Exploring the Painting Styles of Malaysian Chinese Artists after the National Cultural Congress

Abstract

Since Malaysia's independence, the complex cultural environment has led artists to frequently mix cultures, shift ideas and borrow elements in the creative process. As an immigrant group, Chinese artists have gradually reduced their expressions of Chinese characteristics in the social interaction with different cultural groups, such as Malays and Indians, significantly as the indigenous Malaysian culture and the concept of Islamic art have considerably impacted traditional Chinese painting. After the National Cultural Congress (NCC) was conducted in 1971, the government advocated the development of national culture and art. To integrate into the mainstream art market, Chinese artists borrowed and referred to local cultural elements in their works and attempted to create a new form of artistic symbolism and expression. Therefore, this paper will interpret the paintings of Chinese artists of this period. A combination of form and context analysis will explain how Chinese artists and their works after 1971 were integrated into Malaysian society and contributed to Malaysian art by building an identity through their paintings.