Seni dan Nilai Estetik dalam Kraftangan Melayu

“Tumbuh hendaklah berpunca,punca itu rahsia,tajam tidak menerjah lawan,lilit tidak memeluk lawan,tetapi berlegar mesra.”

                                                                    Nakula (1990)

Seni, dalam masyarakat Melayu membawa kepada pengertian mengenai sesuatu yang halus. Halus dari segi saiznya mau pun dari dari segi ketelitian penghasilan sesuatu objek itu sendiri.

Pentakrifan tentang kehalusan pembuatan objek sehingga menjadi sesuatu yang cantik dipandang, disertakan dengan persimbolan-persimbolan yang berkaitan dengan budaya setempat menjadikan ia objek estetik yang mendalam maknanya. Dalam alam Melayu, perlu ditekankan juga objek atau karya seni perlu ditambah dengan satu lagi elemen yang penting; yakni berfungsi. 

Ini bererti perkataan seni itu sendirinya seringkali membincangkan tentang kehalusan pembuatan sesuatu objek yang memberi kesan tampak yang menyenangkan dan dapat memberi manafaat kepada kehidupan seharian masyarakat setempat. 

Menurut Frederick Antal, kesenian itu tidak boleh berlaku dalam suatu kekosongan atau vakum, tetapi hanya akan menjadi subur dan berkembang di dalam sebuah masyarakat. Ini akan mengangkat martabat kesenian menjadi sebahagian dari budaya masyarakat yang menghayatinya.

Seandainya kita ingin memahami stail kesenian itu secara menyeluruh dan lengkap, seharusnya kita mengenali budaya masyarakat di mana objek seni itu dihasilkan. 

Pernyataan Antal adalah bertepatan jika dikaitkan peranan seni dalam budaya Melayu. Jadi apakah yang perlu difahami, jika kita ingin menikmati hasil kesenian dari budaya masyarakat ini secara total?

Terdapat beberapa kriteria tertentu yang boleh dijadikan panduan dalam mengenali kesenian masyarakat Melayu. Dengan terciptanya kriteria-kriteria ini boleh diandaikan bahawa kesenian telah mempunyai strukturnya sendiri di dalam budaya Melayu. Struktur ini adalah berdasar kepada batasan-batasan kefahaman yang mereka anuti, kesesuaian dengan tradisi yang sedia ada dan selera sebahagian besar anggota masyarakat setempat.

Fungsi seni di dalam masyarakat Melayu dapat dilihat dalam beberapa bahagian secara umum sebagai:

1. Objek gunaan - Penghasilan karya tidak hanya dilihat semata- mata untuk mencetuskan kenikmatan penghayatan tetapi dalam masyarakat tradisi yang serba sederhana, fungsi kegunaan menjadi keutamaan. nilai estetik yang ada pada objek bermula dengan penghayatan spontan dari ringkas dan berevolusi menjadi kompleks dan halus pada peralatan kegunaan harian yang membantu ahli masyarakat menjalani kehidupannya.

    

2. Alat integrasi sosial - Kesenian, dalam masyarakat Melayu juga merupakan satu hasil kerja yang dapat dijadikan tarikan untuk mengumpulkan anggota masyarakat. Secara sengaja atau tidak, suasana kesenian berfungsi sebagai wadah integrasi masyarakat. Wayang kulit atau permainan gasing selalunya berupaya mengumpulkan sebahagian besar ahli masyarakat di satu lokasi, dan hasilnya mereka akan berinteraksi dan berkenalan antara satu dengan yang lainnya. Hatta, integrasi sosial berlaku.

3. Sumber maklumat - Penyampaian maklumat melalui karya seni telah berlaku sejak zaman pra- sejarah lagi. Lukisan di gua menjadi bahasa komunikasi, dokumentari yang boleh menjadi rujukan dan panduan ahli masyarakat sezaman dan zaman seterusnya. Dari persimbolan-persimbolan ringkas sehingga menjadi huruf-huruf yang diperetujui oelh ahli masyarakat setempat sebagai membawa makna tertentu.

Turutan dari titik ini, penyampaian maklumat melalui kesenian telah berkembang menjadi kompleks sehinggakan terdapat makna yang tersurat dan tersirat dalam setiap hasil seni. Malahan seni mampu menyalur bukan sekadar maklumat tetapi propaganda pihak-pihak yang berkepentingan.

4.Suatu perlambangan - Dalam masyarakat Melayu, nilai dan norma memainkan peranan penting sehinggakan setiap perilaku ahli-ahlinya seolah-olah dibimbing oleh pelbagai adat resam dan adat istiadat. Hasil seni diciptakan secara khusus untuk mengekalkan nilai dan norma ini agar berterusan menjadi legasi budaya masyarakat Melayu. Hasil seni berfungsi seperti keris, gong, serunai nafiri, destar, pending, seni ikatan samping dan sebagainya perlu juga dibaca sejajar dengan perlambangan-perlambangan tertentu yang telah sekian lama menjadi legasi Budaya Melayu agar kita tidak dilihat sebagai individu yang tidak tahu adat sopan.

5. Pernyataan Emosi dan Perasaan - Hasil seni lazimnya berkait dengan sesuatu yang halus, dapat memberi kenikmatan kepada penghayatnya. Seni juga dikatakan sebagai suatu ekspresi perasaan,
imaginasi pengkarya dengan pengolahan bahan tertentu.

Keinginan pada keindahan adalah naluri semulajadi manusia. Maka dengan sebab itu, kebanyakkan objek kegunaan hariannya diolah bentuknya agar sedap mata memandang selain berfungsi membantu
manusia menguruskan kehidupan hariannya. Pengisian ragamhias rumah tradisi Melayu boleh dijadikan bukti pad pernyataan ini.

6. Sebagai Hiburan - Unsur-unsur budaya ekspresif di dalam hasil seni yang bercorak permainan seperti wau, gasing, alat muzik, permainan kanak-kanak dan sebagainya serta perlakuan-perlakuan
seperti wayang kulit, pelbagai tarian Melayu bertujuan sebagai hiburan mengisi masa lapang setelah penat bekerja seharian atau selepas sesuatu musim tertentu. Disamping sarat dengan persimbolan dan perlambangan tertentu, penyampai maklumat samada tersurat atau tersirat untuk ahli masyarakat, ia juga berfungsi sebagai hiburan yang dihayati oleh ahli masyarakat secara kolektif.

"TIDAK MELAYU HILANG DI DUNIA"

A Page from The Thesis - The Concept of Islamic Metaphysics in Visual Aesthetics

The concept of Islamic Metaphysics

Metaphysics: 1. Branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of existence, truth and knowledge                                

2. Speculative philosophy; abstract talks. Metaphysical; based       on abstract reasoning.

Islamic metaphysics is traditional science (scientia sacra) that talks about the central idea of Islam (Tawhid) which embodied the man, cosmos and revelation in which the sacred dimension is generated.  Concerning this, Waeil Samhouri (1990), mentioned that;

…the sacred dimension within Islamic tradition is not just one of the dimension which to be added to the multiplicity of dimensions…   but, rather, the principal dimension. (p.2)

which signify that the sacred dimension is one of the prime importance in forming the linkage between the physical-temporal reality to the metaphysical reality. This order of importance is further reiterated by Samhouri as;

The sacred dimension is the dimension par-excellence, adherent to the mystery of the Islamic revelation itself form the very “presiding Idea” of Islam is projected and revealed. There is no dimension, no activity within the traditional framework of life …that has not ‘touched’ by the sacred. (p.2)

As for the reality of the link between the realm of physical-temporal to the realm of metaphysics, it is possibly being illuminated   through the inner dimension of Islam but not totally relegating the outer (exoteric) dimension, but rather as an extension, that is, the exoteric dimension forms a foundation of the way to reach the esoteric dimension. With this in regard to the Truth, the physical-temporal world is only part of the whole Truth. In this sense a “particularized Truth” in which is suitably perceived by the limit of the human mind.  Concurrence to this, Nasr (1964) proposed that;

The Truth in its unlimited and infinite essence is thus particularized by the specific form of the Revelation as well as by the characteristics of the people who are destined to receive it. This particularization of the truth has a direct bearing upon the study of nature and the whole cosmological perspective which is concerned for the most part with the world of forms.

The Truth is unlimited and indefinable, in other word is infinite. The particularization of the truth with the respect of revelation; Islamic Revelation through the Qur’an, hadith and Sunnah, the limitless of the Truth is confined or simplified in such a fashion that man’s mind can accept it. The simplification of the Truth is done to accommodate the limited capacity of human’s mind but not the whole essence of the Truth which is beyond man’s ability to comprehend. But there were cases in which the mind and heart is opened to the higher dimension of the Truth through the Divine Grace (barakah). Such were the cases of Prophets, to the lesser extent the awli’a and Sufis. Even this opening of the heart is could not to see the whole Truth (in case of awli’a and Sufis) but just a glimpse of the higher level of the realm beyond the physical-temporal, or in other word of the metaphysical Truth. 

This ontological link between man and his Creator can be seen through the three theophanies of God, man and universe. God as the metacosm (Tanzih) is in the realm of the infinite which is beyond man’s ability to percept Him but His attributes (Tashbih) are presence in the realm of temporality. The best example of this aspect can be seen in the Al-Qur’an; the Divine words manifested in Arabic calligraphy. This form of revelation is the key to link man as the microcosm to the God the metacosm through the signs and archetypes which are presence in the universe (macrocosm). 

Perhaps the aspect of universe can be assumed to be divided into two major sections which are the realm of physical-temporal and the realm of cosmos. The realm of physical-temporal is in which the nature is situated. Man can derive his inspiration to contemplate God by realizing the order and harmony in nature. 

At the same time too, man can contemplate God by understanding the space of cosmos. As in the world of nature, the seemingly emptiness of the space is infused with the signs and symbols that lead the mind to remembering God. Thus, whether through nature or cosmos, the signs are countless for the mind to remember his Creator. 

Man as the microcosm is the best of God’s creation. The exclusive gift of the Divine to man is the faculty of thinking which makes him superior than the animals or angels. This gift does not come with nothing. As stated in Al-Qur’an God did not created man and Jinn but to submit to Him. Specifically, with man, he has dual role in his temporal existence; the first one being the vicegerent (khalifah), to govern the temporal world; yet lest he forget, he too, plays the role of the servant (abdi) to the Creator and he has to answer to God of what he has done during his sojourn in the temporal life. In man’s exercise of his governance and servitude, contemplation (dzikir) and remembrance (fikir) can be said to be one of the most important aspect of a Muslim man’s life in order to steer 

him to the Righteous Path (sirratul Mustaqim). The role of the Islamic art is to remind man of these responsibilities while he is living the temporal life.

Islamic art, in its traditional forms function to accommodate to the expression of Tauhid, beside its physical function as utilitarian objects that can be used in man’s daily life. If it can be suggested, it is this aspect of Islamic art need to be understood fully in the contemporary situation and to be established into the Islamic art of the contemporary context. To manifest this concept of Tauhid, two structures of understanding Islamic art is presented here. Both are written by two well-known Islamic scholars, namely the late Ismail Faruqi and Seyyed Hoessein Nasr. 

 Faruqi was more concern on abstraction of the form to the point when the mind is unable to comprehend the sequence its physical manifestation; thus, to contemplate the infinity. Infinity in Islamic art is nothing but the very essence of Tauhid. Nasr, on the other hand, was focusing on the symbolic meaning of the negative space in traditional Islamic art.10 If we may suggest, both of them are looking at the concept of Al-Tauhid but from opposites viewpoints.

While in Nasr’s model of Islamic art did not specified any steps or procedures on how to produce the art, but provides us with the spiritual-metaphysical rationalization of the true meaning of Islamic art through his exposition of Unity in Multiplicity concept which is essentially about Tauhid. He explicitly proposed that Islamic art, in whatever form they are should be able to lead the mind to contemplate (zikr) and remember (fikr) of the Divine. As long as the art function as such, it is considered as a form of ibadah.

  Faruqi(1986:163-171) on the other hand, while centered his idea of Islamic aesthetics as “Qu’ranic Expression”and defined the level of this expression in aesthetics as;

1. The Qur’an as definer of Tawhid or Transcendence.

2. The Qur’an as artistic model.

3. The Qur’an as artistic iconography.

 From the doctrine of Tauhid which is defined in the level one, Faruqi suggested the six core characteristics as a guiding principle to see and produce Islamic art which are;

1. Abstraction or infinite patterning

       One of the primary concerns of Islamic art is abstraction or infinite patterning. This is due to the belief of no naturalistic or representative subject-matter will be able to lead the mind of the      viewer to infinity but only on sensuality.

2. Modular structure

      Each individual parts of the patterns or design should be completed in itself as well as works with other units to form parts of larger patterns.

3. Successive modular structure

       Each individual modular structure can be combined by means of repetition or variation while not  destroying their individual identity yet retaining a new, bigger structure. This cumulative process can be sustained to the point of exhaustive without ever achieving the end. The result of this process is a sense of perpetuity; to the artist and to the viewer.

4. Repetition

        Repetition of the motifs or modules functions among others as to avoid a sense of individualism in the overall design. By not having any obvious focal point, the art forces the viewer to move    his eyes all over the art. High level of repetition is done to give a sense of infinity.  

5. Dynamism

        The dynamics of Islamic art is categorically different from its Western counterpart. It is different  in the sense that it requires the viewer’s eyes and mind to see the art through a series of focal points or perceptions. Contrary to the Western formalistic theory which essentially stresses on the focal point, the dynamism of Islamic art draws the mind to the multiplicity of the patterns which pull it into the vortex of infinity. The inter-relatedness between each individual designs/modules forces the eyes from one module to another to the point of it overflows the physical plane of the art and lead the mind to the infinity. Thus contemplation is achieved not by concentrating on one particular point of the art rather by the absence of it. It gives a clue to the mind to contemplate of something beyond the sensuality of the physical plane of the art.

6. Intricacy. 

       The element of intricacy is essential to induce the viewer’s attention to see the structural construction of the modules beyond their physical entity. This element, when combined with repetition and dynamism will guide the mind to comprehend the art beyond the physical plane to the infinite space. 

Sculptural art is included in the category of “spatial art” in which Professor Ismail R. Faruqi has divided them into four major sections; three of which characterize the sculptural elements;

1. Ornamental Characteristics – which uses the real vertical and horizontal dimension of the space as well as the plastic quality of the volume. Such examples were in the fountains, columns, towers, triumphal arches, bridges and aqueducts as found in Islamic architectures in most Muslim countries. 

2. Architectural Characteristics – pertaining to the artistic exercise that involves the alteration of the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the interior space of a building. The exercise helps to add on to the perception of depth, volume and mass or more specifically, anti-mass. 

3. Element of Landscaping  – including of horticulture and aquaculture, dealing with the process of beautification of the space of the three dimensional character which requires the consideration 

of vertical as well as horizontal dimensions of space. 

4. Urban and Rural Design – which planned and described the proximity between buildings and their embellishments such as open space around them, close compounds, complexes and quarters which play parts in determining the status of the building. Since this aspect involves the vertical and horizontal manipulation of space, it is defined as part of Islamic spatial art.

 Thus by treating the principles outlined by Faruqi as formalistic elements of Islamic art (for the purpose of this writing, we will call it as Faruqi’s formalism)14 and by combining these elements with the philosophical content as posited by Nasr, Islamic art can be looked from different view-point than of the Western one. In fact it is important to look at Islamic art, whether in its traditional or contemporary form through this perspective, then whenever it is feasible to have a secondary assessment through Western viewpoint.