Artists of different ethnicities join as one<\/p>\n
Ahmad Solikhan, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Discussions in political and religious forums, as well as in
\nthe world of art, are nothing new.<\/p>\n
But when these dialogs emerge from paintings by artists from
\ntwo different ethnic groups, they become interesting, in terms of
\nthe varying development of art.<\/p>\n
Visitors can appreciate this uniqueness at the painting
\nexhibition Dialog Visual Dua Etnik (The visual dialog between two
\nethnic groups), to run until Jan. 30 at Jogja Fine Art Community
\ngallery.<\/p>\n
In their 19 paintings, four artists, Made Arya Palguna and I
\nNyoman Triarta, both from Bali, along with Aidis Sukri and
\nJumaldi Alfi, from Padang, depict the current fluctuating
\nconditions in society. Their paintings also show great variation
\nof expression.<\/p>\n
These four young artists, all from different ethnic
\nbackgrounds, have been able to convey their dialogs through each
\nof their paintings. However, the titles of the paintings seem to
\nhave been chosen hastily, with the simplistic use of certain
\nidioms. This prevents the smooth flow of the dialog between the
\npaintings displayed in the hall.<\/p>\n
In visualizing their work, some of the paintings by the
\nBalinese artists are stronger than the others on display, in
\nterms of their brush strokes and definition of line, as well as
\nthe choice of colors.<\/p>\n
This can be seen, for example, in one of Made Palguna's work
\n-- a 100 x 120 cm mixed media on canvas -- titled Gopala Jaya
\n(the name of a god from the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata), which
\ndepicts a bald woman, sitting cross-legged, in a transparent
\nwhite cloth, her lips painted red, both ears extended to the
\nside, the clear curves of her plump body and her two hands
\nholding white champac flowers, which are in full bloom.<\/p>\n
Behind the woman there are donkeys standing as if wishing to
\naccompany her in unending meditation.<\/p>\n
Made Palguna, who has exhibited his paintings in several
\ncountries, such as Singapore, the U.S. and Denmark, wishes to
\nconvey the specter of unending social suffering. Only through
\nsilence and prayers is it possible to achieve peace and serenity.<\/p>\n
By contrast, in the 200 x 145 cm painting titled Terikat
\n(Bound), I Nyoman Triarta attempts to capture the sadness of a
\ncorruptor being judged by the people. The man found guilty of
\ncorruption is depicted with the head of a boar, whose nose is
\npierced before he faces execution by the mob.<\/p>\n
Paintings by I Nyoman Triarta, who once participated in a
\nPhilip Morris sponsored exhibition in the National Gallery, have
\nquite strong expressionist lines and use dark colors in their
\nvisualization.<\/p>\n
Aidis Syukri's painting Menuju Rumah Ideal (Toward an Ideal
\nHome, 2002), measuring 127 x 90 cm, acrylic on canvas, depicts a
\nhead -- from the neck upward -- on a leaf, with eyes watching
\nseveral houses on a snowy landscape dotted with Eskimo igloos. As
\na young painter, he uses dark colors to depicts unreal hopes,
\nfull of future rigidity and stagnation.<\/p>\n
Another young painter, Jumaldi Alfi, in his painting Cukup
\n(Enough, 2001), measuring 200 x 145 cm acrylic on canvas,
\nvisualizes his imagination in a very simple way, just by
\nfeaturing a hand holding a stone on a bright red plane.<\/p>\n
The painters, who currently live in Yogyakarta, have not shown
\nmany changes or development in their artwork. Each of them does
\nnot display any noticeable cultural domination because they seem
\nto prefer to step back and see the reality of the environment at
\na distance, and not simply hark back to their ethnic roots.<\/p>\n
This fine art exhibition is not a competition arena in which
\nto find out the best artwork, but serves as a place for paintings
\nto evoke dialog without it necessarily being translated by the
\npainters. However, visitors and art lovers generally tend to
\ngauge the quality of painters behind their works of art.<\/p>\n
Sutanto, the owner of Mendut Gallery on the slope of Mt.
\nMerapi, mentioned that, \"Even without painters, Balinese society
\ndisplays an artistic talent, but people in Padang may be unable
\nto show their artistic abilities without painters\".<\/p>\n
Thus, Balinese painters are generally more skillful in
\npainting than those from other regions because they grow up in an
\nintrinsically artistic environment. But creativeness,
\nimagination, visualization and the way of featuring expression
\nare the main foundation of fine arts.<\/p>\n
A similar remark to Sutanto's came from Gusti Raden Ayu (GRAy)
\nNurmagupita Suryokusumo, the second daughter of Sri Sultan
\nHamengku Buana X, who opened the exhibition.<\/p>\n
She expressed her hope that the two ethnic groups in the
\nexhibition room could at least provide separate colors for the
\nrich cultural fabric that has emerged in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Hopefully, the exhibition organizers and fine arts
\npractitioners will be able to fulfill GRAy Nurmagita's wish for
\nartistic and cultural development, especially in Yogyakarta. The
\noutstanding message is that it is necessary to find and hold
\ndialog with painters of different ethnic groups, in order to
\nenrich all of us.<\/p>",
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