SOME months back I was talking to famed music producer Audi Mok and new artiste Tilla, who just signed to our record label Monkey Bone. Audi was writing and producing songs with Tilla for her upcoming releases with us.
It was a nice, bright and lazy morning. We were at a coffee place somewhere in the heart of Petaling Jaya. I don’t know why but that morning I was feeling all philosophical (Maybe it was the ambience. Or maybe it comes with the aging haha).
I remember sipping some fancy coffee and looking at them intently. Then suddenly I took a deep breath and said, “Not anyone can become an artist.”
Audi looked at me strangely with a sly smile that said “I think I know where he’s going with this”.
I continued wistfully. “The word artist is not something you can just use like that. Being an artist is a big responsibility. Being an artist means you have to create. An artist always creates. And the definition of creating is to make or produce something new. If you’re doing the same old stuff, that’s not creation, that’s copying.”
I sipped some more of that fancy coffee, sniffing in its delightful exotic aroma.
I continued, “If you’re not creating, you’re just passing on a message. If you’re not creating, you’re not an artist, you’re just a singer.”
I let the weight of my words sink into the deep morning discussion like some anchor of truth.
The word “artist” has been used too easily by too many people. An artist is by definition a creator. Not a message bringer. Not a copier. Not a vessel of art.
Even if the artist do not write music or participate in the creation of the piece of art, he or she can always create a new way of singing, of phrasing a familiar song, of uniquely communicating the message the work of art is trying to convey.
Not everyone starts by being an artist, of course. In fact, everyone starts by copying and borrowing. Even the very best. But it is when you have mastered the past that you can create the future.
I once went to this small but beautiful museum in Barcelona showcasing the works of Picasso. They displayed his works from when he was a young lad until the end of his life.
I expected to see Picasso masterpieces in his style that we all know. It wasn’t to be. The museum also displayed his art when he was much younger and while these works may still look incredible, it wasn’t the Picasso style that we know.
Artworks that he produced when he was younger was more classical. In fact, at a very young age, Picasso had already mastered the the techniques of the masters before him.
Take a look at Man In A Beret for example, done when he was just 14. That does NOT look like the Picasso we know. But, it also does not look like the work of a 14-year old. It looks like something a grand master would have done.
And because Picasso mastered the art stylings before him at such an early age, it was just natural for him to then progress into new styles and innovate the art world.
By mastering the past, you can create the future.
This is a tough sell though in Malaysia, where people are more amazed if you sound like Mariah Carey instead of going “Well, that’s good that you sound like Mariah Carey, but where is your own voice? Who are you?”. Originality is largely unappreciated.
That comes from a lack of art appreciation since an early age. Lack of exposure to the history of art and music and dance and film has resulted in artists who do not know how to create anything new and an audience that don’t support new creations.
The result is a creative industry that doesn’t progress on a par with the rest of the world.
While there are brilliant individuals who have advanced our creative industries through their groundbreaking work, these remain scarce and dependent on that few brilliant individuals.
We need that conveyor belt that can produce innovative creative works that progress our society. It will not just be good for the creative industry as a steady stream of innovative artists and a supportive audience will give untold benefits to all other industries and the nation as a whole. Imagine all our industries filled with superbly creative people. What magic we will make!
I looked at Audi and Tilla with my big eyes as I imagined the future, sipping on that really exquisite, exotic coffee.
Then the “waiter” came over and said, “Bang, kopi O mamak ni sapa bayar?”
Ahmad Izham Omar is appreciative that many many people have seen or are going to see the majestic epic film Pulang by Kabir Bhatia. There is hope!