Dekade 80 reinvigorates Indonesian art

Vivid N. Savitri, Contributor, Jakarta

When invited to the Dekade 80 painting exhibition, I knew I had to brace myself for yet another unchartered voyage into the world of painting. There's always something new to learn.

Well, what can I say? Of the 23 painters exhibiting, you'll probably be able to relate at least one or two of these amazing works. Maybe more.

Indeed, I found myself stepping into the world of classical Cubism ala Braque when I stood before Dwijo Sukatmo's colorful paintings, saw the surrealist realms of Ernst when pondering Ivan Sagito's unspoken messages, and caught a glimpse of Grosz's Homage to Oskar Panizza (1917-1918) when gazing at Dede Eri Supria's work.

It's interesting that all of these painters contributed to Indonesia's art history during the 1980s and 1990s, when Indonesia had an oppressive political system but a booming economy. One can see subtle, even shy, criticism of political figures through religious and cultural symbols and icons.

"What is interesting about the 1980s is their surrealistic characters that are heavily influenced by Eastern culture," says Danarto, a renowned Indonesian painter who opened the exhibition by reciting one of his poems.

"I found they use a lot of symbols and characters from the Javanese Wayang Purwo (traditional puppetry) and other sources of ancient Indonesian culture such as stories from Borobudur or Prambanan temples. A Surrealism of the East."

A perfect example of Surrealism of the East, as Danarto put it, is Agus Kamal's Punokawan. Painted using oil on canvas, it depicts the story of Punokawan who, in wayang, are the guardians of the Pandawa, the five brothers from the Mahabharata epic, who often went to them seeking advice.

Alex Lutfhi's Raja Babil also fits perfectly into this Surrealism of the East, especially the way he satires a stubborn king who is deaf to criticism by wildly transforming him into a pig-headed wayang effigy.

Another painting to use the wayang is Suatmadji's Tahta Untuk Rakyat (The Crown for The People), in which he paints a faceless man, supposedly a leader. In this work, the painter seems to be yearning for new and wise leaders. Suatmadji painted it in 1998 when Indonesia was caught in political turmoil during which people demanded a change of leadership.

Surrealism first emerged in Paris in 1924, pioneered by, among others, Max Ernst, Andri Masson, Salvador Dali and Reni Magritte. But the term Surrealism did not become well-known until Andri Breton wrote The Manifeste du Surrialism, in which the word Surrealism is defined as "pure physic automatism, by which it is intended to express, either verbally, or in writing, the true functioning of the thought. Thought expressed in the absence of any control exerted by reason and outside all moral and aesthetic consideration."

In this case, it's only sheer creativity that enables Heri Dono to cheerfully play with heroic figures such as a four-handed superman, a flying dog, a dragon and a four-eyed white elephant that are skillfully blended into his Gunung Merapi painting. Dono, through his comic touches, has managed to amuse audiences worldwide with his child-like and profound approach to expressing his feelings about life in general. His Anjing Gila (Mad Dog) is another sample of how he easily switches mediums, from oil to crayon.

Where Dono teases heroes, Dede daringly uses figures taken from advertising, such as the Marlboro cowboy, to express how people are easily influenced by billboard signs, or by words such as "Grand Sale". He shows how chaotic and jammed life is these days. The cowboy, representing a sense of freedom, somehow manages to break free of the barbaric world of ads.

More often than not, Surrealist works are influenced by the "Present". Back then, between the periods of 1924 and the 1930s, as Matthew Gale put it, "Surrealism was committed to the politics of the radical left in the face of the rising tide of Fascism and the repressions of the Stalinist Communism." In the individual this was represented by the conscious and unconscious mind, so Surrealist explored the imagery of dreams, trances and automatism, which took them (in the words of Reni Magritte's titles) to the "Threshold of Liberty".

The liberty to transform symbols or icons that suggest another form of life, mystical mythology, archaic dreams, spirituality and absurdity -- which then merged into a dream-like realm -- is clearly shown in the works of Ivan Sagito, Agus Burhan, Alex Luthfi, Efendi, Boyke Aditya, Dwijo, Lucia Hartini, Nengah Surata, Sarnadi Adam and Ignatius Hening Swasono.

"The existence of Surrealism of the East is not merely about visual richness or pictorial figures, but it goes beyond the existing conventional values of creativity," said Sri Warso Wahono, the exhibition's curator. "These painters narrate the essence of life artistically that differ from the way the earlier generation express themselves. It offers mystical realm, absurdity, horror, relativism, and other surrealistic aspects from Eastern beliefs."

Dede, Sudarisman and Suatmadji are remarkable in portraying the sociocultural aspects of society. And not wanting to adhere to convention, Suatmadji and Sudarisman daringly play with other three dimensional media to add depth to their theme. Take a look at Suatmadji's Monumen Wayang.

The realm of dreams, absurdity and soul searching is vividly expressed by Ivan Sagito, Lucia and Sutjipto Adi. Using perfect impasto technique, they use surrealism to depict their community which has been heavily influenced by Javanese values and tradition. Such absurdity and soul searching is shown in Ivan Sagito's dark and gloomy Perjalanan (Travel). I was dragged into his world, captivated. I felt despair and hope at the same time.

Other unique style can be seen in Dwijo's work, where he deforms real-life shapes, such as horses, eagles, humans or wayang and blends them into segmented color ala Cubism. The way Dwijo strokes his brush and plays with colors in Dinamika Kuda dengan Roti Penari and Dinamika Naga dengan Kuda dan Roti ke 36, reminds me, bizarrely, of Andri Masson's Massacre (1931), an angry painting depicting rape, murder and violence, particularly of women.

"The fact is, quoting Patrick Waldberg, 'when the works of various surrealistic are assembled, what is striking is not their 'family resemblance', as in the case of cubists, the fauves, or the tachistes; it is above all their difference'."

The word diversity doesn't even begin to describe these 1980s Indonesian painters. Then again, why do we need so many labels? It has been said (annoyingly) that there is no surrealist art. Many critics agree. Surrealism, originally elaborated by poets, can be defined not as a matter of esthetics but as a way of knowing.

Which is why I was not disturbed at all at not being able to understand the messages of some paintings in the Dekade 80 exhibition. There are times when we enjoy poetry, and there are times when we simply don't get it. "To change life," according to Rimbaud, "was the prime concern of Surrealism, as so with the 80s."