Sculptors pack a punch with stark creations

By Chandra Johan

JAKARTA (JP): A structure of chairs sandwiching bricks was a puzzling view in the recent exhibition of the Trienalle Jakarta II 1998: Contemporary Sculpture competition. Nothing was processed -- it was just that, one chair on top of another with bricks in between.

The creator was Gus Barlian who named his work Kursi Gagasan Batas (Chairs as concepts of limits). He was one of the finalists in the national competition, the second since the first Trienalle in 1986.

Artists among the visitors to the exhibition at the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center immediately raised the question; why were installation artists like FX Harsono, Heri Dono or Dadang Christianto, for instance, not invited to participate, if work such as Kursi Gagasan Batas was called a sculpture?

The development of installation art reflects the breakdown of the fine art medium -- painting, sculpture, or graphics -- since the development of the New Art Movement here in the 1980s.

Trienalle's acceptance of what defines a sculpture reflected a shift in the previously more narrow limitation. Yet this was seen as contradictory to the requisite of the competition itself which only admitted those recognized as sculptors.

"One of the aims of this Trienalle is to evaluate the development of sculpture and the artists here," explained Asikin Hasan, one of the curators of the display which ran until March 10.

Senior curator Gregorious Sidharta, who won the first Triennial, added that this year's competition was mainly looking to select artists who had experience in sculpture.

The event seemed to be exactly the sort of thing that the sculpture world urgently needed; the 12-year gap between a supposedly "triennial" -- a three-yearly event -- from 1986 to 1998, speaks volumes in itself. Curators spoke of a lack of funds (finally acquired from the National Development Planning Board) but it also reflects the relatively poor development of the sculpture world here.

A single competition last year was sponsored by a developer; the works of finalists' now adorn the company's real estates.

Trienalle II, featuring 35 of the 55 finalists, also reflects the paucity of recognized sculptors in Indonesia. The number of modern sculptors who did not participate in the competition would only add up to around 10, including Nyoman Nuarta, Sunaryo and Ibnu Nurwanto.

The aforementioned chairs and bricks and other works harking to installation art must be seen in the context of the art discourse here. Curators said the only work categorized as "installation art" was the collection of "ants" scrambling across one corner and over a wall by Iriantine Karnaya. But many others were also anything but conventional sculpture and involved some degree of installation, such as Hedi Harianto's Reconstruction of a tree.

Crisis by Dolorasa Sinaga made visitors muse over purity, essence of form and esthetics. Her wall of steel caging a human figure shaped from balls of coil were all unpolished and raw. Like Gus Barlian she seems to emphasize ideas and message above material.

There were works more reflective of the modernists' belief in the essence and purity of form. Rita Widagdo's Inside Outside is most representative of this concept; others suggesting organic images included the works of Dendi Suwandi (Lying Down is one good example), Dialogue by Bowie Effendi and Figure by IGN Pamungkas.

Then there were more abstract forms involving assemblage: Yuli Prayitna, for one, processed teak into an organic form to suggest the image of growth in his Pohon Hayat. Harsono, through Horison, presents us with a constructed sculpture of triangular shapes, a contrast to the more commonly found molded sculptures or those cast in bronze.

But what caught the eyes of the curators this year was the work of Amrus Natalsya; a long structure of a boat complete with several figures won the competition and the first prize of Rp 5 million (US$580).

The work, said critic Jim Supangkat, had something other artists had long forgone: the old art of story-telling. Amrus seemed to be telling the story of Noah's Ark in the three- dimensional piece.

There were other works which also had a contemporary flair but with notable aspects of folk art or legends.

Another development in the world of sculpture, as revealed in the competition, was the use of simple material like cheap wood and scrap iron, and even leaves. Among these works, Object no. 8 1977 by Anusapati was also among the winners. Jim noted this was in contrast to materials for more "monumental" works like first- class metals or mahogany.

The belated Trienalle thus succeeded in revealing what is happening in the world of sculpture; and it also posed more questions for those in the fine art movement to reflect on.