UNIMAS c.r.e.a.t.e.s (Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Computer-Related Experiments in Art and Technology Studio)

Abstract

formation, its present and future generations will be increasingly shaped by information technology, just as the earlier generation was shaped by mechanical reproduction. In Malaysia, the interest in developing an information technology-literate society is not confined to the economic or political context alone. As Malaysia participates in global transformation, increased reliance on science and technology brings a new set of social and cultural challenges. Strangely enough, the introduction of technology into the Malaysian lifestyle, which is in a constant state of flux, has had little impact on the visual arts. Responses to issues of the relationship between information technology and the fine arts not only have been minimal, but they have been marginalized by the mainstream art world. In the Malaysian art scene, artists often have to negotiate a dichotomy: paint pretty but meaningless pictures and sustain a presence, or express genuine, original and innovative ideas that may ensure one's disappearance from the local art scene (or art space, so to speak). For the few innovative artists, such a position is problematic. Some may speculate that this space (which defines the Malaysian art scene) is guarded by a dominant few to maintain the comfortable existence of cer-