Destroyer

This curatorial essay is written by Asikin Hasan for the solo art sculpture exhibition of Basrizal Bara. Translating this essay, I myself had never seen the works, nor the catalogues :D

A variety of stones, tons in weight, scattered in the front lawn of a residence serving also as a workshop in Yogyakarta. Onyx, marble, black granites, solidified wood fossils, all gathered from countless expeditions along the beaches and inlands of Java. The black granites, hunted by the sculptor Al Bara himself, said to being used by the Dutch colonial to break the waves in the port of Tanjung Mas centuries ago.

Questions arise when we observe the boulders of stones. What is it for? How did Al Bara transport it from a certain location to his house lawn? How many people needed to move them one by one, and how long did it take? It then leads to the question of numbers: How much does it cost before these boulders are finally made into a sculpture?

Of course from the contemporer sculpting art’s point of view, Al Bara’s steps are not only inefficient but also not economic. Our modern sculpting art, starting to rise in the 50s, had progressed significantly in the aspect of medium. The use of stone as a main media of sculpting art has been increasingly abandoned. This makes Al Bara a controversy in the contemporary sculpting art.

Indonesia has a relatively new history in the modern sculpting art, started by a number of painters exploring the 3-dimensional field to gain broader experience in visual arts. None of them had the basic knowledges of sculpting art. Affandi tried to build a self-portrait using only clay as a medium. Hendra Gunawan sculpted andesits, one of his works is a figure of the General Sudirman standing with one hand rested on a staff. Nowadays the self portrait sculpture could still be found in the Affandi Museum while the General Sudirman sculpture is still standing in front of the DPRD building in Yogyakarta.

The development of techniques and medium in the sulcpture art is not as advanced as the painting art, considering the complexity of it compared to other field of visual arts. For the first time in history, sculptor Edhi Soenarso bypassing the complexity by using metals in his works. During the 60s Soenarso received commissions from the first president of the Indonesian republic, Soekarno, to build monumental sculptures in a number of strategic spots in capital Jakarta. Among them are the Selamat Datang monument, Pembebasan Irian Barat, and the Dirgantara.

Big scaled monuments were then shrinking rapidly into small scaled metal sculptures. This quick change influenced other sculptors. Through the works of G. Sidharta Soegijo, But Muchtar, Rita Widagdo, Arsono, Nyoman Nuarta, and Dolorosa Sinaga, metal as a medium is getting more popular in the younger generation.

Contemporer sculpting art consciously exploits the revolusionary resources development. New inventions in the chemical industry producing diverse new mediums had made it easier for sculptors to create more various artworks.

The popular industry-made mediums are fibre glass or resin. Not only because of the economical value, it is also easier to work with, enabling mass production, and it’s open to the possibilities of coating using materials such as; brass, silver, bronze, etc., making it seem fully metal.

In the world of fast lanes driven by the industrial world, Al Bara chose the hard way. Spinning like a wheel, hauling bulge by bulge of stones, he perseveres in the most primitive medium in the history of sculpting art, ignoring economic and efficiency reasons. He’s not very much into artifical mediums such as resin although had experimented with it in the past.

Al Bara works are far from his Yogyakartan fellow sculptors tendencies. He reminds us of the age old traditions and works of sculptors in the past. Prompting us to imagine the crude and rigid primitive sculpture of menhirs, dolmens, or the stone henge in the Great Britain. A construction of massive boulders put on top one another. Perhaps Al Bara is one of the contemporary sculptors inheriting the ancient idealism.

After all the efforts of hoarding stones and thousands year old fossils, what is Al Bara’s next plan? People might think he would carve them inch by inch, as he was taught in the Sculpting Art Studio in the Department of Fine Art, Institut Seni Indonesia Yogyakarta. He was taught to respect nature and treat mediums with affection. A politeness in each step of shaping the raw structure into a delicate finished product. When the chisel hits the rock surface we deal with the momentum of change. We learn to control our emotions and bear patience with the process. The practice of sculpting art is not merely about shaping an object into something else. The deeper philosophy is about understanding life itself.

This simplicity is scarce within contemporary sculptors, and also in Al Bara’s practice with his works. This member of Indonesian Sculptor Association doesn’t chisel stone tediously, instead he chooses to severe the stone using electric chainsaw—commonly used in the industrial world, moving with high speed for instant production. In the hands of Al Bara, the solid boulder melts like a pudding.

If we are used to the natural process and enjoy sculpting art with its intensity of shapes like we do with light-shifts between dark and bright in photography, we won’t see it in Al Bara’s works. He was too straightforward. It’s hard to perceive the emotional connections between the sculptor as a subject and his environment as an object. Each is independent, with competitive tendencies to overrule one another. His works emanate machoism; the rugged, tough, often destructive character of men. Portraying the typical behaviour of modern men and his ambition to conquer the world.

Several of his works took opposition over the nature and character of the medium he uses. For example in Gunung, a 90x30x40 cm work, mixing gemstone with white lead, made in 2005. He defined the rhythm of nature by scratching the stone using a chainsaw. The contour dominates the natural lines of the stones itself. He demonstrated his power over his objects by not paying heed to the natural rhythm and pattern of the stone. He built his own universe on top of the medium’s. In other words, he constructs his own version of interpretation overlaying the norms of beauty. He tore apart our concensus of natural beauty.

Similar inclination can be seen in Joged Bersama, made of marbles on 2004 with the dimension of 100 x 200 x 45 cm. In this work he completely erased the medium’s character. His sole and only ambition was the theme and the stone was supressed to achieve it.

Furthermore, he has a disposition to violate the main aspects of the modern sculpting art such as plasticity, harmony, intensity and other normative tendencies. All his works often clash with general aesthetic values. In Jalan Surga, the 400 x 100 x 300 cm black granites and copper sculpture made in 2006, paradise is none like its common depiction in religious believes; gardens, ponds, beautiful angels, comfort and contentment. Al Bara delivered it in simple shapes, arid, with pain hidden within the connected shapes. The sculpture has two symmetrical staircases on each side, a round kerawang in between the stairs, with a medallion shape on the top. A contradiction of shapes perhaps meant to be a pair of positive and negative, in a glimpse it resembles vaginal and phallic shapes. He then bravely added footprints on the steps of the stair as part of the sculpture. Not knowing Al Bara, people would’ve mistaken him as an alien towards the principal of modern sculpting art, blindly breaking rules.

The question arises to whether breaking main stream sculpting art polities and rules were intentional. Perhaps he was worried or bored with the general tendencies. Or maybe it’s an uninhibited exploration to find new ways in the contemporary sculpting art. Al Bara works regularly displays contemporary art problems instead of presenting a completed art object. Is he really sculpting, or is he trying to define the fundamental of sculpting art?

Basrizal Al Bara was born in Bengkalis, Sumatra on 30 April 1966. Since his education in SMSR (Sekolah Menengah Seni Rupa) Padang in 1983, he was determined to choose art as his way of life. He proceeded by learning modern sculpting art in the Department of Fine Art ISI in 1988. As all young sculptors, his early works were figurative and realistic. A common tendency in the phase of technical studies over structure, anatomy, and understanding of shape plasticity.

His progress in the last decade had brought him to a wilder side, too wild even. We can still recognize figures in his worls, but it shifted as symbols, or he would only grab the main ideas as an abstraction of figures. Through stone as the main medium, sometimes mixed with other medias such as glass, metal or other objects, he explores uninhibited in sculpting art.

Sculpting art dramatic sides of volumes or solidity can no longer bee seen in most of his works, when in the practice of sculpting art it is what often exploited to differ it from two-dimensional works. The intuitive tendencies in his works show his efforts of finding his own path outside the common practice. His works brought us the strain between modern sculpting art with primitive or traditional sculptures.

In 2005, his work with 18 granites boulders, with the dimension of 360 x 160 x 200 cm, was titled Mengukur Bayang-Bayang. The title perhaps was inspired to a local saying from his homeland, “Measure the shadows as long as your own height”, speaking of modesty in doing something, of always measuring one’s own abilities with the goal one tries to achieve. In this work Al Bara confronted the aspects of modern art with the monumental primitive art. Figures are only a flat symbol without volumes. We recognize the figure through shapes implying a resemblance to human head and bodice. The flat figures for him are the symbolic shadows. The tons of granites, piled up to 4 meters tall, reminded us to the construction of Borobudur or other ancient temple in Java.

Al Bara’s works present the various forms he’d absorbed from many sources throughout the years, both natural and artificial. His passion and techniques are shown repeatedly, like in this exhibition also. His tendencies in Mengukur Bayang-Bayang, re-appears in Tumbuh Kembali, of wood fossil, granite and white lead, made in 2005 with the size 500 x 80 x 70 cm, the 300 x 60 x 40 cm wood fossil and granite sculpture made in 2006 and titled Berdua, and also the 300 x 40 x 30 cm Totem sculpted in 2005 on a wood fossil. The monumental aspect of these works obviously is influenced by primitive and traditional sculpting art.

Despite his wanderings and explorations, the shadow of figures never leaves his works. For example, the marble sculpture Perjalanan, sized 95 x 40 x 30 cm which he made in 2003, displays the impression of a walking figure. Different from other figures, this very expressive piece reveals limbs and details of hands. Even the figure’s coat was carefully sculpted to give the realistic impression of a breeze on a piece of fabric as the body moves.

Another example is Belahan Jiwa, the 300 x 40 x 60 granite sculpture made in 2006. Here the figure has no volume and nothing but flat. He only explores the negative and positive shapes. This tendency often appears in his works for the last couple of years.

Al Bara's works demonstrate a liberty unrestrained. The various stories in his works; Rumah di Kaki Bukit, Lingga dan Yoni, Penjaga Malam, Orang Kaya, Di Khayangan Ada Pesta, Gerbang Surga, seem to surpass the capacity of sculpting art itself. We always face a paradox when we face the works of Al Bara. Exactly where we can find his modesty and originality.

DESTROYER

Tulisan berikut ini adalah pengantar kuratorial yang ditulis oleh Asikin Hasan untuk pameran tunggal seni patung Basrizal Bara. Walau menerjemahkannya ke Bahasa Inggris, saya sendiri belum pernah melihat pamerannya ataupun katalognya :)

Bebatuan berbagai jenis, berton-ton beratnya, bergeletakan di halaman sebuah rumah sekaligus bengkel kerja di Yogyakarta. Onyx, marmer, granit hitam, fosil kayu yang membatu, dan lain sebagainya, semua diperoleh melalui pencarian berhari-hari di pelbagai kawasan pesisir dan pedalaman Jawa. Al Bara sang pematung dan pemburu bebatuan itu misalnya, menemukan granit hitam yang beberapa abad lalu konon dipergunakan kolonial Belanda untuk menahan pukulan ombak di kawasan pelabuhan Tanjung Mas.

Pelbagai pertanyaan muncul tatkala melihat himpunan bebatuan sebanyak itu. Untuk apa? Bagaimana Al Bara memindahkannya dari satu kawasan tertentu sampai ke halaman rumahnya? Berapa banyak orang dikerahkan untuk menggeser bebatuan itu satu persatu, dan berapa lama? Akhirnya semua pertanyaan akan berujung pada hitung-hitungan: Berapa sesungguhnya ongkos yang harus dikeluarkan sebelum bebatuan itu diolah menjadi sebuah patung?

Tentu saja, ditinjau dari ekonomi seni patung masa kini, langkah-langkah Al Bara itu disamping tak ekonomis, juga tak efisien. Sebab, seni patung modern kita yang mulai nampak gejala pertumbuhannya sejak akhir tahun 50-an, kini sudah mengalami kemajuan berarti dari segi medium. Menggunakan batu selaku medium utama seni patung justru semakin ditinggalkan orang. Dilihat dari situ saja sudah tampak kontroversinya Al Bara dalam kancah seni patung masa kini.


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Sejarah seni patung modern Indonesia terbilang masih muda, dimulai oleh sejumlah pelukis. Ketika itu mereka mencoba mempraktikkan karya-karya trimatra untuk mendapatkan pengalaman baru di bidang seni rupa. Semua tanpa dibekali pengetahuan memadai mengenai prinsip dasar seni patung. Affandi mencoba membangun patung potret diri dengan medium tunggal tanah liat. Hendra Gunawan, memahat batu andesit, antara lain menggambarkan Jenderal Sudirman berdiri dengan sebelah tangannya bertumpu pada sebuah tongkat. Kini patung potret diri itu disimpan di Museum Affandi, dan patung Jenderal Sudirman masih berdiri kokoh di depan gedung DPRD Yogyakarta.

Namun, perkembangan seni patung, baik dari segi medium maupun dalam bidang teknik, tak sederas bidang seni lukis. Masuk akal, sebab dilihat dari aspek apa saja, seni patung jauh lebih berselit-belit dibanding bidang seni rupa lainnya. Untuk pertama kali dalam sejarah, pematung Edhi Soenarso memotong jalan dengan menggunakan logam pada karya-karyanya. Di era 60-an Edhi banyak mendapat pesanan dari presiden RI pertama, Soekarno, membangun patung-patung monumen di sejumlah titik strategis ibukota Jakarta, antara lain; Selamat Datang, Pembebasan Irian Barat, dan Dirgantara.

Tumbuh dari patung-patung monumen dalam skala besar itulah kemudian, bergerak cepat ke bawah, menuju patung-patung logam dalam skala kecil. Perubahan ini cepat membawa pengaruh di kalangan para pematung lain. Belakangan lewat karya-karya G. Sidharta Soegijo, But Muchtar, Rita Widagdo, Arsono, Nyoman Nuarta, Dolorosa Sinaga, kemudian diikuti pematung dari generasi lebih muda, medium logam makin populer.

Seni patung modern sangat sadar memanfaatkan perkembangan revolusioner di bidang bahan. Penemuan dalam industri kimia yang menghasilkan macam-macam medium telah memudahkan pekerjaan para pematung masa kini. Selain makin banyak pilihan, kehadiran medium-medium baru itu membuat karya-karya menjadi lebih beragam.

Beberapa medium produk industri yang paling banyak dipakai dan digemari para pematung adalah fibre glass atau resin. Di samping harganya memang murah dibanding material industri lainnya, pengolahan serat gelas lebih mudah, dan patung dapat diproduksi lebih cepat Bahkan terbuka kemungkinan luas untuk dilapisi dengan material lain; kuningan, perak, perunggu, dan seterusnya, sehingga material aslinya tak tampak lagi, seolah-olah material itu sepenuhnya terbuat dari logam.

Di tengah segala-galanya yang bergerak dengan cepat dan digiring menuju ke satu jalur yang mudah oleh dunia industri, Al Bara justru menempuh jalan sulit. Berputar bak kumparan, menghela sepenuh tenaga bongkah demi bongkah bebatuan, Ia berkutat pada medium paling primitif dalam tradisi seni patung sepanjang sejarah. Menganggap sepi perkembangan medium dalam seni patung, cenderung mengabaikan soal untung rugi dan efisiensi. Ia tak begitu tertarik pada medium artifisial seperti resin, kendati pernah mencobanya untuk beberapa karya.

Karya-karya Al Bara jauh dari kecenderungan karya rekan-rekan seprofesi di Yogyakarta. Ia mengingatkan kita pada tradisi para pematung dan karya-karya di masa silam. Kita membayangkan menhir, dolmen, patung-patung primitif yang kaku, dan kasar. Atau stone henge di Inggris, balok-balok batu besar dan berat, ditumpangkan pada batu lainnya yang ditegakkan selaku konstruksinya. Semua berasal dari alam, dan ditempatkan di alam terbuka. Mungkin Al Bara adalah salah satu pematung masa kini yang menyisakan idealisme para pematung masa silam itu.


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Mengumpulkan dengan susah payah bebatuan dan fosil berusia ribuan tahun, apa selanjutnya yang akan dilakukan oleh Al Bara? Mungkin banyak orang mengira ia akan memahatnya perlahan inci demi inci, sebagaimana praktik seni pahat yang dipelajarinya di Studio Seni Patung FSRD-ISI, Yogyakarta.

Dalam pendidikan seni patung diajarkan bagaimana berlaku khidmad pada alam dan memberlakukan medium dengan penuh cinta kasih. Ada kesantunan yang dilakukan secara bertahap dan perlahan, mulai dari membentuk struktur awal yang kasar hingga menjadi bentuk akhir yang halus.

Sekali mata pahat menancap pada dinding batu, ketika itu pula kita berhadapan dengan momentum sebuah perubahan. Kita belajar mengendalikan emosi, dan berlaku sabar pada tiap prosesnya. Praktik mematung pada hakekatnya bukan semata membentuk sesuatu, tapi mengenal hakekat dari obyek yang tengah kita ubah wujud fisiknya; dari apa adanya menjadi sesuatu yang lain. Lebih jauh lagi adalah upaya memahami kehidupan itu sendiri.

Kebersahajaan serupa itu nampak makin menjauh di kalangan pematung masa kini, pun pada praktik yang diperlihatkan oleh Al Bara dalam karya-karyanya. Anggota Asosiasi Pematung Indonesia (API) ini tak menyapa bebatuan itu dengan mata pahat dan palu secara perlahan, melainkan melukainya dengan gigi-gigi gergaji—perkakas listrik yang biasa dipakai untuk kepentingan dunia industri, bergerak dengan kecepatan sangat tinggi, dan menyelesaikan segala-galanya dengan cepat. Di tangan Al Bara, dalam sekejap bagian demi bagian bebatuan padat itu bak sepotong kue nan teriris.

Apabila kita terbiasa pada sebuah proses alamiah, dan menikmati seni patung dengan intensitas bentuk sebagaimana kita menikmati rambatan cahaya pada fotografi dari yang terang menuju gelap atau sebaliknya, maka kita tak menemukan hal itu pada karya-karya Al Bara. Ia terlalu lugas untuk berlaku seperti itu. Pada karya-karyanya, sulit kita menangkap getaran hubungan emosional antara sang pematung selaku subyek, dengan alam di luar dirinya selaku obyek. Masing-masing berdiri sendiri-sendiri, dan yang satu cenderung menaklukkan yang lainnya. Karya-karyanya membersitkan semangat macho, perilaku dunia lelaki yang keras, kasar, dan kalau perlu menghancurkan. Tergambar di situ kurang lebih, perilaku manusia modern umumnya yang selalu berambisi menaklukkan seisi alam.

Lihat beberapa karyanya, mengambil sikap berlawanan arah dengan sifat dan karakter pada medium yang dipakainya. Ambil contoh karya berjudul “Gunung”, terbuat dari batu mulia (gemstone) campur timah putih, berukuran 90X30X40 sentimeter, bertarikh 2005. Di situ, Al Bara mencoba menafsir irama alam dengan menerakan sejumlah guratan gergaji pada dinding batu. Guratan itu membentuk garis-garis yang sangat dominan, hingga mengalahkan barik yang melekat pada tubuh batu itu sendiri. Ia melihatkan kuasa dirinya atas obyek ditangannya, dan sama sekali tak memperdulikan kontur atau irama barik pada batu tersebut. Dibangunnya alam sendiri di atas alam mediumnya. Dengan kata lain, di atas keindahan yang normatif ia membangun keindahan lain menurut tafsir bebasnya. Alam yang sudah kita sepakati memiliki keindahan sudah habis dilucuti oleh Al Bara pada saat itu.

Kecenderungan serupa nampak pada “Joged Bersama”, karya terbuat dari marmer, berukuran 100X 200X 45 sentimeter, bertarikh 2004. Pada karya ini, karakter medium justru dilenyapkan sama sekali. Kesukaannya pada tema yang dimaksud, dikejarnya habis-habisan agar segera terwujud. Dan, batu selaku medan pergulatannya tak berdaya apa-apa. Di situ medium benar-benar berdiri sebagai obyek yang terjajah, tanpa suara untuk menyatakan dirinya.

Lalu, aspek utama dalam seni patung modern semisal plastisitas, harmoni, intensitas, dan kecenderungan normatif lainnya, kerapkali diruntuhkan pula oleh Al Bara. Segala karyanya cenderung membenturkan diri pada estetika yang umum. Lihat misalnya “Jalan Surga”, karya terbuat dari granit hitam dan tembaga, berukuran 400X100X300 sentimeter, bertarikh 2006. Surga yang dimaksud bertolak belakang dengan cerita-cerita paling tidak pada agama samawi yaitu; taman, air, bidadari cantik, segala hal yang serba nyaman, dan menyenangkan. Al Bara justru menghadirkan bentuk-bentuk sederhana, terasa kering dan hubungan bentuk satu dengan lainnya seperti menyimpan rasa sakit. Patung itu digambarkan secara simetris dua sisi anak tangga di kiri dan kanan. Persis di tengahnya sebidang bentuk dengan bulatan kerawang. Dari atasnya menyembul suatu bentuk seperti bandul. Bentuk-bentuk yang saling berlawanan, atau mungkin sebagai sebuah pasangan; positif dan negatif. Sekilas menyerupai simbol lingga dan yoni. Kemudian Al Bara ringan saja memberi tera telapak kaki pada undak-undak yang merupakan bagian pada patung tersebut. Kita mungkin terperangah oleh keputusan itu. Kalau tak kenal Al Bara, kita segera membayangkan bahwa, orang ini tak mengerti prinsip seni patung modern. Ia menabrak sana sini, mengabaikan aturan main.

Persoalannya tentu saja, apakah semua ini suatu kesengajaan dari sang pematungnya. Sebuah keisengan untuk mengganggu arus utama seni patung yang selama ini terlalu manis dan santun. Mungkinkah ia risau dan bosan dengan kecenderungan yang itu-itu saja. Atau suatu penjelajahan bebas tanpa batas, sebuah eksperimentasi dalam dunia seni kontemporer, untuk menemukan jalan baru, jalan lain seni patung masa kini. Kerapkali karya-karya Al Bara yang sampai dihadapan kita, lebih terasa membentangkan setumpuk masalah seni masa kini, ketimbang penyelesaian sebuah obyek perupaan. Apakah ia membuat seni patung, atau justru tengah mempertanyakan hakekatnya yang lebih mendasar.


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Basrizal Al Bara, demikian nama lengkapnya, lahir di Bengkalis, Sumatra, 30 April 1966. Sejak memasuki SMSR (Sekolah Menengah Seni Rupa) Padang (1983), ia terus memantapkan pilihan pada dunia seni rupa. Selanjutnya ia mendalami pendidikan seni patung modern pada Jurusan Seni Murni FSRD ISI (1988). Sebagaimana umumnya pematung muda, semula karya-karyanya bercorak figuratif dan realis. Kecenderungan serupa ini wajar, sebuah tahap pengenalan teknis yang berkaitan dengan struktur, anatomi, dan pemahaman akan plastisitas bentuk.

Perkembangan satu dekade belakangan ini telah mengantarkannya pada kecenderungan yang lebih bebas, bahkan mungkin terlalu liar. Beberapa sosok memang masih kita temukan pada karya-karyanya, namun sosok-sosok tersebut bergeser selaku simbol-simbol, atau ia hanya menangkap garis besarnya saja selaku sebuah abstraksi dari figur. Melalui medium utama batu, kadang-kadang dicampur dengan pelbagai media lain, seperti; kaca, logam, dan obyek, ia melakukan penjelajahan tak terbatas ke dalam seni patung.

Sisi-sisi dramatik pada seni patung lewat kehadiran volume atau kepejalan, belakangan ini tak kita lihat pada sebagian besar karya-karya Al Bara. Dalam praktik seni patung justru kepejalan itulah yang lazim di eksploitasi habis-habisan. Itu pula yang membedakannya secara mendasar dengan karya-karya dwimatra. Kecenderungan intuitif pada karya-karya Al Bara, memperlihatkan upayanya menemukan jalan sendiri di luar praktik yang umum. Karya-karyanya mengantarkan kita pada tegangan antara seni patung modern dan patung-patung primitif atau patung-patung tradisional.

Perhatikan karya berjudul: “Mengukur Bayang-Bayang”, terbuat dari 18 balok batu granit, berukuran 360X160X200 sentimeter, bertarikh 2005. Judul pada karya ini agaknya terinspirasi dari pepatah yang memang sangat kaya di kampung halaman Al Bara. Lengkapnya berbunyi: Ukurlah Bayang-Bayang Sepanjang Badan, maksudnya agar setiap orang senantiasa rendah hati dalam berbuat sesuatu, selalu mengukur antara kemampuan dan tujuan yang hendak dicapai.

Dalam karya ini kita melihat upaya Al Bara mempertemukan aspek seni modern dan semangat pada seni primitif yang monumental. Di situ sosok hanya merupakan sebuah simbol yang datar tanpa volume. Kita tahu kehadiran sosok di situ hanya lewat beberapa isyarat bentuk yang menyerupai blabar kepala dan tubuh manusia. Melalui bentuk sosok yang datar ini pula, Al Bara menemukan bentuk sebaliknya yang kerawang. Secara simbolis tentu saja dimaksudkannya sebagai bayang-bayang. Bebatuan yang beratnya berton-ton pada karya tersebut, ditumpuk-tumpuk mencapai hampir 4 meter. Konstruksinya bertumpu dari satu batu dengan batu lainnya, mengingatkan kita pada sistem kunci pada konstruksi batu pada bangunan Borobudur atau candi-candi lain di Jawa.

Karya-karya Al Bara memperlihatkan keragaman bentuk yang diserapnya dari pelbagai sumber lampau maupun kini, alam maupun buatan. Namun semangat maupun teknik memperlihakan alur yang sama, sebaimana terlihat dalam pameran ini. Misalnya kecenderungan seperti pada karya “Mengukur Bayang-Bayang”, diulang kembali pada karya “Tumbuh Kembali” yang terbuat dari fosil kayu, batu granit, dan timah putih, berukuran 500X80X70 sentimeter, bertarikh 2005, dan “Berdua” yang terbuat dari fosil kayu dan batu granit, berukuran 300X60X40 sentimeter, bertarikh 2006, “Totem”, terbuat dari fosil kayu, berukuran 300X40X30 sentimeter, bertarikh 2005, Aspek monumental pada karya-karya ini, jelas sekali dicerap dari seni patung primitif dan patung tradisional.

Walau bergerak kemana-mana dan pelbagai percobaan dilakukannya, toh bayangan figur nampak tak pernah pergi dari karya-karyanya. Karya berjudul “Perjalanan” yang terbuat dari marmer, berukuran 95X40X30 sentimeter, bertarikh 2003, menggambarkan sosok dalam kesan berjalan. Berbeda dengan sosok lainnya, karya yang nampak ekspresif ini dengan tegas memperlhatkan bagian tubuh dan detail tangan. Bahkan jubah yang terpasang pada sang sosok digarap sedemikian rupa, seolah-olah representasi kain tertiup angin pada tubuh yang tengah bergerak.

Bandingkan misalnya dengan “Belahan Jiwa”, karya terbuat dari batu granit, berukuran 300X40X60 sentimeter, bertarikh 2006. Di sini sosok ditampilkan datar, tanpa volume, ia hanya memain-mainkan bentuk-bentuk positif dan negatif. Dalam dua tahun belakangan, kecenderungan sosok seperti ini, kerapkali muncul dalam karya-karyanya.

Karya-karya Al Bara menunjukkan ungkapan-ungkapan bebas, tak terbatas. Pelbagai cerita pada karya-karyanya; Rumah di Kaki Bukit, Lingga dan Yoni, Penjaga Malam, Orang Kaya, Di Khayangan Ada Pesta, Gerbang Surga, terasa melampaui kemampuan yang dapat ditampung oleh seni patung itu sendiri. Selalu muncul paradoks ketika kita berhadapan dengan karya-karya Al Bara. Tapi, justru di situ pula agaknya kita menemukan kejujuran dan orisinalitasnya.

Beauty and Terror: Pameran Seni Rupa Indonesia di Paris

Ini adalah salah satu dari beberapa artikel pertama yang saya terjemahkan untuk majalah Visual Arts. Artikel ini ditulis oleh Kunang Helmi untuk Visual Arts, 9 Desember 2005

Di tengah berbagai kegiatan rentree—jeda setelah akhir musim libur dan menandai juga dimulainya musim gugur di Perancis—Indonesia muncul menggugah di kancah seni.

Secara strategis, kedua pameran yang menyertakan duabelas orang Indonesia ini bertepatan dengan pekan seni FIAC yang dilaksanakan pada tanggal 8/9 Oktober, sehingga para peminat dan kolektor seni seakan disegarkan sebuah sumber inspirasi baru. Ini merupakan perubahan taktik dari promosi pariwisata konvensional.

Pameran tersebut, yang malam pembukaannya dihadiri oleh beberapa perupa ternama Indonesia seperti Astari Rasjid dan Pintor Sirait—juga mengetengahkan karya-karya sejawatnya, Agus Suwage, Yusra Martunus, Yunizar, Alfi, Eddy Hara, Agung Kurniawan, Ugo Untoro, Bambang Toko Wudarsono, FW Harsono dan Masryadi—sungguh telah membukakan mata para penikmat seni Eropa akan apa yang sesungguhnya tengah berlangsung di kancah seni kontemporer Indonesia.

Disadari oleh Jean-Marc Decrop yang berpindah tinggal antara Paris dan Hongkong, beliau dan rekannya Jean-Francois Roudillon lantas sepakat untuk memberikan kesempatan bagi sepuluh perupa tersebut unjuk gigi di Paris.

Jean-Marc Decrop, yang terbiasa berhadapan dengan maestro seni Eropa baik yang muda maupun tua, telah melebarkan sayapnya semenjak enam tahun yang lalu dengan merambah seni Cina kontemporer yang saat itu tak begitu terkenal di Barat namun kini sangat diburu. Tinggal di Hong Kong dan Paris, beliau menjadi sangat berpengalaman dalam menangani hal tersebut. Baru-baru ini Decrop sukses merancang sebuah acara pameran seni kontemporer di Jakarta, kolaborasi kerjasama antara Cina dan Indonesia dengan judul “On the Edge” di The Pakubuwono Residence pada tanggal 15 sampai 23 Mei 2004. Selain itu, beliau mengelola Galerie Loft di Paris dan Barcelona bersama dengan Roudillon. Dan kini atas keahliannya, para perupa Indonesia akan mendulang untung dari perkenalan dan pemberitaan tersebut dari pasar internasional.

Menurut Decrop, “Sangat penting untuk mendengarkan intuisi dan tak terlalu perduli pada trend. Seandainya saya tak mengikuti firasat saya bahwa seni Cina, dan kemudian Indonesia, adalah penting, tidak ada yang akan berani mulai menunjukkan trend baru yang sedang berkembang di Asia.”

Decrop and Roudillon mengatur tidak hanya satu, tapi dua pameran di Paris. Yang pertama di Galerie Loft di Rue des Beaux Arts yang terletak di Tepi Kiri Sungai Seine, di mana karya Rasjid, Sirait, dan Agus Suwage yang telah dibeli Decrop dan Roudillon tahun lalu, mendominasi pintu masuknya. Pameran lainnya dilaksanakan di aula besar Assurances & Conseils Saint-Honore (cabang Bank Rotschild) yang terletak di Avenue Matignon yang mewah di Tepi Kanan Sungai, tak jauh dari rumah lelang Christie’s.

Astari Rasjid, Pintor Sirait, Agus Suwage, Yusra Martunus, Yunizar, Alfi, Eddy Hara, Agung Kurniawan, Ugo Untoro, Bambang Toko Wudarsono, FX Harsono dan Masryadi dianggap mewakili ekspresi artistik seni Indonesia masa kini. Diantara semua perupa tersebut hanya Pintor Sirait yang menggeluti seni patung, sedangkan yang lain mendalami seni lukis.

Astari Rasjid nampak menonjol bukan hanya karena ia satu-satunya perupa wanita dalam pameran itu, namun karena karyanya nampak kental dengan pesan-pesan semi-politis, sehingga di Eropa ia disejajarkan dengan seniwati Meksiko, Frida Kahlo, yang juga gemar membuat berbagai jenis penggambaran diri sendiri. Namun, Rasjid merambah skala sosial luas yang mencakup dirinya sebagai bagian dari kaum “socialite” Indonesia, dirinya sebagai seorang perupa, dan juga dirinya sebagai seorang ibu.

Hanya Astari Rasjid dan Pintor Sirait yang dapat menghadiri pembukaan pameran di Paris tersebut. Selama dua minggu mereka diundang untuk tinggal di flat seorang kawan, dengan pemandangan indah taman Palais Royal yang bersebarangan dengan museum Louvre. Suasana yang sungguh menggugah inspirasi baru untuk proyek-proyek selanjutnya.

Jais Darga yang berasal dari Indonesia dan Pascal Lansberg, suaminya yang warga negara Perancis, juga menghadiri pesta pembukaan pameran yang dibanjiri champagne. Mereka berdua memiliki sebuah galeri di daerah Rue de Seine, dan baru saja pulang dari Bali di mana galeri Darga baru saja sukses memamerkan karya Basquiat. Segera pasangan ini membeli sebuah patung karya Sirait.

Seorang kolektor yang tak ingin disebutkan namanya, seorang figur elegan pemilik sejumlah kasino, begitu menyukai seni patung sehingga mungkin saja karya lain dari Sirait kembali terbeli pada malam pembukaan tanggal 30 September itu. Belum tercatat hasil penjualan, tapi ketertarikan terhadap karya lukis yang dipamerkan juga sangat tinggi. Kenyataan bahwa Indonesia telah memiliki tempat di atlas seni rupa memiliki andil penting dalam menentukan nilai komersilnya.

Menurut Decrop, seni rupa kontemporer Indoenesia mencakup isu-isu rumit seperti perubahan masyarakat tradisional dan proses modernisasi, ledakan konsumerisme dan bisnis, internet, beban urbanisme dan bencana ekologi, “orang kaya baru” dan isu-isu berkaitan dengan posisi wanita dalam sebuah masyarakat muslim, yang mana temanya diketengahkan tanpa ampun dalam karya para perupa. Bahkan ketelanjangan bukan lagi sebuah subjek yang tabu untuk dibicarakan.

Keduabelas perupa Indonesia di atas juga telah diundang ke Biennale di Venesia, Kwangju, Jakarta, Shanghai, dan Tirana. Sotheby’s dan Christie’s di Hong Kong dan Singapora, tak lupa rumah lelang Larasati, telah menjual karya-karya mereka. Sudah saatnya publik Perancis disuguhi karya-karya mereka yang dinamis dan menggugah.

Dari keduabelas perupa tersebut, mungkin Astari Rasjid dan Pintor Sirait yang paling kosmopolitan karena persamaan latar belakang dan pendekatan teoretis mereka terhadap seni. Rasjid yang berasal dari keluarga Jawa dibesarkan di India dan Burma, sedangkan Sirait yang Batak dilahirkan di Jerman, mendapatkan pendidikan di Amerika Serikat dan Jerman sebelum kembali ke Bandung. Rasjid sempat belajar di University of Minnesota dan mengambil kelas melukis di Royal College of Art di London di mana ketertarikannya akan isu-isu gender semakin besar. Sirait kini lebih banyak bekerja dengan logam, dalam bentuk-bentuk berbagai ukuran. Karyanya yang berukuran besar dan sedang dalam pengerjaan adalah sebuah monumen sepanjang 50 meter yang dipesan oleh Bandar Udara Changi.

Keduabelas perupa tersebut jelas akan memikat perhatian internasional, sedangkan di Indonesia sendiri karya mereka telah dianggap sebagai penting sebagai panutan bagi para generasi muda yang ingin bergelut dalam bidang seni. Meskipun kukuh berakar pada budaya Indonesia, mereka menjelajahi batas ekspresi tradisional dalam skala yang lebih besar di kanvas global. Berakhir sudah masa di mana ekspresi budaya yang melintasi garis batas tradisional dianggap non-Indonesia, atau non-Asia, atau dikekang oleh Orde Baru. Meskipun menjadikan seni sebagai sumber pendapatan masih dibayang-bayangi resiko eksistensial, para perupa ini memiliki keberanian untuk menghadapi semua resiko dan terus menghasilkan karya seni yang hebat.

Beauty and Terror: Indonesian Artists on show in Paris

This is one of the first few articles I translated for the Visual Arts Magazine. This article is written by Kunang Helmi for Visual Arts, 9 December 2005

Amidst the varied activities of the ‘rentree’ —the month after the holidays end and when autumn begins here in France—Indonesia made a big splash on the artistic scene.

Strategically, the two shows featuring the twelve Indonesians was held coincided with the FIAC art fair held on the weekend of 8/9th October. Buyers and collectors were thus alerted to a new source of inspiration, a welcome change from conventional tourism tactics.

In the presence of renowned Indonesian artists Astari Rasjid and Pintor Sirait at the openings the shows—also featuring their colleagues, Agus Suwage, Yusra Martunus, Yunizar, Alfi, Eddy Hara, Agung Kurniawan, Ugo Untoro, Bambang Toko Wudarsono, FW Harsono and Masryadi—opened the eyes of sophisticated European art connoisseurs to what was happening in the Indonesian contemporary art scene.

Discovered by Jean-Marc Decrop who lives between Paris and Hong Kong, he and his associate Jean-Francois Roudillon decided to give the ten artists a boost in Paris.

Jean-Marc Decrop, who used to deal with old and contemporary European masters, has branched out six years ago with Chinese contemporary art, hitherto unknown in the west, but now much sought after. Traveling between Hong Kong and Paris, he was well equipped to deal with the subject. Recently Decrop staged a successful joint Chinese – Indonesian contemporary art show in Jakarta, called “On the Edge” at The Pakubuwono Residence from 15 to 23 May 2004. Together, he and Roudillon run Galerie Loft in Paris and in Barcelona. Thanks to his flair, Indonesian artists will profit from welcome and over-due exposure on the international market.

Decrop said, “It is important to follow one’s intuition and not be impressed by the fashion. Had I not heeded my feeling that contemporary Chinese, and then Indonesian, art was crucial, nobody here would have dared to start showing the new trends in Asia.”

Decrop and Roudillon organized not only one, but two exhibitions in Paris: one at Galerie Loft on the Rue des Beaux Arts on the Left Bank and the other at the huge entrance hall of Assurances & Conseils Saint-Honore (associated with Rotschild Banque) located on swanky Avenue Matignon on the Right Bank near Christie’s. Works by Rasjid, Sirait and Agus Suwage, which Decrop and Roudillon already bought last year, dominates the entrance of the Galerie Loft on the Left Bank.

Astari Rasjid, Pintor Sirait, Agus Suwage, Yusra Martunus, Yunizar, Alfi, Eddy Hara, Agung Kurniawan, Ugo Untoro, Bambang Toko Wudarsono, FX Harsono and Masryadi are thus ambassadors of contemporary Indonesian artistic expression. While Pintor remains the only sculptor among this group, the others explore various facets of painting techniques.

Astari Rasjid stands out not only because she is a woman, but also because she seems determined to deliver a semi-political message, as well as being likened in Europe to her Mexican predecessor, Frida Kahlo, who also preferred self-portraits of various kinds. However, Rasjid spans a wide social scale between being an Indonesian ‘socialite’ of sorts, an artist and a mother.

Astari Rasjid and Pintor Sirait were the only ones able to attend the opening in Paris. They were invited to stay at a friend’s flat overlooking the lovely gardens of Palais Royal opposite the Louvre for two weeks, soak in the atmosphere for inspiration, to be able to begin new projects.

Indonesian Jais Darga and her French husband Pascal Lansberg who jointly own a gallery in the neighboring Rue de Seine also attended the openings celebrated with flowing champagne. They had just flown back from Bali where the Darga gallery had featured Basquiat in a popular exhibition and they soon bought a sculpture by Sirait.

One anonymous collector, who also owns many casinos and is an elegant figure, loves sculptures, so that Pintor may have sold other pieces on opening night last 30 September. The deal was not yet concluded, but interest in paintings was also high. The fact that Indonesia is now firmly placed on the artistic atlas is of extreme importance for their commercial value.

According to Decrop, Indonesian contemporary art concerns burning issues such as transformation of traditional societies and the modernization process, the explosion of consumerism and business, internet, burgeoning urbanism and ecological disasters, the ‘new rich’ and issues concerning the position of women in traditional Muslim society are themes treated without shame in these artists’ work. Even nudity is no longer a taboo subject.

The twelve have been invited to the Biennales in Venice, Kwangju, Jakarta, Shanghai and Tirana. Sotheby’s and Christie’s in Hong Kong and Singapore, not forgetting Larasati auction house, have auctioned their work. It was high time that the French public was introduced to their dynamic and thought-provoking ‘oeuvre’.

Of the twelve, perhaps Astari Rasjid and Pintor Sirait are the most cosmopolitan as they have been mostly educated abroad and share certain similarities in their theoretical approach to art. Javanese Rasjid grew up partly in India and Burma, while Batak Sirait was born in Germany and was educated in the United States and Germany before returning to Bandung. Rasjid went to school at the University of Minnesota and took a painting course at the Royal College of Art in London where her penchant for gender issues was fortified. Sirait now mainly works with metal, in pieces of varying sizes. His current big work in progress is a 50-meter long sculpture commissioned by Changi airport.

The twelve are thus clearly on the way to a global audience, while in Indonesia, their work have been considered pivotal for the younger generation who consider art as their possible future profession. While firmly anchored in Indonesian culture, they all explore the limits of traditional artistic expressions, extended on a larger global canvas. Gone are the days when over-stepping traditional cultural expression was considered non-Indonesian, or non-Asian, and frowned upon by the so-called New Order. Although being able to make a living from art is still fraught with existential hazards, these artists have the courage to affront the dangers and continue producing valid art forms.

Karla Dracula (scenario)

This scenario original text is written by Tumpal Tampubolon. He asked me to translate it to English because it was about to be submitted to the JIFFEST 2005 script competition. When it won and was produced into a short film to be screened at JIFFEST 2006, our friend Erick helped translating it into a story board. Erick also created a graphic novel titled Bella Karla Drakula, based on this script.

inT. Bedroom - Afternoon

A 5 x 5 m2 bedroom, nobody could be seen. A medium bed in the middle of the room with an end table on its left, the night lamp on it had been turned on. A speck ray of light shone from the window on the right wall of the room. The bedroom’s only source of dim light was the night lamp.

camera pan, medium shot of the bedroom’s surrounding situation.

cut TO:

camera tracking, medium shot closing to the bed.

cUT TO:

close-up shot:

A hand is creeping out from underneath the bed

cUT TO:

medium shot:

A figure clad in black robe.

(the figure is standing with the back against us)

cUT TO:

medium shot:

The figure is walking out slowly from the bedrom.

cuT TO:

inT. corridor - moments LATER

The light in the corridor is also dim. On the corridor’s wall a shadow is casted by the figure.

full shot:

The figure is walking very slowly accros the corridor, still with the back against us.

cUT TO:

int. Kitchen - MOMENTS LATER

A woman is sitting on a low stool, looking as if she was actually squatting instead of sitting. Her left hand is holding a chicken by the neck and a kitchen knife on her right. On her left was a small bucket.

close-up shot:

The chicken’s neck is slit. Blood instantly poured out.

dISSOLVE TO:

EXTREME CLOSE-UP:

A pair of eyes staring bewildered.

(In this shot, the lighting is set purposedly from each side so the eyes are the only thing that could be seen)

cuT TO:

medium shot:

The woman was a little surprised when realising that she was being watched. Her hands were still holding the shivering chicken and the knife.

Mother

(the whole dialogue in this film will appear in text on a black screen)

Oh hi Bella, geez darling you really freak me out --

cUT TO:

By now we can really see who the figure really is. She’s a little girl about 6-t yr.o. About 80-90 cm tall, medium built with curly black hair. She is wrapped in black cloak, reminding us of the typical dracula image.

camera tracking toward Bella, medium shot:

Bella suddenly smirked and plastic dracula fangs can be seen on the corner of her lips. She lifts her left hand as high as her eyes with the arm bended and her fingers gesturing a claw, her eyes widened.

(referring to Tod Browning's Dracula: this is the most memorable gesture of Dracula when he wanted to hypnotized his victims).

cut TO:

medium shot:

Mother reacted by shaking her head, mouthing something like “go play with your sister”.

cut TO:

Medium shot:

Bella pouted. She doesn’t feel like playing with her sister because she’s too little to play with. Her sister is about 4-5 yr.o. Slouching, Bella left her mother, the hem of her black robe is dragged across the floor.

cut TO:

int.living room - moments later

The livingroom is dimly lit. A cute little girl is sitting on the floor. She’s Karla, Bella baby sister. A lot of toys are spread around Karla. She is holding a flashlight. She looks so happy toying with it, shooting lights to the walls.

full shot:

Flashlight shooting the walls to the right and left.

cUT TO:

medium shot:

The light suddenly hit on Bella’s face as she’s entering the room. She covered her face with her robe in reflex, annoyed by the light.

cut TO:

full shot:

Bella grabs the flashlight from Karla’s hands. She then prepares to bite Karla just like a dracula when he’s about to attack the victim.

cut to:

close-up shot:

Karla’s face bright and laughing.

cuT TO:

full shot:

(off screen the door opens)

Bella stops and stays put. She seems to have heard someone opened the door and entering the house. Karla was quiet too. They both listened intently of the footstep coming closer to the house. Bella stands up and runs to the front door.

cUT TO:

int.The house front door- Moments later

CAMERA POINT OF VIEW (POV) SHOT - Person who holds Bella.

Bella runs into the camera, jumping as if pouncing. She looks happy. A pair of hands appears and holding Bella.

The camera turns 360 degrees as the hands keep on holding Bella. She looks happy with her plastic fang showing at the corner of her mouth.

full shot:

A man holding Bella kisses her on the cheek. Father was just coming back from work. He’s wearing a crisp white shirt with a black tie. His pantalons are crisp black, with a pair of shiny black shoes. His masculine face is shaved clean, his shiny black hair is cut short and sleek. Slender and handsome, people could easily guess he’s in his early 30s. His suitcase was put down by his feet. He puts Bella down and then holds Karla who was also running towards him.

cUT TO:

medium shot:

Still holding Karla, Father sniffed around.

DAD

Yummy, from the smell I can tell Mommy is cooking something delicious!

Bella

I think it’s Karla, Daddy. She needs to change.

Father looks curious, reluctantly holds out Karla and puts her down. He sniffs his hands and winced.

fADE TO:

int. dining room - lATER

Father, Mother, and Karla are having their dinner quietly. Bella, still in her dracula robe, looks at her plate with distaste.

CLOSE-UP SHOT:

Bella’s plastic fang was put on the dining table.

dISSOLVE TO:

close-up shot:

Father stares at the plastic fangs with worry. He turns to Mother with questioning look. "What's with the tooth?"

cuT TO:

MEDIUM shot:

Mother simply raised her shoulders as if saying "I have no idea"

cUT TO:

medium sHOT:

Father slowly takes out presents for both Bella and Karla. They were dolls. Karla accepts hers cheerfully, but Bella seems to dislike her present. She just shook her head.

beLLA

Daddy, draculas don't play with dolls.

dad

Sweety, your name is Bella and you're a beautiful seven years old girl anybody ever seen and all beautiful seven years old girls play with dolls. Besides, what's the good being a dracula?

bELLA

Because they can stay up all night,they can turn into bats, and they can’t die as long as they drink blood all the time.

Mother and Father looked very surprised when they hear this. But they said nothing.

fADE TO BLACK.

int. Karla’s bedroom - afternoon

Mother is holding Karla, looking worried. Karla was crying loudly and restlessly. She seems to be in pain. Father came and rub Karla’s back softly, trying not to look worried but failed.

camera tracking, medium shot:

The door is slightly ajar. Still in her dracula robe, Bella could be seen eavesdropping over her parents’ conversation. She looks sad knowing her sister is sick.

fADE out:

int. Pediathryst Practice room

Father and Mother are sitting, looking gloom as they hear the doctor explains Karla’s ilness. The doctor is about 50 years old, with gray white hair. He looks very friendly and assuring.

dOKTer

Your child suffers from a rare disease of… It is inconvenient to let you know this, but the life expectancy in this case is not very promising. In the mean time, we will do medication procedures to lessen her pain. But please, don’t lose hope.

Mother looks as if she was struck by lightning. She cries in her husband’s embrace. Father is trying hard to contain his own emotion.

fADE TO BLACK.

iNT. kitchen - DAY

The kitchen is dated and vague. Bella is playing with Karla’s doll under a table. She wears her usual Dracula costume, a black robe and plastic fangs. A woman in high heels (mother) is seen from a low angle, hurries back and forth preparing dinner. Suddenly a plate fall to floor and broke to pieces, Bella is startled. Mother kneels to pick up the pieces when suddenly she bursts into tears. Bella comes out from under the table still in low angle). Mother sees her, holds her head and caresses her face gently.

bELLA

Mommy, where is Karla?

Mother stares at her as if she'll never see her again then hugs her tightly and cries.

fADE OUT.

INT. HOSPITAL - AFTERNOON

Bella duduk di sebuah kursi bersama Ayah dan Ibu, ini kali pertama dia mengunjungi Karla yang dirawat di rumah sakit dan ini kali pertama juga ia pergi ke rumah sakit, tentu dulu Ibu sering bercerita bahwa dia dilahirkan ke dunia ini di rumah sakit tapi dia tidak pernah ingat bagaimana bentuk rumah sakit.

CUT TO:

INT. HOSPITAL corridor - MOMENTS LATER

They are all sitting in the corridor where all the hospital’s nurses and patients are walking by. The walls are all white and sterile. Windowless. Neon lamps light the corridor. At the end of the corridor there a pair of big swing doors. You can see the room behind these doors in a glance when the doors are opened and then quickly swing shut.

The traffic of patients being transferred, pushed, or strolled are quite hectic in this place. Bella saw several beds a couple of time, covered with white sheets. She is curious what is under the sheets because they are shaped like sleeping people. Accidentally, as a bed is being pushed through, a hand fell out from under the sheet. Bella gasped when realising it was indeed people that had been under the white sheets.

Scared, Bella asked her parents of what happened with those people under the sheets and where are they taken to. Her parents looks confused and not sure how to explain it. Finally Mother answers the question.

iBU

They had been sick for a very long time, Bella. Very sick. But now they are going to a place where they don’t get sick or feel pain anymore, because God takes pity for them.

Mother remembers what the doctor had said about her youngest daughter condition. She’s devastated but tries to look strong in front of Bella.

The Pediathryst who took care of Karla comes out from the room behind the doors. Mother and Father come up to him. They completely forgot Bella was with them. Bella follows her parents.

medium shot,from behind the pediathryst

Bella stands behind her parents so the doctor couldn’t see her as he explains Karla’s latest condition.

Dokter

We had done all the best we could, but her condition is very critical and we might lose her. I’m very sorry.

Upon hearing the doctor’s word, Bella was shocked.

Low angle, medium shot.

Bella steps out from behind her parents.

medium shot

Mother, Father, and the doctor look surprised. They worried of what she might have heard about her dying sister.

Long shot,from the other end of the corridor

Suddenly the corridor turned dark. The neon lights are suddenly dimmed and flashing. A queue of beds with people covered in white sheets are strolling fast into the swing doors.

dissolves to

The queueing beds turn into industrial walking tyre with bodies covered in white sheets sliding on it, going to god knows where.

Bella is worried that her sister might share the same fate as the people under the white sheets. She has to save her sister! She came up with a brilliant idea of just how.

close shot

Bella puts on her plastic fangs. She whips her black robe towards the camera and cover it with darkness.

fADE TO BLACK.

inT. karla’s hospital room - LATER

Karla is laying helplessly in a small bed, tangled in a jungle of wires and tubes. The doctor, Mother, Father, and Bella walked slowly approaching the bed. They all look sad. Father is talking with the doctor while Mother can’t help feeling crushed.

medium shot, low angle

Bella approaches the bed, staring at her sleeping sister. Mother breaks down in tears and is quickly whisked away by her husband and the doctor. Bella is now left alone with Karla.

medium shot

This is the most decissive moment. Bella looks tense. She checks around to see if there’s anyone else in the room. She bends down to her sister as if wanting to kiss the cheek, but then open her mouth. The fangs now look very real like Count Dracula’s. A second before her mouth touches Karla’s neck, her hand whips her robe and covered her and her sister from the view.

fADE TO BLACK.

iNT.LIVING rOOM - dAY

From afar, two figures were sitting on the floor. One is taller than the other. Only their backs can be seen. Both are wrapped in black robe.

CAMERA TRACKING TOWARD THE TWO SUBJECTS THEN STOPS INCHES AWAY THEN CAMERA TRACKING HALF CIRCLE (180 degrees) showing the front of the two subjects, low angle.

The two figures are in fact Bella and Karla, playing together. They suddenly stare into the camera and smile. Fangs could be seen in the corners of their lips. The girls laugh loudly. Lightning flashes could be seen from the window. The girls held their position as if were being photographed.

camera tracking away from the subjects

We see the picture of the two children in a beautiful gothic wooden frame, smiling with their fangs shown with the exact posture before the camera tracks away from the subject.

fADE OUT.

Karla Drakula (skenario)

Skenario ini adalah hasil karya Tumpal Tampubolon. Ia meminta saya menerjemahkannya ke dalam Bahasa Inggris untuk disertakan dalam kompetisi skenario JIFFEST tahun 2005. Naskah tersebut menang, diproduksi dalam bentuk film pendek untuk ditayangkan di JIFFEST tahun berikutnya, kali ini sahabat kami Erick yang terlibat dalam penerjemahan ke dalam story board. Erick juga membuat graphic novel dengan judul Bella Karla Drakula yang dibuat berdasarkan skenario ini.

KARLA DRAKULA

by: Tumpal Tampubolon

inT. KAMar tidur - sore

Sebuah kamar tidur berukuran 5 x 5 m2, suasana kamar sepi tidak ada siapapun terlihat disana, di tengah-tengah ruangan terdapat sebuah tempat tidur berukuran sedang dengan kolong dibawahnya, disamping kiri tempat tidur terletak sebuah meja kecil dengan lampu tidur di atasnya, lampu tidur tadi menyala. Sedikit cahaya menyeruak masuk dari jendela yang terletak di bagian seBellah kanan kamar. cahaya di kamar tersebut remang-remang satu-satunya sumber cahaya paling besar di kamar tersebut adalah lampu tadi.

camera pan, medium shot menjelajah menunjukkan keadaan kamar.

cut TO:

camera tracking, medium shot mendekat ke tempat tidur.

cUT TO:

close-up shot:

Sesosok tangan merayap keluar pelan-pelan dari bawah kolong

tempat tidur.

cUT TO:

medium shot:

Sesosok tubuh dibalut oleh jubah hitam.

(kita hanya dapat melihat punggung dari sosok tersebut)

cUT TO:

medium shot:

Sosok tadi berjalan pelan-pelan keluar dari kamar.

cuT TO:

inT. lorong - moments LATER

cahaya di lorong tadi remang-remang nampak bayangan dari sosok tadi menerpa tembok lorong.

(the art direction of the whole film is German expressionistic style)

full shot:

Sosok tadi berjalan pelan-pelan menyusuri lorong tadi, kita tetap hanya dapat melihat punggungnya saja.

cUT TO:

int. dapur basah - MOMENTS LATER

Seorang wanita sedang duduk di sebuah kursi pendek, dia terlihat seperti sedang berjongkok. Tangannya kirinya memegang leher seekor ayam dan tangan kanannya sebuah pisau dapur.di samping kiri wanita tadi terdapat sebuah ember kecil.

close-up shot:

Leher ayam tersebut digorok.Darah mengucur keluar.

dISSOLVE TO:

EXTREME CLOSE-UP:

Sepasang mata menatap nanar.

(mata tadi disinari dari samping, shot ini biasanya digunakan dalam film-film horor untuk memperkenalkan sang monster, dalam film ini saya merujuk film horor Dracula (19..) yang disutradarai oleh Tod Browning, shot ini muncul Bellasan kali untuk menunjukkan kehadiran Count Dracula yang diperankan oleh sang legenda horor Bella Lugosi)

cuT TO:

medium shot:

Wanita tadi (agak kaget) tersadar bahwa dari tadi dia sedang diperhatikan oleh seseorang. Tangannya masih memegang ayam yang telah dipotong tadi dan sebilah pisau.

Ibu

(the whole dialogue in this film will appear in text on a black screen)

Oh hi Bella, gees darling you really freak me out --

cUT TO:

Sekarang kita dapat melihat wujud sebenarnya dari sosok tersebut, ternyata dia adalah seorang anak perempuan, umurnya 6-7 tahun, tingginya sekitar 80-90 cm, tidak gemuk, rambutnya hitam dan ikal. Tubuhnya dibalut jubah hitam yang mengingatkan kita pada sosok dracula.

camera tracking toward Bella, medium shot:

Bella tiba-tiba tersenyum nampak mainan gigi palsu dracula dengan yang taring yang menyembul keluar. Lalu tangan kirinya diangkat hingga setinggi wajahnya dengan lengan menekuk dan jari-jari membentuk cakar, matanya melotot (again I'm revering to Tod Browning's Dracula this is the most memorable gesture of Dracula when he wanted to hypnotized his victims).

cut TO:

medium shot:

Ibu mengeleng-geleng melihat kelakuan Bella anaknya, lantas dia menyuruh Bella pergi. Mulutnya mengucapkan sesuatu yang kira-kira bunyinya adalah "go play with your sister", sambil menggoyangkan kepalanya.

cut TO:

Medium shot:

Bella cemberut dia enggan bermain dengan adiknya karena adiknya masih terlalu kecil (umurnya kira-kira 4-5 tahun) dengan malas dia berjalan meninggalkan Ibu dengan kepala menunduk, jubahnya nampak terseret-seret menyapu lantai.

cut TO:

int.living room - moments later

Keadaan ruang tamu agak remang-remang, seorang anak balita perempuan sedang duduk di atas lantai, dia adalah adik Bella namanya Karla, dia sangat lucu menggemaskan, di sekelilingnya terserak berbagai macam mainan, dia sedang memegang sebuah senter mainan, nampak wajahnya sangat senang dia menembakkan senternya ke dinding dan bermain-main dengan cahaya senter tadi.

full shot:

Cahaya senter menyinari tembok,bergerak-gerak ke kiri dan kanan.

cUT TO:

medium shot:

Tiba-tiba cahaya senter tadi menyinari wajah Bella yang sedang berjalan memasuki ruangan,dengan segera Bella menutupi wajahnya dengan jubahnya, dia nampak terganggu dengan cahaya senter tadi.

cut TO:

full shot:

Bella merebut senter dari tangan dari Karla, lantas dia bersiap-siap mengigit Karla seperti dracula hendak menyerang mangsanya.

cut to:

close-up shot:

Wajah Karla tertawa riang.

cuT TO:

full shot:

(off screen pintu terbuka)

Bella menghentikan gerakannya dan wajahnya terdiam, nampaknya dia mendengar seseorang membuka pintu dan memasuki rumah, Karla juga terdiam, mereka berdua mendengarkan dengan seksama langkah kaki orang yang sedang masuk ke rumah. Lantas Bella berdiri dan berlari menuju ke arah pintu depan rumah.

cUT TO:

int.pintu depan rumah - Moments later

CAMERA POINT OF VIEW (POV) SHOT - Person who holds Bella.

Bella berlari menuju ke arah kamera, lantas ia meloncat menerkam ke arah kamera, wajahnya terlihat riang, sepasang tangan muncul memegang Bella.

Lantas kamera berputar 360 derajat sementara tangan tadi tetap memegang Bella, nampak wajah Bella terlihat riang dengan gigi Dracula palsunya menyembul keluar dari mulutnya.

full shot:

Seorang pria memegang Bella lantas memeluk dan mencium pipi Bella, ternyata orang tadi adalah Ayah Bella dan Karla yang baru pulang dari kerja, dia memakai kemeja putih lengan panjang dengan dasi hitam tanpa motif, celana panjangnya berwarna hitam juga dan sepatu kulit yang bersih mengkilat. Wajahnya bersih, licin namun tetap maskulin dengan rambut lurus yang tercukur pendek dan rapi, tubuhnya tegap dan langsing, umurnya kira-kira 30-33 tahun, meskipun nampak muda namun kita dengan mudah menebak bahwa dia sudah berkepala tiga. Di sebelah kakinya terletak tas kerjanya. Lantas dia meletakkan Bella kemudian memeluk Karla yang juga berlari ke arahnya lantas menggendongnya.

cUT TO:

medium shot:

Sambil tetap menggendong Karla. Ayah nampak sedang mencium aroma yang menyebar di ruangan tersebut.

DAD

Yummy, from smell I know mommy is cooking something delicious!

Bella

I think is Karla daddy, she needs to change.

Nampak wajah Ayah tiba-tiba terdiam, dia agak enggan memegang Karla dan segera meletakkannya, lalu dia mencium kedua tangannya, wow bau!

fADE TO:

int. dining room - lATER

Ayah,Ibu,dan Karla sedang menyantap makam malam dengan tenang. Bella yang tetap memakai jubah Draculanya hanya menatap makanannya dengan enggan.

CLOSE-UP SHOT:

Gigi Dracula palsu Bella terletak di atas meja makan.

dISSOLVE TO:

close-up shot:

Ayah menatap gigi palsu tadi, wajahnya nampak khawatir, lantas dia menoleh ke arah Ibu seakan bertanya "What's with the tooth?".

cuT TO:

MEDIUM shot:

Ibu hanya menaikan bahunya seakan berkata "how do I know".

cUT TO:

medium sHOT:

Ayah dengan pelan-pelan mengeluarkan boneka hadiah untuk Bella dan Karla, Karla menyambut hadiah tadi dengan gembira tapi Bella nampak tidak suka dengan boneka tadi, dia hanya menggeleng-gelengkan kepalanya tanda tidak suka.

beLLA

Daddy, dracula doesn't play with dolls.

dad

Honey, you're name is Bella and you're a beautiful seven years old girl and all beautiful seven years old girls play with dolls. Besides what's so good for being a dracula?

bELLA

Because they could stay up all night (begadang), berubah jadi kelelawar, dan gak bisa mati (UNDEAD) asal mereka rajin minum darah.

Ayah dan Ibu nampak kaget dengan jawaban Bella tadi hingga mereka tidak bisa bereaksi apa-apa kecuali terdiam saja.

fADE TO BLACK.

int. kamar tidur karla - sore

Ibu nampak sedang mengendong Karla dengan wajah cemas, Karla menangis meraung-raung, nampaknya dia sakit.Ayah mendekat dan membelai punggung Karla dengan lembut wajahnya juga nampak khawatir.

camera tracking, medium shot:

Pintu kamar yang agak terbuka, nampak Bella dengan kostum Draculanya sedang mencuri dengar percakapan kedua orangtuanya, wajahnya juga nampak sedih mengetahui bahwa adiknya sakit.

fADE out:

int. ruang kerja dokter anak

Ayah dan Ibu sedang duduk wajah mereka nampak cemas, sang dokter, kira-kira berusia 50 tahun, rambutnya sudah memutih, wajahnya bersahabat. Dengan wajah sedih dia memberitahu penyakit yang diderita oleh Karla,

dOKTer

Anak anda mengidap penyakit langka bernama ..., penyakit tadi menyerang sel-sel darah ganas. Dengan sangat menyesal saya harus menyatakan ini, meskipun ada, peluang anak anda untuk hidup sangat kecil. Yang dapat kita lakukan sekarang adalah memberikan pengobatan sebaik-baiknya untuk mengurangi rasa sakit yang dideritanya, saya harap anda tetap tabah.

Wajah Ibu nampak seperti tersambar petir, dia menangis di pelukan Ayah yang juga nampak menahan tangisnya.

fADE TO BLACK.

iNT. kitchen - DAY

The kitchen is dated and vague. Bella is playing with Karla doll under a table. She wears her usual Dracula costume, a black cape and false fangs . An woman in high heels (mother), seen from a low angle, hurries back and forth preparing dinner. Suddenly a plate fall to floor and broke to pieces, Bella startled. Mother kneels to pick up the pieces suddenly she bursts into tears, Bella comes out from under the table, (still in low angle) Mother sees her, holds her head and caress her face gently,

bELLA

Mommy where is Karla?

Mother stares at her as if she'll never see her again then hugs her tightly and cries.

fADE OUT.

INT. HOSPITAL - AFTERNOON

Bella duduk di sebuah kursi bersama Ayah dan Ibu, ini kali pertama dia mengunjungi Karla yang dirawat di rumah sakit dan ini kali pertama juga ia pergi ke rumah sakit, tentu dulu Ibu sering bercerita bahwa dia dilahirkan ke dunia ini di rumah sakit tapi dia tidak pernah ingat bagaimana bentuk rumah sakit.

CUT TO:

INT. HOSPITAL ALLEY - MOMENTS LATER

Mereka sedang duduk menunggu di sebuah lorong, lorong tadi adalah tempat lalu lalang para perawat dan pasien rumah sakit, dinding lorong tersebut putih bersih sehingga memberikan kesan steril tidak ada foto, lukisan bahkan jendela dikedua belah dinding lorong, lorong tadi hanya diterangi oleh lampu neon. Di ujung lorong terdapat pintu dorong dengan dua buah daun pintu, di balik pintu tadi terdapat sebuah ruangan, dari tempat duduk Bella kita hanya dapat melihat samar-samar isi ruangan tadi sebab pintu tadi dengan cepat menutup kembali setelah didorong.

Lalu lintas pemindahan pasien di lorong itu cukup padat, sudah beberapa kali Bella melihat keranda dengan gundukan yang diselimuti kain putih lalu lalang di depannya, dia penasaran karena bentuk dari gundukan tadi seperti orang yang sedang tidur. Tidak sengaja sebuah tangan terkulai dari balik selimut tadi, Bella tersentak ternyata dari tadi isi keranda yang lalu lalang tadi adalah manusia.

Dengan rasa ngeri Bella lantas bertanya kemanakah orang-orang yang tidur di atas keranda tadi dibawa, Ayah dan Ibu tampak bingung utnuk menjawab pertanyaan Bella namun akhirnya Ibu menjawab pertanyaan Bella.

iBU

(intinya nerangin kematian ke anak umur 6-7 tahun kumaha hayo!)

Ibu lantas teringat atas vonis dokter atas hidup putri bungsunya Karla, hatinya pedih namun dia berusaha untuk tidak terlihat sedih di depan Bella.

Dokter yang merawat Karla datang menemui mereka, Ayah dan Ibu segera berdiri dan menyambut sang dokter, mereka seperti lupa bahwa tadi mereka bersama Bella, Bella lantas menyusul namun dia hanya berdiri di belakang Ayah dan Ibu, tubuhnya tertutup oleh tubuh ortunya sehingga sang dokter tidak dapat melihat Bella lantas dokter menjelaskan kondisi terakhir Karla, ternyata keadaanya semakin kritis.

Dokter

(nerangin ke ortu bahwa Karla kemungkinan besar tidak akan bertahan dan meninggal)

Bella yang mendengar ucapan sang dokter terperanjat mengetahui bahwa adiknya akan meninggal bahwa mereka tidak akan pernah bertemu lagi. low angle lantas dia menyeruak dari balik tubuh Ayah dan Ibu (medium shot) yang kaget dan tersadar bahwa mereka tadi bersama Bella, sang dokter juga kaget, dia khawatir Bella mendengar semua ucapannya tadi apalagi yang tentang kematian.

Tiba-tiba suasana menjadi ruangan menjadi gelap, lampu neon tadi mendadak berkelap-kelip lalu keranda-keranda tadi menuju ke arah pintu dorong dengan cepat dan beriringan. Lama-kelamaan (dissolve) keranda-keranda tadi berubah menjadi ban berjalan (seperti di pabrik) dengan tubuh-tubuh yang diselimuti kain putih tadi terbaring di atasnya, menggelinding menuju ke antah berantah.

Bella semakin takut dia tidak ingin adiknya bernasib sama dengan tubuh-tubuh tadi, dia harus menyelamatkan adiknya! Dia punya rencana briliant yang mungkin saja dapat menyelamatkan hidup adiknya, dipakainya kembali gigi drakula palsu tadi sambil mengibaskan jubah hitamnya ke arah kamera sehingga menutup penuh layar.

fADE TO BLACK.

inT.KAMAR perawatan karla - LATER

Karla terbaring lemah di atas ranjang kecil (mirip inkubator) dengan begitu banyak selang dan kabel yang terhubung ke tubuh mungilnya, sungguh memilukan. Dokter, Ayah, Ibu dan Bella mendekati ranjang Karla. Wajah mereka semua nampak sedih, dokter bercakap-cakap dengan Ayah sementara Ibu nampak sedih sekali, (low angle) Bella mendekati tepi ranjang Karla, dia menatap adiknya yang terkulai lemah nampak wajah adiknya sedang tertidur. akhirnya Ibu tak kuasa menahan tangisnya dia menangis sejadi-jadinya, Ayah dan dokter dengan segera menuntun Ibu keluar dari ruangan agar tangisan Ibu tidak membangunkan Karla, Bella ditinggalkan sendirian saja dengan Karla. Sekarang adalah saat yang paling menentukan bain Bella wajahnya nampak tegang beberapa kali dia memeriksa keadaan sekitar memastikan bahwa tidak akan ada orang yang melihat apa yang hendak dilakukannya, perlahan dia mendekatkan kepalanya ke arah leher Karla lantas Bella membuka mulutnya nampak gigi taringnya yang mencuat kali ini gigi taring itu nampak seperti sungguhan seperti taring Count Dracula, apakah Bella benar-benar sudah menjadi vampir? sesaat sebelum mulutnya menyentuh leher Karla, tangan Bella mengibaskan jubah hitamnya kembali sehingga menudungi seluruh tubuh Karla.

fADE TO BLACK.

iNT.LIVING rOOM - dAY

Dari kejauhan nampak dua sosok sedang duduk di lantai, sosok yang satu nampak lebih tinggi, kita hanya dapat melihat punggung mereka, keduanya menggunakan jubah hitam.

CAMERA TRACKING TOWARD THE TWO SUBJECTS THEN STOPS INCHES AWAY THEN CAMERA TRACKING HALF CIRCLE (180 degrees) showing the front of the two subjects, low angle.

Ternyata kedua sosok tadi adalah Bella dan Karla mereka sedang bermain berdua, mereka menatap ke arah kamera lantas tersenyum nampak gigi Bella dan Karla keduanya bertaring seperti drakula ha..ha..ha, dari jendela nampak kilatan petir yang menyambar lantas mereka menahan postur mereka (seperti hendak difoto).

camera tracking away from the subjects

We see the picture of the two child in a beautiful gothic wooden frame, smiling with their fangs shown with the exact posture before the camera tracks away from the subject.

fADE OUT.

Tension of Redemption

This curatorial essay was written by Rifky Effendy for the solo exhibition of an Indonesia female artist, Titarubi. The translation of this essay which I did in 2003, is one of my first works on arts subjects.

Over a year ago Tita exhibited a series of her installation works in Benda Gallery, Yogyakarta, entitled Se(tubuh), which was thick with feminine issues. Through shapes of bodies mainly made with stoneware mixed with several other materials, the artworks were presented dramatically and theatrically. So were the artworks she exhibited in Nadi gallery themed “All I Need is Love”, and the “Girl’s Talk” exhibition on Edwin Gallery in 2003, which used more of the everyday objects but was still magical. Behind these works is a narration of her personal struggles in life. She took her daily experiences, offered and brought us a dialog about female social issues within a society and a culture.

Tita’s latest installation series lean towards the interpersonal issues between herself and the normative family relations, as she experienced her “fate” as a woman, a wife, and a mother in a social life of a certain society. The series is much more personal because she had used the images of her two daughters, Gendis and Carkul, which she applied on sculptures and clay printed relief, material manipulations with gravures on glass, aluminium printed relief, shadows (light) and on graphic etching printings.

Society’s Stigma

The little bodies are filled with Arabic characters, like a tattoo. With no intention to compare one another, but it reminded me to the photographic images made by an Iran female artist who resides in New York City, Shirin Neshat, who often use Arabic characters on the face or the bodies she photographed. Tita might be inspired by Neshat, who is popular and had become an icon alike for contemporary Asian-American female artist. One thing is similar between the two artworks, a stigma of religion.

Arabic characters are identical to the religious background of these women; the Islamic world. Both Iran and Indonesia are two countries with Moslems majority in their citizens, although the religious and cultural issues are different between these two countries, and each has different and unique solutions to it.

The use of Islamic icons (stigma) in Tita’s work is influenced by her upbringing in a family living within the Indonesian society, with its clashing values and norms; between tradition, religion, and modernity. The interaction and tension between these values could very much be noted in the daily life.

As an artist, her life within her social environment of the middle-class society certainly brought up many internal conflicts. The children figures she uses as the main element in her artwork is a symbol, shaped by her relation as a mother with her two daughters, also by the social and cultural environment surrounding them. Both juxtapose as a critical point in her work because it highlights the contrasts and implying a tension, an idiosyncratic. The mother-daughter relation is one of the most essential relations as it contains spiritual values. Mother and daughter posses some kind of a spiritual interconnectivity, added to the genetic reasons, making it an important aspect within a family, which also creates complex problems.

Gendis the child, gesturing an opened hand with the palm upward, could be takes as a symbol of a prayer, surrender, rejection, or in a process of doing some action. The symbol juxtaposes a conflict: accepting something (a value) from outside, or the external factor. As we all realise, social constructs may strengthen, enrich, or reduce human consciences. Through here we can see a general daily problems; the metaphors of the body as “a battle ground of values”, which maybe the inevitable risk of life itself. This fact had become a personal question for everyone; of which unique and personal answers must be seek by each.

Self and the Family

It is dilemmatic when so many conflicting values and consciences pass into our personal life, whether we realise it or not; by culture shock, educational patterns, or through the consequences of living in a society like in Indonesia. Especially when this is experienced by a family.

Anthony Giddens observed the globalization era had shifted the value of traditional families, especially in a society as ours. The parent-children relations used to be based on the norms such as economy, traditional beliefs, and religion. This kind of relationship passes on dogmatic tendencies, producing an absolute authority of the parents. Now this pattern had shifted into a relationship based on openness, dialogues, equality, and democracy. Giddens saw it as an “emotion democracy” in the daily life. Democratic parents are parents with the authority based on an “implicit contract”. In a emotion democracy, children can and should be able to question their parents. Parents are no longer an absolute body of the society. (Giddens, 1999: 54 – 63). The parents-children relation become rational, parents are demanded to give suitable answers for everything. This is necessary to avoid what is feared by many, when the older generation failed to provide their young with logics, including the religious aspects. [1]

Religious stigma could be seen on the Arabic characters gravures on the surface of her ceramic sculptures and relief. The characters are taken from passages of Koran; short prayers to start the daily activities such as eating, sleeping, et cetera. A prayer marking a certain action to make it blessed by the power that be, so it will be useful for oneself and the others. This had been taught since a very tender age by parents or religious teachers. These prayers are a symbol to our effort in protecting ourselves from the negative effects. A spiritual “shield” as we encountered external aggression. These prayers are carved on innocent bodies like iron armour worn by knights in the holy war many centuries ago.

In Islam, it is believed that life is a struggle for human. An “immortal war” against the negative influences, a force that seems an abstract, and often believed to lie ahead of us and would attack when least expected. A prayer is a way to guard our body and soul against such force.

We also observed the shape of papaya leafs as an element, even a symbolic form. The function of Papaya leafs in the traditional culture as a natural element used to cure certain illness, or it’s often used as a wrap to tenderize and lessen the aroma of raw meat, such as cow’s or goat’s.

A woman, according to Simone de Beauvoir in Second Sex, always feel like being surrounded by waves, radiations, mystical liquid; she believes in telepathy, astrology, radiotherapy, mesmerism, theosophy, and things magic, shamanism; her religion filled with primitive magical things: candles, worshiping, contraprayers. Her behaviour will be odd and she will be dependent to prayers; to gain certain goals she will perform certain general rituals. In certain traditional cultures in Indonesia we will find various shapes and sorts of “amulet” or “talisman”, like a tattoo or a thing wrapped in a piece of cloth and slipped under one’s garments. It is used to avoid foreign evil forces from the outside. Tita had metaphorically tried to block the external values constructed by life itself through symbolization of prayers shield to the papaya leaf, in order to protect the people she loves.

Naive questions of the closest people about the contradiction of religion and life’s reality had turned into an internal conflict, and then a contradicting fact when it comes to finding the real truth in an ocean of dominating values, constricted in social construction and certain privilege which breeds universality, even shaping stereotypes over unique individual lives. Religious structure had turned into a vehicle of certain interests and had eliminated individual values. This is where the tension is most obvious. Tita’s worries in imagining and saving her children’s future in the space of fears, worries, and struggles. Tita’s submission took shape in patience; she arranges everything and not putting the blame to anyone, because she holds no power over anybody or anything but herself.

This representation is well elaborated through Tita’s awareness on the basic characteristic of the materials. The structurally fragile stoneware ceramics, burn cracks on the clear and gleaming surface of glass, the shining and smooth surface of the aluminium sheet, and the pressure of steel needles on metal surface which is recorded through etching graphic machine, on the combination technique on mediums such as wood, nails, lighting elements, or spatial arrangement. Through repetitions which leaning toward the visual aspect and the simple colour harmonization, whether it is vertically positioned against the wall, or horizontally on the floor, a terrorizing and lyrical rhythm thus created. Here we can see the similarity with the spirit of Neshat’s works: combining between the understanding of a problem, and the artistic idea and maturity.

Expressions and Mediums

Medium in Tita’s hands became as important to be discussed. Besides using a variety of mediums, she also succeeded in turning each medium into a specific representation with distinct characters.

Medium usages have a long social construction recorded in the history, especially in contemporary Western modern art taught in art schools. Pottery art, in which Tita is fluent in, in the common fine art point of view, is not a media known of being used by famous great artists of time. The history of modern art had shown that the media of oil paint on canvasses in the traditional art of painting, metal casts or wood and rock carving in the traditional art of sculpting is an expression media that is commonly being used by male artists.

Modernism mythology, according to an American woman critic, Mary Anne Staniszwelski, favours too much on the art of painting because of the psychological trace of life the artists made. Painting is considered much more valuable because it spontaneously recorded self expression, without any boundaries, and is pure.[2] Although later in the 60’s, the traditional art of painting is politically shifted by artist such as Andy Warhol and Gerhard Richter, who criticized the painting tradition by entering the ambiguity of popular art and using photography in their paintings.

The choice of a medium could be considered as an ideology, it is no longer able to be taken as neutral. Medium is a tool of expression or as a technology might imply a certain relation towards some things or ideas, caused by a historical construction, or because it is being used by certain social groups to build power, fill their needs, supplanted their own values. Yasraf Amir Piliang explained how technology (or a medium) had created a “monopoly of knowledge” by dominant groups within the society and marginalized those who have no access into it, in this case groups of women and children. (Piliang, 2001:9).

And then, Tita uses ceramic as the main medium, which is always related to the craft arts, where this medium tended to be marginalized in the world of art. An Indonesian feminist poetess, Toety Heraty, in an interview argued that every form of art has its own uniqueness and specifications in the material used as the medium. Therefore it is useless to put art into different classifications, one higher then the rest.

There are still masculine views on how craft arts are not an art because it relies very much on the crafting ability, while art lies heavily on “inspiration”. The development of post-modern issues should be able to put craftsmanship as an aspect of art, and if this is the case there will be more women in the history of art because of their works in craft productions, especially pottery and textile (Heraty, 2003: 146 – 147). Sanento Yuliman even had indicated this through an important proposal in his concept of “low art and high art”.[3]

The lack of critical awareness on mediums in the development of (modern) art in Indonesia had never been a consideration in general for the artists when working on their art. This contradicts the Modern Art Movement (Gerakan Seni Rupa Baru) who had been implying it in their manifestos and artworks, which tended to be extraordinary and trespass the art convention at that time.

Artist Dolorosa Sinaga explained how “mediums of art” hadn’t been considered as a tool of expression with certain means, except as the medium of personal expression. So it is difficult to find art issues based on female identity expressions. The dominant issue in Indonesia is humanity, it tend to discuss social-political issues, and is still confined on the visual ideas instead of the goals of mind-shaping through visual languages (Sinaga, 2003: 124).

Explicitly, Tita never nudged the issue of medium, or gender as a movement. But since the beginning, her artworks always put expressions and mediums as a consideration. It’s always been there, inherent within her. Balance is portrayed through the combination of themes, work materials and production methods.

Space Between

There’s a tendency of intersubjectivity when Tita starts or reacting on some issues, where everything outside her seems to always have to touch or surround her. It may be the interaction of the personal life around her; her husband’s, her children’s, closest friends’, even her own social activities, which is quite a lot. Intersubjectivity is something formed and coming between people and cultures (Staniszwelski, 1995:158). Her works of art are not derived from Cartesian self-centred inner meditation, which always created a monologue in loneliness. She dialogues through her conscience and contemplates in interpersonally between her private and public space. Her search of idioms is not too verbal but tends to be symbolic, like the foetus, human figures, faces, and the rest, expresses the closeness and intimacy with her own body. It can also represent the most general perception. So is the choice of mediums, such as ceramic, metal, glass, water, plastic, cupboard, even the body in performance. She always searches on what is suitable most to communicate and always tries to create a space between ratio and emotions. She is really standing between intersection of love and hate, independency and dependency, sacred and profanity, personal and public, poetic and politics, feminine and masculine. But above all that, because she is a woman. Like de Beauvoir once said, “No matter how much she wants to shut the door and the windows, she would never feel safe at home.

Had she found God there?

Jakarta 4 Januari 2004.

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[1] Refer to Giddens in “Living in a Post Traditional Society”, the Indonesian translation by Ali Noer Zaman (IRCiSoD, Yogyakarta. 2003) especially pages 92-93.

[2] In International Art in the 1980s, several female artists like Cindy Sherman, and Sherrie Levine uses photography as a medium with different manipulation. Levine re-created the artworks of modern photography maestros such as Edward Weston or Walker Evans. She questioned on how the myth of creativity and the absolute values of artist originality in respond to the privilege in producing Western Modern Art issues. While Sherman made photos of herself in stereotypic of women characters and positions, as it was often presented in popular cultural imagery, such as in movies and commercials. Photography is a mediated medium. There are mechanical and chemical process to produce images from a negative, thus no originality. Refer to Staniszwelski, 1995 : 154 – 157.

[3] Also refer to “Dua Seni Rupa” Essay in Sepilihan Tulisan Sanento Yuliman page 23.

Bibliography:

1. Interviews with Tita Rubiati, Yogyakarta, Jakarta, 2003.
2. Staniszwelski, Marry Anne. Believing is Seeing, Creating the Culture of Art. Penguin Books, USA, 1995.
3. de Beauvoir, Simone. Second Sex. Interpreted in Bahasa Indonesia Kehidupan Perempuan. By Toni B. Febriantono and Nuraini Juliastuti. Pustaka Promethea, Yogyakarta 2003.
4. Politik dan Gender. Aspek-aspek Seni Visual Indonesia. Yayasan Cemeti, Yogyakarta, 2003.
5. Yuliman, Sanento. Dua Seni Rupa: Sepilihan Tulisan. Edited by Asikin Hassan. Yayasan Kalam, Jakarta, 2001.
6. Jurnal Perempuan edisi 18, Yayasan Jurnal Perempuan, Jakarta, 2001.
7. Giddens, Anthony. Runaway World: How Globalization is Re-shaping Our Lives. Profile Books, London, 1999.
8. Giddens, Anthony in Masyarakat Post-Tradisional. Translated from Living in A Post-Traditional Society by Ali Noer Zaman. Published by IRCiSoD, Yogyakarta, 2003.