Show points up concerns of 1970s

Show points up concerns of 1970s

By Chandra Johan

JAKARTA (JP): Add the Jakarta Art Council to the list of
cultural institutions getting back into the swing of the 1970s.

It is featuring works of nine prominent painters from that
decade in an exhibition at the Cipta II Gallery of Taman Ismail
Marzuki, Central Jakarta, through Sunday.

Sulebar Soekarman, one of the painters, said the group was
selected to point up differences between them and their
predecessors.

The other painters are Astari Rasjid, Dan Hisman Kartakusumah,
Hardi, Mustika, Sudaryono S, Sukamto, Sulebar Soekarman, Sri
Warso Wahono and Syahnagra Ismail.

"We belong to quite a mediocre generation of painters,
compared to painters of the previous generation like Abbas
Alibasjah, Otto Djaja and Marakarma," Sulebar said.

Each of the artists is exhibiting about five of their works,
examples of oil paint, acrylic, graphic arts or drawing.

Astari Rasjid, the only female painter in the group, is
noteworthy because she does follow other artists of her gender in
a focus on the melancholic or through heightening aesthetic
sensations by exploiting pictorial aspects. Astari's works
instead explore the subtle problem of traditional values, as
shown in her Resurrected Core and Prolonged Exposure.

"Beauty for me is not solely to be visually enjoyed, but it is
hopefully able to touch the feelings of people about surrounding
nature," she said.

A painter may depict beautiful dancers or lush panoramas, but
this does not mean that they have no interest in social issues.
Hardi is one example in his Penari dan Bodor (Dancer and Bodor)
and ASEAN Children Calling.

Penari dan Bodor is a venture into parody, with a Lippo logo
adorning the dancer's clothes and a Cipta insignia on the clown's
garb. This trenchant commentary on big business is still milder
than ASEAN Children Calling. Hardi used a collage technique to
show a poor child holding up a pair of scales amid used goods, an
obvious metaphor for the issue of justice in this country.

We can also find the collage technique in Sulebar's work and
Sukamto's collage-graphic. Through torn pieces of paper and
shards of a mirror, Sulebar tries to combine concrete forms and
imaginary reality in his series of three works Oleh-oleh dari
Belanda I (Souvenir from the Netherlands I), Oleh-oleh dari
Belanda II and Oleh-oleh dari Belanda III.

Sukamto has a simple yet excellently finished woodcut graphic
technique combined with torn pieces of paper, something that is
rarely done by contemporary artists.

Almost black and white through sparse use of color, Sukamto's
works Ojek Sepeda and Bulan reveal strong academic integrity.

Sri Warso Wahono's works are marked by a dab technique and
thick texture. This painter explored two different subjects with
an almost identical technique. His works Tiduran di Sofa
(Sleeping at Sofa), Monumen Ikan (Fish Monument) and Ikan Perkasa
(Giant Fish) evince Sri Warso's skill in processing archaic or
delicate colors.

In his Ikan Perkasa and Monumen Ikan our view is tethered on
the meditation of fossils and artifacts. Due to the superimposed
texture and paint, the image of being ancient in Sri's paintings
is increasingly felt.

Artists consistent with their established style are Mustika
and Syahnagra. Mustika renders figures and scenery in a
decorative style. His main concern through soft lines and pastel
colors is stories from the village, as in Banjir Kanal (Flood
Canal) and Tiga Wanita Desa (Three Country Women).

Syahnagra impresses with four paintings and two drawings,
including Perahu dan Bulan (Boat and Moon) and Borobudur dan
Bulan (Borobudur and Moon). Fine details are not important to
him; pride of place goes to impressions created through brushwork
and movements.

Dan Hisman's collage paintings include Tradisi Dalam Kemasan
(Tradition in Packaging). A masked woman appears almost non-
human, seemingly made from metal. Human existence in most of his
works resembles the rigidity of a statue.

No less attractive are Sudaryono's abstract works. In his
Abstract I, Abstract II and Abstract III, titles seem less
important, keeping in mind that his works guide us to imagine a
particular creature. Most of Sudaryono's works show that he is an
orderly and neat painter, with intuitive strength.