Slice the Power of Indonesia Visual Art
"Meaning of Friendship", acrilic on canvas, painting by Ugy Sugiarto, 2017.
By Kus Indarto
The 7th Beijing International Art Biennale
presents the central theme of the “Silk Road and World Civilization”. This is a
challenging theme not only for Chinese artists themselves, but also for
participating artists from outside China, including Indonesian artists.
If we reopen the pages of our
history, it is impossible to not be made aware of the role of the “Silk Road”
as an economic tool which has had a major impact on social, political, cultural,
and other issues. The impact upon China and its trading partners, such as the
countries in Central Asia, Arabia, Eastern Europe, to Western Europe, and
others. The “Silk Road”, which began around the 2nd century AD and lasted until
the 16th Century AD cannot be understood in isolation as a trade route, but
rather as a medium of cultural exchange. This phenomenon has contributed
massively to the evolution of acculturation and cultural intermingling in the
various countries through which the “Silk Road” passes.
Particularly in the context of the
7th Beijing International Art Biennale event, the “Silk Road” as a central
theme for Indonesian artists cannot be translated merely as a trading or
cultural journey, as it would otherwise be depicted as in a World History book.
The theme itself is a great source of knowledge and inspiration for many of our
artists, especially those who have in some way been directly influenced by this
globally important event. Quite simply, the challenges of this theme can be
summed up in two words: Momentum and Distance. It can be said that this is a
problem of momentum, because the “Silk Road” itself was a phenomenon most
prominent in centuries or millenia past - it exists truly as a historical
record. Aside from this, it is a problem of distance, as looking at the “Silk
Road” from a purely geographical perspective, our country is relatively
distant. These challenges of the theme have been fully absorbed into the unique
idiosyncratic spirit nuances of our artists and people.
In my opinion, almost all of the
works presented by our Indonesian artists here in the Beijing International Art
Biennale are works that have tried to re-evaluate the Silk Road theme and
re-contextualize it in terms of issues related to the culture and human
condition of Indonesia, or in relation to the distinct interests and personal
understanding of each individual artist. From here it is easily visible that
each work presents a visual interpretation or re-reading on the theme of the
“Silk Road”.
Though visual interpretations on this
“Silk Road” theme may vary, I believe that that diversity in fact enrich the
theme. Taken in the context of our Indonesian artists, whose cultural history
is unique, it is inevitable that there will be a degree of variance with the
interpretations of artists from China, or from other regions or countries in
Asia, and especially when compared to artists from other continents.
From my own evaluation as a curator
of Indonesia Special Exhibition, I have found a great variety of visual
interpretations and content from the Indonesian artists presented with the Silk
Road theme. There are artists who attempt to re-trace the historical “Silk
Road”, and reiterate the literal value of the “Silk Road”. This appears in
Yince Djuwidja’s work. There is also an artist who has channeled their own
personal memory of the iconic physical identity of China, as can be seen in the
work of Camelia Hasibuan, who used the panda as the subject matter of their
work. Camelia regards the panda as deeply symbolical to China, as well as a
metaphor for beauty and greatness. Some people may be reminded of the physique
of the panda - its wild animalism - and yet, the panda is still a species which
has a completely different, gentler meaning for others.
Additional reference to our shared
history of relations between Indonesia and China provides a further insight
into the inspiration of some artists in addressing the theme of the Silk Road.
For Balinese artists, or those who have lived there, for example, the theme
reveals their island’s memories of the relationship between Bali and China that
originated in the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties - particularly by Kublai Khan,
when he opened Beijing to the Silk Road. For a long time - as the German
historian, Berthold Laufer tells us - merchants from mainland China became
intimately familiar with the beautiful island south of Borneo, named P’oli - or
Bali.
One of our Balinese artists, Chusin
Setiadikara, reflected back upon the long history of Bali-China relations. The
themes of the past, excavated and inspired by classical Balinese paintings,
seemed to him very representative and worthy of readdressing - namely, the
trading of fish in market. The theme is simple, yet interesting, and Chusin
imagines this scene occurring when Chinese traders came to Bali or to other
parts of Indonesia. The work of Balinese artist Edi Asmara also explores the
importance of simplicity in his work, though he puts more emphasis on his
painting style and techniques that exploit his own new creative touch and
creative discoveries. This more or less also applies to Paramahita Made Gede’s
work, which explores the theme by depicting the simplicity of his surrounding
environment.
Meanwhile, Erizal, an artist from
Western Sumatra and from the Minangkabau tribe, has an interesting viewpoint on
the theme. He felt that there were some similarities between Minangkabau and
Chinese culture. For example, the colors red and yellow are considered very
iconic for both cultures, and in the events and customs of both, they hold a
very dominant role. Thus, Erizal has visualized a musical instrument which he
considered to have a close connection between Minangkabau and Chinese culture -
namely, the ‘rebab’. This stringed instrument is renowned for its melancholy
tone and rhythms, which for Erizal, can be one of the points of discussing the
relationship between the two cultures.
Gatot Indrajati, a young artist who
has often won arts competitions at the national and regional levels is depicts
the goldfish as a representation of the familiar Chinese culture in Indonesia.
In addition, there is also a visualization of some human figures that symbolize
the movement of Chinese people to other regions in different countries.
Ivan Sagita on the other hand,
understands the "Silk Road" in a freer sense. Personally Ivan
understands Silk Road in themes of exoticism, enlightenment, idioms,
spirituality, and cultural shifts. Thus, his work is not only about Silk Road
as a cultural path, but also a "private path".
In Januri's work, the spirit of past
people spreading culture and many others are symbolized in various disguises.
Humans without a clear head, hands, or feet illustrate the fluid motion of
cultural dynamics, but the spirit of collectivity for the movement characterizes
their own individualism, such that the figures are anonymous.
Similarly, the artist Johan Abe
communicates his interpretation through sculpture. The narrative of Indonesian
women, precisely depicted by three women berkebaya, present the history of the
Silk Road through silk cloth. In the context of Indonesia, the kebaya dress is
an important part of our national identity for women. Yet, the presence of kebaya
clothes, historically, cannot be separated from the role of China who brought
this cultural influence to the archipelago. This work is a simple yet memorable
memorial to our shared history.
In Joni Ramlan Wiono's paintings,
lines and colors are explored as the essence of many works. The colors which he
considers to be iconic in Chinese culture are explored expressively. Joni
intends to combine two cultures - China and Indonesia - in one canvas. Similarly to Joni, I Made Wianta also
experiments with the things that are considered simple yet meaningful. Wianta
is well aware that in Chinese tradition, Chinese calligraphy or writing
certainly has meaning. However, in modern times, and in his personal
interpretation, this calligraphy is positioned as a form of art-oriented
expression. Calligraphy seems to be "played around" at will by Wianta
because of his artistic potential.
Like other artists, Mangu Putra also
took objects to be the central point of his work idea, namely roses and lychee
trees. Mangu believes that China is one of the nations that contributed to the
enrichment of Balinese culture. Through the "Silk Road", the people
of Bali were introduced to many things, including roses and lychee fruit.
Implicitly, the object appears in Mangu's work.
As for Nasirun, cultural
acculturation has taken place over the "Silk Road" for centuries. Acculturation
celebrates the archipelagic culture of Indonesia with the inclusion of
Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. Indonesia inherited the natural
wealth and this vast cultural acculturation through the "Silk Road".
For Nasirun, the theme of "Silk Road" is very interesting and gives
yet another reason to the Beijing standing as one of the world's foremost
biennials.
On the other hand, the senior artist
Nyoman Nuarta conceived the Borobudur temple, an original monument of
Indonesia. Borobudur is an inseparable piece of our cultural heritage created
in the 8th-11th century AD. It is entirely possible that this was the result of
the expansion of the "Silk Road". Indonesia will be greatly
diminished if the largest Buddhist temple in the world is lost or destroyed.
This is the shadow of Nuarta's fear for Borobudur. Thus, he has depicted the
temple as floating, imagined as if it will evaporate if not treated kindly.
This is the extent Nuarta's concern and appreciation for Borobudur.
Meanwhile, the artist Sigit Santosa
raises questions of the human body representing the society - as a fragile yet
flexible body of culture. There are also ornaments in his work, implying the
ornamental connection between China and Indonesia.
For Ugy Sugiarto, the theme
encourages interpersonal relationships among many people in different nations.
Two of his paintings talk about the power of love that made the "Silk
Road" happen. The visual idiosyncrasies of China themselves in Ugy's work
create a romantic visualization of relationships between men and women. Once
again, Ugy strengthens the importance of the power of love in the context of
the presence of this "Silk Road".
The artists selected for inclusion in
special exhibition Indonesian can be grouped in three scopes. First, senior
artists in terms of age and creative expertise. They already have a good (or
even brilliant) reputation at the national level, and even on the global stage.
In this group, there are names such
as Made Wianta, Nyoman Nuarta, Ivan Sagita, Chusin Setiadikara, Mangu Putra,
Nasirun, and Sigit Santosa. Their reputation building has given color to the
dynamism of art in Indonesia.
The second group consists of the
artists who have historically built their artistic reputation firmly through
distinctive creative choices. This group, in terms of reputation and
achievement, is not like the senior group above, and have instead spent the
years as junior artists. This group comes after the dimming of art movements in
Indonesia. The artists are Joni Ramlan, Januri, Paramahita Made Gede, I Putu
Edi Asmara, Erizal.
The third is a group of young
artists-both young in terms of biological age, and young because they have only
for a short time been firmly placed on the artistic map. These artists, in many
ways, are building reputations, achievements. In this group. there are Camelia
Hasibuan, Gatot Indrajati, Johan Abe, Yince Djuwudja, and Ugy Sugiarto. Yet,
this young understanding does not suggest a lack of quality in their artwork. Moreover,
in the context of this BIAB exhibition, their works are almost difficult to
categorize as "young", considering the artistic and aesthetic
achievements of their artwork.
The three groups are simply categories
that are not very binding in terms of academics, because each artist in the
three groups can clearly occupy different groups at different times. For sure,
all the artists in the three groups each are extremely accomplished. This is
but one small slice of the strength of Indonesian art today. BIAB is very
fortunate to be a witness to the creative power of these Indonesian artists.
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