Architecture Portfolio - DS4 Obsession

Architecture Portfolio Design Studio 4 Long Jiyang

content project 1a - site analysis project 1b - the manifesto project 2a - the pavilion project 2b - elemental studies project 3 - the gallery

project 1a

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site analysis

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project 1a

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site analysis

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project 1a

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site analysis

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project 1b Artistic Identity Essay

The late Cikgu Lee, who left us just recently was one of Kajang’s most respected and beloved man, some would even consider him as the hero and saviour of Kajang.

One of his biggest contribution to Kajang was the protest of destroying Kajang’s historical heritage centre and heritage buildings. Back in 2011, the government revealed a plan to construct a new MRT station that will cut through Kajang and provide the people to get in out of Kajang with a new and more convenient way, but all with one condition, demolishing more than 50 shop-lots that preserves the history of Kajang to make way for the MRT columns. The man who runs the Kajang Heritage Centre Museum, Cikgu Lee single-handedly gathered more than 80 concerned shop owners like Mr.Kong, the man who still uses traditional method to brew a cup of fragrant black coffee, Mr.Siew, the shopowner of a biscuit shop which sells more than 4000 varieties of Kajang’s most beloved biscuits and snacks, Mr Low, the craftman who is well known for his stunning tin forging techniques and many individual more along Jalan Besar and neighbouring streets of Jalan Tengah and Jalan Sulaiman attended the meeting to protest against the destruction of their history and to propose a new route that will not only spare them from annihilation but also to remain Kajang as one of the station and stopping point of the MRT project. After months of fighting, the voice of Kajang was acknowledge, surely enough that the MRT project owners suffered a little bit of loss, but at the same time they gained the trust of Kajang’s people which has a whole another level higher value than money.

Cikgu Lee was 65 when he left, it left many devastated and mourned, some even felt that Kajang owes him one. Kajang now needs a new platform for new individual to express their inner voice, it has been proven that unity can change how we want to live, and this spirit should be carried on to build a better community, a better Kajang, or maybe even a better Malaysia because at end of the day, we all just want a better home.

Image1. The late Cikgu Lee

Image2. The protesters of the initial Kajang MRT route.

Having an art gallery in Kajang will be the perfect opportunity for the new generation of artists in Malaysia to step up and express themselves through various kinds of art forms. An art gallery is a place where artist can convey their message and emotions towards a certain topic to the public visually whereas to the public, its a platform where they can be educated by promoting visual literacy (helping people develop. the tools and vocabulary to experience. and respond to art), unlocking creativity (stimulating. people to explore their own. creative potential, to make art,

Image6. The Guernica by Pablo Picasso

Image7. I Am Not A Virus by Red HongYi

As an young artist today in the modern era, there definitely numbers of problems and issues that they have to overcome and struggle through and one of the biggest obstacle in their career will be recognition. Majority of people will underestimate you as an young artist because you simply do not have a big brand name behind your work, thus it will greatly affect the ‘payment’ received by the artists. Time is also a great problem faced by artists in general today, ‘its just the .element of time where as an artist it is so risky .to be a full time artist’ quoted by Keenan, a young American artist. So you go 50/50 or 70/30 where you’re doing your normal day job/school and you build on your art. So the more time you spend on your art, the better your work gets. Although, you cannot just cut everything else 100% and go into art. So yeah, the element of time is the struggle. Thanks to the ever-evolving technology world we’re living in right now, publicizing the art works really couldn’t get much easier.

The artists are their own boss, which means they don’t really have to answer to anyone but themselves. They get to do the work that they are passionate about and really believe in, not to mention letting their creativity run wild. Major online platforms like Instagram, DeviantArt, and Artsy provides many young artists the opportunity to get their work published and recognized.

To me, an art gallery that is designated to showcase protest art should be funded 50/50 by the government and the public people. The people should contribute in funding of this gallery to show commitment that they want and need to voice out individual opinions hoping to protest and change something through their own artistic identity. At the same time the government should also take part in the funding to show that they actually care for the people’s voices and opinions. The government should take this as an opportunity to win their people’s heart by helping and solving the dissatisfaction and unhappiness that has been shown by them in the art gallery. Artists also play an important role here too, artist can organize a funding campaign by selling personal art pieces to lend a hand. The successful galleries and museums around the world have one thing in common, which is a relaxing and recharging entertainment area, Tate Museum London has its atmospheric restaurant and a great library/bookstore supplied with a tremendous amount of good reading materials whereas the Louvre Gallery in France has its beautifully designed relaxing park. An art gallery should find balance in edutainment, art and education are not the only factors that makes an art gallery great, a good amount of entertainment should be incorporated into the building as well.

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manifesto and to pursue. careers in the creative industries) and .manifest cultural empowerment. in each individual (building. people’s confidence with and understanding of artists, galleries, arts centres, art museums).

Malaysian is known for how its people are able to live together while having different cultural background, beautiful natural landscapes and its limitless amount of amazing food, but those are only the ones shown in the picture frames. It is not all sunshine and rainbows in this country we call home, Malaysia has a long history of suffering from racial issues, political issues, and most recent the infamous 2015 1MDB scandal which involves over RM2.67 million of money being laundered, and of course not everyone are able to turn a blind eye to all these matter that is slowly devouring the economy and stability of the country. Brave artist like Fahmi Reza has been detained by the police countless times under the Communication and Multimedia Act Chapter 2 Section 233 due to his sensitive protest and political digital art and graffiti. To the government, it is verbal harassment and discrimination; to his supporters and many other fellow Malaysian, it is just voicing out whats wrong and what is needed to be correct and fixed because under the Federal Constitution Part 1 Article 10, everyone has the right of Freedom of Speech. Until today, not only Fahmi has not been silenced, but also he is getting more pumped and filled with passion to create more art to defend the people. Artist like Namewee, Zunar, Red Hongyi are also getting certain amount of attentions through different protest art forms like installations, comic art, sculptures and even music.

Image3. Fahmi Reza and his ‘clown’ protest graffiti art

Image4. Zunar’s political digital art

Image5. Fahmi Reza’s ‘clown cabinet’ protest graffiti art

Protest art, also known as activist art represents and includes aesthetic, sociopolitical, and technological developments that have attempted to challenge and complicate the traditional boundaries and hierarchies of culture as represented by those in power. Like protest art, activist art practice emerged partly out of a call for art to be connected to a wider audience, and to open up spaces where the marginalized and disenfranchised can be seen and heard. The main goal of this category is art is to encourage and giving the community and ‘wake-up call’ and hoping for public participation as means of bring about social change. Some well known protest art from the past are The Guernica 1937 by Pablo Picasso portrays the suffering of humans from chaotic wars, The untitled skull 1982 by Jean-Michel Basquiat portrays the anger he had from feeling unappreciated and mistreated as an black artist, and also the recent I Am Not A Virus 2020 by local artist Red HongYi sending message around the world to push back against racism related to COVID-19.

Image8. Bookstore in Tate Museum,London

Image9. Park in Louvre Museum,France

The Covid-19 pandemic has truly shook the whole world and almost everyone has been affected by it someway, for artist who can adapt the situation well on the other hand, not so much. From January 2021 to May 2021, NFT talk has literally broken the internet. From platforms like TikTok and Twitter to CNN News, the trending topic has left millions scratching their heads to this new art selling technique. NFT art has turned many digital artists life around, in a good way. In order to sell them, designers need to get some kind of ‘legal’ ownership of their work. So, after NFT art is created, it’s ‘minted’ or tokenized on the cryptocurrency service, Blockchain. The Blockchain is a digital transaction system that records information in a way that makes it very difficult to hack or scam, which means it’s extremely useful for tracking copyright ownership and maintaining records of creation. Theoretically, any digital masterpiece you create and mint will lead solely to you. The Covid 19 pandemic has revealed how weak can one country’s currency be, not only the implementation of cryptocurrency can offer the people a more secure and trustworthy currency to buy and sell, it can also protect the privacy of certain protest artist which refuse to reveal their identity as it can be quite messy and out of hand if you’ve been headhunted by the opposite party Art, itself, can be anything,, even a regular four legged can be called an art as long as someone is able to understand and appreciate the value of it. Therefore, art should not be limited, restricted or controlled. One must enjoy the process of creating art in order for it to become a masterpiece,this way the feelings and emotions will also touch the viewers emotionally and spiritually.

project 1b

protest art & artists

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manifesto

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project 1b

‘Obsession’ Manifesto Poster

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manifesto

‘They always say time changes things, but actually you have to change them yourself.’ -Andy Warhol

project 2

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pavilion

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project 2

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pavilion

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gallery

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project 3

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gallery

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project 3

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gallery

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project 3

Site and Landscape Plan Scale : NTS

gallery

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project 3 Site plan flow diagram

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gallery 1. MRT approaching view

2. Main drop off view

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project 3 Second floor flow diagram

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Third floor flow diagram

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gallery 3. Landscape view

4. Outdoor bistro view

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project 3 Second floor flow diagram

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First floor flow diagram

Second floor flow diagram

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gallery

5. Gallery View

6. Lobby view

project 3

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7. Communal zone

First floor plan 1:300

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gallery Second floor plan 1:300

Third floor plan 1:300

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project 3

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gallery

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end.