'Ojo Ngono', Nasirun's 'goro-goro' of tolerance

'Ojo Ngono', Nasirun's 'goro-goro' of tolerance

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): Past the midnight hour, the dalang (puppet
master) of the Javanese wayang puppet theater prepares for the
climax of the performance. He sets the stage for the goro-goro,
the chain of events leading to the peak of a conflict between the
two sides or the two parties of the wayang characters. However,
instead of setting the scene on stage, his scene is set on
stretched canvas. He paints the scenarios on the canvas, setting
the stage for the episode he wants to tell. Indeed, you could say
that Nasirun is a dalang that uses painting as his medium.

Now, his own goro-goro, is not merely a painting, but an
exhibition showing his recent oeuvre. Eighty-five of his
paintings are on show at the Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Central
Jakarta until Oct. 15, 2000.

From early on, Nasirun's work largely stemmed from the wayang
puppet theater. His forms are clearly based on the Javanese
leather puppets, while the themes he paints are often derived
from episodes of leather puppet shows. However, the artist often
improvises and creates his own lakon (episodes), which deviate
from the canons of the conventional wayang epics or other
Javanese mythologies.

Between 1983 and 1993, Nasirun made batik designs for batik
factories in Yogyakarta. Even since then, he started to portray
wayang figures using the batik technique. The figures would be an
improvisation of the characters in the wayang set. The pieces
would show the young artist's early attention to decorative
elements, as he would often develop the ornamentation of the
figures extensively.

He enrolled in Yogyakarta's Institut Seni Indonesia or the
Indonesian Arts Institute in 1987 and graduated in 1994. During
his academic years, his canvases were filled with mild variations
of episodes from the wayang epics. His compositions during these
years were essentially directly taken from the compositions of
the wayang beber, an old and extinct form of wayang that do not
use wayang puppets instead the scenes of the episodes are painted
on scrolls and revealed section per section to the audience.
Only, the figures he paints are further deformations of the
characters from the wayang theater, their bodies elongated and
their features exaggerated. Nowadays, he uses colors which were
known as the warna mapang, consisting of muddy browns, yellowish
greens, pinks, orange and yellows, colors that when combined
usually appeared rather disharmonious.

His experiences with craft, growing up in Central Java and
working as a batik artist, had a big influence in his art during
this early period. He would meticulously highlight certain
elements in his paintings with ornamentation built up using
various colors of paints in impasto applied on the primary layers
of paint. The rich colors that emerge are not merely combinations
of colors but richly textured surfaces that offer another
decorative significance. This can be seen in his recent works,
such as Kutitipkan ke Arcapada (I Entrust It to the Earth, 1993)
which he donated to the Jakarta Fine Arts Museum.

The appearance of his Perjalanan Absurd (Absurd Journey, 1995)
seemed to be a turning point in his artistic career. In this
work, he completely abandons the main canons of the wayang
imagery. He fills his canvases with various figures, some
becoming figures within figures or multiple figures. In terms of
technique, he starts to use incisions to delineate intricate
figures over layers of paint. The layers of paint themselves, are
much thinner than in his previous works. Some are even
translucent, revealing the layers beneath them.

Since 1995, the artist seems to have abandoned the
conventional two dimensional and rigid settings of the
conventional wayang beber. In Perjalanan Absurd, space becomes
three-dimensional although in this work, space does not become a
dominant factor.

In 1997, the artist's Larut dalam Warna (Blended in Colors)
was nominated to the Philip Morris ASEAN Art Awards in Manila,
Philippines. Painted around the time of the problematic 1997
general elections, the artist places the three bands of colors of
the three parties that existed during that time in the middle of
the canvas. Their emblems are incised over the colors.

Karnaval 1997 is a portrayal of an Aug. 17 celebration, that
are usually filled with processions where people dress up in all
kinds of attire. Nasirun transforms them into various creatures
and beasts. They joyously take part in the processions, dressed
up in their best clothes. Some play musical instruments and it
does not really matter even if they do not really know how the
instruments are played; one figure can be seen playing the violin
the wrong way around. A man rides his decorated bicycle as if
flying toward the upper corner of the canvas. Many figures can be
seen dancing vivaciously. All kinds of beasts appear within the
procession. The figures are all in vivid colors set against a
deep Prussian blue background, adding to the sense of festivity.
There is even a musical quality to this piece because of the
colors. Just as he improvises wayang episodes, he also improvises
actual scenes of daily life.

First and foremost, Nasirun is an expressionist in the sense
that he projects his emotions and aspirations onto his canvases.
In Imaji Nafsu Dasamuka I (The Image of Dasamuka I, 1999),
Dasamuka appears as a large boar-like monster. Its evil spirit is
transformed into various forms, elements and creatures that
spread evil even further throughout the entire canvas. The work
is an explosion of his expression.

His expression does not always have to be scenes. They can
also take the form of beasts, which become personifications of
emotions. The beasts can be composed of smaller figures, such as
the figures in Imaji Wayang Rusuh (Images of Masked Giants, 1998)
or a single beast like the giant in Wayang Zaman I: Jangan Bumi
Hanguskan Bumi Loro Sae (Wayang of the Era I: Don't Obliterate
Loro Sae, 1999). The figure, reminiscent of the commander of the
pro-Indonesia militia, backed by the Indonesian military, clearly
becomes another political statement.

As time goes by, Nasirun becomes freer and even quite wild in
developing his scenes. "Pakemnya karangan, the scenes are
creatively developed" he says about his recent work.

Recently, responding to an increase in demand and hence a need
to modify his methods, the artist adopts a slightly different
style, as can be seen in Korban (Victim, 2000) and Nyanyian
Eling (Eagle's Song, 2000). First he applies background colors of
dark reds, greens and blacks. He then delineates his images using
brushstrokes or incisions. Once the figures start to develop
forms, he fills them with colors to further the definition of the
forms. Here, he applies highlights of colors more abruptly than
in his previous works. This method requires the artist to be very
spontaneous when completed, the work becomes interesting and even
strong.

However, there is also the risk that the application of paint
can become a total failure.

While his earlier paintings, derived from wayang beber
depictions, are virtually two-dimensional, his latest paintings
clearly shows a strong interest in space. Many elements in his
paintings, particularly furniture and interiors, are rendered in
axonometry, immediately creating a three-dimensional environment.
Sometimes a checkered floor also appears, adding to the
conception of space in the painting.

Meditation

Although Nasirun's work developed through various
transformations, his artwork remains as expressions of his
philosophical quest. It becomes a kind of meditation. By
painting, he searches for personal or communal solutions or
resolutions to various matters and problems in life. It becomes a
kind of spiritual introspection. "Whenever there is a clash of
principles, only the word eling (conscience) can provide
illumination," he says.

Nasirun's paintings do not simply depict comprehensible scenes
but rather are usually intertwined personifications or animations
of his thoughts and quests. He mentions that often he paints to
make sense of his concerns. Therefore, there is little sense in
trying to understand rationally what he is trying to convey in
his artworks. His message is meant to be conveyed through senses
and emotions. Whereas the episodes of the conventional wayang are
narratives that convey a story, Nasirun's paintings depict scenes
that are not meant to be narratives. That is perhaps what
distinguishes him from a conventional dalang.

However, like a dalang, he targets the conscience of his
viewers hoping to prophesize philosophical moral messages. His
viewers will not immediately comprehend what he is trying to
depict but he hopes that they will discover more and more
messages as they delve deeper into the imagery.

Tyranny

In Samad Sinamadan - Ngono yo ngono, ning ojo ngono (That's
That, but Don't Be Like That, 1996), he combines three images or
messages. The first comes from the past, a picture of a King from
Karangasem, who sits with his foot on one of his subordinates.
The second is Tahta untuk Rakyat (The Throne for the People),
Yogyakarta's Sultan Hamengkubuwono X's commitment to place the
people's interest before the aristocracy. The third, the didactic
message typical of the Banyumas region which his grandmother
always reminded him of, Samad Sinamadan (That is how it is, but
don't over do it). Perhaps, it is related to the saying: "Power
corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely". Avoid
tyranny, don't become a despot!

His most recent work, Ojo ngono (Don't Be Like That, 2000),
dedicated to his daughter Ima, is filled with inscriptions of
suluk phrases that are read out loud by the dalang in wayang
kulit performances. He calls for introspection and deliberation,
especially in these difficult times.

This work led curator Suwarno Wisetrotomo to choose Ojo Ngono
as the title of the exhibition. He admitted that the exhibition
was reached through various compromises. Nasirun intended to
express his gratitude to all his collectors and supporters, so
there were many parties to please. In the end, tolerance resulted
in the balance which allowed the show to go on. Tolerance was the
main message of Ojo Ngono.

Although his imagery no longer bears any resemblance to the
conventional wayang puppet theater and his stories have deviated
so far away from the original episodes of the wayang stories or
other Javanese mythologies, you could still arguably call Nasirun
a dalang. He is a dalang that uses oils on canvas as his medium.
His goro-goro takes form of this monumental exhibition.

The writer is cocurator of the exhibition. He is also the
curator of the Museum Universitas Pelita Harapan at Lippo
Karawaci, Tangerang, West Java.