Green dominates Fortun's lush landscapes<\/p>\n
By Parvathi Nayar Narayan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): It is practically impossible not to notice the
\ncolor green at the exhibition of paintings by Ignacio Fortun at
\nthe Spanish Embassy.<\/p>\n
In fact, as the dominant element in the pictures exhibited,
\nthe greenness registers even before the subject matter itself -
\nessentially a record of the artist's first experiences and
\nimpressions of Bali, a place entirely new to him.<\/p>\n
Impressions were gathered even before setting foot in Bali, as
\nevidenced from the painting Flight 1101, Destination Bali, an
\naerial view that includes the wing of the airplane.<\/p>\n
Fortun paints in a very realistic style, applying the oil
\npaint thinly and on occasion allowing the canvas to show through
\nthe smoothly worked brush strokes. The palette -- dominated by
\ngreen, blue-green, green-gray tones -- is also strong on shades
\nof these colors with few examples of pure, raw hues. No doubt
\nFortun has always been a painter of landscapes in the realistic
\nstyle, but his palette of preference is muted, even somber.<\/p>\n
Ralph J. Dosch, director of Collection DOBE and a consultant
\nto the project, remarked on the change in the artist's palette
\nand on the \"... elaborateness of the green\" on show. Kusamba is
\none of the very few among the current paintings that echoes the
\nbleaker and perhaps more appealing colors of the artist's
\nprevious work.<\/p>\n
Thematically, and in terms of that sometimes misused word
\nmessage, there seems to be a shift to, or at least the emergence
\nof, a different point of view. Fortun has always wanted to draw
\nattention to man's despoiling of nature. In the past, he has
\npainted the ashes left in the wake of man's interactions with
\nnature and contrasted the barrenness of the deserts thus created
\nwith the calm splendor of nature's deserts.<\/p>\n
The current paintings show a more tranquil landscape with
\nfewer elements of aggression. This is not a change in his world
\nview, but probably a response to the lushness of Bali, a
\nsensation the artist himself likens to being close to paradise.<\/p>\n
Storm over Scarecrow is the most skillfully executed painting
\non show. The focus is a palm frond, at once fragile and
\nenigmatic, standing alone in a desolate landscape of hazy foliage
\nin the background, the curve of the rice fields in front and the
\npresence of rain throughout. The artist says that he saw this
\nlone palm leaf on of his numerous drives through Bali. He was
\ndeeply touched by this everyday sight, and later put it down on
\ncanvas in his studio. Somehow he was not satisfied with it as a
\npainting and so, as any sensible artist would do, left it alone.
\nThen one day while watching the rain he realized that that was
\nwhat the painting needed - for the fragile frond to be seen
\npelted by the rain.<\/p>\n
The artist is also successful where he picks a corner or small
\ndetail as the main element in his painting, as in Offering in the
\nStreet or Temple in the Street. The delicate painting of shadows
\ncreated by wickerwork or the color in the ritual offerings
\nscattered at a street corner, particularly, make for interesting
\npoints of interest. However, in some of the paintings -- such as
\nDawn of the World, a panoramic view that takes in Balinese rice
\nfields -- one senses a certain lack of tension.<\/p>\n
In Storm Over Scarecrow there is a definite inner tension
\ncreated without visible signs of violent motion or overt drama.
\nPerhaps because some of the other paintings tend to be
\ndescriptive rather than interpretative, it is as though the
\nentire story is painted; it is almost picture postcard like,
\nwithout depths waiting to be discovered. However, even if this
\nrealistic style does not suit everyone's artistic fancy, it is
\ntechnically very well executed.<\/p>\n
To appreciate the exhibition more fully it should be seen in
\nthe context of the Ten of the Best - Spanish Contemporary
\nPainting, Jakarta 1995 - 1997 Series. Ignacio Fortun came to
\nIndonesia as the fifth artist in this program. The Ten of the
\nBest is a somewhat unusual project that was conceived by the
\nEmbassy of Spain, and has been fueled in a large measure by the
\nenthusiasm and love of art of the Spanish Ambassador, Antonio
\nSanchez Jara. The embassy sponsors ten artists, carefully chosen
\nas representative of the best in contemporary Spanish art, and
\narranges for them to visit Indonesia. They come one at a time and
\npaint here usually for a period of one to three months. The
\nresults of their work are displayed at the embassy's exhibition
\nhall.<\/p>\n
The exhibitions, including the current one by Fortun, are
\nthe most apparent and visible results of the ongoing series.
\nWhile some of the less tangible results will probably only reveal
\nthemselves over time, it cannot be denied that cross-cultural and
\nartistic exchanges lead to a more comprehensive understanding of
\ndifferent countries and their people.<\/p>\n
I am reminded of a (non-arty) example that stretches this
\nsupposition but is dramatic: A character in the approved sequels
\nto the Star Wars trilogy, who determines the strengths and
\nweaknesses of his adversaries by studying the works of art these
\ndifferent galactic races have created! In all seriousness though,
\nmulticultural artistic exchanges are usually successful in re-
\nenergizing artistic outlooks and broadening horizons.<\/p>\n
It would also be interesting to examine the effects that the
\nartist senses in his own work. Fortun says that while he
\nimmensely enjoyed his experience of Indonesia -- or more
\naccurately, Bali -- it is hard to say how it will influence his
\npainting. But he too feels that one of the highlights was the
\nhuman contact. He recalls a particularly interesting exchange
\nwith a young man at the markets in Bali.<\/p>\n
Though there were practical problems in communicating -- the
\nabsence of a common language -- they still managed to exchange
\nideas about each other's country, people and culture. Who says
\ncommunication can only be through words?<\/p>",
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