Art exhibitions lure cultured shoppers

Art exhibitions lure cultured shoppers

Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta

After the successful exhibition of "The Art of the Flying Dragon" by
sculptor-cum-installation artist Yani Mariani Sastranegara last February,
Plaza Senayan's intent for furthering the art appreciation of the general
public seems to be firming up even more.

At least that is the impression vis-a-vis the current
contemporary art exhibitions held in the lobby in conjunction
with the Plaza's seventh anniversary.

For many of the shoppers, it is a wonderful experience to see
artwork that is usually confined to museums and prestigious
galleries.

As I walked through the mall last Tuesday, I saw shoppers
looking and pointing at the sculptures. Christovita Wiloto of the
public relations office Power PR who happened to be enjoying the
sculptures expressed great appreciation for the Plaza's
initiative to bring art to the mall.

This way, even those who have never set foot in a museum or
gallery get access to improving their quality of life through
art, he said.

Others even run their hands over the surface of the
sculptures, like the girl who was seen repeatedly stroking the
sculpture titled Tension 2 Tension by Iriantine Karnaya, who was
born in 1951.

"Do you like it?" I asked her, to which she shyly replied
"very much". She did not know why exactly, "it's just beautiful,"
she said. One of seven bronze works made by the artist, Tension 2
Tension, shows an abstraction of a woman's figure in a high-risk
floating position.

The artist says she wanted to visualize the condition of women
today. Other works include torsos and abstractions of moods, such
as Festival I and Festival III, in which a deeper meaning shines
through the delightfully joyful rhythm of movement.

Teguh Ostenrik's sculptures stand out in mode and size. A
seasoned artist of international standing, Ostenrik, born in
1950, has invented a new technique of layering to make his
sculptures take on the appearance of primitive antiquity.

The artist, who is known for his abstract expressionist
paintings, his cast bronze sculptures, his stage and
choreographic talents, is particularly celebrated for his works
centering around the homo sapiens. "I wanted to recast the figure
of homo sapiens in a three-dimensional form, so I started
experimenting with a mix of fine clay and samot, and then layered
the plates on the clay sculptures," explained Ostenrik. Samot is
crude pulver made of red brick slabs.

The result is an excitingly unique shape of sculptures that
connects the past with the present. Three of the series that
Ostenrik has called "Corpus Terrae", are No Fear (1,186 cm x 59
cm x 77 cm), I am Holding On (90 cm x 135 cm x 80 cm), and Your
Appointment with Life (165 cm x 73 cm x 53 cm).

Dolorosa Sinaga is a sculptor who is taking her place among
the growing body of modern artists whose utterance is valid.
Inspired for a long time by the legendary Kaethe Kollwitz, whose
talent as a dramatic artist had the uncanny ability to evoke
human emotions through subtle gestures and facial expressions,
Dolorosa's sculptures bear witness to her talent to provoke
tension and drama at the same time.

They are about women transcending their pain and suffering
into resistance and opposition and moving to proceed further. The
sculpture titled Solidarity depicts barefoot women joining hands,
while Cerita Perempuan presents women's figures from all walks of
life and in different physical conditions standing together,
Begging but also demanding, with both feet in a firm, forthright
position. Lawan Kekerasan is about woman as creator,
the center of the cycle of life, and shows the Matriarch
shielding her people in a protective embrace. Avante looks to the
future. One sculpture titled Dalai Lama represents the artist's
reverence for the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, whom
some consider to be one of the world's enduring figures of
struggle and compassion against oppression.

Yani Mariani Sastranegara, born in 1955, again surprises with
sculptures shaped like surreal capricious abstractions from the
living environment. The sculptures of the artist who recently
caused a stir by breaking through the limits of sculpture into
the plains of installation art, evoke the illusion of creatures
or objects in an almost surreal world, where dream and fantasy
give substance to reality. Whether it's titled Rara Sembrani,
which is in poly-resin, Nyanyian Jiwa, which is silver and copper
electroplated, Ameliorata, in pewter, Cucu Ibuku, in pewter and
copper, or Nyanyian Jiwa, which is silver electroplated, they
sprout from the spiritual depths, amazing imagery, an unusual
aesthetic and excellent command of technique.

Young people also flocked to the poster exhibition, titled
Anti Logika, showing posters by students of the Lasalle College
International Jakarta and Trisakti University. Many of the
posters are equal to good contemporary artwork.

The attention of the general public to the artwork on show
denotes a subconscious need for those who have never been exposed
to such art.

Hopefully, many more of these exhibitions will follow suit.

i-box
Sculpture exhibition from April 1 through April 30
Poster exhibition from April 8 through April 13
Venue: Lobby Plaza Senayan
Contact: phone 572 555, A&P Dept. Plaza Senayan