Syahrizal finds direction through horse and rider sculptures

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.