Alberola's art offers unique take on reality

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.