"Most people have heard of Anak Alam and their lofty romanticism, but not many really know quite sure what they represent and what were they trying to achieve. We know it was founded by Latiff Mohidin and many of them are poets, performers, painters. Members include Ali Rahmad, Mustapha Ibrahim, Abdul Ghafar Ibrahim, Zulkifli Dahlan, Maryam Abdullah, Siti Zainon Ismail, etc. They espouse a variety of surrealist approaches to art making that very often touch on the idea of nature as a purer state, as origin, as inner truth... They do what young artists with lots of ideas and energy do – play, hang out, think, dialogue and make art." (Simon Soon)
Manifestasi Jenerasi Anak Alam
ditubuh pada 1 May 1974
ditubuh pada 1 May 1974
di sekeliling kami mesin-mesin mulai
berkuasa,
manusia-manusia menilai sesuatu
di atas
hitam dan putih semata,
dan kebenaran hanya,
diperuntukkan kepada satu sumber
yang telah ditentukan
terlebih dahulu,
dan kesenian satu hobi yang
diitampalkan kepada
status hidup.
berkuasa,
manusia-manusia menilai sesuatu
di atas
hitam dan putih semata,
dan kebenaran hanya,
diperuntukkan kepada satu sumber
yang telah ditentukan
terlebih dahulu,
dan kesenian satu hobi yang
diitampalkan kepada
status hidup.
di sekeliing kami berguguran
kata-kata tentang ’seni’
dan
ucapan-ucapan
terhadap seni dari orang-orang
yang tidak mengenal
apa lagi punya apresiasi
terhadap seni.
dan di sekeliing kami
kehijauan
mulai bertukar
kepada batu-bata dan kaca
dengan debu
yang dipaksakan
keada kami menyedutnya
tiap detik waktu.
kata-kata tentang ’seni’
dan
ucapan-ucapan
terhadap seni dari orang-orang
yang tidak mengenal
apa lagi punya apresiasi
terhadap seni.
dan di sekeliing kami
kehijauan
mulai bertukar
kepada batu-bata dan kaca
dengan debu
yang dipaksakan
keada kami menyedutnya
tiap detik waktu.
dan dikeliling kami
tali dan jaring
birokrasi semakin menceruti
gerak langkah
dan tuturkata
sehingga kami merasa kehilangan diri
dan realiti.
tali dan jaring
birokrasi semakin menceruti
gerak langkah
dan tuturkata
sehingga kami merasa kehilangan diri
dan realiti.
kami jenerasi anak alam.
dengan kesedaran di atas
dan dengan cinta yang hangat
kepada seribu warna
dan kebebasan kemanusiaan
menyatakan kehadiran kami
dalam
satu tenaga
seniman untuk berkomunikasi
dengan
alam keliling
dengan warna bahasa
dan garisbentuk sebagai pengucapan
kami
yang dikenal oleh manusia sejagat.
dengan kesedaran di atas
dan dengan cinta yang hangat
kepada seribu warna
dan kebebasan kemanusiaan
menyatakan kehadiran kami
dalam
satu tenaga
seniman untuk berkomunikasi
dengan
alam keliling
dengan warna bahasa
dan garisbentuk sebagai pengucapan
kami
yang dikenal oleh manusia sejagat.
jenerasi kami adalah wadah
kegiatan dan kesanggupan
di mana idea
dan imajinasi seniman diterapkan
dengan kejujuran
dan sifat kebenarnnya.
kegiatan dan kesanggupan
di mana idea
dan imajinasi seniman diterapkan
dengan kejujuran
dan sifat kebenarnnya.
semua seniman dari cabang seni
yang merasakan getaran
dan keharuan yang sama
dengan manifestasi ini
adalah saudara-saudara kami
yang satu wadah.
yang merasakan getaran
dan keharuan yang sama
dengan manifestasi ini
adalah saudara-saudara kami
yang satu wadah.
tidak ada perbatasan keturunan,
warna kulit,
kepercayaan,
usia,
jantina dan ukuran rambut
bagi jenerasi anak alam.
warna kulit,
kepercayaan,
usia,
jantina dan ukuran rambut
bagi jenerasi anak alam.
(translation into English by Wong Hoy
Cheong)
Manifesto Generation Anak Alam
formed 1 May 1974
formed 1 May 1974
all around us are machines assuming
control,
humans making judgments
purely
in blacks and whites,
and truth is but
assigned to accepted beliefs
from times before,
and art a hobby
attached to status.
humans making judgments
purely
in blacks and whites,
and truth is but
assigned to accepted beliefs
from times before,
and art a hobby
attached to status.
all around us are miscarriages of words
about “art”
and
speeches on art from people who know not
let alone appreciate art.
and all around us
the greens
are transforming
to bricks and glass
with dust
that compels
us to gasp for each moment of time.
and
speeches on art from people who know not
let alone appreciate art.
and all around us
the greens
are transforming
to bricks and glass
with dust
that compels
us to gasp for each moment of time.
and all around us
the ropes and nets of bureaucracy
are restraining
our walk
and speech
until we lose ourselves
and the reality.
the ropes and nets of bureaucracy
are restraining
our walk
and speech
until we lose ourselves
and the reality.
we are the children of nature.
with a consciousness and a love which warms to a thousand colours
and which believes in the freedom of humanity
to announce its presence
in
a single force
of artists communicating
with
the environment
with tonalities of language
and design as our expression
that is known by all humanity.
with a consciousness and a love which warms to a thousand colours
and which believes in the freedom of humanity
to announce its presence
in
a single force
of artists communicating
with
the environment
with tonalities of language
and design as our expression
that is known by all humanity.
our generation is a vassal
of enthusiasm and readiness
where the ideas
and imagination of artists
are embedded with honesty and
qualities of truth.
of enthusiasm and readiness
where the ideas
and imagination of artists
are embedded with honesty and
qualities of truth.
all art practitioners from all branches of
arts
who feel this tremor
and turmoil and are with us
in this manifesto are our comrades
in the same vassal.
who feel this tremor
and turmoil and are with us
in this manifesto are our comrades
in the same vassal.
with no divisions of ancestry,
of skin colour,
of beliefs,
of age,
of gender and length of hair
in this generation of nature’s children.
of skin colour,
of beliefs,
of age,
of gender and length of hair
in this generation of nature’s children.
Additional notes by Wong Hoy Cheong:
Interesting to read this in the context of:
- Early 1970s, which was a more liberal and strident part of Malaysian history.
- There was a surge in experimentation, re-evaluations in the arts. Polemics was the buzzword.
- 1974, was the same year thousands of students marched against peasant poverty leading to the arrest of Anwar Ibrahim. Hishamuddin Rais left the country then.
- The UCCA (University and University College Act) was enacted in 1971.
- It was a period of intense searching and challenge with 1969 as a recent memory.
- There was a surge in experimentation, re-evaluations in the arts. Polemics was the buzzword.
- 1974, was the same year thousands of students marched against peasant poverty leading to the arrest of Anwar Ibrahim. Hishamuddin Rais left the country then.
- The UCCA (University and University College Act) was enacted in 1971.
- It was a period of intense searching and challenge with 1969 as a recent memory.
