Datuk Ibrahim Hussein, a gifted Malaysia artist I look up to, has passed away on Thursday, February 19, 2009. My deepest and heartfelt condolences go out to Sim and Alia. Al-Fatihah.
.........................................................................................................................
RELATED ARTICLES TO SHARE:
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian artist, Datuk Ibrahim Hussein, 72, died at the Pantai Medical Centre here early yesterday morning of a heart attack. His wife, Datin Sim Hussein, and daughter, Alia Ibrahim, were with him when he breathed his last at the hospital's intensive care unit at 4am. Ibrahim, widely known as "Ib', had been admitted to the centre on Wednesday after he collapsed at his Lorong Bukit Pantai 1 home in Bukit Pantai here. Checks revealed he had blockages in his heart. Scores of VIPS including Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak were at his home between 8am and 3pm to pay their last respects.Ibrahim's body was taken for burial at the Bukit Kiara Muslim cemetery at 3pm. Sim was too distraught to talk while his 26-year-old daughter said she was still in shock over her father's sudden death.... read on, the New Straits Times.........................................................................................................................
Ibrahim Hussein: Kampung Boy Who Painted To International Fame - "To me, painting is like praying. When I paint, I am dealing with my heart, my work and God." These words of Malaysia's legendary painter Datuk Ibrahim Hussein are found in the web page of the Ibrahim Hussein Musuem and Cultural Foundation. Better known as Ib, -- the man who was once nearly jailed for his art work -- began his love for arts at a young age. ... read on, My Sinchew.........................................................................................................................
".... Ib, as he was fondly referred to, was perceived to be the most successful and iconic artist in the country, with his works highly sought after both locally and abroad. His beginnings were set in a humble kampong amid padi fileds of the Yan district in Kedah. Ibrahim evolved from one of the rural hoi polloi into a member of the haute monde. His works have been received in the best salons of Europe, America and Asia...." read on, the EdgeDaily.
........................................................................................................................
Renowned artist Ib dies at 72 - By OOI KOK CHUEN and ZALINAH NOORDIN, Friday February 20, 2009 - - ".... He was 22 days short of his 73rd birthday on March 13. He leaves behind his wife of 35 years Sim Hussein@Aisyah Abdullah and daughter Alia, 30. Brother-in-law K.K. Kong said the fatal heart attack was the second within the same day. Doctors had tried to revive him but all attempts failed. “He was his usual jovial self before the heart attack and nobody had expected him to leave so suddenly,” he said.... read on, theStar Online
........................................................................................................................
Source: The below article was originally published in the New Straits Times on Thursday February 19, 2009 MYT 10:25:00 AM and Updated on Thursday February 19, 2009 MYT 8:01:43 PM
Famed artist Ibrahim Hussein dies of heart attack
By OOI KOK CHUEN
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Ibrahim Hussein, Malaysia’s world icon artist, died early yesterday morning at 3.50. He was 22 days short of his 73rd birthday on March 13.
Ib, as he was affectionately known, was buried at the Bukit Kiara cemetery on Thursday. He leaves behind Sim, his wife and soul-mate of 35 years, and daughter Alia, 30.
The widely-recognised artist is perhaps better known outside Malaysia, with one international critic describing his abstract work as “futuristic and it is through a distinctive ordering of lines that he expresses differing complexities of form and dimensions.”
Ib used a medium he called “‘printage”’ - a mixture of printing and collage.
He was also founder of the Ibrahim Hussein Museum and Cultural Foundation in Langkawi.
Ib created an extraordinary legacy of paintings over a half century revolving around his life and humanity, events and personalities.
He created his own museum-in-the-rainforest, the Ibrahim Hussein Cultural Foundation Museum, in Pulau Langkawi, a rare “living” museum then by a living artist.
It was launched together with the first Langkawi International Arts Festival, which he single-handledly organised, in 2000.
With the help of his wife Sim, he had also organised the Club Mediterranee Asian Arts Fest in Bali, Indonesia (1987), and in Cherating, Kuantan (1988).
Ib is perhaps the most decorated among Malaysian artists - triple Datukships, World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award (1997), the Japan Foundation Cultural Award (1988), Venezuela’s Order of Andres Bello (1993), Chile’s Order of Bernardo O’Higgins (1996) and the Anugerah Tokoh Melayu Terbilang (2007).
In 1986, Ib, who lost the sight of one eye (his right) when he was only eight, was honoured with a Retrospective by the National Art Gallery which featured his works since Reclining Figure (1957).
A new iconic work was "He Says", in which he letter-pressed, with self-deprecating humour, his defining persona: “One blind eye, One broken tooth, One mole...”
His first major (award-winning) works were based on a printing press when he was studying at Byam Shaw School in London in 1959-63.
Ib was also given scholarships at Royal Academy (1963-66), where he won the Griffin Prize for his work, Lovers, and the Rockefeller scholarships (1967-68) exposed him to radical American cultural impulses from New York to the Deep South and Honolulu.
He caused a diplomatic flap when he held a solo exhibition in Manila at the height of the Philippines-Malaysia spat, showing that art transcends politics.
The 1969-1970 period saw a glorious burst of gems like May 13 (1969), My Father And The Astronaut, the alter ego Senyum SeOrang Monyet and Aku dan Aku; Pak Utih and Lebai Mlang, a scathing indictment against corruption.
The controversial May 13 painting was done four months after the racial riots (he was in New York when it erupted) which he described as “a human tragedy, not a national tragedy.”
When he explained to then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak why he painted over the (12-foot) Malaysian flag, Razak made him promise not to sell the painting or have it taken out of the country.
In 1970, he became the first Malaysian to show at the 35th Venice Biennale, under the aegis of the Smithsonian Institution.
Painting, to Ib, was a divine gift. It is as he said, “a prayer, expressing gratitude to God.”
One other time, he said: “There is nothing more permanent than one’s soul.”
And it is precisely this permanence, of a life well-lived and a humanism and vision crystallised and shared, throbbing with beauty and humour reflected in his painted canvas.
.....................................................................................................................................
Source: The below article was originally published in the New Straits Times on April 30, 2005
A LOOK BEHIND THE MAN - Life according to Ib
By JOHNNI WONG
FOR someone who prides himself with intuitive powers and the ability to suss out a confidence trickster, Datuk Ibrahim Hussein can at times, be quite gullible.
When this idea was posed to the reknowned artist and his wife Sim Hussein, both of them broke into peals of laughter, with Ib - as he is popularly known - nodding in total agreement.
Widely collected by the who’s who in Malaysia and abroad, works of the artist range from about RM100,000 to easily over a million ringgit. But Ib and Sim are not divulging any figures.
The artist turned 69 recently. To celebrate that, he hosted a bash at his four-storey Bukit Pantai house in Kuala Lumpur, attended by some 80 guests. It was actually a joint party with his daughter Alia – a headstrong Aries – whose 27th birthday follows two weeks after Ib’s.
Even a temporary power failure didn’t dampen the happy mood. Ib and Sim were also celebrating the fact that their only child was to be conferred a Masters degree by Cambridge University. Described as a daredevil who loves extreme sports, Alia studied natural science and majored in genetics – as the proud parents duly informed some friends whom they haven’t seen for a while.
“I feel YOUNG!” exclaimed Ib, after he cut the chocolate cake and had time for a breather. Sitting at the next table, was the Sultan of Selangor whom Ib met when he was 25 and “Tuanku was only 15”.
Such is the scene of an Ibrahim Hussein party where ordinary folks are given no less attention than royalty. And when asked for the reason for his visible fatigue, he explained that he had just finished painting his latest work till the wee hours.
The painting of a smiling Malay boy, which Sim half-jokingly announced, was a self-portrait of the artist because “don’t you recognise Ib’s crooked teeth?”
Some weeks before this interview and the birthday bash, we had met up at the couple’s home together with a group of art enthusiasts. The group was regaled with numerous tales of Ib’s escapades and misadventures, which revealed a lot about his personality, more than any journalist could hope to elicit.
At one point, Ib recounted the story of being invited to the Middle East for an international art exhibition in conjunction with the launch of a financial institution. However, in the events leading up to the exhibition-cum-sale of “national treasures”, Ib sensed that something was amiss.
“My intuition told me that something was not right and I lost interest in the proceedings. Since I was there, I made the best use of my time to get to know the Emir,” recalled Ib. “Sometime after that event, I read in the newspapers that the organiser had gotten into trouble with the law.”
However, despite his intuition, Ib confessed that he has sometimes been made use of. “It is really sad that at my age I have to find out the hard way,” said Ib. “No matter how old you are or at what age you are, the main thing at birthday get-togethers - is to be with friends.
“At my age now, I just like to be with people whom I don’t need to make any effort to be nice to on a superficial level,” says Ib. “I paint not to please anybody but to fulfil my own inner restlessness. So, when you don’t expect anything out of your life, you won’t feel disappointed. But if you are performing for others, then you might get this feeling of being misunderstood.”
The artist – who incidentally disliked being described as “foremost” or “most famous” – thinks that the reason why some people may be afraid of “doing a service” or being involved is that “people think we are after something”.
At 69, said Ib, most people would have retired – even at 55.
“As you grow older, you worry about how much time is left ... you get more excited about life, you gain a deeper insight.
“To be regarded as famous – all that is not important, as we grow older. Now that I’m 69 and going to be 70, my god, I think 100 is still very young. As an artist, you find ways to record things around you. Not that you have a message but as a reference point for the younger generation to begin your own story,” said Ib.
The artist recently embarked on a series of paintings, which he entitled “Emotions”. These works capture the very essence of life such as a portrait of the late Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah in a mirthful mood and a painting based on a heart-rending photograph of a saree-clad Tsunami victim bent over in anguish with her head to the ground and palms beseeching heavens.
The artist explains that sometimes his works reflect dark forces, which “is not a pretty picture, you would want to hang on your wall”. Despite that, he has no lack of admirers, probably because his works reflect painful but universal truths like the Palestinian issue, the folly of the May 13, 1969 racial riots or the subjugation of women and the downtrodden as represented by India’s “Bandit Queen” Phoolan Devi (1968-2001).
While other artists of his generation were starting out painting idyllic kampung scenes, Ib was already exhibiting works that question the hypocrisy of religious leaders and exposing the face of corruption by painting the image of an errant politician tried by the courts.
At one point of the interview, Sim interjected: “Most people don’t know about Ibrahim Hussein. All they know is that he is expensive. They don’t know the man. In Malaysia, they only look at how much an artist is selling his works.”
Said Ib: “When I decided to be an artist I had no expectations other than to express myself. In the process of doing what you like, life is meaningful. You don’t know when you are going to collapse. Life is just a journey, there is no destination.”
Ib’s fondest memory is of time spent at the World Economic Forum (Jan 26 - Feb 1) in Davos, Switzerland. This year, the Crystal Award at the forum for cultural contribution was given to American actor Richard Gere and singer-composer Lionel Richie.
Ib was conferred the same award in 1997. Early recipients of the award - which started in 1995 - included director Chen Kaige soprano Babara Hendricks, architect Richard Meier, violinist and conductor Lord Menuhin, author and poet Ben Okri, sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar as well as screen writer & director Oliver Stone.
“This year is the 10th anniversary of the Crystal Award. It was a reunion for most of us. And the cultural leaders’ dinner was very popular. Each cultural leader had to lead a table. There were Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, Chris Tucker and Lionel Richie ...” he reminisces.
Meanwhile, Ib’s dinner party stretched till the wee hours of the morning. As we were about to leave, I was asked by a small group to tell my story. They huddled on the floor, listening to my story.
......................................................................................................................................
To learn more about IB's paintings and the Ibrahim Hussein Museum and Cultural Foundation visit http://www.ihmcf.org/
