Syahrizal finds direction through horse and rider sculptures
By Amir Sidharta
JAKARTA (JP): Syahrizal's ongoing sculpture exhibition at the Cipta Gallery of the Taman Ismail Marzuki in Central Jakarta reflects his artistic development from 1984 to this year.
The 30 sculptures can be viewed as demarcating three distinct periods in his career. Until the late 1980s his primary concern appeared to be to create figures with ideal human proportions. At that time he was an apprentice under sculptor Edhi Soenarso for making realistic sculptures and reliefs for military memorials and a museum. He also began to master a talent in using deformations to stress certain sculptural qualities, which he employed in the creation of other sculptures during this period.
Kehidupan (Life, 1984), the earliest sculpture in the exhibition, depicts an emaciated young boy, apparently suffering from hunger, lying down on the ground. Although depicted in a realist style, the sculpture's ribs and bones are pronounced to accentuate the sensation of the boy's suffering.
Syahrizal's sculptures of 1990-1993 clearly show the influence of Henry Moore, whom Edhi Soenarso admired. Moore had a tremendous impact in the academic instruction of modern sculpture throughout the world. It was almost inevitable that a student of sculpture would be influenced in one way or another by Moore.
The fluidity of form and posture evident in Syahrizal's Tiduran II (Reclining II, 1990), from the collection of Edhi Soenarso, and Tiduran (Reclining, 1991) clearly shows the impact of Moore's reclining figures. The British sculptor's impact is also evident in Syahrizal's use of the mother-and-child theme in sculptures like Bercanda II (Joking II, 1991).
In 1991, he started to focus on horses as the subject matter of his sculpture. His Penunggang Kuda (Horse Rider) of that year showed a clear break from his Moore-influenced sculptures. It was not done in the fluid abstracted forms reminiscent of Moore but stylized in a way similar to ancient Chinese bronze horse statues. Yet traces of Moore can still be seen in the rounded forms of the figures.
Two years later, Syahrizal departed from the use of smooth surfaces and started to explore rough ones, as is evident in his Penunggang Kuda (Horse Rider, 1993). Kuda Lumping (Bamboo Horse, 1994) uses both the elongation of form and the highly textural surfaces favored by the Italian sculptor Alberto Giacometti.
By 1995, the horse-and-rider had become Syahrizal's main subject matter. The sculptor tried to express his different moods through these sculptures.The volumetric form of Penunggang Kuda (Horse Rider, 1993) appears to express his strong stance on a particular issue.
Mbalelo (Rebellious, 1995) conveys a sense of rejection or protest through the subject matter's stance, expressions and the delineation of forms of both the horse and the rider. The horse stands with its four legs at a steep slant, head turned sideways and its mouth agape, apparently emitting a loud cry of rejection. The cry is further accentuated by the horse's erect mane.
Syahrizal was born in Pariaman, West Sumatra, in 1960. As a teenager, Syahrizal studied painting sculpture under Wisran Hadi when he was active at the Sanggar Bumi studio of theater, literature and fine art. At the time he was a young student of the Institut Nasional Syafei at Kayutanam. He later attended the High School of Fine Arts in Padang.
He continued his studies by majoring in sculpture at the School of Fine Arts of the Indonesian Arts Institute in Yogyakarta. He then apprenticed with Edhi Soenarso as a team member in the creation of sculptures for the Military Museum at the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in Jakarta (1985-1987), the production of sculptures and reliefs of the Monument of the 1949 Recapture of Yogya (1988-1989), and the production of the diorama of the Lubang Buaya Museum in Jakarta (1990).
In 1989, he was also active at the Pasar Seni Ancol art market in Jakarta. He graduated from the Indonesian Arts Institute in 1991.
Dr. Oei Hong Djien, a collector of Syahrizal's works, said the use of horse-and-rider subject matter brings to mind the sculptures of Italian Marino Marini (1901- ).
According to art historian H. H. Arnason, the subject of horse and rider began to interest Marini in the late 1930s. During the war, it "became for him a symbol for suffering and homeless humanity", Arnason wrote. Yet, it still seemed to carry a meaning full of optimism, rather than pessimism, as an escape from the miseries of war.
It is not clear what Syahrizal's preference for the subject signifies and perhaps even the artist himself does not yet realize what it means for him. The symbolism is no doubt different than in Marini's works, yet both sculptors seem to bring optimism through their exploration of the subject.
What is clear is that Syahrizal's sculptures portray his distinct artistic ideas. Syahrizal seems to have found a clear direction in his artistic progress -- with his horse and riders he is ready to ride away into the future.