ID :
192709
Mon, 07/04/2011 - 11:31
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/192709
The shortlink copeid
GRAFFITI FOR POSITIVITY
KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 (Bernama) -- Graffiti artist Ardy Shafiq Arshad, 24,
spent hours on his artwork on a plywood wall under the hot sun, at the recent
Youthnity Fair at the Titiwangsa Lake Garden.
Ardy, known as Damis among graffiti artists, has been doing this for six
years. He began getting interested in this art form in his school days, when he
saw graffiti in videos of hip hop artists, his favourite music genre.
"In hip-hop there are four main elements: the emcee, the deejay, the b-boy
and graffiti," said Ardy, who comes from Parit Buntar in the northern state of
Perak.
He added that while many people choose emceeing, deejaying or b-boying, few
have a passion for graffiti.
After finishing school, Ardy moved to Kuala Lumpur to pursue his dreams
because only here could he mingle with the best local artists, to attain success
in this field.
MALAYSIA’s GRAFFITI ART SCENE
The Graffiti art culture in Malaysia was started around 1998 in Batu Pahat,
in the southern state of Johor by a group (referred to as 'crew') called
'PhobiaKlik'. Its popularity grew with time.
Later, in Kuala Lumpur, a crew called 'SWS' (Sembur with Style) popularized
the art, and starting then, Kuala Lumpur became the hub of graffiti art, with
many artists from around the country, such as Ardy, migrating here.
Today, there are many established crews in the country like PhobiaKlik, SWS,
Super Sunday, Medium Touch, TLG, and Phiberwryte.
WORKING WITH AUTHORITIES
Ardy said that the graffiti community, especially in Kuala Lumpur, has
changed the perception of graffiti art from an annoyance to a well-accepted art
form.
This was achieved through programmes held in collaboration with parties such
as the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
"DBKL has been a very good partner to us. One of the proofs can be seen on
the bank of Klang River near Pasar Seni (Central Market) LRT station, where
graffiti is allowed and encouraged by them," said Ardy referring to a stretch of
graffiti that adds color to the bank.
Ardy said good relations with DBKL led to the birth of the KUL Sign Festival
in December, last year, where a major attraction was the graffiti competition
featuring local and international artists.
In addition, the Ministry of Youth and Sports organised graffiti camps last
year at various youth and sports complexes across the nation, providing a
platform for local graffiti artists to educate the young generation in the art.
"We appreciate the partnership and trust given by these parties, and we will
continue our good relationship with them for the good of the society," he said.
SEEDING A BETTER TOMORROW
Phiberwryte (PW), the graffiti crew Ardy belongs to, is a well-known crew in
the country. Interestingly, it also consists of members from Singapore and
Brunei Darussalam.
Besides creating artwork, PW also develops the younger generation of
graffiti artists. For this, they have developed a programme called ‘Style2Burn’,
using Facebook as a platform.
At Style2Burn, different themes are set every month, and participants create
art according to these. The art is then displayed on the page, for evaluation.
Seniors artists share their opinion on the work through ratings, comments,
and advice on how to improve.
Through this, young artists learn faster and develop useful bonds with
senior artists.
"Besides guiding them with their skills, we take the chance to educate our
young artists on ethics, and respecting public property," said Ardy.
Ardy believes that educating young artists will keep them from bad practices
such as drawing at unauthorized places, or creating art with a negative message.
MISPERCEPTIONS ABOUT GRAFFITI
Among challenges faced by the graffiti community today is the misuse of the
street-art technique for vandalism.
"While walking down the street, we can see various messages, for example,
about motorcycle tube repair, loan sharks, and political slogans, and people put
the blame on us", he said.
He said graffiti artists oppose such immoral activities. Instead of
delivering negative messages, they would rather create good artwork.
He still recalls the popular A.B.U stencil works around Kuala Lumpur that
delivered negative political messages, a few years back. The graffiti community
saw this as a threat to society, and made efforts to erase these messages each
time they found them.
"In the local graffiti scene, we make use of the opportunity given to us to
express our creativity to deliver positive messages to people, of harmony and
peace, not otherwise," said Ardy.
THE FUTURE OF THE ART
Ardy, who runs a hair saloon with his partner at Bukit Bintang, a well-known
shopping area, said people practicing this art came from various backgrounds.
Many of them are graphic designers, but there are also boutique owners, teachers
and policemen.
Graffiti art can be monetarily rewarding too. The graffiti community has
affixed charges according to the quality of work, to protect the art from being
undervalued.
"On good days, a full-time artist may easily earn about RM4,000 (US$1,333)to
RM5,000 (US$1,600) a month, and a part-timer may earn half of that", said Ardy.
He also added that a project can cost up to RM20,000 (US$6,666) or RM30,000
(US$10,000), depending on the requirement.
Despite this, freedom to create art is what graffiti artists treasure the
most. With DBKL’s plans to increase the water-level of Klang River, their
artwork along the banks of the river will soon be history.
"We hope there will be a new place dedicated to us, to (help us) continue
making our art. It is good to hear that (the northern state of) Penang will have
its own graffiti park soon, and we hope the same will happen in Kuala Lumpur,"
said Ardy.
spent hours on his artwork on a plywood wall under the hot sun, at the recent
Youthnity Fair at the Titiwangsa Lake Garden.
Ardy, known as Damis among graffiti artists, has been doing this for six
years. He began getting interested in this art form in his school days, when he
saw graffiti in videos of hip hop artists, his favourite music genre.
"In hip-hop there are four main elements: the emcee, the deejay, the b-boy
and graffiti," said Ardy, who comes from Parit Buntar in the northern state of
Perak.
He added that while many people choose emceeing, deejaying or b-boying, few
have a passion for graffiti.
After finishing school, Ardy moved to Kuala Lumpur to pursue his dreams
because only here could he mingle with the best local artists, to attain success
in this field.
MALAYSIA’s GRAFFITI ART SCENE
The Graffiti art culture in Malaysia was started around 1998 in Batu Pahat,
in the southern state of Johor by a group (referred to as 'crew') called
'PhobiaKlik'. Its popularity grew with time.
Later, in Kuala Lumpur, a crew called 'SWS' (Sembur with Style) popularized
the art, and starting then, Kuala Lumpur became the hub of graffiti art, with
many artists from around the country, such as Ardy, migrating here.
Today, there are many established crews in the country like PhobiaKlik, SWS,
Super Sunday, Medium Touch, TLG, and Phiberwryte.
WORKING WITH AUTHORITIES
Ardy said that the graffiti community, especially in Kuala Lumpur, has
changed the perception of graffiti art from an annoyance to a well-accepted art
form.
This was achieved through programmes held in collaboration with parties such
as the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
"DBKL has been a very good partner to us. One of the proofs can be seen on
the bank of Klang River near Pasar Seni (Central Market) LRT station, where
graffiti is allowed and encouraged by them," said Ardy referring to a stretch of
graffiti that adds color to the bank.
Ardy said good relations with DBKL led to the birth of the KUL Sign Festival
in December, last year, where a major attraction was the graffiti competition
featuring local and international artists.
In addition, the Ministry of Youth and Sports organised graffiti camps last
year at various youth and sports complexes across the nation, providing a
platform for local graffiti artists to educate the young generation in the art.
"We appreciate the partnership and trust given by these parties, and we will
continue our good relationship with them for the good of the society," he said.
SEEDING A BETTER TOMORROW
Phiberwryte (PW), the graffiti crew Ardy belongs to, is a well-known crew in
the country. Interestingly, it also consists of members from Singapore and
Brunei Darussalam.
Besides creating artwork, PW also develops the younger generation of
graffiti artists. For this, they have developed a programme called ‘Style2Burn’,
using Facebook as a platform.
At Style2Burn, different themes are set every month, and participants create
art according to these. The art is then displayed on the page, for evaluation.
Seniors artists share their opinion on the work through ratings, comments,
and advice on how to improve.
Through this, young artists learn faster and develop useful bonds with
senior artists.
"Besides guiding them with their skills, we take the chance to educate our
young artists on ethics, and respecting public property," said Ardy.
Ardy believes that educating young artists will keep them from bad practices
such as drawing at unauthorized places, or creating art with a negative message.
MISPERCEPTIONS ABOUT GRAFFITI
Among challenges faced by the graffiti community today is the misuse of the
street-art technique for vandalism.
"While walking down the street, we can see various messages, for example,
about motorcycle tube repair, loan sharks, and political slogans, and people put
the blame on us", he said.
He said graffiti artists oppose such immoral activities. Instead of
delivering negative messages, they would rather create good artwork.
He still recalls the popular A.B.U stencil works around Kuala Lumpur that
delivered negative political messages, a few years back. The graffiti community
saw this as a threat to society, and made efforts to erase these messages each
time they found them.
"In the local graffiti scene, we make use of the opportunity given to us to
express our creativity to deliver positive messages to people, of harmony and
peace, not otherwise," said Ardy.
THE FUTURE OF THE ART
Ardy, who runs a hair saloon with his partner at Bukit Bintang, a well-known
shopping area, said people practicing this art came from various backgrounds.
Many of them are graphic designers, but there are also boutique owners, teachers
and policemen.
Graffiti art can be monetarily rewarding too. The graffiti community has
affixed charges according to the quality of work, to protect the art from being
undervalued.
"On good days, a full-time artist may easily earn about RM4,000 (US$1,333)to
RM5,000 (US$1,600) a month, and a part-timer may earn half of that", said Ardy.
He also added that a project can cost up to RM20,000 (US$6,666) or RM30,000
(US$10,000), depending on the requirement.
Despite this, freedom to create art is what graffiti artists treasure the
most. With DBKL’s plans to increase the water-level of Klang River, their
artwork along the banks of the river will soon be history.
"We hope there will be a new place dedicated to us, to (help us) continue
making our art. It is good to hear that (the northern state of) Penang will have
its own graffiti park soon, and we hope the same will happen in Kuala Lumpur,"
said Ardy.
