work01 negaraku | 30 cm x 23 cm | digital collage | 2009
*the regime from the past will do anything to keep staying in power. You dont know the pleasure becoz you isn't there. The buffalozation continues.. obviously there's no power without control.
work02 panggung raya | 30 cm x 23 cm | digital collage | 2009
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work03 the (other) great malaysia landscape | 30 cm x 23 cm | digital collage | 2009
work04 pecah dan perintah | 23 cm x 30 cm | digital collage | 2009
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work05 love will tear us apart (again) | 30 cm x 23 cm | digital collage | 2009
work06 menggapai bintang | 30cm x 23 cm | digital collage | 2009
These collage works were done in the same manner of doing traditional paper collage work, where images of random source were used, borrow, taken, adopt and recycle and rearranged to put a new life, meaning, purpose, context and narration. Collage technique can be traced from early history of paper making in China, but in the modern art sense it was began by the cubist. Then, by the surrealist, dada, pop, etc and develop into different type of material from paper to assemblage, photomontage and with the electronic media now become digital. Creating a collage has, for the most part, become easier with the advent of computer software.
While doing this, one of my attentions is about the copyright matters. The idea about who owned the image. The appropriation in visual culture has always been part of human history where people learn and progress by ‘appropriating’; borrowing (or resisting) image, sound, concept from the surrounding world and created art out of it. Despite the long and important history of appropriation, this artistic practice has recently resulted in contentious copyright issues which reflect more restrictive copyright legislation especially in United States, and soon everywhere. People being sued in the absurd amount for just participate in the humyn creative practices in creating new culture. So it obvious that this laws are more about control, power, money and arrogant of the past.
Can you make sense of the news reported in December 2008; Damien Hirst, the richest living artist from UK send a demand through Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) to 16 years old street artist, for appropriated the photo of his artwork into collage work?* It was the image of the diamond encrusted skull artwork by Damien Hirst, tittled For The Love of God that was sold for 100 million! (not the exact amount but around this figure, probaly more!). Now the law continues to dominate and seeking into digital age, without understand the discourse of ‘originality’ in visual culture (or with deep understanding of it).
The digital and nature of internet world seems to go oppose to ‘top-down, closed, proprietary structure’ and giving way toward more democratize, bottom-up, participatory structure to society and culture. Through the democratizing power of digital technology and the Internet, we can place the tools of creation and distribution, communication and collaboration into the hands of the common person — and with a truly active, connected, informed citizenry, hopefully the injustice and oppressive structure will slowly dying out!
Well, my digital collage works were not powerful enough to win the continuous battle, or breaking any new bound. Despite it try to imitate to the very conventional practice of collage work; leaving the cut imperfect, no ‘wow’ tricks, minimum tool used and pretty much ‘looking into the art’.
Am I going to be the next victim of copyright infringement of using the image of, Najib Tun Razak, Sukhoi Jet, Petronas Offshore, Giant, Tesco, KLCC, Buffalos, Ronald Mcdonald, Mickey Mouse, Hollywood Celebrities, Christina Aguilera, the U.S Army, Putrajaya, U.S Money Notes, Iraqi Kid, Dam in Pertak, Agosta Submarine, Rubber Taper, Hungry Children, Family in Poverty, Oil Palm, Padi, Measat Satellite, RazakSat Satellite, Victorian Chair, Low Cost Flats, Police Malaysia, Protester, Beaches, Skies, Mountains, Genting, Construction, Various Politicians and Leaders, Bahakula, The Devil, Proton Saga Car, Malaysia Highways, Factories, Flying Pigs, Eye-Chart, Cupids, Freyja, Baphomet, Nunu’s Eye, Illumined Eye, Clarus Camera, Stars, Squatters, Damien Hirst’s ‘In The Name of God’, Joseph Beuys, Traditional Fishing Boat and Rice? So what these ordinary everyday mediation of images mean to you? What power of the particular image could you understand? What these words of syntax above means to you? What interrelation/interconnectedness that you can feel? What this commodities means to you? Can I say something?
poodien
August 2009
