'Non Go-Blok' exhibit places students on fine arts map

'Non Go-Blok' exhibit places students on fine arts map

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): While the Contemporary Art of the Non-aligned Countries appear forcefully at Jakarta's Gedung Pameran Seni Rupa Gallery and other established cultural venues, a modest exhibit is quietly being staged by students of the Jakarta Arts Institute in their Fine Arts Exhibition Hall.

The Non Go-Blok Art Exhibition, a pun on words since goblok means stupid in Indonesian, is a kind of parody of the larger and established exhibition popularly known as the "Non-Bloc" exhibition.

A few days after the exhibition at Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center in Central Jakarta opened last month, the show faced criticism from the officials of the Institute, who felt that the title of the show might be considered offensive, particularly by the organizers of the established "Non-Bloc" exhibition.

Organizers of the Go-Blok exhibit, the Senate of the Faculty of Fine Arts, claim that their show was indeed meant to be a positive response to the "official" exhibition. They wanted a title that was catchy and whimsical, but at the same time also suggested the content of the exhibition.

"We are against intellectual and artistic stupidity," they exclaimed, and that is why the show is entitled Non Go-Blok (Non- Stupidity). The exhibitors wish to state their presence as part of the Indonesian artistic community.

Indeed, the show displays pieces by the most talented students of the institute. Students of the Graphic Arts and Painting studios dominate the show, presenting the strongest work. The content and technical solutions that the young artists have come up with are quite interesting, although some effort may still be necessary to really develop their artistic abilities to an advanced level.

In Busy Patience, a mixed media piece by Nanette, photographs of people at work and other work-related objects are made into a chaotic collage interspersed with bold lines and blocks of color. The most prominent image, placed in the middle toward the bottom of the arrangement, is of a man selling all kinds of tools and gadgets. On the upper right, a man works under a gas lantern. Implements of a shoe shiner is in the left corner.

To some extent, the composition successfully suggests the busyness of the workers while the photographs of the workers are meant to portray their patience. However, it is evident that the artist could have manipulated the images and the composition even further to enhance the two impressions.

A series of three of a print in different colors; green, yellow and blue, comprise Aswan Samudra's Broken Wings. This print shows a depiction of a man quietly shedding tears. His hand holds an object, possibly the broken wing to which the title refers. A few insects, flying around the figure's face, are highlighted by the use of a lighter hue.

Albeit simple, this work does convey a strong sense of frustration, hopelessness and submission to fate. The depiction of the busy pattern of flight of the insects, indicated by curvilinear strokes drawn around the man's head, suggests a disturbing noise. It is unclear if the man's emotions are due to guilt or whether he has been victimized. However, it is obvious that he is searching for peace of mind.

The subdued Universe by Deny Ruswanto, an exploration of organic forms and forces, is perhaps the strongest among the graphic art works. A central triangle contains a depiction of a solar sphere fragmented into four sections, each a dissection of the layers of the sphere. Circular forms are placed on the points of the triangle, indicating the outward emission of power from the center. Slender amorphous forms suggest movement as a result of an eddy-like effect caused by different sources of power around the triangle.

Using basically two complementary colors, red and green, the composition is further harmonized. Gradually, more and more elements are revealed to the viewer.

The paintings in the show are also indicative of the school's strength. However, there is always room for further improvement and development.

Husnawi's Terkapar dan Ditinggal (Scattered and Abandoned), oil on canvas, shows scattered corpses on the lower right corner and the feet of those abandoning them on the upper right corner.

Although a sound expressive piece, it does little to draw emotions from the viewer. We do not feel a sense of sympathy, grief or remorse toward the corpses. Neither do we feel the need to condemn those who abandon them. However, a dark morbid aura does prevail.

Dots and diagonal streaks suggesting rain, amorphous blobs indicating puddles of water, compose Zaha Hafid's Flood. Using black, blue, gray, and white, the artist succeeds in creating an expressive abstraction with an economy of colors.

Perhaps the weakness of this painting is in its title, because the painting seems to be more of a witty and fun depiction of rain than a threatening representation of a flood.

Simon Simorangkir's The Spirit of Modernism includes elements of Le Corbusier's architecture in a wild and explosive composition similar to the architectural representations of Zaha Hafid. Starting out as a two dimensional image, the painting has grown into a three dimensional collage of painted wooden strips and blocks. There is indeed a strong sense of spirit and of modernism in this work.

Indra's Fishermen's Village is an expressive composition depicting a rural setting with vibrant colors from an unconventional perspective. The view point taken by the artist seems to be fleeting, so that the elements in the painting seem to have been seen from different angles. Therefore, one would have a sense of flight when viewing the painting.

Nonetheless, there seems to be something lacking in the image, as the rendition of the sea and element of the fishermen's world is understressed.

Although there are many works in the Non Go-Blok exhibition that need a considerable amount of improvement, a few have reached a high level of sophistication. Many of the visitors believe that some of pieces in the exhibition are stronger than the works presented in the established "Non Block" show.

Whether it is seen from a perspective of the North, East, West, South, or from a truly Non-Aligned view point, the exhibition does place the students of the Jakarta Arts Institute on the Indonesian fine arts map.