The Elements of Malaysian Culture Based on Seah Kim Joo Artwork Using Erwin Panofsky’s Theory

Malaysia is renowned for its cultural diversity, which encompasses a wide range of ethnicities, languages, and faiths. Malaysia is acknowledged as a unique nation as a result of its tranquil coexistence among its citizens and its multiracial population. This paper investigates the elements of Malaysian culture through the perspective of Seah Kim Joo's artworks. A qualitative literature review method was employed to gather secondary data on the characteristics and components of culture, as well as the unique cultural traits and influencing factors of Malaysia. Furthermore, this paper will employ Erwin Panofsky's theory to analyse the elements of Malaysian culture which also focused on the meaning rather than only the subject. Erwin Panofsky developed a theory of iconography that comprises three primary levels: Pre-iconographical description, Iconographical analysis, and Iconographical interpretation. The components of culture are categorised into two categories: material culture, which is tangible, and non-material culture, which is intangible. Seah Kim Joo's artworks effectively showcase important cultural elements, highlighting their connection to Malaysian culture. The analysis shows that the two selected artworks include aspects of material culture, such as art, clothing, food, and pastimes, as well as non-material culture, like norms, social structures, and social institutions. These findings indicate that the artworks accurately capture the essence of Malaysian culture, exhibiting their cultural value and authenticity.