Impact of modern life on artworks depend on each individual

Impact of modern life on artworks depend on each individual

By Carla Bianpoen

JAKARTA ((JP): There has been much talk about what role
artists should play and what focus their works should have in our
changing society.

One view is that art works should reflect national features or
values. This is contradicted by another view which finds that
nationalist art is increasingly becoming redundant, given the
continuously redrawing of new borders. Yet another view takes
into consideration the growth of a new global culture based on
what some people call, the rampant virus of consumerism.

However, all these views may just be opinions, of which the
impact on the real world of art may be a big question mark. Those
who have matured through experience know that ultimately, it
depends on the individual artist how to deal with change in their
own individual lives and in their artistic creations. That such
can result in an exciting variety is shown in the sculpture
exhibition at the Regent Hotel which opened yesterday and runs
until Nov. 30.

Jointly sponsored by The Jakarta Post and the Regent Hotel,
four leading Indonesian sculptors are presenting the impact of
modern life on their artistic creations. They come from three
major centers of art in Indonesia: Anusapati from Yogyakarta,
Dolorosa Sinaga and Edith Ratna Soerjosoejarso from Jakarta, and
Pintor Sirait from Bandung. They have all had education and
experience both in Indonesia and abroad.

Born in Surakarta, Anusapati lives and works in Yogyakarta. An
important direction in his art works emphasizes the
transformation of long standing domestic and traditional tools or
forms into contemporary sculpture. To some viewers, his art may
appear like handicraft, but art connoisseurs are intrigued by the
almost unfinished wooden material and his simple forms which lie
between the primitive and the abstract. His engagement with wood
seems to stem from his close relationship with nature. Using wood
is in fact an attempt to bring nature to life. "The trees used to
be our brothers as we all are the children of mother nature", he
explains.

Dolorosa Sinaga hardly needs an introduction. She has
participated in numerous exhibitions and has been involved in
many art events. Preoccupied with what happens in the society she
lives in, Dolorosa explores the lives and the emotions of human
beings.

Her sculptures are mirrors of the overarching issues which
occupy the common people in society. Her artistic power is felt
in the tension that vibrates through the sculpture. It is
interesting to note that almost all of her sculptures express a
sense of suffering humanity, and among these the majority depict
women as harrowing figures.

"There is no doubt that women are the most oppressed
creatures", she contends when asked about the three sculptures
entitled Whaling. The works present three women expressing
repressed suffering. This does not mean that she has no eye for
the joys of life, as is evident from the sculpture The Dance of
Joy.

Edith Ratna Soerjosoejarso is a sculptor by education, but has
to divide her artistic involvement with her professional career
at the Ministry of Trade, and currently at the Taman Mini
Indonesia. It is amazing how she manages her busy schedule, and
still maintains a firm footing in the world of sculpture.

Like Anusapati, Edith also works with wood, but unlike him her
works are a larger size. Exploring its natural texture, loving
it for its natural quality, she is intrigued by the material and
attempts to bring out the best in her sculptures. Often
monumental or decorative, her works are marked by fluid forms
that hinge on the abstract.

Being of a large size, is no surprise that many of the forms
have been carved by special electric tools. Her engagement with
the human experience appears in a number of sculptures where love
plays an important role.

Pintor Sirait comes with an extremely intriguing collection of
sculptures, inspired by the lotus flower. The inspiration did not
come "by accident". Pintor spent some time searching for a way to
properly place his identity in the Indonesian context.

Born in Germany, educated in the USA, but having his roots in
Indonesia, the artist had to face complexities many of his
compatriots do not have. He found the lotus, a flower growing in
many places in Indonesia.

Its form is found in the configuration of the Borobudur
Temple, and even in the ruff of a Betawi wedding attire. His
lotus explorations are like poetic expressions of the artist's
progressive philosophies as he observes the falling of the
petals, and the popping up of the seeds, making links with his
personal relationships to his environment. They are also
manifestations of his passion for the material. Both firm and
delicate, his sculptures in rust contain an air of freshness and
directness, pointing to an extraordinary aesthetic.