Liu Jyue Yow . 1007P74080 Pablo Idris Bin Badrul . 0321895 Schani Daniel Bharat . 0318788

Observing the Everyday Introduction

The City of Kuala Lumpur is embedded with rich culture and history, evident within its street and every corners; be it a rubbish filled alley with dripping sewage pipes, or the rainwater trickling down the seamless glass on the skyscrapers. The city and its people are undeniably linked and seen as one, due to similar characteristics. Growing and evolving much like people and society; the touch of humanity brings life to an otherwise cold concrete jungle. Current trends can often be applied to the times of past and present; often through the passing of time, the best and worst qualities in people, cities and situations slowly reveals themselves.

Art itself is a very personal matter, both to the artist and the viewers. Often open to

interpretation, the initial outlines and appearance of an artworks gives off a first impression; and then upon close observation, viewers start to pick up little details that tells a story in every brushstroke. The relationship between art and emotion is tightly knitted; and often, the very definition of a good art is one that triggers thoughts and feelings. Julius Raja Manickam, a Malaysian mural artist oftens views people as ‘characters’ and through their eyes, translates their their struggles and issues into two dimensional forms. Artworks can be perceived in countless ways; however there would always be a strong core behind it, and Manickam sets out with the hopes that people will be free to put their own stories behind their interpretations, but the final message of his works will always be present.

During the visit there were various elements that stood out, however some of the most obvious were:

- The relationship and unity of people with their surrounding architecture - The juxtaposition of past and present - The contrasting images within the exterior city scape and private streets

Observation While driving into the city center, the ambiance began sinking in. Being stuck in

heavy traffic for close to two hours allowed us to fully absorb our surroundings, realising that the movement of modernism in KL is now greater than ever. Upon reaching the site, we set up and embarked onwards; astonished by the sight of a peculiar mosque connected to a police station, with the colors of blue and white plastered amongst its walls. While we walked towards the structure, curiosity and a sense of confusion begun to build up among us, without noticing it was a friday, people were rushing all around us.

This was not your average Friday prayers. In the busy city of Kuala Lumpur, it’s as

though time has taken a halt and strenuous lifestyle has been pushed aside for this sole religious purpose. As the mosque was entirely filled with people, crowds were gathering beyond the pavements, on the tarred roads with mats and carpets; kneeling amongst parked cars. The unity and dedication of an entire religion was so strongly evident that it was hard not to feel overwhelmed in the presence of it.

As the crowd began to disperse after the prayers, we walked further and noticed

buildings under construction a few blocks opposite the police station. The overlaying of modern architecture against older structures as such, was everywhere. Ironically, despite this being a common sight, no one seems to pay much mind to it. In contrast, more often than not we would pass by the same road everyday in our daily commute and not pay a single mind to the construction around it; as though the process of the merging of old and new is no longer a fresh thought.

Being in such a versatile city as Kuala Lumpur, one turn into an alley and you’ll be

engulfed by a whole new aura. While the front still upheld its powerful enterprise image, the rear side of commercial buildings were now converted into shop lots and street vendors and stalls crawled amongst them. From the smell of food from Indian spices, the fumes of trucks whirring between people, the burst of colours from textile stores to the illegal ads plastered along the walls, not a single space was left vacant.

The obvious contrast between materiality of the structures and their architectural

styles is evident. The tall facade displayed on the outside was a stark difference from the livelihood present within these alleys. Having various pockets of activities taking place in every direction, our senses did not have enough time to truly adjust before another would take over.

One of the most dominant findings in our exploration was the way in which the

community has a very unique way of working together. Being a melting pot of Malay, Indian and Chinese communities, through the years of coexisting, everyone understands their purpose and the importance of accepting the different cultures and businesses that follows. Much like the street vendors who open their business, the folks who commute to work and get stuck in traffic, and the Muslim community praying outside down the street; parts of the city takes turn to go into hiatus as it makes way for the various lifestyles of its residents. Like the conversations taking place daily between people and buildings, one cannot exist without the other. Their community gave us a sense of connectivity, and the unsaid conversations between the living and the surroundings, are the most valuable aspects of Kuala Lumpur.

Invisible Cities , Chapter 9 - Italo Calvino, and the city of Kuala Lumpur

In Chapter Nine of Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities , we witness various cities of different

nature; some glamorous and lively, while others filled with death, but most importantly, no city is entirely positive or negative. All beautiful cities hold an ugly side, while the unkept cities would have beauty in every corner as long as you slow down and pay attention to the living.

Calvino wrote of the city of Laudomia in Cities and the Dead 5, where upon the edge

of the city lies an identical metropolis: the Laudomia of the dead , and upon it a third Laudomia, the city of the unborn . The layout of the houses and the streets are indistinguishable, but to make way for the living in Laudomia, the borders of the Laudomia of the dead gets pushed further in and spaces become more and more crowded with every passing way.

Cities and the Sky 4 spoke of the city of Perinthia , an area so carefully planned, it

seems as though it was built by the gods themselves -

“Summoned to lay down the rules for the foundation of Perinthia, the astronomers established the place and the day according to the position of the stars; they drew the intersecting lines of the decumanus and the cardo, the first oriented to the passage of the sun and the other like the axis on which the heavens turn. They divided the map according to the twelve houses of the zodiac so that each temple and each neighborhood would receive the proper influence of the favoring constellations; they fixed the point in the walls where gates should be cut, foreseeing how each would frame an eclipse of the moon in the next thousand years.”

Guaranteed would “reflect the harmony of the firmament; nature's reason and the

gods' benevolence would shape the inhabitants' destinies.” Perinthia was constructed with the best intentions in mind, however the worst could be seen of it today. Cripples and dwarfs, hunchbacks and outcast populates it and the astronomers must admit that their calculations were wrong and they are unable to describe the heavens, or that “the order of the gods is reflected exactly in the city of monsters.”

Similarly upon the streets of Kuala Lumpur, as you walk through the main roads,

you’ll witness the beautifully freshly painted architecture, the modern facades and shiny windows. However as you turn into a little alley way onto a more hidden domain, the packaged layers of a polished city starts to peel away, and you get a true grasp of the lifestyle that exists within these walls. Welcomed by the hustle and bustle of carts and street vendors, the colourful projections upon the alleys are the exact opposites of the exterior facades. Beggars are carefully tucked away from the public eye and people of all colours and religions filled up the grids between the tall architectures that forms the city walls, much like that of Perinthia and Laudomia.

Even though the city of Kuala Lumpur isn’t filled with outcasts and monsters, it is

filled with eccentric individuals, where not one person is alike. Perhaps, that itself is a modern interpretation that a city that is meant to be lived in cannot truly be planned, for the living will shape the buildings.

Brightly coloured Mosque along the main road.

Jyue

Modern architecture stands tall opposite the tight old alleyways, creating a sharply defined contrast.

Jyue

The city taking a pause from its busy schedule to accommodate for Friday prayers. Here the people are seen praying on the roads as the mosque is fully occupied.

Jyue

A beggar sits tucked away in a street corner.

Schani

Where old and new are nothing but a layer apart, that makes KL the city that it is.

Schani

Street vendors and stalls lined up behind commercial buildings.

Schani

Muslim community praying to Allah on the outside of a mosque on Friday prayers. The prayers call is played through the speakers of the mosque.

Pablo

Food and culture frame people's mind set. Food and culture act together to unify people's differences.

Pablo

Hard work is what brings up the people of this place. The woman is seen washing dishes after a very long working day.

Pablo