After latest censorship case, Zunar urges artists to speak up

All artists should speak up against attempts to arbitrarily censor their craft without any justification, said cartoonist Zulkiflee SM Anwar Ulhaque.

Zulkiflee, or better known as Zunar (above), said he believes visual artist Ahmad Fuad Osman had made the right decision to protest the National Art Gallery's (NAG) move to take down four of his paintings currently on display as part of an ongoing exhibition.

"I support Fuad. I support his request for the National Art Gallery (NAG) to take down (all) his works, and NAG should comply.

"All artists should do this (protest) to gain public support in facing attempts by the state to censor their work," Zunar told Malaysiakini.

The NAG in a statement yesterday confirmed the removal of four pieces from Ahmad Fuad's life exhibition - Untitle 2012, Dreaming of Being Somebody Afraid of Being Nobody, Imitating the Mountain 2004 and Mak Bapak Borek, Anak Cucu Cicit Pun Rintik.

The NAG also maintained it is the standard operating procedure to include in their agreements with the exhibitor that it is the gallery’s right to remove any artwork touching on the dignity of any individual, religion, politics, race, tradition or country.

The exhibition titled "At The End Of The Day Even Art Is Not Important" was meant to be Ahmad Fuad's mid-career survey exhibition, opened to the public on Oct 28 last year.

According to Ahmad Fuad, it was scheduled to close on Jan 31 but was extended until Feb 29 on NAG's request.

After the removal of four of his pieces, Ahmad Fuad requested for NAG to close the entire exhibition.

It was initially reported the NAG board had acted based on a complaint by its member and Zunar stressed that individual interpretation of artwork should not be enforced as law.

"If there was among them who felt offended, that is normal from the perspective of provocative art including on politics.

"But the NAG board has no right to turn their perception of art into rules or law," he said.

Zunar also reminded the board that they were supposed to act on behalf of the public and there has been no public outcry over any of Ahmad Fuad's displayed works.

"If indeed there was a painting deemed unsuitable, the NAG must provide specific reasons (to take it down).

"The issue of 'sensitivity' as stated by the NAG director is unacceptable. Whose sensitivity?" he stressed.

Zunar further noted a constant trend of artists being stifled by funders who insist on dictating their works, causing Malaysia to lag behind other countries in producing provocative art.

Meanwhile, a group of 266 visual artists in an open letter to NAG's board, urged for all four of Ahmad Fuad's works to be reinstated or for the whole exhibition be dismantled as per his request.

They called on the board to clarify who among them had raised the complaint several months after the exhibition was set-up.

The group, whose signatories include activist Marina Mahathir and local film director Al Jafree Md Yusof, also called on NAG to hold a public dialogue with the arts community.

"If our demands are not met, we call upon all of NAG board members to resign," said the group who also forwarded their demands to Tourism Minister Mohamaddin Ketapi and other ministry top officials. - Mkini