Painters vie for Indonesian Art Awards '95<\/p>\n
By R. Fadjri<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): One of the drawbacks of a competitive arts
\nworld, that of paintings in particular, is that some painters
\nrefrain from taking part in what they perceive as a competitive
\nevent, believing that art works cannot compete with each other.<\/p>\n
Consequently, such a competitive exhibition does not reflect
\nthe reality of the art world, as was apparently the experience of
\nthe Indonesian Art Awards 1995 organized by the Indonesian Arts
\nFoundation and the Philip Morris Group of Companies.<\/p>\n
Many artists from Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Malang,
\nSurakarta, Bali, Ujung Pandang and Medan with more than 1,000
\nworks of art, took part in the competition. Yet, it is hard to
\nsay that this competition represented Indonesian contemporary
\npainting because many well-known Indonesian painters did not
\nparticipate in the exhibition.<\/p>\n
The jury, consisting of Abas Alibasyah, AD Pirous, Fadjar
\nSidik, Nyoman Tusan and Gregorius Sidharta, selected 50
\npaintings. The selected pieces are on a traveling show, starting
\nwith Bandung (Oct. 2 to Oct. 5), Yogyakarta (Oct. 9 to 13),
\nSurabaya (Oct. 16 to 20) and Ubud (Oct. 25 to 29).<\/p>\n
The jury nominated the best 10 paintings, of which five were
\nchosen to represent Indonesia in the ASEAN Art Awards 1995 in
\nSingapore recently. The five paintings were Balbos-Kania III by
\nEffendi, Seni Bukan Segalanya (Art is Not Everything) by Rotua
\nMagda Pardede, Hidup Damai (Peaceful Life) by Eka Suprihadi,
\nKembali ke Alam (Back to Nature) by Bambang Pramudiyanto and
\nTiada Lagi Kenyamanan di Kampungku (My Village Is No Longer
\nPleasant) by Sunaryo.<\/p>\n
Of the best five paintings, only Effendi's work won a prize.
\nThe other winners were two painters from the Philippines, one
\nfrom Singapore and one from Thailand.<\/p>\n
Is Effendi's award representative of the quality of Indonesian
\npaintings? And how does it compare among the other ASEAN
\ncountries?<\/p>\n
It is difficult to answer these questions because apart from
\nsubjectivity of the jury, the paintings entered in both the
\nnational and regional competitions did not reflect the acme of
\nIndonesian art although some of the artists are nationally well
\nknown.<\/p>\n
Effendi, for example, has established a national reputation as
\na painter who makes use of the realistic technique which explores
\nthe image of stone surfaces on his works. His Balbos-Kania II is
\ncontemporary in ideas. It speaks of the human tragedy in the
\nBalkan peninsula. A woman and a child, wrapped in plastic, a
\nstring entwining their bodies from head to toe, are lying
\nhelplessly under the solid feet of a man with a firearm in his
\nhands. A strong, gripping situation emanates from Effendi's
\npainting, as if the man with the firearm has changed into stone
\non account of seeing the absence of humanity in the war.<\/p>\n
Bambang Pramudiyanto also applies the realistic technique in
\nhis work Kembali ke Alam, depicting the front of what remains of
\nan old truck trapped in bushes. The image of its ancientness is
\ngiven in minute detail so that a crack in the blue paint on the
\ntruck's body is covered for the greater part with the brown of
\nrust. The front light has no glass and there is no engine under
\nthe hood. A graduate of the Fine Arts School of Yogyakarta's
\nIndonesian Fine Arts Institute, Bambang is known as a painter who
\nis wont to paint various kinds of automobiles in uncommon angles.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Art Award 1995 was open to all styles and
\ntechniques so it was not surprising to see all were represented
\nin the exhibition. Just look at Sunaryo's Tiada Lagi Kenyamanan
\ndi Kampungku. Of Bandung origin, Sunaryo tends to use the
\nabstract style by applying the technique of mixed media in the
\nform of shreds of plaited mats, torn pieces of gunny sacks,
\nbamboo cuttings and metal plates. Sunaryo presents traditional
\nlife symbols through well-worn shreds of plaited mats and
\nmodernization symbols through a rigid square plate.<\/p>\n
Tisna Sanjaya also applies the technique of mixed media in his
\nAura Ideologi, Aura Kesenian (The Aura of Ideology, the Aura of
\nArt). This graphic artist of the Bandung Institute of Technology
\nuses an etching placed in the middle of a wooden frame. The
\nGaruda Pancasila state symbol flanked by two pallid gloves is
\nseen in the upper part of the frame. The artist has placed small
\ndecorative lights around the wooden frame. The lighting resembles
\nthat of a Christmas tree. A number of Christmas carols are also
\nplayed. The incessant playing of the music and the alternating
\nflash of the lights give the impression of routine activities
\nwhich create an atmosphere of depression. Tisna Sanjaya's work
\nwas one of the ten nominees of the Indonesian Art Award 1995.<\/p>\n
The acceptance of mixed media works for the competition shows
\nthe jury's openness toward non-conventional paintings which have
\nso far been strongly rejected by senior artists. There was once a
\nprotest launched by young artists in Yogyakarta against the
\nYogyakarta Painting Exhibition Biennale which did not allow the
\nparticipation of unconventional works. The mixed media technique
\nwas not considered art work.<\/p>\n
The development of contemporary art has shown its ability to
\nbreak through the convention of painting, so that it is no longer
\nseen as limited to works with conventional techniques using paint
\nand canvas.<\/p>\n
However, the tolerance of the Indonesian jury was not in line
\nwith the criteria applied by the ASEAN Art Awards jury. For
\nexample, Nyoman Erawan's mixed media work, considered by the
\nIndonesian jury as the best among the five paintings, did not win
\nan award at the ASEAN Art Award 1994 because the jury did not see
\nit as a work of painting. Instead, it was other works by
\nIndonesian artists using conventional painting techniques which
\nobtained awards in that competition.<\/p>\n
Many international competitive painting exhibitions no longer
\nlimit technique or expression. Some biennials in Japan, Australia
\nand the U.S. are open to any form of painted work. After all,
\ndoes not each form of painting basically possess the same
\nstrength? What makes the difference is the strength of the artist
\nto express his ideas by means of the medium consciously chosen.<\/p>",
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