Yani's art brings reality to the forefront<\/p>\n
Text and photos by Tjahjono Ep.<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Painter Yani Halim's latest show at Kedai
\nKebun, Jl. Tirtodipuran No. 3, has an odd English title: Informal
\nChicken Display.<\/p>\n
Yani says the exhibition is about realities which are often
\nneglected because they are considered trivial. All 18 of his
\nworks are either 40cm by 40cm or 50cm by 50cm. Their titles, like
\nthe exhibition title, are in a clumsy style: Ready Eat!, Easy
\nStory after Falling and Informal Therapy for The Burning Faith.<\/p>\n
Yani, who sharpened his skills at the Indonesian Fine Arts
\nInstitute in Yogyakarta, expresses his ideas by combining the two
\nart forms.<\/p>\n
\"I combine cartoon and painting techniques to achieve
\neffective and efficient symbols to translate my ideas into the
\nartworks,\" says the painter, who was born in the East Java
\nregency of Nganjuk on Dec. 16, 1969.<\/p>\n
Since 1991, Yani has held numerous exhibitions in Yogyakarta
\nand Bali.<\/p>\n
In Feet of the Second Dark Cloudy, a 50cm by 50cm oil on
\ncanvas, Yani describes a single subject: thick dark clouds. While
\nin The Second Fool Romantic Journey, of the same size, he also
\nhas a single subject, a fly, which dominates the bright orange
\nbackground plane.<\/p>\n
He says clouds and flies are omnipresent in daily life but
\nthey are largely ignored, as if they were \"nonexistent\".<\/p>\n
Yani's works give the impression he is a minimalist. This
\nreading is evident not only from the pared down choice of
\nobjects, but also because his paintings lack frames.<\/p>\n
\"Single objects can explain ideas better than many, complex
\nones,\" he explains.<\/p>\n
But he does not completely reject multiple images, as in Ready
\nEat!, Easy Story after Falling, Informal Therapy for The Burning
\nFaith and Everything's Fine With a Whistle.<\/p>\n
In Ready Eat a male cook, sporting wings like an angel,
\ncarries a tray containing a shining circle. In the middle of the
\ncanvas is a sketch of a pair of lips, out of which sprouts a long
\ntail.<\/p>\n
Informal Therapy for The Burning Faith consists of a circle in
\nperspective, angle-like creatures walk around the form. One of
\nthe creatures carries a sprinkler similar to one that farmers use
\nfor watering their plants.<\/p>\n
While the central elements of Easy Story after Falling consist
\nof a photograph of a face and a halo. In Guilty by the Mouth, the
\nobjects another pair of lips appears, this time with a long tail
\nclipped with clothes pegs.<\/p>\n
About the Mouth combines a mixture of the artist's favorite
\nmotifs: a face, clothes pegs, a fly, a halo and cartoons. The
\nmotifs assemble as the face of a \"saint\" wearing clothes pegs
\nwith a fat fly perching on his chin.<\/p>\n
Although these works are mostly minimalist, all the lines and
\nbrush strokes create a strong sense of harmony and peace. With
\nfine colored linework the works have a decidedly religious
\nnuance. Although, the religious sentiment is skewered with irony
\nas is evident with his imaging of lips pinched by clothes pegs.<\/p>\n
Yani says he realizes his choice of colors is \"unconventional\"
\nbut that esthetics is not the only consideration.<\/p>\n
\"I use colors I don't like to express my ideas,\" he says.<\/p>\n
His innovative use of cartoon and painting techniques is a
\ndaring experiment.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/yanis-art-brings-reality-to-the-forefront-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}