Agus Suwage swims against the current<\/p>\n
Text and photos by Chandra Johan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): In the history of Indonesian art the 80s
\ngeneration might be called \"the restless generation\". Generally
\nthey have university backgrounds. Some have degrees while others
\ndropped out.<\/p>\n
But they share a mutual degree of concern: disappointment with
\nthe art environment and the education they received. In pursuing
\ntheir profession, they just take \"another road\" they call \"self-
\nsearching\", \"resistance\", \"opposition\", \"experimentation\" and so
\non.<\/p>\n
In discussions, they load their arguments with terms like
\n\"formalism\", \"conservatism\", \"dogmatism\", \"domination\" and
\n\"establishment\".<\/p>\n
Among this 80s generation of artists are Arahmaiani, Tisna
\nSanjaya, Semsar Siahaan, Dadang Christianto, Heri Dono, Irawan
\nKarseno, Udji Lirungan, Nindityo, Nyoman Erawan and Agus Suwage.<\/p>\n
They live in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and other cities.
\nThey were born in the \"period of silence\" after the clamor of the
\nNew Art Movement. In fact they did not initiate a \"movement\" or
\n\"manifesto\" and sometimes they perform off the art stage in the
\nopen air, at the beach, in housing complexes or on the streets.<\/p>\n
Because they did not make anything revolutionary, people
\nthought that nothing happened in the world of art in Indonesia.
\nBut in fact, these artists have been swimming against the
\ncurrent. They are opposed to the tradition and ideology of fine
\nart or the formalism of the modernists who are filled with great
\nrules and narrative.<\/p>\n
In the arts \"boom\" in recent years when arts underwent
\ndegradation in every aspect, the artists of the 80s generation
\ncame out with an alternative without having to succumb to market
\nrules that make the boom possible.<\/p>\n
They use media other than conventional oil paint, such as
\npencil, coal, conte, Chinese ink, paper, which used to be sneered
\nat as \"second class\".<\/p>\n
It is on this background that Suwage's single exhibition in
\nthe Millennium Gallery in South Jakarta, is a must see.<\/p>\n
The 40-year-old alumni of Bandung Institute of Technology's
\n(ITB) school of graphic design once worked as a commercial artist
\nin several advertising agencies.<\/p>\n
He has shown signs of \"restlessness\" ever since he started his
\ncareer as a designer and as an artist. As a visual designer, his
\nworks \"deviate\" from the usual design principles.<\/p>\n
In times when designers discard their original creativity and
\nsubmit their will to the public or clients' will, Suwage
\nmaintains a great degree of subjectivity. It is this
\ndetermination that made him choose to become an artist.<\/p>\n
To become a visual artist, Suwage believes he does not have to
\npaint with oil. As artists in his generation who are also
\n\"restless\", he doesn't want to choose an already \"established\"
\nmedia. He tries to explore, from the media as well as from the
\nidioms he uses. Isn't exploration the most important aspect in
\ncontemporary art?<\/p>\n
Many Indonesian artists have enjoyed the art boom. They are
\nbusy trading in paintings and they use the same old idioms
\nwithout them exploring new possibilities.<\/p>\n
Exploration, as far as Suwage's work is concerned, is not
\nseeking retinal sensation or \"aesthetic aura\", like shape,
\ncolor, line texture with the principle base of balance of
\nharmony.<\/p>\n
Let us forget the conventional adage that art should be
\n\"interesting, sweet and wonderful for the eyes\", so that we can
\nenjoy Suwage's nonconventional drawings done between the 80s and
\n90s.<\/p>\n
Therefore, in Suwage's works, first we are presented with
\nidiom exploration. Idioms could appear from somebody's
\nsubconsciousness which was suppressed because of prevailing
\nnorms.<\/p>\n
Psychology, for example, knows the term \"death instinct\" and
\n\"masochism\" in human beings. Generally, this tendency is not
\npracticed by our artists because it is not allowed by the
\nexisting aesthetic rules and social norms.<\/p>\n
However, in Suwage's works like Dance with Others (1985), Mama
\nI, 1986, Mama II 1986, such instincts are set free. The drawing
\nspace becomes a kind of arena to spill out suppressed instincts,
\nwhether it is the dark side of life, a trauma from an unpleasant
\nexperience, or a pleasant and at the same time misery, like in
\nDance with Others. In this drawing the dance is not brought
\nforward because of its ritual and aesthetic meaning, but because
\nof the aggressive instincts of the dancers.<\/p>\n
Humans, basically, can become more aggressive than animals.
\nDances and other rituals are parts of the arrangements of life
\nthat control human aggression which is sublimated into meaningful
\nand normative activities.<\/p>\n
However, in a decadent society nowadays Dance with Others like
\ncrazy partying and killing for fun is commonplace but never
\nexpressed in an explicit way.<\/p>\n
Symbolically, Suwage presents a black figure lying with blood
\ngushing from a stab wound. On its side are two naked figures
\ndancing.<\/p>\n
\"They are all kinds of forces that coerce us, which cannot be
\nopposed, and which leave us with no choice,\" he said. \"Those
\nforces aren't necessarily evil, but the reality is that they bind
\nus, hurt us, and make us afraid\".<\/p>\n
In another picture, we are presented with a terrifying
\nreality, strange shapes, mutilated body, fallen body, blood and a
\nmonster as in Sejak 1945 (Since 1945), (1990) or in Untitled
\n(1985).<\/p>\n
In this drawings Suwage apparently wants to drag viewers into
\nhis nightmares. He gathered organs or bits of things to become an
\nopen idiom and text. Then he lets viewers remember, guess, feel
\nand interpret for themselves.<\/p>\n
In short, Suwage's works show more of life's absurdity. And he
\ndoes not present them in a \"polite\" way. His charcoal and conte
\nlines are very wild, cruel, ambiguous, and dance up and down. The
\ncolors are limited and raw: black, red, blue. However, those
\nthings do not mean that his works become \"poor\". Instead, really
\nhe has \"enriched\" them by raising again the value of a drawing
\nmedium as a medium with \"class\".<\/p>\n
Beside exhibiting around 20 paintings, this winner of the
\nPhilip Morris Indonesia Award 1998 also presents an art book
\ncontaining a number paintings on plywood. His exhibition at the
\nMillennium Gallery will run until March 7, 1999.<\/p>",
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