작품 상세

To be living amidst verdant greens within an encroaching city centre is an artist’s blessings, and delight. It was a manna of sorts when National Art Laureate artist Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal moved to Kampung Sungai Cincin in Gombak, some 13 miles from the Kuala Lumpur city centre, Postcode 53100, in 1988. Mostly a Malay reserved land enclave, it still dots with zinc-roofed houses and lots of greenery even as plush bungalows and condominiums inevitably change the salubrious landscape. A kampung in the city. But for how long? Still, a far cry from his erstwhile abode in the regimented concrete jungle that is Cheras. Set on a slight elevation, his abode is a health balm with premium P&Q (Peace and Quiet), with invigorating air and a bird-watcher’s delight. He was there when he was accorded his Historical Overview in 1994-1995, and later his 2009 grand national ‘Pelukis’ exhibition. Kampung Sungai Cincin was a mixed settlement of local Malays and the Mandailings from Indonesia in the 19th century, known for its ‘penghulu’ Sheikh Mohd Nor al-Kholidi, who famously retrieved a bride’s cincin (ring) from the locale river, and which gave the kampung its name. Let’s take a snapshot look at Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal. Education: Birmingham School of Architecture (did not complete); Chelsea School of Art, the Institute of Education, London University; Malay Teacher’s Training College in Kirkby; the School of the Art Institute Chicago (1963-1964) and University of Hawaii, Honolulu. Major exhibitions: Retrospective at the National Art Gallery (NAG) in 1975; Syed Ahmad Jamal: Artist exhibition in 2009; Historical Overview at the Nanyang Gallery of Art in 1994-1995. Awards: National Art Laureate (1995); Panglima Jasa Negara (which carries the title ‘Datuk’, 1996); Country awards from India (1962), the United States (1963-1964), France (1970), and Australia (1984). Posts: Director – Asian Cultural Centre in Universiti Malaya, and the National Art Gallery Malaysia. Principal – Specialist Teachers Training Institute in Kuala Lumpur. Monumental sculptures: Laman Asean in the Lake Gardens, Kuala Lumpur, and the other, Lunar Peaks (torn down by Kuala Lumpur City Hall). Books: Rupa Dan Jiwa (1992), which was translated into English, and the autobiographical Kunang-Kunang (1999).