Old master's originality in shapes, space

Ridlo Aryanto, Contributor, Yogyakarta

With the intensifying commercialization of works of art, in which the development of the arts is determined by market tastes, it must be a Herculean task to survive as an artist who will pour out only original works.

Fajar Sidhik, 72, has taken up this tough job, though. When the trend of realism was popular among Indonesian artists in the 1960s, Fajar, out of his great disappointment over the disappearance of beautiful natural objects because of the industrialization process, earnestly turned to abstract art, which had only a few followers then.

Today, Fajar has traveled the abstract art road for four decades and he is still on this track. It was no exaggeration when an art observer from ISI Yogyakarta, Agus Burhan, called Fajar the icon of Indonesian abstract art.

An ongoing exhibition of Fajar's works at the Affandi Museum in Yogyakarta between Sept. 28 and Oct. 5, titled Dynamics of Shapes and Space, will determine whether Agus praise is simply flattery or something more.

The show is being held concurrently with the launch of a book by Fajar of the same title.

Fajar's strong character lies in entirely new geometric shapes. These shapes, of course, have no references. Red, orange and yellow circles almost always appear in his works. Rhombus- shaped ornaments with irregular sides in bright colors sometimes form patterns which, perhaps without the artist's knowledge, have become characteristic of his work.

Unfortunately, the repetition of visual ideas in Fajar's works comes at quite a great frequency. Just look at the titles of some of his works, such as Sangkala (Chronograms) or Dinamika Ruang (Spatial Dynamics). They are in a series, therefore suggesting that the artist is not rich in ideas. Is this true?

"It is a layman's mistake to see an abstract artwork only in terms of the visual text alone. In fact, repetition is something unavoidable in abstract work. Each new work often comes out thanks to struggles referring to different creative processes, although the visually graphic shapes brought about often look the same. So it is a good idea if we try first to understand the creative process of the work, not simply its visual text. Fajar's works are no exception," said Dwi Marianto, an art observer from the Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI).

Of course, the creative process does not describe the physical actions of the artist while creating a work of art, but the struggle of ideas that serves as the background for the birth of a work of art.

In 1961 Fajar Sidhik declared himself an abstract artist, and since then, as he has said, "I've always been craving to paint and create new dynamic shapes in empty rooms in my canvas. If I'm likened to a designer of industrial goods, I'm always one desiring to create my own shapes as the manifestation of my own expression, to fulfill the spiritual demand for esthetics in my works".

Fajar was a disciple of Hendra Gunawan, a maestro of Indonesian modernist paintings, who established, along with Hendra Sanggar, the Pelukis Rakyat (People's Artist Workshop) in 1954.

One of the characteristics that make the geometric shapes in Fajar's paintings original is that they are open to interpretation. These visual shapes are never painted with firm and clear boundaries, and none of them are really geometric.

Fajar has intentionally etched lines, giving rise to the impression that his works are connected to those areas serving as the background.

In Fajar's works, one will also find the elements of structural shapes on the surface of the earth, or the spreading of the stars across the sky. Uniquely, the painter has deliberately not given any substance to the background elements, but he has instead evenly applied secondary or even tertiary colors.

One thing is sure, though. Fajar does not wish to trap those enjoying his works with titles that not only support but also magnify the meaning of his works. That's why many of his works come out under unavoidably repetitive titles.

"I usually think about the title when I've got the finished work. Personally, I prefer to let the formation and composition of the visual text of the work speak to the viewers without the intervention of any other information outside the work," the artist said.

Whatever the truth, Fajar has created works with unique character that conform to his personal expression: simplicity, modesty and straightforwardness.

Dynamics of Shapes and Space at the Affandi Museum in Yogyakarta will last until Oct. 5, 2002.