Sakato shows the fine art of West Sumatran culture

Sakato shows the fine art of West Sumatran culture

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): The works that appear in the exhibition of West
Sumatran fine art at Hotel Ciputra, West Jakarta, do not seem to
show the influence of previous generations of West Sumatran
artists such as Wakidi, H.A. Ramli Dt. Rangkayo Sati and Itji
Tarmizi.

What is more apparent in the exhibition is the influence of
the Indonesian Fine Arts Academy in Yogyakarta (ASRI), which is
now known as the Indonesian Fine Arts Institute (ISI). In fact,
all the exhibiting artists originally come from West Sumatra, are
alumni of Yogyakarta's ASRI or ISI, and part of a group known as
Sakato.

The "Exhibition of West Sumatran Artists" is being held from
March 25 through April 17, 2000.

The work of Darvies Rasjidin, Keperkasaan yang Dikebiri
(Maimed Strength), shows three human figures whose skin appear
like the shell of a cracked egg. They are bound with a kind of
selendang cloth. Two figures on the sides, blue in color, hold a
rose in their hands. They flank a central figure, light brown in
color. The hands of the central figure are bound by a rope coming
from the top of the canvas. Above the figure is a large
terracotta-colored circle, with a figure of a horse at the
center.

Certainly this is not a realistic rendition of an actual event
that happened, but is more symbolic in nature. The figures are
transformative, going through a metamorphosis. Or it even could
be said that they are surrealistic. It is perhaps safe to say
that this painting has typical traits of ASRI/ISI.

Mengurung Diri (Self Confinement) by Ardison shows a female
figure carrying a child in front of a wall with a door. This work
was executed by painting the canvas the texture of wood, so that
the figure seems like a sculpture.

Ardison is a student of sculpture who chose to explore
painting as an alternative medium of expression. While Darvies
Rasjidin's work is more symbolic, Ardison's painting also shows
metamorphosis in terms of medium. Once again, we see that there
is a strong Yogyakarta influence in the paintings of these West
Sumatran artists.

However, works of the younger West Sumatran artists have also
contributed to forming the character of ISI artists. Keadilan
Untuk Semua (Justice for All) by Erizal A.S. is a typical
contemporary piece by ISI graduates.

Naturally, a questions emerges: do these artists neglect their
West Sumatran cultural identity?

The Yogyakarta art critic Suwarno Wisetrotomo observes that
West Sumatra artistic expression has been marginalized because of
three reasons: "the existence of a impartial distribution of
information, the weakness or even lack of infrastructure and the
lack of a tradition of patronage in the region."

However, according to him, younger artists "make an effort to
develop new possibilities in advancing their artistic careers by
going to Java and undertaking higher fine art education at ASRI.

"The young artists exist in a circle of creative process that
is filled with collisions, abrasions and explorations, in a
spirit to find their new identity."

To be sure, what is called West Sumatran culture is not
something that is definitive and can no longer change. The
culture is still developing and exists in a continuous process of
change and renewal.

Although not directly, the artists seem to be influenced by
the spirit of West Sumatra, such as Oesman Effendi and Nashar dan
Zaini, who tended not be too concerned about the importance of
representing their ethnic identities in their works.

The three artists, who coincidentally were the main founders
of the Fine Art Faculty of the Jakarta Arts Institute (IKJ),
especially Nashar, place more importance on total freedom of
creativity.

From this freedom, every artist can purely create works of
fine art that in the end will reflect their cultural and ethnic
identities. Therefore, although their West Sumatran identity
might not be apparent in their works, the Sakato artists actually
take an active part in developing West Sumatran culture.