Contemporary Islamic Art in Malaysia: New Trends and Approaches Since 2000

Abstract

Contemporary Islamic art has been recognized and it was developed within the Malay culture that was based on the Islamic concepts and teachings. The years between 1980 and 1990 can be considered as a revival period of the Islamic art in the country and became one of the main art forms in the development of modern art at that time. However, due to the modern global influences nowadays has given a ‘new meaning’ to the contemporary Islamic art in Malaysia. The Islamic Malay Cultural Heritage has slowly lose its place in the society. The emergence of new forms of ideology and thinking from Western country lead the artist to produce the artworks that are influenced by modern technology such as installation, new media, digital art projection and many more. Therefore, this paper is conducted to understand in depth the view of contemporary Islamic art in Malaysia from the 21st century by analyzing the concept and philosophy of Islam applied specifically in the artwork that produced by Malaysian artists. 100 samples of Malaysian artworks will be collected to be analyzed using two different Islamic art theories by Ismail Al-Faruqi and Zakaria Ali in order to define certain Islamic concept in selected artworks. It is hoped that this conceptual paper will make some small contribution toward guiding a contemporary Muslim artists appreciate and understand the Islamic art heritage thus seek to stimulate a potential artists to create new expressions of modern and innovative artworks while at the same time remaining true Islamic spirit.