Research Proposal

1. RESEARCH PROPOSAL FORM
NAME/STD ID FAEZAH BINTI BAHARI
ED 772 M. Ed Visual Art Education
ID UiTM 2012987009
TITLE Malay Traditional Wood Carvings:
Preservation Of Motifs and Patterns in A Form of Digital
Digitalized Malay Traditional Wood Carvings Motifs for Art Practitioners
The Aesthetic and Symbolism of Malay Traditional Wood Carvings
BACKGROUND TO
THE RESEARCH
(what are the
issues/current
scenario
thatbrought light
to the proposed
study?)
Malaysia has its own unique attaction of cultural heritage and historical
background. The artefacts or so-called local treasures that can be found in
Malaysia comes from local agriculture, traditional architecture, cuisine, the
arts, products and many others. The diversifying local treasures such as craft
products must be acknowledged to citizen, as well as people from other
countries. Traditional wood carving produced by the Malays are one of the
craft products that should behighlightedto the world. The wood products are
associated with Malay traditional architecture, utilitarian productsand craft.
The forms and functions of each woodcarving product can generatethe source
of income for Malaysia. The instrinsic patterns and highly skill of craftmenship
in producing a wood product are one of the main focus of this research. Other
than that, this research will capture the production of traditional wood
products based on the form, content and context. The documentation of
design and motifs will be comprehensively analyzeand describe in details. The
design will be reproduced in a form of digital to conserve its formalistic aspect.
The purpose of repoducing the digitized motifs is to preserve the originality and
to help students or designers to utilize the motifs to an extended level.
STATEMENT OF
THE PROBLEM
(identify the ‘gap’
which you plan to
investigate with
the intention to
add new
knowledge to the
existing body of
knowledge)
Modern generations of Malaysia often ignore or they are lack of awareness on
the importance of preserving local culture and heritage. Although the citizen
comes from various ethnics and backgound, they need to educate themselves
and appreciate local treasures to an extended level as they live in Malaysia. By
having the knowledge on wood carving form and functions for example, the
citizen can promote the products and make use of the information to others.
This research recommend ways to study the form, functions, symbolism and
motifs of traditional Malay woodcarving products and improve the
conservation quality. Currently, there are books and documentations of the
wood products but less focus on the aesthetic and symbolism of traditional
motifs in Malay woodcarving. The intrinsic motifs extracted from natural
environment that represents the message will be included in this research.
Other than that, as our modern community heading towards the contemporary
culture, many art exhibitons often preview recent work from artist.

2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
1. Examine the history of Malay traditional
wood carving in Malaysia.
2. Identify and archive Malay traditional
wood carving motifs, pattern, layout
design, technique andits functions
specifically on Adiguru Wan Su Othman
woodcarving collections.
3. Repositoring of Malay wood carving
motifs and pattern in a form of digital as
a step to preserve the motifs.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. How was the wood carving product
culture spread to Malaysia and further
developed?
2. What are the traditional motifs of Malay
wood carving, techniques of producing
and the functions?
3. What have been done as the
consideration for preserving the heritage
of Malay wood carving?
LITERATURE
REVIEW
(summarize
relevant theories
and previous
research)
Most of the carvings representing motifs of Kala and Makara were transformed
into floral elements. The transformations were also influenced by the
craftsman's skill, natural elements, and religious belief and thought (Abdul
Halim Nasir and Wan Hashim, 1996; (Zumahiran and Ismail, 2008).
The characteristics of Malay woodcarving mainly comprises of design attributes
as such types of flower, types of leaves, design elements and manifestation
into carving (Nursuriani and Ismail, 2011). Craftsmen created floral motifs on
carved components that represent different expressions based on their own
creativity and artistic style yet maintaining a distinctive beauty.
Crafts are imbued with certain idealism. Two significant characteristics of crafts
are that aesthetics and function are integrated, and ornamentation and
decoration are not divorced from utility (Chattopadaya, 1999). In order to
produce crafts product, it is not only integral that the artist is high skill and
technical knowledge, but also the integration of content and culture
symbolism, which complement the aesthetic value of the artworks.
According to Leigh (2000), the centuries-old history of this part of east cost of
the changes in religion, trading patterns and in material culture that must have
taken place over this this. However, along the change often a remarkable
adherence to practices that belong to previous generations. Malay Arts and
Crafts have its uniqueness whereby the originality and symbolism is aligned
with the development of its culture.

3. Di Semenanjung Tanah Melayu, seni pertukangan dan ukiran kayu tradisional
sudah lama dikenali dengan keunikan, kelembutan dan kehalusan bentuk
silatnya. Justeru keindahan warisan bangsa ini patut dipelihara dan
dipertahankan (Norzehan, 2008). The Malay Craft Woodcarving is known for
its uniqueness and fine carving skillls. The Malay society used expressed their
beliefs into the pattern and motifs in woodcarving.
Not many people have seen the carved palaces in Kelantan, Trengganu and
Negeri Sembilan and those which still survive may not be preserved for very
much longer examples of traditional styles of Malay wood carving form part of
the decoration of the National Museum in Kuala Lumpur (Sheppard, 2011).
RESEARCH DESIGN
(tick only one)
a) Qualitative
b) Quantitative
c) Mixed method
d) Case study
e) Others (please specify : __________________
METHODOLOGY
(describe your
instruments , data
collection
procedures and
method of
analysis)
The reserch data will be collected from previous books and research as well as
interviewing session with the experts. The conversation will be recorded on
video tape and transcribe. In addition, the researcher will gather information
based on motifs and symbolism designed by the Malays. Other than that,
comparison studies on Malaysian wood carving motifs and Indonesian motifs
also will be conducted to verify the differences. The identity of each motifs
from two different communities can contribute to better understanding on
Malay tradition, cultural and beliefs. After the motifs have been segregated
into three sections such as motifs extracted from floral, fauna and cosmos, the
researcher will verify which Malay motifs originated from the Wan Su Othman
or Wan Po’s family and its transformationbased on functions, environments
and socio-cultural aspect. These data are the main sources of this research.
Therefore, the research methodology used in this research is qualitative in
nature.
REFERENCES
(at least 5)
1. Abdul Halim Nasir. (1974). Seni ukiran kayu tradisional
Semenanjung Malaysia (Traditional woodcarving of Peninsular
Malaysia). Kuala Lumpur: Jabatan Muzium Negara Malaysia.
2. Chttopadhyay, K. (1969). The Crafts as an Embodiment of the Great
Folk Tradition. In The Arts and Man. NY :Prentice Hall.
3. Leigh, B (2000) . The Changing Face of Malaysian Crafts . Oxford
University Press.
4. Nursurianee, S & Ismail,Said (2013). Types of Floral Motifs and Patterns

4. of Malay Woodcarving in Kelantan and Terengganu . Elsevier Ltd.
Selection
5. Norzehan, M. et. al (2009).Seni Kraf Kayu : Motif & Teknik. Institut Kraf
Negara.
6. Sheppard, M. (2011). Malay Arts And Crafts. MBRAS
For office use :
Suggested supervisor 1)
2)
3)
Date : _______________________________
-im-(mac/2013)