It is a regular discussion that I had with Laurene and I cannot see why she seldom disagreed with the idea that each country is unique in their owns different ways. Or perhaps I did not see what she was trying to say. Are we talking on the same thing or we both agree and disagree on different topic? I argued that the uniqueness does exist through the connection between people with object, places, space, weather, etc. Somehow there is some kind of emotional connection happen in between that makes one felt special and unique of the object, places or space. One who visited Paris will said that no other place like Paris because of the cuisine, Eiffel tower, language etc. Paris is unique in some ways comparing to other city. Others might disagree with it and said that Sydney is unique in one eyes because of the Sydney harbour, food, weather and people. Looking at both with experiencing each places, one could not said that it’s unique. It relates with emotion and the kind of experience that one got through with others, objects and places.

But what Laurene might means when she said that there is no uniqueness in identity in my research, she might be referring to the advertisements and woman’s magazine cover I had from Malaysia. Indeed looking at the printed artefact doesn’t demonstrate the idea of uniqueness. There no such thing as uniqueness if there is no experience connected to it. Is that what Laurene mean? And no, I’m not trying to defend my personal feeling here but what I think about it in relation to my research.

In relation to the notion of uniqueness…

~

Another GRC past, and I realised that my time is running fast, hopefully I could catch up with it. GRC went well, apart from the amount of work I need to cope with in 6 month period time.

I need to continue reading, the more the better and keep on writing and make some mark and point in my research. I have to explicitly articulate my argument in my research. I come to realised that this research is not so much about Malaysian Identity, it is more about the image and visual representation of it, and how it create the perceptions?

Clearly design plays significant roles in these process. But what is it and how does it plays the roles is an interesting areas to investigate as what I’m researching now. It is fascinating to discover some things in this research. I’m discovering another Malaysia, its representations of identity and designer’s roles in this. I asked these questions in my GRC and would be nice to hear some thought about it.

Can it be said that part of designer roles is also capturing the history and record it through their creation. Do designer deliberately re-use this elements of history to modify, and provide perception as a way to communicate with the audience? Can it be said the designers are partly responsible perpetuate the myth of national cultural identity?

Here’s an interesting quote that might give you some ideas about what I’m trying to say up there:

“People do not have a ‘real’ identity within themselves; it is just a way of talking about self, it is a discourse. An ‘identity’ is communicated to others in your interactions with them, but this is not fixed things within a person. It is shifting, temporary construction.” Gauntlett, D. (1998) on Foucault’s ideas of identity.

When a person search for identity, what are the things one should look for and how to look for it.

What are the differences between uniqueness and identity?

I haven’t been writing for sometime in this blog. I’ve been busy gathering information about DECONSTRUCTION in Graphic Design for my research. The intention to look deeper in this area rise after my presentation in the group meeting. I thought why not, after I didn’t have enough knowledge about this.

Part of the proposal from the group to help in my research, is to look at my collections of advertisement and make a visual analysis out of it. Before I even go near deconstruction I was asking myself, what is visual analysis? So I read and read and read… I came around names like Ellen Lupton, Ric Poynor, some really interesting essay on reproductions of the productions by Althusser (recommended by Neal, thanks), the punk era, Reid the sex pistol graphic designer and more..I could go on. I have to admit I did enjoy digging in this areas under the umbrella of deconstruction. Now the visual analysis…where do I start?

Well, I thought after getting all sort of information from reading and visual inspired of deconstruction I should reconstruct something. I started with one of the add I have. I started with what I understand with the idea of deconstruction, which is to pull out different elements from the constructed adds and reconstruct it with my critical ideas. In other words is the action of putting theoretical text verbose and sought ways to simplify these ideas into graphic form. (Paynor, R. in No More Rules on deconstruction). In 1960′s, designers and artists used and scissored headlines from establishment newspapers and put an attempted to ‘detourne’ the media – to ‘turn it back on itself’ by applying its communications in new contexts.

As for the posters I created based of the Celcom add August 2007, and I have to admit it does have political response in it. Celcom add from my point of view contained an ethnic issues. The guy holding the flag seem Indian or Malay-Indian to me, of course for other people outside of Malaysia will argue the race of that person. Political issues – The questions are what’s the add is telling us and why chose a specific race as a leading person? In the background of the add there’s the youth..little children running following the leading, this contain an issues of nation building, are we creating an image of Malaysia for our future generation?

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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.

Where are we heading?

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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.

For those that facing difficulties to view my discussion outline poster, I hope at this moment, you will manage to view it through this blog.

If you don’t please do let me know..

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.

Being away from home is not easy. Staying years in overseas far away from Malaysia is very difficult. Adopting in others culture and ways of life somehow makes me more and more close to my own culture and ways of life. First few years it’s not too bad, I’m curious and excited to know more about others. After a while I started to looked back to my childhood times, high schools and valued most of the time I spend back there. Sometimes I feel like I’m trap in that space. Between my childhood and high school. It used to be so hard to go through. Lots of gloomy times and less happiness. But it seems that small amount of happiness tend to capture me in that space. I have to admit, I missed it. I know even if I go back and go to the same spot I used to play with my friends; things will not be the same. I really missed the food, the atmosphere, the jokes, the stupidity of some people and how they react to things (that really makes me laugh sometimes), and further more the comic magazine that I used to read, ‘Gila-Gila’.

‘Gila-Gila’ February, 2008.

I stopped reading Gila-Gila when I was preparing for my final year exam in high school. My parents disapproved reading it. Apparently, from their point of view it’s a bad influence for teenagers. Anything that doesn’t have the academic appeal seems ‘not very healthy’ for teenager. Until now, I still disagree with it. ‘Gila-Gila’ does have some ‘rude’ language in the content but it will open up a healthy discussion between the parents and the children. This can only happen if the parents enjoy reading it. It also contains some social and cultural issues, national problems, etc. It is not only ‘stupid jokes’. Well, there are, but overall it’s fun and I can say educational in some ways. Furthermore, Gila-Gila communicates to their audience with visuals, images, colors and everyday conversation (informal).

In Gila-Gila, I can see the cartoonists imitate some action from what’s happening in Malaysia. Sometimes, the authors make fun of silly things that happen in the country nationally (e.g. the increasing of the petrol, house price, education, medical, etc.). It is also the author/cartoonist personal point of views and most interestingly it’s comic. I got here the photos of the Gila-Gila magazine from their latest edition. In this cover the cartoonist illustrate the common situation in Malaysia, what we call in Malaysia ‘sembang-sembang di kedai mamak’ chatting in coffee shop owned by ‘mamak’*. This is a very common atmosphere in Malaysia, mostly in the city. People talk about anything, sometimes it is also the place for people to throw out their anger or sympathy about national issues, worlds problems etc. The scenario held in ‘Kedai Mamak’, ‘Mamak Stall’, perhaps for lunch or snack. Behind there is a menu with noodles but not stir fried, only boil or steam. Recently Malaysia face the problems with increasing the price of the cooking oil. Some rumors said that some people hide the stock of cooking oil to increase the price. Mr. A, dresses in punk fashion with angry tone said ‘Kalaulah aku dapat tukang yang sorok minyak ni memang aku rebus.!‘ ‘If I get hold on the person who hides the oil (cooking oil), I will boil him!’ (Perhaps because he himself has to eat boiled food since the price of cooking oil increased). The other, Mr. B looks like they’re both in the same fashion zone trying to calm down his mate said ‘Telan ajelah’, ‘Just eat it!’ ( I guess he can’t do much more). If you’re interested to know more of Malaysian comic magazine go to this website.

*Mamak is a friendly name to call an Indian Muslim especially the one who works in the Indian stall. It’s a common slang used in the Penang state.

Courtesy image: http://en.wikipedia.org/

‘Jambu Merah’ botanically identified as syzygium malaccense, the fruit is also called Malay rose-apple and mountain apple. Recently I’ve read an articles from News Strait Times about Malay apple. I was shocked thinking when did Malaysian manage to produce an apple? We can’t even get the apple tree growing because of the climate. It is an interesting column wrote by K.P Waran with the title: Go Global with the Malay Apple. Apparently not many Malaysian knows what fruit is it, not by this name for sure.

A very beautiful fruit, usually deep red in color, pear shaped, with a waxy skin, about the size of an apple. Flesh is crunchy, often juicy, with a mild sweet flavor. Some varieties have white or pink skin. Surprisingly Malay apple even have its name in French ‘pomme de Malaisie’ and Spanish ‘pomarrosa Malaya’.

Quote (Morton, J. 1987. Malay Apple. p. 378–381.) In: Fruits of warm climates about the origin and distribution of Malay Apple, “‘The Malay apple is presumed to be a native of Malaysia. It is commonly cultivated from Java to the Philippines and Vietnam, also in Bengal and South India. Portuguese voyagers carried it from Malacca to Goa and from there it was introduced into East Africa. It must have spread throughout the Pacific Islands in very early times for it is featured in Fijian mythology and the wood was used by ancient Hawaiians to make idols. Indeed, it has been recorded that, before the arrival of missionaries in Hawaii, there were no fruits except bananas, coconuts and the Malay apple. The flowers are considered sacred to Pele, the fiery volcano goddess. Captain Bligh conveyed small trees of 3 varieties from the islands of Timor and Tahiti to Jamaica in 1793. The tree was growing under glass in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1839, and specimens were fruiting in Bermuda in 1878.

Eggers, who studied the flora of St. Croix, reported seeing naturalized trees in shaded valleys during his stay on the island from 1870 to 1876. The Malay apple was unknown in Puerto Rico in 1903 but must have arrived soon after. Britton and Wilson observed 2 trees 43 ft (13 m) high at Happy Hollow in 1924. Thereafter, the tree was rather frequently planted as an ornamental or wind-break. Perhaps the Portuguese were responsible for its introduction into Brazil, for it is cultivated there, as it is also in Surinam and Panama. Dr. David Fairchild sent seeds from Panama to the United States Department of Agriculture in 1921. In 1929, young trees from the Canal Zone were transported to the Lancetilla Experimental Gardens at Tela, Honduras, where they flourished and fruited. The Malay apple is sometimes seen in other parts of Central America, including Belize, El Salvador and Costa Rica, much more frequently in parks and gardens in Venezuela. The fruits are sold in local markets and along the streets wherever the tree is grown.”

Since the Malay apple has a strong historical link to Malaysia and countless documents exist calling it by the name, it would be appropriate to return to the name and promote it as a Malaysian product. As been suggested by K.P Waran in NST column, and I completely agree with him, I think it’s about time we give back the name ‘Malay Apple’ or in Malay might be ‘ Jambu Melayu’ to ‘Jambu Merah’. It will be an excellent way to promote Malaysia as the fruit country’s of origin and Malaysian product. Perhaps in few years it might increase the plantation of ‘Malay Apple’ in the country.

I got this book called ‘Communication Design – Principles, Methods and practice’ by Jorge Frascara. This one particular topic that always interest me, moving from Graphic design to Communication design. I’m a graphic designer myself. I’m also a communication designer. These two term is common, but is the meaning and the role are the same? Recently the role of graphic designer have moved, or expend to broader areas. Graphic designer have looked into interior design, product, events etc. There are more and more collaborative work involve between graphic designer and client. Or sometimes even others from different disipline. This particular paragraph from Frascara explain more about what I wrote above.

‘ It is necessary to recognize that the term ‘graphic design’ has contributed to the obscure profile of the profession. Although better than ‘graphic artist’ and far better than ‘artist’, the term still places too much emphasis on the graphic, physical elements and omits more essential aspects of the profession – the main aim of which is not the creation of graphic forms but the creation of effective communications. Although the most widely accepted term indeed ‘graphic designer’, it is more discriptive and appropriate to say ‘visual communication designer’, because this defination includes three ensential elements of the profession: a method (design), an objective (communication) and a medium (vision).’