Women artists in pursuit of Kartini's spirit

Women artists in pursuit of Kartini's spirit

By Carla Bianpoen

JAKARTA (JP): Since the Nairobi Conference and the signing of
the Forward-Looking Strategies by over 150 countries 10 years
ago, the role of women in the development of their nations has
been launched as part of a strategy for sustainable development.
Government policies speak of equal partnership with men, and
donors of development projects are trying to highlight this
partnership in the implementation of donor-supported projects.

For Indonesian women, their roles in development and their
unequal status as compared to men were taken up long before the
international community made it an issue. Raden Adjeng Kartini,
in the 19th century, rose up against what she felt was an
injustice against women at that time. She did so by asking many
questions, requesting further education for herself and her
sisters and by writing many letters. Although Kartini was in the
end unable to pursue her aspirations, her letters, published
after her death at the age of 25, reveal that her concerns and
needs of over a hundred years ago did not differ from those of
women today.

Often considered a troublemaker who wanted more than what was
traditionally proper for a woman, Kartini's correspondence with
her friends indicates the wide range of her thinking. It
encompassed themes and issues relevant to philosophical,
political and socio-cultural conceptual strategies of today.

Kartini has been declared a national heroine by a government
decree, and Kartini Day on April 21 is observed throughout
Indonesia.

One of the activities in observance of Kartini Day this year
is an exhibition of nine women artists at the Cemara-6 Gallery,
Jl. Cemara 6, Menteng, Central Jakarta. Entitled Pameran Seni
Rupa dengan Semangat Kartini 1995, or "Art Exhibition in the
Spirit of Kartini", the exhibition will be opened by the Minister
for Women's Roles today. It will run until April 30.

The majority of participants in this exhibition are artists
known for their longstanding involvement as professionals in
painting or sculpting and who have participated in national and
international exhibitions.

The artists

Kartika, the most senior of the participants, presents
paintings depicting her impressions during a visit to China, and
her fondness for an old woman in Yogyakarta named Apoh. Kartini
reveals that she likes to paint old women, for their wrinkled
faces are the stories of their lives. Apoh, a Yogyakarta woman,
is 93 years old, but in spite of her old age, she insists on
doing everything herself, including preparing her own meals. It
is the strength and willpower of such women that impress Kartika,
who herself fought a long struggle before she could profess her
own creative aspirations. Working with her fingers instead of the
brush, Kartika's emotions are a tangible aspect of her paintings.

Nunung W.S. belongs to the few women artists who have
succeeded in carving out a creative life right from the start.
Putting her artistic career before everything else, Nunung is
considered an accomplished painter whose works are reflections of
inner experiences expressed in color. The works presented in this
exhibition reveal some stages in her life. Menuju Jingga
("Towards Purple") is vivid, with several colors mixing against a
dominating red-orange, while the other two paintings have a more
meditative bearing. Nunung reveals that touring local museums,
and intensely absorbing the colors of her traditional heritage,
she has been inspired by the roots of her existence. Nunung's
recent works contain subdued hues which invite one to sense the
mysterious dimensions of life and the relation to the Omnipotent.
Large canvases with only one or two colors dominating, subtle
lines to indicate direction, and a brim in another color to give
depth, these are the features characteristic of Nunung's works.

Dolorosa Sinaga comes with sculptures depicting ballerinas.
For some time, Dolo has been obsessed with the grace with which
ballerinas present their underlying strength. Likening this to
women who hold an abominable strength behind a soft and gracious
appearance, Dolorosa presents sculptures of traditional dancers.
Inspired by the traditions of Javanese philosophical thought, the
modified movements in the sculptured dancers reveal her statement
that women should be innovative in changing their lives to pursue
their aspirations.

"Sculpting is an act of tension," says Dolo.

It may also be a way of working off the tensions she faces in
real life. Known for her social concern and her views on the
advancement of women artists, many of Dolo's works are
reflections of issues she is unable to find solutions for,
situations she often calls "hopeless." But time and again, her
works also reflect her inner strength. Dean of the Fine Arts
Faculty at the Jakarta Institute of Arts, and a teacher at the
same institution, she continues to be actively involved in her
profession as a sculptor.

Lucia Hartini's paintings are particularly imaginative. Her
vast canvases, painted in a style which some call surrealistic,
are depictions of another world. Mostly they provoke a sense of
yearning, a view of a "better world". In fact, Lucia often draws
on feelings of agony and anger which she transforms into
panoramas of peace and tranquility. The paintings in this
exhibition depict such situations.

Farida Srihadi, who had to struggle hard in the early years of
her painting career, has succeeded in obtaining a respected place
in the world of art. Participating in most of the national and
international exhibitions, her paintings mostly depict the
splendor of nature. Recently, however, her works evoke a sense of
the beyond. Farida's concern with issues of gender equality, as
expressed in her installation of Dream Carriers at TIM last
month, are not detectable in the paintings presented in this
exhibition.

Yanuar Ernawati, whom some experts consider a rising star,
comes with two works which are remarkable because of the material
she uses and the visions of a young woman. Combining painting on
triplex and paper, she achieves an augmented effect of depth.
Mengarungi Kehidupan depicts a mermaid with only the upper half
of her body coming out of the sea, grasping the moon in her arms.
It may be a reflection of the realities of women today, going for
personal aspirations and yet unable to re-interpret the rules of
their traditional upbringing.

Erna Garnasih Pirous likes to paint the changing scenery and
nature in West Java. Inspired by traditional weaving and the
lines drawn by the threads of textile, Erna's paintings of West
Java landscapes are like a tapestry of colors.

Ida Hadjar's paintings have a peculiar touch, which some
people may find particularly special. Painting in the same way as
before, and allowing no variation in color combinations, the
figures in her works are like carved sculptures who all have sad,
melancholy expressions.

Linda Kaun's works are paintings and craft carried out with
the technique used in batik. Using pictures like those in old-
fashioned western story books, her works do not seem to fit in
this exhibition.