'I Ching' in Yayat Surya's visual representations<\/p>\n
By M. Dwi Marianto<\/p>\n
DENPASAR, Bali (JP): The paintings that Yayat Surya has been
\ndisplaying at Jezz Gallery until July 31 have provoked lots of
\ndiscussion on their peculiarities.<\/p>\n
Born in the West Java town of Cirebon in 1968, Yayat has
\ndeveloped an artistic style that is a combination of modern
\npainting techniques with the spirit of I Ching (an ancient
\nChinese book on wisdom and changes, which remains in use).<\/p>\n
He mixes hexagram symbols of I Ching with colored geometric
\nshapes. How does I Ching inspire Yayat and how does he
\ncommunicate I Ching, a classic Tao teaching, through his artwork
\nin a dynamic and creative fashion?<\/p>\n
The structure of Yayat's works consists mostly of vertical and
\nhorizontal lines and only few have diagonal lines. Yayat, who
\nlearned art from Rastika -- a glass painter from Cirebon, uses
\nprimary and secondary hues in coloring. Lines are structured
\ngeometrically without conventional dark-bright shades.<\/p>\n
There are no figures representing flora or fauna in his works.<\/p>\n
In the modern artistic discourses, Yayat's paintings may be
\nclassified into Orphist or maybe the abstract \"hard edge\" genre
\nwhich developed in Europe between the 1920s and 1930s.<\/p>\n
The vertical and horizontal lines and the plain coloring make
\nYayat's works reminiscent of those of the De Stijl school, which
\nare common in the works of artists Piet Mondrian, Van Doesburg
\nand Rietveld.<\/p>\n
In a specific period in his career, Mondrian created paintings
\nwhich consisted solely of horizontal and vertical lines.<\/p>\n
The De Stijl school was very much influenced by the Neo-
\nPlatonic-philosophical thinking of Schoemaeker, a mathematician
\nwho once wrote, \" ... Two things that are fundamentally different
\nthat shape the earth are horizontal and vertical lines. The
\nhorizontal line represents the earth orbiting the sun, while the
\nvertical line represents the journey of light from the sun to the
\nearth.\"<\/p>\n
Yayat Surya's painting titled Kesenangan, 2001 (Fun, 2001) can
\nwell illustrate why his works remind the viewer of De Stijl
\ndisciples, such as Van Doesburg, Rietveld and especially Piet
\nMondrian.<\/p>\n
Kesenangan is made up of vertical and horizontal lines with
\nprimary and tertiary colors. It is simple. Rational. The lines
\nand coloring are all even, just like paint on a wall.<\/p>\n
The difference between Yayat's works and Mondrian's is the
\nplacement of the hexagrams at important plains of his drawing.
\nThis is Yayat's significant \"discovery\": developing geometric
\ncompositions based on a I Ching hexagram.<\/p>\n
The hexagram is one of the I Ching geometric patterns
\nconsisting of 6 horizontal straight lines. At a glance, the
\nsymbolic hexagrams look like the chip of a cellular phone. In the
\nI Ching tradition, there are 64 hexagrams, each of which has a
\nunique shape. Each hexagram has its own characteristics, name and
\nmeaning.<\/p>\n
I Ching can be read as a \"book about all changes\" and was
\ndeveloped on the philosophical basis of yin and yang representing
\nthe balanced change and movement of the universe. In this
\ncontext, the human being is regarded as matter whose chemical
\nbalance keeps changing. He or she ages.<\/p>\n
Each of the 64 hexagrams has its own explanation. Every one of
\nthem is made up of two trigrams, namely a configuration of three
\nhorizontal lines -- either intact or having a cut in the middle.<\/p>\n
In the Chinese tradition, I Ching is understood as Tao.
\nAccording to the belief, we forever walk on Tao. But as Tao has a
\nbroad meaning, the I Ching is broken down into trigrams that form
\nhexagrams.<\/p>\n
There are two ways by which the appropriate hexagram is chosen
\nto solve a problem: by tossing a coin or by scrambling yarra
\nsticks the way a fortune teller uses cards.<\/p>\n
Yayat will do a solemn consultation with I Ching when solving
\na problem. This aims at ensuring that the I Ching (hexagram) he
\nchooses is the result of spiritual power within him.<\/p>\n
For Yayat, the 64 hexagrams are his inspiration. They are rich
\nin shape and meaning. Each of a pair of hexagrams can have a
\ncompletely different meaning, or can complement each other.<\/p>\n
He makes the hexagram as a subject or background.<\/p>\n
In Meningkat (Rising), Yayat makes a composition from several
\nhexagrams. There is a three-dimensional illusion. Memahami Hukum
\n2001 (Understanding the law, 2001) is one of Yayat's most dynamic
\nworks, consisting of horizontal planes containing hexagrams
\nparalleled with a checkered chessboard-shaped plane.<\/p>\n
Yayat is also innovative in terms of medium. Not only does he
\nuse a conventional canvas but also transparent plexiglass (mica)
\nwhere he paints the way a glass painter does. With this medium,
\nhe has developed yet another technique: combining geometrical
\nhexagrams and other patterns.<\/p>\n
Even though he began exploring I Ching for works of art only
\ntwo years ago, Yayat has made significant breakthroughs.<\/p>\n
He says he has rediscovered himself in I Ching, which he
\ndescribes as his \"spring of inspiration that freed him from
\nilliteracy\".<\/p>\n
\"It's like the alphabet, which contains only 26 letters, yet
\npeople can write unlimited sounds, or only with 'do re mi fa sol
\nla ti' sounds people can create unlimited songs,\" he says.<\/p>\n
-- The writer is an art observer and works for the research
\ncenter of the Indonesian Art Institute (ISI), Yogyakarta.<\/p>",
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