Ken Pattern's lithographs confront Jakarta realities<\/p>\n
By Chandra Johan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Graphic art remains a mystery to many people
\nhere. They still know little about the various graphic art
\ntechniques, such as woodcut, etching, screenprint, linoprint,
\nmonoprint and lithography.<\/p>\n
One reason may be the lack of graphic art exhibitions in this
\ncountry. Art exhibitions are dominated by painting, mainly the
\noil on canvas standards.<\/p>\n
Unlike paintings and other art mediums, graphic art offers
\nmany possibilities. It provides two sides, the first being the
\nexpression of two dimensional images through the printing
\nprocess.<\/p>\n
The other is multiplication, that the result of the works, in
\nthe printing process, can be made into many copies. This allows
\nthe same work by an artist to be owned by many people. In this
\nexample, graphic art occupies a particular social role as it is
\nnot an exclusive work.<\/p>\n
The ongoing solo exhibition of Ken Pattern at the Erasmus
\nHuis, which runs through Dec. 8, is worthy of attention. The
\nCanadian uses lithography, a medium which requires the artist to
\nmake a master work on stones before multiplying it through the
\nprint process.<\/p>\n
To apply color, there must be another master made of the
\ncolors and parts desired. A graphic artist has to be patient,
\nkeeping emotions in check about wanting to know the end result of
\nthe work.<\/p>\n
Viewing Pattern's works, we realize that technically he is
\nsophisticated enough to master the lithography technique, proven
\nby the flawless printing results and his capability of
\ntransferring the subject properly.<\/p>\n
This expertise cannot be separated from the theme, or the
\nsubject, and the style he adopts. Pattern records urban scenery,
\nespecially Jakarta, photographically.<\/p>\n
Pattern, who has lived in Jakarta for the past eight years, He
\nis not interested in distorting or presenting contrasts against
\nthe realities he witnesses. This unjaundiced attitude makes his
\nworks unique and special, and is of special note.<\/p>\n
Unlike other foreign artists who are generally interested in
\nthe exoticism of Bali or Java, Pattern is more drawn to daily
\nrealities in big cities like Jakarta. In his works, Jakarta is
\nthe slums areas on the riverbanks, narrow alleys in the kampongs
\nor gleaming penthouses among the urban sprawl.<\/p>\n
The reality of works like Up and Down the Ciliwung, Kampong
\nMelayu or Penthouse are the truths that Jakartans experience
\ndaily, without the artist's creation of an artificial sheen or
\npersonal judgment.<\/p>\n
What impresses in his works are the simplicity and easy-going
\nattitude. But Pattern is not just a recorder of reality. The
\ncontents and special message in his works lie in his choice of
\nsubject matter.<\/p>\n
Through his careful perspective, supported by a strong
\ntechnique, his works actually speak much about the reality of
\nsocial discrepancies in Jakarta. In Penthouse and Gang dari
\nShangri-La, (An Alley from Shangri-La), Patterns \"photographs\" a
\nparadoxical pocket of the city formed of luxurious houses and
\nshacks.<\/p>\n
In his other works, he conveys the bitter realities of social
\nlife in Indonesia. Minangkabau Girl has a corner of a village
\nhouse surrounded by clothes' lines. From the window of the house,
\na child in school uniform looks out sadly.<\/p>\n
Ibu shows the hard work of women in remote villages untouched
\nby development programs.<\/p>\n
Most of his lithographs, which cost between US$75 and $300,
\nhave been sold.<\/p>\n
With only a black-and-white technique and a relatively small
\nsize for the medium, Pattern's works show a strong simplicity
\nwhich does not pale next to his full color paintings. The use of
\nthe two colors adds to the Indonesian ambience.<\/p>\n
The works may not satisfy the visitor who expects more than
\njust realistic images, or the intellectual snob who believes a
\ngood work of art must be an artistic conundrum.<\/p>\n
But in Pattern's works the subjective values are not in the
\nchanges of image from formation to deformation, but found in the
\nreality itself. It is the daily realities -- the social gap, golf
\ncourses, luxurious buildings built by human engineering -- which
\nreveal the underlying values of the society.<\/p>\n
If we assume his works to be text or discourse, then the text
\ncontains meanings to other levels, and so on. Reality does not
\nneed the tinkering of artists' hands to be capable of telling
\nmuch about the good, and the not so good.<\/p>\n
This depends on experience, or our full and total
\ncomprehension of a problem. Thus, values and complete
\nunderstanding are served by Pattern through his lithography.<\/p>\n
Unlike his lithographs, Pattern's paintings are blander and
\nless touching. The portrait of reality also differs. In his
\npaintings, Pattern records the stylized reality of Indonesia -- a
\ntidy, man-made park, or a beach scene, coconut trees and all,
\nreminiscent of the syrupy Mooi Indie works of artists during the
\nDutch colonial era.<\/p>\n
Ken Pattern's works depict two realities which differ from
\neach other, using two techniques which also diverge in their
\ncreation process. In doing so, he reveals the perfectionist
\nwithin.<\/p>",
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