Walking around
Kuala Lumpur, one can easily sense and discern the identity of this metropolis;
with her architectural marvels, historic sites, and or course, public art. Sculptures found in parks and squares break
the monotony of skyscraper and highways.
Murals help give character to stretches of concrete pavements and add
visual splendour to one’s adventure around the streets of KL.
But as
visceral and vibrant the streets and built environment in KL may be, the
opposite is also sadly true of the suburban architecture found in the Klang
Valley. Like most suburban architecture
around the world, satellite cities in Malaysia were designed to accommodate the
influx of migrants to major cities.
These satellite cities, more commonly known as suburbs, were designed
and built to decentralize major hubs such as Kuala Lumpur. The success and growth of these satellite
cities have been phenomenal. Housing
projects found around the Klang Valley such as Subang, Bandar Utama and Shah
Alam, have enabled the populace to live in relatively safe and comfortable
houses and surroundings.
But as
successful as they are as housing and development projects, they have resulted
in an unforeseen and rather deplorable side-effect. These mass housing projects have not only
resulted in a loss of architectural heritage through their homogenous and
clinical forms; they have also caused the loss of a sense of community for
those staying there. The repetitive and
uniform designs have resulted in soulless architectural reproductions – and
this soullessness seems to have extended to the inhabitants as well. Most living in these suburbs would attest to
the fact that they do not have a sense of belonging to the area they are living
in; and this invariably affects the sense of community for those living there. The loss of the sense of community is
inextricably linked to the loss of identity – the identity of the place which
they call home. All this contributes to
a drop in quality of life. Cold and
detached architecture than alienates the human senses and urban designs that
discourage public interaction. All of
which lead to the loss of communality.
And although
one wishes that the architecture and design of these houses and suburbia would
change, the economic reality and pressures of development will ensure that change
will be slow in coming. In lieu of that,
it is then up to public art to mitigate and address the side-effects of
suburban living. The most obvious
contribution of Public Art is that of the visceral and visual. The aesthetic benefits are without question –
installations, sculptures and murals will inject much needed visual vibrancy to
the repetitive banality of suburban housing.
The visual treat and break from the mundane will then bring about a much
needed vitality to the inhabitants.
Suburban dwellers no longer have to suffer the endless rows of
prefabricated houses; where every street looks the same; where there is to
distinguish one suburban hosing development from the other. Imagine the visual possibilities of each
corner, or park, or public space, or street having an artwork to call their
own; whether it be a sculpture or a mural.
Each street and suburban space would have a visual identity; something
that separates it from the adjacent street or neighbouring area.
This would
then offset the placelessness and sense of loss inherent in suburbia; for
creating an identity for suburban living area not only benefits the place
itself, but also gives a sense of identity to those who dwell there as
well. Most suburban dwellers seem to
exist in a detached state of living and existing due to the aforementioned lack
of belonging and community; and that is directly linked to the inability to
identify with the their surroundings.
Public Art has the ability to not only create a sense of identity for the
built environment, but for people too.
Creating a meaningful identity to any place is gravely important to
enable inhabitants to see that their built environment is an extension of their
‘self’ as oppose to just seeing as merely structural constructions. As great civic architectures of the past were
a sense of pride for the communities they were built for, Public Art can easily
step into that role – a role to create a sense of monumentality and of
identity.
Another aspect
that Public Art can improve the quality of suburban living is its the ability
to draw people out of their shells – in this case, their uniform abodes – by
becoming informal social collection points.
These magnetic places will serve as conversation pieces for the
inhabitants; and when one is compel to communicate with his or her neighbours,
the bonds of community are formed. The
ability to make people talk to one another is something that is taken for
granted – especially in this digital age – so the role of Public Art in giving
the art of conversation a sense or renaissance is by no means an insignificant
gesture.
The other
aspect of community building is that Public Art has the ability to get the
inhabitants involved with its genesis.
Communities can dictate the form of the artwork that best expresses and
represents who and what they are as a community. The opportunity to give input in the shaping
of one’s surroundings gives one a sense of belonging and importance. Through careful deliberation with the artist,
the artwork has the ability to reflect not only the community is was designed
for; but gives the artist an opportunity to use local contextual forces to
shape his interpretations; ensuring both originality and propriety. The end result belongs as much to the artist
as is to the community.
To counter the
sense of loss and detachment mentioned earlier, Public Art can engage with the
suburban dweller more than the architecture ever can. This goes beyond the communal engagement. The engagement here is of the human senses. The sense of detachment is caused by the
inability of our environment to involve our human senses. Although we see, smell, hear and touch what
is around us, we do not experience beyond the superficial. And why should we? There is hardly anything in suburbia that
calls out to our senses. But to truly
live we desperately need that relationship.
We need our senses to be constantly stimulated and aroused. This is level of sensuality is what Public
Art can achieve. Imagine walking down
‘corridors’ adorned with murals rather than concrete sidewalks. Imagine how the movement from the sun changes
the appearance of a sculpture or installation.
These serve to ignite our visual sense and enrich our soul. The sense of touch and intimacy is the other
sense that will be excited by the various textures and materials found in
installations and sculptures. As you
move around the artwork, you cannot help but touch the surface – to sense the
temperature, the texture, the weight.
This simple form of interaction not only draws you closer to your
surroundings, but inspires imagination.
The sense of sound and smell are brought in the fold as well: the sound
of touch on certain surfaces, or how the artwork sounds as rain and wind wash
and caress it – and the smell of how certain materials interact with the
natural elements. This is but a simple
example of how Public Art can serve to excite our senses and resuscitate our
vigour for life.
Architecture
is often called ‘the art in which we live in’ but the absence of art in
suburban architecture today it is then up to Public Art to supply the
nourishment and soul to the inhabitants of suburbia.
