Shawnee' works a dynamic alternative

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): A figure in red in the middle of the canvas is depicted without any attempt to represent human anatomy. The body is a block of red, built up of long brushstrokes.

It has long light-colored hair that seems to flow freely. The hands are simply depicted by the use of double blue lines. Although the figure's black face seems like a mask covering his or her identity, the painting is Shawnee Puti's self-portrait.

"I saw a photograph of myself when I was very young, and this painting is in some ways based on that picture," she explained.

There are a few things that are based on the photograph. The composition of the painting, with Shawnee's figure in the middle, clearly comes from the photograph. There are two boulders in the background of the photograph that she depicted in the painting.

However, the painting is by no means an attempt to copy the photograph, nor is it a reinterpretation of the scene in the photograph.

"I remember that when the picture was taken, I was so annoyed with my father, who insisted on taking a photograph of me," Shawnee recalled.

This painting expresses the memory of the emotions she had during that time, or even the emotions of her memories of her own childhood. The emotional struggle is revealed through a tense struggle of forms, enhanced by the artist's use of colors.

Although she admitted that she used colors to express her feelings, she also said that her colors do not always symbolize any particular kind of feelings. They vary from time to time.

Above and behind the figure, there is an oval shape, made up of different colors, from which rays of light seem to radiate. Just as she is reluctant to talk about any of her works of art, Shawnee seemed particularly reluctant to explain this symbol. Perhaps it suggests her relationship with her father.

Shawnee grew up with a lot of art around her, as her grandfather, Abdul Muiz, was an avid art collector. Works by Affandi, Popo Iskandar, Dullah, Nashar and many other Indonesian artists from his collection still decorate the house in which she lives.

When she was young, her grandfather once received a work by Popo Iskandar. Shawnee touched it and played with it, removing some of the paint that was not completely dry.

She certainly has interesting experiences with art. In high school, she did not pay attention to her art classes because "the teacher required the canvas to be prepared in a certain way, and art became filled with regulations". She painted, but was not happy with art.

After high school, Yorgo, her boyfriend and mentor -- who is also an artist and son of a famous art collector --led her to become closer to art, see more works and eventually really love art. She discovered that there were many things that could be revealed from a work of art.

Shawnee started to paint and showed her work to Yorgo, who encouraged her to continue. While Yorgo inspired her to start painting, it was her grandfather who encouraged her to pursue her artistic career. In 1997 Muiz sent her to New York.

"He did not send me necessarily to study. He just wanted me to look and see art. Of course, if I wanted to study, he would support that intention as well," she said.

From 1997 to 1998 she enrolled in the New School's sculpture and drawing programs. In late 1998 she joined the Art Student League of New York.

Although she has seen a lot of art, Shawnee claims to have no idols or favorites in the field of art. Although she owns a book on the Cobra and her work is reminiscent of its painters, she makes no references to the movement.

She said she was still searching for the artist that she likes, but her free spirit of expression and the forms and colors she uses to express them are reminiscent of the paintings of Nashar and his "three non-"s: non-konsep (without concept), non- estetik (without aesthetic) and non-teknik (without technique).

It should be noted that the works of Nashar exist in the collection of her grandfather. Due to his free spirit, Nashar was in many ways alienated, neglected and unnoticed for far too long.

Shawnee's paintings also express her free spirit. They offer their viewers some access into her introverted self and psyche. Shawnee often paints when she is deliberating something that she is unable to resolve.

The eye, or the eye with tears dripping down from it, recurs in many of her works. After resisting for a while, she finally admitted that in painting she almost always starts with a circle which eventually becomes this eye.

"The eye is a kind of silent witness of many things that happen," she said. Of course, tears would suggest sadness, but to the artist, "sadness is not a weakness, but a strength. It is a path leading to strength. After I cry, I feel stronger".

She paints to overcome her sadness or loneliness. "I paint when I feel empty, when I am disappointed, when there is a problem in a relationship. At least I let these emotions out!"

Painting often helps resolve her personal problems; it becomes a means of self-discovery. "My paintings describe who I am," she said casually with no pretension. The eye becomes an "I" that stands for "identity".

There is something very "raw" or "base" about Shawnee's paintings, reminiscent of Chairil Anwar: Aku ini binatang jalang, dari kumpulannya terbuang! ("I am an animal in the wild, alienated from my own group!").

In her calmer works, it shows the naivete of her youth, while in her more expressive work it reveals her tremendous spontaneity and dynamic energy. Although at a glance her paintings seem disordered, closer observation shows that there is a subtle sense of balance amid the seeming chaos.

Most of her work appears nonrepresentational, that is to say they do not depict reality per se, but rather express her inner self and emotions, which is another kind of reality. However, sometimes figures do emerge on her canvases.

One shows a figure placed toward the left side of a blue canvas. There seems to be a person on which the figure is based, but, in the end, the artist no longer becomes interested in rendering her physical likeness. Rather, she seems to respond spontaneously to her impressions of the person and her emotions at the time. Even in this painting, a white line of tears drips down the figure's eye.

The painting becomes more about Shawnee Puti than a painting of the person she started to depict.

Shawnee Puti prefers to be a kind of "missing button" that is left completely unnoticed, without the need to conform to the customs and conventions of society. In that way, she will still be able to continue to be the animal in the wild in Chairil Anwar's poem.

For those who care to pick up this odd missing button, her works are on show at Jl. Kemang Timur XVII/111, South Jakarta, from Oct. 1 to Oct. 15.