Alberola's art offers unique take on reality<\/p>\n
A. Sudjud Dartanto, Contributor, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
If you visit Cemeti Art House in Yogyakarta, you are sure to
\nfind 13 graphic works in soft colors using, among others, yellow
\nand green, as well as other visual objects in attractive
\nserigraphy, such as human figures, buildings, landscapes, scenery
\nand free scrawling.<\/p>\n
The works have been put on display on the walls of the
\ngallery. They are mounted on square frames covered with mica
\nglass. So, the moment you go into the gallery, you can feel the
\nnuance of a fine art exhibition somewhere in France.<\/p>\n
Indeed, you cannot find visual figures or forms that have
\ntheir exact counterpart in reality. Nevertheless, the artist,
\nAlberola, has blurred them in some of his works. While in some of
\nhis works there are realistic pictures, the blurring accentuation
\nis still there. Perhaps this is the artistic characteristic of
\nAlberola's serigraphy. Look at Cain et Abel (Cain and Abel) (150
\ncentimeters (cm) x 64.6 cm, 1990), for example. This work shows
\nfive-and-a-half human heads in red, yellow and orange with a
\nstrong black point in the eyes.<\/p>\n
Of so many graphic art works, the serigraphy of Jean Michael
\nAlberola, is quite extraordinary in that this well-known French
\nfine artist combines printing and serigraphic techniques.<\/p>\n
This combination of techniques is also known as a color
\nprinting method because in the process a silk screen is used and
\nit conforms to the colors the artist needs. Under this technique,
\ncolors are applied by means of a stencil technique and will be
\nallowed to permeate holes or pores in the silk.<\/p>\n
This technique resembles the technique used to make a gouache
\npainting (nontransparent water color) in which monotonous and
\nbright colors are used, which are pleasing to the eyes.<\/p>\n
Generally, the serigraphy of Alberola stresses detailed
\nprocess, for example in La Banlieve (Suburban, 79 cm x 114 cm,
\n1992), in which there is a torn piece of something placed
\ncrosswise and on this torn piece you can see two human beings
\nwith buildings forming the background.<\/p>\n
The lines in his drawing of Cain et Abel is a reminder of the
\nwork of Renaissance fine artists. Another characteristic in
\nAlberola's works is the employment of a collage technique, which
\ncan bring together the text element, photography and processing
\nto shape up his full works.<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta, these important works by Alberola are on
\ndisplay from Jan. 7 through Jan. 31. Then they will also be
\nexhibited in two major cities in Indonesia: Surabaya (Feb. 4
\nthrough Feb. 12) and Jakarta (Feb. 18 through Feb. 28).<\/p>\n
This exhibition has happened thanks to an international
\nartwork introduction project, jointly undertaken by the
\nIndonesian-French Institute in Yogyakarta and its sponsor,
\nl'Association Francaise d'Action Artistique (AFAA), and has as
\nits title \"Je ne m'appele pas Pierrot, je m'appelle Ferdinand\"
\n(My name is not Pierrot, it's Ferdinand). After being exhibited
\nin Indonesia, these works will also be displayed in Japan and
\nBangladesh.<\/p>\n
Jean-Michel Alberola was born in Algiers in 1953. In 1962 he
\nmoved to France and began his studies at Marseille Fine Art
\nAcademy. He fostered his artistic creativity in three places: Le
\nHavre, Paris and Naples. His first group of works saw the light
\nof day at a saloon in Toulon (1975-1976).<\/p>\n
It is mentioned in fine art literature that Alberola began to
\nmake a name in the fine art world when his works were exhibited
\nat a permanent exhibition at Musse d'art Moderne Paris. Of all
\nhis works, his series of wall paintings now displayed at
\nBratislava were considered outstanding by art observers. His
\nwork, The Mute (1987-1988), is in Russia's Ludwig Museum.<\/p>\n
As a devout Christian, Alberola is very fond of resorting to
\nthe central theme of how human beings respond to their lives and
\nhow lives should actually be responded to. The subject of his
\nworks is generally greed for prohibited things.<\/p>\n
Besides that, his works are a mixture of Western religious
\nart, his memory of North Africa, bull fights and the contemporary
\nworld economy. Figures and abstract symbols are found side by
\nside in his paintings. His works also draw on references from the
\nBible and the mystery of mythology.<\/p>\n
With over 30 solo exhibitions to his credit, Alberola has also
\nbeen interested by the postmodernist tendencies in fine art. His
\nworks draw on many references: theology, humanity, his memories
\nof North Africa and his forecast of the contemporary world
\neconomy, as well as fragments of bull fights he once watched.<\/p>\n
In addition, in visual terms, his work show unusual visual
\nexpression, for example a combination of photography, texts and
\nthings like torn pieces, and so forth. Alberola, who has traveled
\nround Central and Eastern Europe, is known to be a follower of
\nMarchel Ducham, an important figure in the controversial Dadaist
\n\"antiart\" movement. Indeed, he has as his background various
\navant garde movements.<\/p>\n
In 1950s Dadaism flourished and this movement stretched from
\nFluxus, who was famous in 1960s, to pop art, inspired, among
\nothers, by Andi Warhol in the 1970s. Two of Alberola's works in
\nthis exhibition seem to show his experimental spirit. Look, for
\nexample at his Homage A'Cezanne (Homage to Cezanne (1990) and
\nHomage A Picasso (Homage to Picasso, 1990). Cezanne and Picasso
\nwere important figures in the history of Western modern fine art.<\/p>\n
As references, Alberola's works are important to the
\ndevelopment of Indonesia's graphic art. We may get acquainted
\nwith and study the graphic techniques in his serigraphy.
\nAlberola's serigraphy can also be considered a reference to get
\nacquainted with the social and cultural lives of the subjects or
\nobjects he expresses in his works. The presence of his works is
\nimportant because Alberola has personal experience of the avant-
\ngarde movement, particularly in Europe and France.<\/p>\n
Just like other avant-garde works, Alberola's are quite
\ndifficult to appreciate. However, if the context of the works is
\nunderstood, it can immediately be seen that Alberola's serigraphy
\nlies within the progression of artistic achievement and esthetic
\ndynamic struggle, which also questions the functions and essence
\nof art.<\/p>\n
During the exhibition, one can also watch video films
\npresenting the work of other French artists. These videos aid
\nunderstanding of artistic life in France. We can agree that
\nAlberola's work is not too far ahead in terms of artistic value
\nas we can still enjoy the artistic dimension he offers.<\/p>",
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