Journalists experiment with colors in paintings
Journalists experiment with colors in paintings
By Mehru Jaffer
JAKARTA (JP): After having thrashed the work of many an artist
in the past, six journalists have displayed their own paintings
at Gallery Sriyanto.
Totally unfazed at the thought of being on the receiving end
this time, Pavan Kapoor, an arts contributor for The Jakarta Post
said that she felt on top of the world at having been given the
opportunity to exhibit her own works for a change instead of
looking at the paintings of other artists.
She has more than one reason to be pleased as the inaugural
day of the exhibition found red ribbons tied to many of her works
telling visitors that the paintings had already been sold.
Still erratic in style, the best of Pavan's works are those
inspired by Rajasthan, the desert province of her native India,
especially the women there who live under difficult conditions
but seem to be forever smiling and are always dressed in bright
colors of red, green and yellow.
Pavan adds to all the color and optimism by collaging her
canvass with mirror work and shining, chunky jewelry from real
life. The organizers at the art gallery explained that the idea
of hosting Journalists in Paintings was to allow writers to come
out of the closet and to experience the same agony and ecstasy as
professional artists who are panned by journalists from left to
right and top to toe for painting the way they do.
Arief Suryobuwono of The Indonesian Observer said that he took
to the palette as a teenager but over the years he found himself
too preoccupied with other activities to find the time to paint.
His interest dimmed but did not disappear, having resurfaced
again after an interval of almost two decades. Although he
prefers writing to painting today, after the boost the exhibition
has given he plans to dabble as much in paint in the future as he
does today in ink.
While his earlier efforts gravitated more towards the
realistic depiction of nature, his most recent canvass is a
mysterious and abstract symphony in the oceanic colors of
different shades of blue and green.
Denny Yuriandi from RCTI indulges himself in the childlike
joys of naive painting. Like the folk art of ancient times that
used vegetable dyes to paint the walls of huts in the village,
Denny uses primary colors and scenes from day to day community
life.
Doddy Achmad Fawdzy of Media Indonesia has gone wild with all
the colors of the rainbow as he oozes out paint straight from the
tube onto the canvas in search of forms. His imagination is
obviously on a psychedelic mission that seems to know no bounds.
In contrast to Doddy, Ipung Purnama Sidhi of Kompas's Bentara
Budaya prefers to dip his brush in ink reminiscent of the
masters of the Asian art of brush painters. Yusuf Susilo Hatono
of Indonesianart.net apparently also has calligraphy on his mind
as he includes Chinese characters into his very scriptlike
compositions.
What the exhibition may lack in quality it makes up for in the
enthusiasm which is available in plenty at the exhibition. Kudos
to Gallery Sriyanto for having been brave enough to host the
unique exhibition which was inaugurated by theater personality WS
Rendra.
An empty canvas was signed by Rendra after he wrote in green
ink Here and Forever on it. The inaugural ceremony was flagged
off earlier by a theatrical performance that told a short tale of
an unexplained trouble after which a death occurred.
As the loved ones of the departed tear their hearts out in
sorrow, the escaped soul returns to haunt, and to tragically
frighten the mourners away.
Since the performance took place in front of the gallery and
also on the street opposite, it was as if art was at last being
brought to the people, away from the exclusive confines of air
conditioned auditoriums that are inaccessible to the common man.
This is enough reason to celebrate the current event at
Gallery Sriyanto which runs until Oct. 31.