Interviewing The Artists

Interviewing the local artist 

AJIM JUXTA

We had actually interviewed Ajim twice within a short period of time.This was manly due to technical errors we had faced during our first take.To our dismay the mic that Mr Charles had lent it to us was out of batteries.We searched high and low for the CR2 batteries but we could’t  find them anywhere. and so we gave up and decided to just interview him but that didn't work :/ so we ended up calling him again for a second interview and surprisingly he agreed.

To be honest I was a bit embarrassed the first round .Since this was our first time interviewing an artist ,I thought we ought to look as professional.I half expected Ajim to be a bit pissed off with the whole situation and how we we’re handling it.I wouldn't be so surprised if he blurted out something about “making things quick” but we eventually laughed about it and made small talk as we go.There and then I realised that I guess not all artist are cocky . Between the two takes that we took .Ajim was certainly a nice man,calmed and relaxed.He even asked if the interview was supposed to be formal,certainly not.He let out a sign of relief ,slumping back into his seat.

After a series of question,which he had smoothly answered with ease, he began taking about his background story.It was interesting to see how the past could hold up so much  ,that in the end his experiences with frogs soon moulded  into something greater.

Perhaps he is a visionary.

The way Ajim sees things,humans,the universe perhaps is very much in depth and this could be seen in our interview videos.He  is so  passionate about his work that the artworks he produces are truly remarkable.In a sense that its hard to identify what the whole picture is,then you analyse it ,break it down and there you will realise what you would have missed,in between cramped spaces ,a frog.Now what does that mean?

Take this  art for instance,its is a simple drawing of a frog which appears to be on top of a coconut shell.As a Malaysian you would know the saying “ Katak di bawah tempurung ”  which in simpler words refers to someone who has no basic knowledge of things or events that are happening around him/her.They remain ignorant constantly living in a safe shell.This is exactly where Ajim got his inspiration from but he flipped the message.Instead of the frog being sheltered from the world,he’s trying to send a message about how we humans need to be aware of our surroundings,to not hide and ignore what is going on in the world but to experience it.

I learnt alot from Ajim and even though he didn't stated this but I realised how important it was to be humble towards people.In our small talks Ajim told us that he  took in some of other Artist and shared some of his gallery spaces with them.If I'm not mistaken either he didn't even charged them.I thought how kind he was to do so.

Till we meet again Ajim,thanks for having us :)

MANJE

We actually met up with Manje a few hours right after interviewing Ajim for the second time.She asks us to visit her at publica as she was one of the guest host at an art exhibition called “at the white zone”.There we shook hands and greeted her .Without waisting time we ask were she would liked to be filmed.First impression of her ,i would say that she look cute,dressed in her green shawl, a fitted blazer and a pair of flats.After much walking ,we finally decided to borrow Ajim Juxta’s studio as it was the only available . Again due to circumstances,such as the loud background noise,instead of having the interview outdoors we had to push it forward to the studio.Same location as where we sat with Ajim,Manje seems to now be in place.Right after we begin setting up the camera off,Wafaa,Shuling and Yanlin stat asking questions .

While’s moderating behind the camera’s something Manje said sparked my interest. Manje had mentioned how difficult it was to be a muslim artist.This is because ,as a muslim we are restricted to the stuff we draw,faces and animals.

So,when asked about how it was for her back then whether she had gotten any support from  the very beginning.She shared with us the how it wasn't always easy to convince her parents about her career ,in fact they still aren’t.However, slowly but surely they understood Manje’s passion towards her drawing.

There were also touching tales of when she wanted to give up drawing completely.She had once stopped for a good 3 years and told us that she  wouldn’t even hold the pencil for fear it might strike her interest again.

The great thing about Manje was how child like she could be.In a sense she still had fascinations with the olden days tales , where stories and myths existed,all wrapped around in a child's mind.She was smart enough to incorporate those stories into beautiful artworks.One of her recent famous artworks where the woman is submerge in sea was based on a myth from Maldives.

Overall it was a joy to interview her,even though I was placed behind cameras it was really interesting to hear her point of views.Till we meet again :) 

HARIS RASHID  

I don’t know why but I was feeling very nervous meeting Haris Rashid.

On the day we had our interview, we agreed to meet him at a shop called Frisk Goat in  taman tun.When we arrived earlier,the venue was over crowded with people,it struck to us that it would be to loud and noisy for the interview and so we called him up and asked him to reconsider another venue.Long story short ,same thing happened again with the other venue  and eventually,we ended up at Serra’s house.We’ve decided to film outdoors and so we walked past her dinner hall and out into her backyard.After Yanlin and Shuling set the cameras,each of us (Serra,Shuling and I ) took our positions and sat down.Awkwardly we begin our interview,I manage to crocked a small greeting and introduced ourselves,as did he.We begin diving into the questions right away.To my astonishment Haris Rashid had almost answered every question possible that I was about to ask right after in one go.I admittedly felt defeated,since it wasn't in my nature to just blank out.And so along the interview things got a bit awkward for me at least ,but for the most part Haris Rashid seemed to be a nice fella.

As a first impression thing,he look very laid back,dresses in a t-shirt from his latest collaboration with just in case,he wore it proudly with his matching phone case .Whiles asking questions I’ve noticed that he was a very optimistic person,he loved to take on new challenges and try to experiment with different things.Looking back at his artworks,he seemed to have done quit a lot of artworks involving watercolour pencils on wood,there were some mixed media artworks and so on forth.

Since we realised that most of his artworks have these geometrical designs in them we took the opportunity to ask him what they meant/represent.To my surprise he said nothing. Haris mentioned that it was there just for the beauty of it,” since it looked ecstatically pleasing why not put it in” that kind of thing .Thats when I realised in a way he reminded me of me.My artworks have never meant anything deeper then how it looks at a first glance.I liked him straight away,something different.

First Impression on Artist

30/10/2014 (Week 6)
Imani Najwa Binti Nordin ( 0319405 )
Update: First Impressions on Artist

When we went to visit the art exhibition called Untamed Bloom.We we're actually lost before we arrived at the venue,it seemed quiet strange for an exhibition to be held at some news broad cast place.Eventually after wondering around the building square we manage to find the gallery,tucked away towards a corner.As we entered, it seemed rather vast and empty ,nothing but paintings stood right there before us.I was getting very excited.We asked the guards if it was open for view and so they let us in. Immediately all us broke off,each running towards a painting that captured our attention.I think we were all pretty excited to actually be the only ones at the gallery,probably a sense of relief.

Considering the venue I did like how everything seemed airy,the way the huge windowed walls shone light inside the vast room,it was rather peaceful.On the side note,it was funny how everyone we went all "ooo's " and "ahhh' ",asking one another to "come over here check this painting out" or " I wonder why they didn't made it in this particular way".In that moment we became critics,maybe not professionally but at that moment we used our critical thinking skills.Wondering why certain things were as they were.

The ARTWORKS :

1.

 Some of  Sarah Ameera's works

| Manipulated images X Adobe photoshop |

Some of Haris Rashid's artworks 

| 

We just had too.

Haris Rashid's Artwork

| Pencil X Wood |

Some of Manja's work 

| Acrylic | 

Some of Ajim Juxta's works
| Ink X Canvas |

Famously know for frog obsession artworks.

The vast space of the gallery 

 The artist's in a flesh.

Starting from top right.Ajim,DURA and towards the left corner Haris Rashid.

Artwork's in Publica :

Personal favourite 

 An art gallery at Publica

Upon stumbling into this gallery,it had a zen vibe to it.

I noticed after the first trip to the previous Untamed Bloom exhibition that most artworks tend to correlate.This made perfect sense since even during our final photography project we were also asked to take pictures that would later on  correlate together to from nice and balanced images that will transition smoothly to one another.For instance, the art that seems to have old towered buildings  and china inspired houses are all tangled within a red rope.Upon my understandings,the red rope is the one that correlates to each of the painters other artworks.

                                                      Unique sculptures around Publica .

Self reflection:

I would say that it was a tremendous experience to be able to visit an actual gallery for once,We even got lucky enough to have met most of the artist.But of course I've realised some rude comments, or at least I would think is personally rude.Twice we went to two different galleries and had again been asked whether we were going to buy a painting or not.I supposed it was rare for youngsters like us to have ever resort to a plain gallery. However,I don't take it personally perhaps they didn't meant it in that sense.

Other then that I realised that we really did come together and actually took the time to appreciate the artworks. We went in detailed,how they drew it and what materials they used,the brush strokes and so on.

Update in progress 

Reference :

Haris Rashid 

http://theharisrashid.blogspot.com/

Ajim :

http://instagram.com/ajim_juxta

Dura :

https://www.facebook.com/DURAartspace

Sarah Ameera :

http://visuals.sarahameera.net/

Manja :

https://www.facebook.com/manje

Update: Local Artist

29/10/2014 (week 6)

Imani Najwa Binti Nordin (0319405)

Update: Progression on the Local Artis that We Admire

Lecture:

Technically Mr Charles said we wouldn't be having any lectures unless something urgent comes up.Today was a meet up,and whiles having our regular discussion we talked about our progress so far,we didn't specify which local artist we would interview.

Among's the Local Artist we Admire :

1.Sarah Ameera (Visual Artist)

2.Mariyam Shany Ahmed

3.Raja Azeem Idzham

4.Haris Rashid 

5.Dura 

Upon explaining that we've actually met these artist in the flesh,it was easier for us to contact them.

Since Mr Charles told us that we were ahead of the class ,we could already start interviewing right away.However it was crucial for us to dig around an do some research,collecting raw data about the artists .

Data like 'Where they went to Highschool?''Their artworks'.Basically their background data.

We were also ask to make our own speculations about the artist before meeting them.We were asked to describe in detail what we felt about the artists itself.How they look like from their hair to the way they dressed.Others like their artwork,"What kind of styles they use?""Does their style convey a message?",ect.

I think its a great idea to judge them before hand,just to see how different things would turn out after we have interviewed them.This is because most of the time,first impressions often leave a false statement.

Local Artis I came to Admire

Week 2
Imani Najwa Binti Nordin (0319405)
Local Artist I came to admire

So already at the beginning of semester and we've got a life long assignment to do some reacher and come across local artist that we will soon after interview.And of course,this is a group assignment,my team mates and I ( Serra,Wafaa,Olivia and Yanlin) each decided to go on about ourselves and each pick one artist we all admire.We then would each explain to one another as to why we chose these artist.

Whiles I was doing my research I came across Sarah Ameera .Sarah Ameera is a visual artist that hales from Penang and lives in Kl. I know nothing much about her since I've been searching high and low about her general biography.I'd say she's pretty smart at keeping it a secret.

It is said in her brief biography blog, Sarah is a nature lover and art enthusiast who just loves to experiment visual artistry form analogue to digital.She basically aims to merge traditional arts with digital technology that then transforms into visual metaphors.

Sarah has so far collaborated and work closely on making props,painting ,illustrations,live video projectors and numerous music videos for workshops.She had collaborated with artist like Liyana Fizi,Pastle Lite,Ferns,Jack In The Box Penang ,Converse and even others.


Here are some of her artworks

 "ROUGE" Painting Series, 2012.

Medium : Mixed media and paper.

Personal watercolour painting incorporating florals and figures.

Zodiac Series, October 2013.

Medium : Digitally manipulated images and Adobe Photoshop. 

Basically I think some of her artworks are mostly spontaneous,some look like she barely tried,for instance ,with a simply splat here and there she has it called art.As for some of her collages,the weirded the better."Funky" would be exact.She plays with alot of colour,from brights to the darks.However,I personally love the fact that she has experiment with a lot of medium,from watercolour paintings to digital tech stuff like creating music videos for events like EFOZY.

All and all I don't mean to criticise to much.They say you can once you've already made it to the top.As for now I would say I do admire some of her work and how hardworking she is.

Update 
In our recent discussion we have all concluded to one artist we all truly admire,which was an artist Yanlin picked out.

References :
http://visuals.sarahameera.net/about

http://sarahameera.tumblr.com/

Artist I admire

22/9/2014 (Week 1/ Sem 2)
Imani Najwa Binti Nordin (0319405)
Contextual Studies

After a month of breather I was finally back in University to start my second semester.Boy did time pass by really fast.I've learnt a lot from last semester one of which was to stop procrastinating and start doing.

This time around Mr Charles told us to go back home and do some research about the person/artist you admire.We were asked to be able to present a 2 minute long speech about the artists biography and why we feel in love with their art work.

What was going on in my mind the moment he asked what artist I admired was that I froze.It occurred to me that I never really had a true idol that I would constantly looked up to.I mean moms pretty cool but she's alright,dad never really did much art.In short,I never really was being influenced by anybody to like art, I just did.Although I admire a few peoples art here and there occasionally  when I see them on screen I never really stop to bother about their names.

 So as I got home I sat down on my chair to google search what kind of artist I'd admire.However,I sat there for a good 5 minutes just feeling dumbfounded by how to start the research," what am I going to type so I can find the artist I'd admire" "Do I need to be specific as to what art I'd like"'But I cant choose,theres way to many".So I sat there and tried to google local artist but non had my taste,when people say art often they think about all sorts of art,the Picasso kinds of art,which are okay but I  for one didn't really go goo goo gaga  over them.After much thought I went to Pintrest and just searched art.Out pops all sorts of different kinds of art,and thats when I realised that everything is art.Art isn't just about drawing on paper ,art was anything creative.

As for me I don't really have a specific kind of art style that tied too.

But not to blaber on for to long I guess I'll cut it short from now on.One of the artist that I have fallen in love with her work is Zaria Forman.

A little bit on Zaria's biography

Zaria mostly works using soft pastels and uses her fingers to smudge and blend them on canvas.

Zaria Forman was born in South Natric,MASS on October 29th 1982. She grew up in Piermont,NY in a small beautiful town 30 minutes North of Manhattan.Now she is currently lives in Brooklyn,NY where she has her own studio.Although she is currently focusing on art,she is also a  yoga teacher and a jewellery designer.

The things I found interesting of her was her how she had so much  passion towards her drawings/paintings.When asked where she had gotten her inspiration,She had mentioned that her inspiration came in her early life.She had one of those childhoods that I've dreamed of having.She traveled all over the world to remote landscapes which  we're subjects for her mothers fine art in photography.There on se developed an appreciation for the beauty of the ever changing shy and sea.

She mentioned that she was lucky enough to have the privilege to witness far off storms on the western deserts plains ..I've learnt that she was really interested in the elements of water and how they absorb and reflect light in various forms.She took her time to study and enjoys taking challenges on how to fully capture the transition  between states and enjoy the challenge of such sublime experience into her work.

Something that she mentioned  really moved me. In the article stated "The different forms of illuminated waters give rise to the dreamy,atmospheric sense that I hope will transport the viewer to a remote region on earth"


Downfalls