The logic of form in Ibnu's wooden sculptures

The logic of form in Ibnu's wooden sculptures

By Chandra Johan

JAKARTA (JP): The road of Indonesian sculpture is a silent
one. When this nation is in turbulence, the art of painting
appears and grows in unison with the national struggle. Chaos is
reflected with lines and colors in two-dimensional expressions.

When the economy in this country started to improve a little,
painting charged into the market. But this did not drag
sculptures into the "boom" stream, as most sank into exterior
projects which were unlikely to be monumental. We do not lack in
talented sculptors even though there are less of them than
painters. A few worth mentioning are: G. Sidharta. Edhi Sunarso,
Rita Widagdo, Sunaryo, Dolorosa Sinaga, Amrus Natalsya, Arsono,
Barnauli Pulungan and Nyoman Nuarta. However, only a few are
really productive and loyal in making sculptures, while some also
take part in painting or are busy with other projects.

We know that contemporary art has broken the border between
two-dimensional and three-dimensional space, creating a new art
form: installation and object art. However, the restlessness that
appears in the discourse of that art shows there is a problem in
two-dimensional space, and does not answer the problem which
always splashes around with three-dimensional space. And it seems
that the discussion about contemporary fine art now neglects the
development of the world of sculpture. There is indeed a silence
in this area.

This silence is also felt by sculptor Ibnu Nurwanto, who for
years did not solely exhibit his works. But now he breaks the
silence as he exhibits more than 50 sculptures at the Cipta II
Gallery at the Taman Ismail Marzuki Art Center in Central Jakarta
from Oct. 2 through Oct. 12. If Ibnu's exhibition gains a rather
special momentum, perhaps it is because this sort of activity is
quite rare and he has broken a silence beside the fact that his
works, of course, deserve attention.

There are various shapes and images created by Ibnu, from
realism and representation of animals, people and plants to
biomorphic abstract. As common with sculptors, Ibnu is wise in
regarding the origin of shape. A shape usually can be born from a
meeting between a material that has unique characteristics on one
side and the power that works in that material on the other.

This meeting is a process that ends in balance. Nature shows
the power that bears a shape doesn't work at will, but follows a
law or certain order.

However, a sculptor is also a capable soul who catches a
universal principle of formation to create a special or
particular shape. Sculptors usually work based on the "logic of
formation". With Ibnu, this logic of formation is produced by the
meeting between the power of life, or growth, and powers coming
from the environment. In this meeting, it seems unavoidable that
a change of form will happen as the simplification, distortion
and deformation in Menggeliat (Stretching) or even in the
abstraction of something, like in Wajah (Face) and Matahari
(Sun).

There are other parts, like protrusions, which seem made for
the need of association to signal certain parts of the body or
life organisms, which at the forming were not of the same
principle or as logical as other parts, as seen in Wajah.

Wajah and Matahari do not depict the face or sun as they are.
If not guided by the title, these sculptures will take our
imagination to several kinds of other ideas of shape.

Ibnu's other works truly look rich in ideas of form, not
merely as an image or representation of certain object, which we
recognize in reality. Let us try to forget for awhile the titles
of his works so we can also enjoy and trace the structure,
creation, and configuration of the sculpture itself. The
intrinsic values or forms are of itself. At the intrinsic form
and structure and configuration, we also find the meaning and
value of a sculpture.

We might suspect that Ibnu is in the process of making his
works based on the improvisation of shape, depending on the
powers that appear in the material. Moreover, when we see his
works which tend to be in biomorphic shapes, it is as if they are
produced by an inner power pushing outside in several directions,
varying itself. The meeting among several outside powers led to
variety and irregularities, like in Takdir (Fate), Benih (Seed),
Matahari and Wajah. The form in these sculptures, and a number of
his other works, besides presenting a rich variation, look like
they are avoiding a sharp corner as he seems to avoid
geometrization.

Ibnu acknowledged, however, that he did not make many
improvisations when he was working, even for his biomorphic
works. Unlike sculptors who rely on a natural process or
coincidence, since the beginning, Ibnu made concepts in the form
of sketches which then become his prototype. He is very
disciplined to obey such a work method. Such methodology shows
that he is wise in making a logical shape and obeys the
principle.

However, apart from all these problems, Ibnu said that a
wonderful feeling of love has pushed his creative process.

"When we love something, silently we own an ideal image about
it. The process of making a wooden sculpture is similar with the
process of loving," said this sculptor, who graduated from the
Jakarta Institute of the Arts. Yes, it is love that seems to
immortalize a slab of wood which will be cut and made into
something valuable. And with this energy, too, he attempts to
tear the deafness of wood, break the silence of sculpture, until
it is "full of sound". That's why he calls his sculptures
Nyanyian Sepotong Kayu (Sonata of a Piece of Wood).