Alberola's art offers unique take on reality

A. Sudjud Dartanto, Contributor, Yogyakarta

If you visit Cemeti Art House in Yogyakarta, you are sure to find 13 graphic works in soft colors using, among others, yellow and green, as well as other visual objects in attractive serigraphy, such as human figures, buildings, landscapes, scenery and free scrawling.

The works have been put on display on the walls of the gallery. They are mounted on square frames covered with mica glass. So, the moment you go into the gallery, you can feel the nuance of a fine art exhibition somewhere in France.

Indeed, you cannot find visual figures or forms that have their exact counterpart in reality. Nevertheless, the artist, Alberola, has blurred them in some of his works. While in some of his works there are realistic pictures, the blurring accentuation is still there. Perhaps this is the artistic characteristic of Alberola's serigraphy. Look at Cain et Abel (Cain and Abel) (150 centimeters (cm) x 64.6 cm, 1990), for example. This work shows five-and-a-half human heads in red, yellow and orange with a strong black point in the eyes.

Of so many graphic art works, the serigraphy of Jean Michael Alberola, is quite extraordinary in that this well-known French fine artist combines printing and serigraphic techniques.

This combination of techniques is also known as a color printing method because in the process a silk screen is used and it conforms to the colors the artist needs. Under this technique, colors are applied by means of a stencil technique and will be allowed to permeate holes or pores in the silk.

This technique resembles the technique used to make a gouache painting (nontransparent water color) in which monotonous and bright colors are used, which are pleasing to the eyes.

Generally, the serigraphy of Alberola stresses detailed process, for example in La Banlieve (Suburban, 79 cm x 114 cm, 1992), in which there is a torn piece of something placed crosswise and on this torn piece you can see two human beings with buildings forming the background.

The lines in his drawing of Cain et Abel is a reminder of the work of Renaissance fine artists. Another characteristic in Alberola's works is the employment of a collage technique, which can bring together the text element, photography and processing to shape up his full works.

In Yogyakarta, these important works by Alberola are on display from Jan. 7 through Jan. 31. Then they will also be exhibited in two major cities in Indonesia: Surabaya (Feb. 4 through Feb. 12) and Jakarta (Feb. 18 through Feb. 28).

This exhibition has happened thanks to an international artwork introduction project, jointly undertaken by the Indonesian-French Institute in Yogyakarta and its sponsor, l'Association Francaise d'Action Artistique (AFAA), and has as its title "Je ne m'appele pas Pierrot, je m'appelle Ferdinand" (My name is not Pierrot, it's Ferdinand). After being exhibited in Indonesia, these works will also be displayed in Japan and Bangladesh.

Jean-Michel Alberola was born in Algiers in 1953. In 1962 he moved to France and began his studies at Marseille Fine Art Academy. He fostered his artistic creativity in three places: Le Havre, Paris and Naples. His first group of works saw the light of day at a saloon in Toulon (1975-1976).

It is mentioned in fine art literature that Alberola began to make a name in the fine art world when his works were exhibited at a permanent exhibition at Musse d'art Moderne Paris. Of all his works, his series of wall paintings now displayed at Bratislava were considered outstanding by art observers. His work, The Mute (1987-1988), is in Russia's Ludwig Museum.

As a devout Christian, Alberola is very fond of resorting to the central theme of how human beings respond to their lives and how lives should actually be responded to. The subject of his works is generally greed for prohibited things.

Besides that, his works are a mixture of Western religious art, his memory of North Africa, bull fights and the contemporary world economy. Figures and abstract symbols are found side by side in his paintings. His works also draw on references from the Bible and the mystery of mythology.

With over 30 solo exhibitions to his credit, Alberola has also been interested by the postmodernist tendencies in fine art. His works draw on many references: theology, humanity, his memories of North Africa and his forecast of the contemporary world economy, as well as fragments of bull fights he once watched.

In addition, in visual terms, his work show unusual visual expression, for example a combination of photography, texts and things like torn pieces, and so forth. Alberola, who has traveled round Central and Eastern Europe, is known to be a follower of Marchel Ducham, an important figure in the controversial Dadaist "antiart" movement. Indeed, he has as his background various avant garde movements.

In 1950s Dadaism flourished and this movement stretched from Fluxus, who was famous in 1960s, to pop art, inspired, among others, by Andi Warhol in the 1970s. Two of Alberola's works in this exhibition seem to show his experimental spirit. Look, for example at his Homage A'Cezanne (Homage to Cezanne (1990) and Homage A Picasso (Homage to Picasso, 1990). Cezanne and Picasso were important figures in the history of Western modern fine art.

As references, Alberola's works are important to the development of Indonesia's graphic art. We may get acquainted with and study the graphic techniques in his serigraphy. Alberola's serigraphy can also be considered a reference to get acquainted with the social and cultural lives of the subjects or objects he expresses in his works. The presence of his works is important because Alberola has personal experience of the avant- garde movement, particularly in Europe and France.

Just like other avant-garde works, Alberola's are quite difficult to appreciate. However, if the context of the works is understood, it can immediately be seen that Alberola's serigraphy lies within the progression of artistic achievement and esthetic dynamic struggle, which also questions the functions and essence of art.

During the exhibition, one can also watch video films presenting the work of other French artists. These videos aid understanding of artistic life in France. We can agree that Alberola's work is not too far ahead in terms of artistic value as we can still enjoy the artistic dimension he offers.