Batik and painting turn Ardiyanto's creative wheel

By Amir Sidharta

YOGYAKARTA (JP): First and foremost, Ardiyanto is known for his batik. Iwan Tirta may still be the most famous batik designer in Indonesia, but Ardiyanto's work is gaining world renown. Hillary Clinton is among the dignitaries who have visited his batik studio and boutique.

Ardiyanto has also been concentrating on painting, working so creatively and productively that he has also become known as an accomplished artist. Last November, his painting Space was selected for the Tenth Jakarta Fine Art Biennial. The painting was auctioned off at the end of the event. Today, Ardiyanto's paintings adorn many public spaces in Jakarta and Yogyakarta.

Most of his paintings are significant departure from his batik designs. Whereas his so-called modern batik designs are still executed using primarily traditional canons, techniques and processes, the artist is free to experiment in painting. His batik and his painting complement each other.

After painstaking and meticulous work on batik according to the conventions of the craft, Ardiyanto is able to channel his expressive energy on to his canvases. It is a reciprocal relationship; the freedom of his painting requires him to refocus his energies into the strict discipline needed to complete his batik.

His most recent paintings are composed mainly of abstract images. Some may be titled Animal, Window with Flower, and Flower in the Garden, which seem to suggest that the works are depiction of objects or scenes, but it is clear the images go beyond visual representation. They portray the artist's sense of aesthetic which is manifested in forms, color, texture, and composition.

Ardiyanto's interest in abstract art commenced as early as 1979 when he visited the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Later, at an Antonio Tapies exhibition in Milan, Ardiyanto made repeated visits to see the paintings because he did not understand the works.

"There is a spiritual energy that draws me there, but I need time to head there, to explore, and to reveal the essence of the works," he says.

Ardiyanto feels he has much more freedom in painting. "I have been ignorant, and faced many obstacles, weaknesses, and mistakes. However, I later discovered new things, and finally revealed new prospects."

Ardiyanto has never studied painting academically. Unbound by classical academic canons, he often experiments in his works on canvas and paper using the process that he applies in his textiles. His background in mathematics and chemistry makes him accustomed to expect calculated results, as well as to take risks in chemical reactions.

"In the past, when I painted, and always tried to make my paintings look like Miros or Picassos. In the past I drew motifs in the style of those painters," Ardiyanto said. "Now I have left that behind. I know now that behind those motifs there are energies, there are lines and forms, there are entities, and there are spirits that need to be processed."

He claims to be able to reveal a new sense of beauty when he paints; it is a beauty which seems to come from within. "Whereas before I start from batik to see and convey beauty, today I speak of "inner" beauty. After concentrating in many arts, especially painting, in each period I find new layers that I must reveal. I need time to open them, to discover the essence within those layers."

In several of his other paintings, he seems to have begun with an image from nature. Actual tree branches seem to be his source of inspiration in The Tree and Tree. The same is true in his Flowers. Yet they are clearly only used as a starting point. The final image in the painting becomes abstract compositions reflecting his aesthetic sense.

"In painting I explore the depth of my artistic paradigm," he says. Ardiyanto's experience in Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement linked to Zen philosophies, has been instrumental in his batik and painting.

"I try to manipulate minimal lines as a result of my struggle to handle matters of my experience," he says of his painting. "The minimalism for which I strive is my obsession towards perfection that has not, and will never expire."

"I always believe in the term odd in numerical terms in the theories of Zen in Ikebana. When there are two branches of coconut trees, we always think about which one is taller and which one is shorter. While on a composition with three coconut branches that matter is no longer of concern, what is only the matter. Therefore, I often place things in an odd total because to me it seems more perfect and humanistic."

Dots

The techniques that Ardiyanto uses in his traditional batik are still apparent in his paintings. "When I draw dots in painting, it becomes the easiest work, as it is similar to certain techniques in batik." Indeed, dots are often abundant in his work, as can be seen in Square with Animal and Flowers.

Ardiyanto often draws on batik making canons for his painting. "In painting I need to control myself so that I do not go too far," he admits. "In the past I always stopped too late and got too far."

In Flowers he almost went too far with his use of dots. "That kind of canon does not happen in my process of batik, because there are canons which have already become main conventions in my batik studio."

Ardiyanto's painting has a pleasant visual quality that clearly stems from the decorative aspects of his batik designs. The forms in his paintings are arranged in a balanced composition using harmonious colors. One of his most interesting paintings, Three Mountains, seems to be derived from classical batik designs from Cirebon, West Java, in motif and coloration. The motifs he uses seem to be taken from the traditional forms of gunungan (cosmic mountain) or wadasan (rock) motif, which are akin to the rock grottoes of Taman Sunyaragi in Cirebon.

The red, blue, and white colors he uses seem to have come from the color of the mega mendung motif of Cirebon batik. Although reminiscent, Ardiyanto's work on canvas is certainly no imitation of the traditional craft. Instead, he has taken his knowledge of the craft and incorporated it into his own creation.

Whether in batik or painting, Ardiyanto's artistic development has been warranted by his relentless effort to learn. His library is crammed with books from which he absorbs knowledge of the theories of art. His batik and painting studio becomes his laboratory where he experiments and produces his new batik designs and paintings.

He is active in seminars, discussions, and gatherings about art. "One needs 10 years to achieve full depth in painting a rectangle. It is clear that I have not become established. I need to learn a lot, and the number of my teachers are still increasing. Learning is what makes life so interesting."

Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa once stated the importance of a continual desire to learn. When an artist as mature as Ardiyanto is still keen to learn, then we can be sure of much more from him in the future.