'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.