Turkish artist inspired by Indonesian culture<\/p>\n
By Margaret Agusta<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Mubeccel Siber of Turkey finds insight to be her
\nbest source of inspiration when painting Indonesian subjects.<\/p>\n
"Art is not only a reflection of the artist's inspiration, but
\nit is the artist's desire to communicate his or her own
\nexperience and insight through works of art," Siber, originally
\nfrom Istanbul, said in a recent interview.<\/p>\n
"As I tried to capture the inner meanings and complexity of
\nthe Indonesian culture in my several paintings, I became more and
\nmore aware ... discovering the mystic quality, though sometimes
\nnot knowing fully the story of the rituals, or the movements in
\nthe dances. But somehow I was able to get into the mood and
\natmosphere," she said.<\/p>\n
Unlike many artists who visit the archipelago briefly and
\nbecome intoxicated with its exotic beauty or mystic atmosphere,
\nSiber has lived in Indonesia on and off since she and her
\neconomist husband first arrived in Jakarta in 1967.<\/p>\n
Her familiarity with the country has been gleaned through
\ntravels to the various parts of Java and Bali, in particular, and
\nthrough the many friendships she has cultivated with Indonesians
\nover the years.<\/p>\n
Insight<\/p>\n
This experience and the insight it brings saves her works from
\ntaking on the sweet, touristic appearance that can creep into
\nworks by artists inspired by something new, but lacking the time
\nor the motivation to delve further.<\/p>\n
In May 1994, she explained her interest in Indonesian culture
\nand art during a televised interview for SCTV.<\/p>\n
"When I came here in 1967, straight from Turkey, the diversity
\nof the cultures in Indonesia and the tolerance between them to
\neach other attracted my attention and I started to love it.<\/p>\n
"And it was as If I have lived here all my life. Everything
\ncame very easy for me to understand. If I see certain rituals or
\ndances ... I get the mood very easily, without making effort."<\/p>\n
A case in point is her recent series of large watercolor
\npaintings of Indonesian dancers. It was initially inspired by a
\nlocal contemporary dance performance.<\/p>\n
"I was lucky enough to watch the Panji Sepuh performance twice
\nin Jakarta. I was so deeply overpowered by it that I wanted to
\ncapture and share my experience through paintings," she told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Panji Sepuh, featuring Maria D. Hoetomo and Sulistyo
\nTirtokusumo, as well as other dancers, was based on a poem by
\nGoenawan Mohamad, editor of the now banned Tempo magazine. It
\ntells the story of a prince who aspires to holiness, but fails
\ndue to human weakness.<\/p>\n
The dance-drama, which ends with the burning of the yellow
\numbrella, a symbol of power in many of Indonesia's ethnic
\ncommunities, constitutes a biting revelation of how ephemeral
\npower actually is. It also elicits the image of purifying oneself
\nafter a degrading experience.<\/p>\n
Panji Sepuh inspired Siber's watercolor entitled Ngruwat-Fire
\nPurification (54 x 115 cm). "When choreographer and dancer
\nSulistyo Tirtokusumo was kind enough to perform and explain his
\nperformance, I was able to paint a series of water colors. The
\nmotivation was so great."<\/p>\n
Siber acknowledged that, " ... the dancing with the umbrella
\nsymbolizing power and followed by burning it was a dramatic and
\nmoving experience. One can interpret it as going to heaven and
\npurifying the soul."<\/p>\n
Dancers<\/p>\n
Sulistyo's spontaneous dance presentations in her home were
\njust the beginning. He introduced her to other dancers, including
\nMarie Hoetomo, who also performed and posed for her.<\/p>\n
These sessions with the dancers resulted in a series of
\namazingly large wet-on-wet technique watercolors, most of them 68
\nx 110 centimeters in size.<\/p>\n
"Marie Hoetomo's dancing unfolded another aspect of Javanese
\ndancing; graceful yet controlled movements," said Siber, who had
\nextensive previous experience with painting Balinese dancers, who
\nare noted for their rapid and dynamic movements.<\/p>\n
"It was a challenge for me to paint full length portraits of
\nthese performances in watercolor," she explained.<\/p>\n
"Like Javanese dancing, I had to control and discipline
\nmyself, but be spontaneous enough not to give a controlled
\nimpression, so that the result was not over controlled," she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Capturing the expression of the eyes of the performers who
\npresented Betawi (indigenous Jakartan) dances for her inspiration
\nwas another challenge.<\/p>\n
"The Betawi dances appealed because of the colorful costumes
\nwith their colorful hats and the use of the eyes for
\nexpressions," she said. "I emphasized the eyes because of the
\nquality of the Betawi dance itself."<\/p>\n
Delving<\/p>\n
Siber's delving into the social and cultural environment of
\nIndonesia has not been limited to dance. Over the years she has
\npainted a wide range of subjects in both watercolor and oil
\npaints.<\/p>\n
Her paintings done in the 1980s contain depictions of
\nhousemaids carrying their young charges in colorful kain panjang
\nand laborers eating at roadside food stalls found near her home.
\nShe also painted the monuments and temples of Java and the
\nrituals of Bali during this period.<\/p>\n
"I was, from the very beginning of my second arrival in
\nIndonesia in 1984, attracted to the spirituality of Balinese
\nritual dances and Borobudur with its stupas and buddhas," she
\nsaid last week.<\/p>\n
She has found the opportunity to explore the spiritual side of
\nexistence in those subjects. In a 1986 interview with the Post
\nshe said, "This also gives me the opportunity to explore the
\nspiritual side, makes my life more whole; not the religion, only
\ngoing into myself."<\/p>\n
She explained further that her oil works of Javanese temples
\nand Balinese priests, musicians and dancers functioned as a
\nbridge into a deeper insight of the culture and a greater
\nawareness of herself.<\/p>\n
"Although I am painting the external world, it is a means
\ntoward introspection and a way to express myself," she said.<\/p>\n
The ancient spiritual qualities of the statues of Buddha at
\nthe Borobudur temple in Central Java drew interested her
\nintensely and motivated her to depict them in several airy, misty
\noil paintings.<\/p>\n
"They are timeless, they have sat there for centuries. I
\neliminated as much as possible the background details to stress
\nthis."<\/p>\n
The elimination of background detail, as well as segments of
\nthe main figures and forms, and the domination of white in her
\nworks, characterizes both her watercolors and oil paintings.<\/p>\n
Noted Indonesian writer, Gerson Poyk, commented on these
\naspects of her work in an article published in Famili magazine in
\nOctober 1986. "To this artist, painting is an attempt to grasp
\nthe inherent spiritual value or meaning of the subject being
\npainted," he wrote.<\/p>\n
"In order to express the depth of feeling and to create the
\nmood elicited from her heart, Mubeccel Siber uses color fields of
\nwhite or gray to provide emphasis to her detailed treatment of
\nfaces, eyes and hands," Gerson wrote.<\/p>\n
Of her use of the white ground in her watercolor paintings and
\nthe use of layers of white paint in her oil works, Siber once
\ntold Indonesian art critic Agus Dermawan: "I am becoming more
\naware that there is no other color but white which can symbolize
\nthe feeling of peacefulness in human beings."<\/p>\n
In his June 1988 article published in Tempo magazine, Agus
\nDermawan commented that Siber had the insight and the technical
\nability to transcend the simple depiction of Indonesian subjects
\nin a touristic manner. He said her works carried her viewers a
\nstep further due to her "vision and high level of imagination."<\/p>\n
Technique<\/p>\n
Siber's technical strength has come over years of intense
\nwork and study. She has devoted a large part of her life to
\npainting in both watercolor and oils, as well as studying
\npainting and drawing at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington
\nD.C. in the United States and interior design in Manila, the
\nPhilippines.<\/p>\n
She has experimented with a number of techniques, particularly
\nin watercolor.<\/p>\n
"Watercolor is a difficult medium, and requires long years of
\npractice and skill. In order to master it I had to work almost 20
\nyears," Siber explained. "I employ the wet-on-wet technique with
\na minimum of color and lines."<\/p>\n
She used this technique for her large works of the Javanese
\nand Betawi dancers and for her much smaller works of flowers,
\nstill lifes and, occasionally, landscapes.<\/p>\n
The wet-on-wet technique is perhaps the most difficult to
\ncontrol of all approaches to the use of watercolor.<\/p>\n
She explained the challenge of this technique in her SCTV
\ntelevision interview last year. "Wet-on-wet means you wet the
\npaper and then you work with the wet brush. By this way, it takes
\nlonger years to master because everything is running, you know,
\nall the water. But I am happy with the result, it suits my
\ncharacter, my nature."<\/p>\n
Siber's use of brushwork to block segments of color onto the
\nslick surface of the wet paper enables her to avoid the use of
\nstiff, solid line. This gives a spiritual, fluid quality to her
\nworks, which is enhanced by her penchant for leaving large
\nsegments of the white ground of the paper showing through her
\nsubtle, often pastel hues.<\/p>\n
"A watercolorist's life is devoted to mastering this intricate
\nmedium in search to find a style of his or her own to express his
\nor her vision on paper," she told the Post.<\/p>\n
"It can be highly gratifying for the artist if all of the
\nelements turned out to be successful in his or her art."<\/p>\n
Exhibitions<\/p>\n
Siber has lived in several countries in the East, including
\nthe Philippines and Indonesia, and has shown her work in joint
\nexhibitions.<\/p>\n
In 1984, she showed several works with the Saturday Group
\nPainters at the State Fine Arts Gallery in Manila, the
\nPhilippines. In 1985, she showed for the first time in Indonesia
\nwith the well known cross-cultural artists' organization, Group
\nSembilan. She also exhibited with Group Sembilan in Jakarta in
\n1986, 1988 and 1994.<\/p>\n
Siber took part in the 1989 International Union of Women
\nArtists Federation exhibition at Kobe City Museum in Japan.<\/p>\n
In the United States, her works were included in the Meridian
\nHouse "Echoes of Anatolia" exhibition in Washington D.C., Chicago
\nand New York.<\/p>\n
Besides her extensive joint exhibitions, this prolific painter
\nheld 15 solo exhibitions between 1980 and 1991 in countries as
\ndiverse as Turkey, Bangladesh, the United States, the Philippines
\nand Indonesia.<\/p>",
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