficulties. He is so much younger than me and seems to be in the best of health. Allah must have loved him more.

A Porche

At one of the stops we met this guy filling up his Porche. The owner told me hat the number plate is PS which is the initials to his name and 911 which is the model of his Porche. He told this nosy blogger that he bought the Porche at Euro120 thousand some 4 years ago and now the price of this model has gone up by another Euro24 thousand. So you better stop dreaming of buying one even a four years old Porche, a Perve maybe all that I can afford.

To give you an idea of what you could see along the journey from the bus window is this undulating meadows where grasses or other plants are planted to make hays to feed the cattle. The yellow flowers of this plants seems to be a sight to behold.

Another likely scenery is this pine forest and sometimes you could see wild deers at the forest fringe. These wild deers are protected by laws and these laws are rarely broken unlike if they were to be in our country.

Our hotel room in Karlovay Vary.

We were checked into a small hotel with a comfortable room. Free wifi is available at the lobby floor. It was here that I found out about the ugly skirmishes at the Bersih 3.0 sit in around Dataran Merdeka.

Though we were feeling tired from the long journey from home and without much quality sleep, we prefer to loook around the area of the hotel.

A casino

A vegetable and fruit market.

Horse drawn carriages for tourists to ride around town.

Souvenir shops.

Of course my wife will never miss buying some souvenirs.

Souvenirs being sold at roadside stalls.

An old building is converted to supermarket for the Alber chain of supermarkets in The Czech Republics.

That is all for now folks. More to come soon.

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Mohamad Zawawi

Apr 30

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Mohamad Zawawi

Apr 26

Eastern Europe - A Dream Holiday Comes True

It took a holiday to Eastern Europe to drive me back to blogging. It has been quite a while since I made my last post on August 8, 2011 despite having many things to share. The enthusiasm to blog seems to have waned after the addiction to Facebook which seems to take so much of my time on the internet.
The trip to Eastern Europe will begin today when I leave home after the Friday prayers via a short flight from Kota Bharu to Kuala Lumpur International Airport by MAS, followed by the onward journey to Frankfurt in Germany by Emirates, which include a transit in Abu Dhabi. From Frankfurt it will be a land journey to Karlovy Vary and Prague in Czech Republic, Bratislava in Slovakia, Budapest in Hungary, Vienna and Salzberg in Austria, Munich and back to Frankfurt in Germany. Inclusive of the travel dates, the journey will take a total of 13 days.
As usual our favourite travel company POTO Travel will be taking our group of 20 from Malaysia to these wonderful destinations.
I will be sharing with you the rest of my travel to Eastern Europe and new posts will be made as time and internet availability permits. Hopefully you will be enjoy reading the travelogue as much as I will be enjoying doing it.