Eddie Hara translates social realities into art<\/p>\n
By R. Fadjri<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Eddie Hara, 40, is an artist of the 1980s
\ngeneration. The tremendous economic development under the
\nprevious government gave birth to businesspeople who wallowed in
\nsuch material prosperity they discovered the pleasure of owning
\nart.<\/p>\n
The generation of artists maturing at the time, such as Eddie,
\nflourished. The naive style of painting developed by Eddie and
\nHeri Dono, and also the expressive semi-abstract style, became
\nhighly popular. They, along with a number of painters of the
\nfollowing generation, established a genre.<\/p>\n
On the other side there is something very typical of the
\ngeneration, namely its ability to face things outside themselves.
\nEddie has a very strong energy for play when responding to
\ncollective events which are the subject matter of his creative
\nprocess. Social, political and environmental problems which would
\nmake people frown instead become light, joyous and funny.<\/p>\n
It is possible for Eddie, with his ability to play with ideas
\nand forms, to retain some distance from social realities which
\nhave attracted his attention. Consequently Eddie is freer to
\ntranslate social realities in his own language.<\/p>\n
At the beginning of his career Eddie was strongly inspired by
\nthe naive style. He frequently painted animals and metamorphic
\nshapes, all of them symbolizing life's happiness. Time after time
\nthere was a striking display of bright colors.<\/p>\n
He says, however, that since 1988 he has painted the darker
\nside of social realities. \"The figures in my paintings are not
\nonly funny and merry, they can be satanic, cynical, cruel, angry
\nand ironical,\" he said.<\/p>\n
But Eddie's reactions to social realities remain images of joy
\nand fun. Moreover, he has adopted the idioms of mass culture --
\nSuperman, Batman and Mickey Mouse -- that are all very close to
\nthe world of children.<\/p>\n
The anger or cynicism toward certain events occurs through
\nexpressions describing joy and fun. The same is still apparent in
\nhis on-going solo exhibition titled Postcards from the Alps at
\nCemeti Gallery, Yogyakarta, from July 4 through July 31.<\/p>\n
An example is his work On becoming the President. On a canvass
\nof used cement bag paper measuring two square meters, Eddie,
\nusing acrylic paint, depicts the figure of Batman in
\npredominantly yellow as the focus of attention.<\/p>\n
Batman is wearing a suit with vertical lines, typical of
\nprison inmates. There are self-portraits of people in masks, a
\nskeleton of a man's head, and a figure with a pistol in his hand.<\/p>\n
All those figures are depicted in a merry atmosphere -- wide-
\nopen mouths and funny hats.<\/p>\n
His ideas are perhaps a cynical view of the figure of the
\npresident enjoying superpower status thanks to the support of the
\nmilitary, while at the same time the power smells of crime.<\/p>\n
The very complex idea of power is made simple in Eddie's hands
\nthrough the light language of mass culture. The style of the
\nlanguage can even tone down the original idea of power and the
\nresult is a different reaction.<\/p>\n
Viewers usually smile or laugh in reaction to Eddie's
\nexpression of power, in a similar way to those viewing a
\ncaricature or a Donald Duck comic strip, in which cynicism, irony
\nand humor blend together.<\/p>\n
Although Eddie has lived in Switzerland since 1996, he has
\nmaintained his interest in the events of his country, including
\nthe political upheavals.<\/p>\n
This is apparent in Postcard from the Alps, a series of 80
\nenvelopes measuring 16 cm x 23 cm. On these used envelopes,
\ncomplete with stamps, postmarks and addresses, Eddie put the
\nfluctuations of his thoughts while he was abroad.<\/p>\n
In one of his works figures are raising both their hands. The
\nfigures have various shapes of heads, leaving a funny impression.
\nThe text reads: \"PDI Mega above all,\" referring to the ousted
\nchairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party.<\/p>\n
In another of his envelope works, Eddie affixed a map of
\nIndonesia cut from Newsweek magazine. A text reading \"A message
\nto my lovely country\" is next to a figure wearing a hat with
\nhorns and from his mouth come the words: Pro Democracy. Next is
\nanother figure, also wearing a hat with horns, with a long nose
\nlike a clown's, accompanied by the words For the people, by the
\npeople, from the people.<\/p>\n
Although his own wife is Swiss, the awareness of his
\ndifferences to Caucasians inevitably emerges when a number of his
\nfriends with colored skin directly experience racial problems.<\/p>\n
Eddie depicts the racial problems through two works called
\nHead Series. Each represents eight heads wearing hats. For Eddie
\nthe head shapes describe racial differences -- immigrants against
\nwhite people -- which have also become a serious problem in
\nWestern Europe.<\/p>",
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