Wahyudi a master at clever global parodies

Wahyudi a master at clever global parodies

By Aendra H. Medita

JAKARTA (JP): In the graphic arts, creating extraordinary
power in the exploration of visual forms is more than a mere
process. It centers on an understanding of concept and technique.

Supangkat Wahyudi, who has hundreds of graphic artwork to his
credit, selected 30 of them for the exhibition Kodok Tumpak Jaran
(A Frog Riding A Horse) at the Milenium Gallery at Jl. RS
Fatmawati 15, South Jakarta, until June 18.

The works show Supangkat Wahyudi's success in meeting the
requirement to skillfully use technique in making powerful
images. He has adequately recorded the power of global
visualization, but what is more special about him is that he no
longer creates his works from a standard printing process.

The works, created in the last six years, have been directly
created on raw materials generally used in woodcuts. His objects,
which are global in nature, range from derision to well-founded
parody. He has responded to the strength of the objects with his
artist's attitude when confronted with the reality of the world.

Inherent in his works is a need to convey the metamorphosis of
the world's great figures like Picasso and Einstein. His works,
which many tend to consider as no longer belonging to the strict
graphic arts definition because they are drawings on plywood,
reflect the present context, especially through the criticism
conveyed in the titles of the works.

Supangkat, 43, graduated from the graphic arts department of
the fine arts school of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB)
in 1986. Art runs in his blood as his grandfather was a leather
puppet master and his grandmother a batik maker. He became deeply
interested in art after taking lessons from Harto PR at the Fine
Arts Secondary School (SMSR). His works have attracted audiences
both at home and abroad, for example in Malaysia, since 1987, the
year when he first exhibited some of his works.

Details of objects in his works testify to his patience in
processing his spirit and experiences, on which his search for
the global power is based. His visualization draws heavily on the
tumultuous world and a life that he has ceaselessly got in touch
with through hard work and seriousness.

This time, however, Supangkat introduces a new esthetic idiom.
Although the objects in these works are far removed from the
reality of nature that the public can easily identify, it is not
without maturity of mind and technique that Supangkat has created
them.

With the application of monochrome colors, greater poignancy
is reflected from the works that have been created as woodcuts or
those made with a shaving technique. In addition, he seems to be
also offering a mirror of a modern pattern symbolized in his own
style in the context of satire and ridicule.

Musyawarah Mufakat Untuk Menjilat Bersama (Deliberation For A
Consensus To Kiss Up Together, 1995) shows five dogs as the focus
of attention, with skyscrapers in the background, as if
suggesting that global power and the prevailing megacities were a
true reflection of the world today.

A similar theme is found in Baca Aturan Main, Bila Sakit
Berlanjut, Rasain Lu (Read The Rules Of The Game -- If The
Illness Persists, You Have Learned Your Lesson), 1999) and Kridit
Pangkal Gaya (Loans Allow One To Have Style, 1997). In "Habis
Golf Rakyat Berang" (After Golf, People's Fury, 1999), a work
that features the photograph of Kartini, there is a view of a
golf course with some people running amok.

Jeritnya Nyaris Tak Terdengar (The Shriek Is Almost Unheard,
1997) parodies an automobile advertisement showing the onslaught
of instant food products. There is a burger and in the opening of
the bun, there are two sausages, vendors selling meatballs and
lontong (rice steamed in a banana leaf). All of them are squeezed
together, but their shrieks are unheard. The strength of the
mischievous and ironic parody is derived from its view of the
trend of a global culture marginalizing small-scale vendors and
the small people.

Supangkat's works also show the metamorphoses of world greats
like Einstein, Picasso, Mona Lisa or even Bill Clinton in his
relationship with Monica Lewinsky.

In Einstein Terjaring AIDS (aku ingin duit sekarang) (Einstein
Is Infected With AIDS (I want some money now), 1997) for example,
the picture of this great scientist is placed next to an ATM. In
Maaf Kami Tak Sanggup Menatap Karya Tuan Picasso (Sorry, We
Cannot Afford To Gaze At The Works Of Mr. Picasso, 1997),
Picasso's works are presented in their own power, but with the
presence of two children being carried and refusing to glance at
the works.

In Monalisa Lali Weton (Mona Lisa Forgets Who She Was), the
figure of Mona Lisa is drawn exactly like Leonardo da Vinci's
original, but one of her hands is clutching a cellular phone
while a watch is around one of her wrists. As for the work called
Selingkuh Enak Di Coba Dan Perlu? Komentar Anak Singkong Tentang
Clinton Dan Monica (Are illicit Love Affairs Nice To Try And Are
They Really Necessary? The Comment Of One Who Lives On Cassava
About Clinton And Monica), there are four children and a mother
carrying a child in a sling. A White House stands beside them,
contrasting with the images of the children.

The symbols he presents through great figures or other objects
Wrender his works fraught with restlessness. In this respect, the
spontaneous cut of a line will make the figures in his paintings
possess their own strength. The figures are no longer objects
that can be manipulated. They show a style coming from inside.
Perhaps the adventure in these works is more contemplative in
nature than usual, so that the impression of an understanding of
his adventure has been wisely conveyed in detail by means of a
perfect technique.