” Leaf ” at SG Private Bangking Gallery, Singapore

From Inside the Ambience to the Contemplative

I Made Arya Palguna’s Journey in Art

There are many ways for artists to start his artwork. There are some who will start with a long process of observation on the subject that he is about to deliver into his work and will execute it into a linear process. There are those who will work directly stroking the canvas freely based on the situation of his heart, on these strokes and abstract form he is reflecting and playing with his associations and then connecting his strokes and form with something else; then from this step he creates some kind of image that represents his true feelings/thoughts. Other artists start his work with a clear concept to position certain ideas to the mind or perception of his audience, therefore he tries to find shapes, signs, and also symbols that he thinks can actualize his concept optimally. Another one might like to play around with concepts and controlled mind, he will then create conceptual works. There are also those who like to contemplate, his ideas are gained though his experiences being in quiet places—on top of a hill or mountain, or on the beach, or maybe on the roofs of tall houses and buildings—then he will make paintings of landscapes or some other works.

All depends on the choice of each individual. But the significance is, from associating with many artists, that there is one statement which often come out from their own, ant this statement is when they are about to make an artwork, they have to put aside other works, theories, and concepts of art which they have seen, heard and known. If this does not happen, they will feel annoyed on actualizing their creation process, for a unique artwork that has good character is a work which ideas come from an imaginary place where someone explores his thoughts, feelings, insights, dreams, and his interrelation to his society that moulds himself.

I Made Arya Palguna is one of many artist who does not find his ideas in distant places, not from reading books and texts about art that are complex, fussy, theoretical and intellectual, but from daily occurrence. He gains his ideas from his thoughts and feelings that flows or from his relaxed alert in positioning himself in his society and the world. His ideas are caught as if they were ‘fish’ that are struggling and fluttering inside a net, which then expressed in the form of lines and free strokes. From these free strokes he is playing with associations and from it all he makes his works.

            A Kiss is one of I Made Arya Palguna’s paintings, which illustrates a couple romantically making love. The guy kiss his spouse is illustrated in exaggerated gestures in order to make the essence of emotional closeness between the two is shown. The overall color pattern looks more like the colors of clay in a garden, which consists of brownish colors and orange. The anatomy and the proportion of both figures are freely deformed. Because in shaping forms, Palguna knocks down natural shapes, his rule of the thumb is his feelings, temporary impulses, his spirit of playing around, and the instinct to make fun of the common pattern and general aesthetic expectation.

Such spirit and similar feelings are also felt in his works, for example the work entitled Ketika Gatutkaca Lahir (When Gatutkaca was Born) which illustrates a Javanese puppet (wayang) epic. An epic based on Palguna’s style. In this epic there are no figures of the conventional form. Young Gatutkaca was not specially illustrated; instead it looked more like a child in general. The eruption was not very magnificent. What is significant was on the courage and explorative attitude to join many different ideas into anything. When painting, he follows his feelings and thoughts which are always flowing. The final result is not to be his priority because what he cares is being totally involved in all the moments during his painting. Therefore, he never worried of running out of ideas. Just as long as he is involved mentally and emotionally in any circumstances—both big and small—that he experience.

The independence of jumping from one idea to another and playing around with it, or changing from one painting format to another is completed with his working activities where he now likes to make abstract forms and shapes. Lately he explores a leaf to represent his insights towards the nature and the continuity of the ecosystem. Nevertheless, Palguna did not give a clear target; he still follows his spirit of having fun, as it is illustrated in his work entitled In a Landscape. This artwork shows a dry leaf that looks like one’s lips in the middle of a yellowish and reddish area.

I Made Arya Palguna is one of many painters in Yogyakarta who does not want to be tethered by historical believes about art and art conventions which often are stated in academic writings about art. He never reads any writings about art that is written in a complex language, using intellectual academic jargons and is usually difficult to comprehend because it often states ideas and theories which are imported from a foreign socio-cultural situation which has small relevance towards the situation and the neighborhood where its readers live in. He thinks that such writings frames the mind and limits the freedom to explore freely and to enter ‘wrong situations’. Palguna, alumni of ISI Yogyakarta, prefers reading or observing natural phenomena and the everyday life, and then dig in for possibilities behind trivial things.

It seems Palguna’s resistance against the intellectuality of art which are fussy did not come accidentally. It can be said that Palguna himself is not keen of reading and tries to find excuses why he did not read any typography products. However, in reality, many people, directly or not, say that they are confused when reading texts or books of art that uses complex language and the topics or analysis subjects are forced to fit with contemporary art theories available in many ‘art centers’ through out the world. Nevertheless, in reality, these art theories come from small countries that accidentally are Superpower countries. Often the writer would dresses himself up with the ideas, of some world class art experts, which are either quoted or borrowed and used in his writings to make it more convincing; as if it seems like the writing is not complete when it hasn’t quoted the ideas of great artists. The theories and the opinions of great artists are important, but as long as they are socialized well and are used to focus on the imagined potencies, which can sharpen the readers’ state of mind so that they can develop their potencies, and not to gag initiatives.

In its connection to the scientific world and of literature, it can be said that Indonesia is politically independent, in the contrary written forms and researches are still using colonial approaches and formalisms, or maybe are still filled with stereotypes which were originated from the colonial era but is still in use today. In the academic world, because of the provision of teaching materials, students are conditioned to read and imagine writings from Superpower countries, but seldom are given the chance to dig for the potencies of their own actual surroundings.

After describing a little on the conditioning and perpetuation of the hegemony in writing about art which are full of global theories, it will be better if Palguna’s socio-cultural situation is also focused. Palguna is an artist who was born in Desa Kelod, Ubud, Bali in 1976, and is now living and working in Yogyakarta. The urban hood in Yogyakarta today cannot be separated from the clutch of two gigantic invisible forces yet gives big influence in shaping the face of public spaces and lifestyle. These two ‘giants’ are the economy liberalization and the media. The first force knocks down the traditional systems which are not progressive, on the other hand the unprogressive things does not always mean that they are not good or wrong, e.g. the culture to think with the heart and feelings. The second force tends to raise and position certain ideas and images, especially for some big money owners and multi-company businessmen. Whereas at the same time this second force is also being very critical to anything that associates with the government who regulates the needs of many people and groups, or towards any actions which is viewed as an cultural conservation and is thought to hamper the growth acceleration of capitals. Those two forces work together shaping the lives of the people and, either directly or not, they are conditioning the appearance of new elements on the streets.

In Yogyakarta, as well in many other big cities in Indonesia, the influence of the global socio-economic forces looks very obvious. Billboards of cigarette advertisements are seen in almost every corner of the city, either downtown or uptown. There is even a product of a multinational cigarette company which advertisement is endorsed by the highest cultural institution in Yogyakarta—which is in fact the Yogyakarta Royal Family (Keraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat)—which logo is used as the trademark of the advertisement. Mass industrial products from many other multinational companies are also seen in every strategic spots in and out of the city. Many kiosks or shops with the same features sell mobile phones and phone units.

Television channels and commercial radio stations are also being responsible for the uniformity of lifestyle and speech act in the society today. Entertainment programs, action movies, and even the news refers to television programs form Superpower countries, e.g. Akademi Fantasi Indosiar, Indonesian Idol, Fear Factor, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Joe Millionaire, Tiga Puluh Detik Jadi Bintang, games, commercial advertisements, parody shows, gossips, and many more. Private radio presenters share the same speech act, using Jakarta dialect that often borrows certain English words and terminologies. One of many kinds of popular expression is: “So what gitu loh!?”

People are now too busy sending and receiving Short Message Services (SMS). Borrowing an expression by Risman Marah, an art photographer, that in the olden days people used to carry their rosary in order to pray, but now people are ‘praying’ using the keypad of a mobile phone. In many places there are often found a group of people who physically are close to one another but emotionally they are far way from each other, because they are all too busy sending SMSes to someone somewhere. Frankly saying, people are now globally connected to each other by digital communication devices.

In a situation and condition like today, where globalization in every cultural activity is dominating and has even entered the personal spaces, the choice of disconnecting oneself from the global issue for once in a while is an obligatory matter. It means that we have time to enter our own world and feelings so that we can feel our senses again; because only with our sense we can feel the connection between us and the world that surrounds us and the universe, from where fresh ideas are flowing naturally and can be easily gained. We can do all this if every once in a while we stay still, untie ourselves from the ambience and the noisiness, and get involved totally in our own personal experiences in order to listen to the sound of our body and feelings.

Visual language style transition, from the figurative to the abstract or vice versa, is some thing that is usual; hence a style depends on what and how an idea will be expressed. In real life, the color and feelings in Palguna’s abstract works are very different to those of his previous artworks. Palguna’s point of view has jump out from being part of the ambience in his everyday life to an imaginary-contemplative point where he can view himself in his silence and his connection of his reality. This way of seeing will become sharper and richer if he will always observe anything.

1. Dwi Marianto

Art Writer

The Director of the Graduate Program ISI Yogyakarta 2005