Judy Emery twists bamboo into art<\/p>\n
By Parvathi Nayar Narayan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): An artist's creativity is often amazing.
\nOutside, an exhibition of Judy Emery's sculptural creations of
\nbamboo and metal strips, is an example of this marvel. Her raw
\nmaterials are mainly birdcages which she took apart and
\nreassembled. It is easy to understand her attraction to
\nbirdcages, with all their inherent symbolism regarding
\nconfinement, release and inside-outside spaces. Obviously Emery
\nis an artist who is material-led and inspired.<\/p>\n
Her works are on display at Galeri Teguh, Jl. Gaharu I No.3,
\nCilandak, South Jakarta, through Dec. 27.<\/p>\n
Her very first attempts in the birdcage series were sometimes
\ndismantled. These, says Emery, were very tentative for she was
\nreluctant to free herself from the birdcage form. Among the work
\non show, the earliest creations from the cages do reveal her
\npoint of departure; for example, we see the cage form, even cage
\ndoors, within the sculpture Fixed Approach.<\/p>\n
The latest in the series done maybe half a year later verge on
\nthe completely abstract. The cage is dismembered totally and put
\ntogether in a way that has little obvious reference to the
\nsource. Later work also incorporates steel strips as in Unleash.<\/p>\n
Curiously, it is the work that emerges midway through her
\noeuvre that is the most attractive. Structure and non-structured
\nflow are exquisitely balanced in the works Equalizer and
\nMagnetized Gravitation.<\/p>\n
The main lines of tension are created by arabesques of bamboo
\nlashed together. To extend the music metaphor, these strongest
\nrhythms are then punctuated by shorter, somewhat straighter
\npassages, also of wood. Finally the pieces of bamboo are tipped
\nwith short sticks, bound to their edges with wire.<\/p>\n
Thus an interesting transition from the bamboo to the
\nsurrounding air space is created. As a result these two pieces of
\nsculpture, suspended in mid air, become closely linked with the
\nspace within which they exist. Or from another perspective, the
\nnegative spaces created by the interlocking sticks of bamboo are
\nas important as the bamboo sculpture itself. The resulting
\ncreations are almost like textured calligraphy written in air.<\/p>\n
It is intriguing to think of the cages being ripped apart,
\nliberated, but then bound together again. Teguh Ostenrik, the
\nowner of Galeri Teguh and himself a painter, explains the
\nimportance of songbirds in the Javanese tradition. According to
\nhim, the bird in the cage is physically confined so that its
\nenergy may be released as song.<\/p>\n
Profound influences on Emery's work are contemporary American
\nwomen sculptors like Louise Nevelson, a pioneer in the area of
\nassemblage sculpture created from debris or cast off objects like
\nwooden crates and furniture. Others include Mary Callery and her
\nlinear sculptures as well as Eva Hesse with her complex, fluid
\nworks that use innovative materials like cord.<\/p>\n
Among Emery's sculptures, some function like table tops, some
\nlike mobiles, some in between. Emery reacts sharply when asked
\nhow she would like to see the sculptures installed in someone
\nelse's home. She feels considerations like this belong to the
\nrealm of interior design. As an artist she is only interested in
\nthe creation of the work of art. Her concerns are the tensions,
\nthe interplay of positive and negative space, judging when and
\nwhere the 'event' takes place in her sculpture.<\/p>\n
Interestingly enough, it was a course in interior design in
\nthe 1980s that was the first step towards Emery's future artistic
\ndirection. She attended a two-year interior design course at
\nAnchorage Community College, and later a drawing course at the
\nUniversity of Anchorage, Alaska.<\/p>\n
Judy Emery, born in 1948 in New Orleans, entered a formal art
\nprogram at Kingston University in England only in 1991. However,
\nattending school as a mature student was a very enriching
\nexperience. There was a lot to learn from the course, the art
\ngalleries in and around the area, and from the artistic
\nenvironment in general. Personally she felt invigorated by her
\nyouthful peers. Moreover, she had seen something of life, having
\nlived with her husband in different countries, and was able to
\nbring this to her studies.<\/p>\n
In 1993 Emery moved with her husband to Jakarta. During the
\nfirst three years she did not get much time to create. Her
\nyounger son left home to move to the States in January 1996. This
\nsuddenly gave her a lot of free time and space within which to do
\nher sculptures. In fact, all the works on show were created this
\nyear, which makes Emery a prolific artist.<\/p>\n
Emery sees her life here in Indonesia as privileged. Her two
\nconstant helpers are her maid and gardener. They create raw
\nmaterials for her to work from -- strips of bamboo from large
\ncock cages lashed together. They are also part of the actual
\ncreative process, gripping, twisting and moving the pieces of
\nwood according to the sculptor's instructions.<\/p>\n
Stepping back to view the work in progress, Emery is able to
\njudge when the line, tensions and angles are right. Then her
\nassistants bind the pieces in place. There are elements of
\nneedlework in the tying with cloth and winding with wire. As for
\nthe metal components, she has a metal worker who comes in and
\ndoes the welding.<\/p>\n
Along with the three-dimensional work there is also a small
\nselection of Emery's drawings at the show. Both drawings and
\nsculptures are on sale, with the sculptures ranging in price
\nfrom US$1,500 to $7,500.<\/p>\n
Essentially, Emery calls herself a self referential artist. By
\nthis what she means is that she constantly creates images of her
\ninner self. "Everything I make is talking about me in some form,"
\nshe says. Her exhibition may be called Outside, but she believes
\nin working from the inside out, intuitively rather than
\nintellectually.<\/p>",
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