” Monolog ” at Galeri Padi, Bandung
Mumbling of Forms I Made A Palguna
Oleh M. Dwi Marianto
The title was made in a hurry. On the work there are expressions saying “come in”, “take it easy” and there is a certain stress on the expression “Ah..h..ugh” as if someone is in seventh heaven. In the background there is a blurry figure of a couple hugging each other, “What’s the idea?” asked the writer. I Made Arya Palguna, the painter, without any expression of burden answered: “The idea of this work is just simple, which comes from the pleasure of making a love affair”. Unbelievable! Some years ago people do not dare to speak up a topic about a serious social problem in a very relaxed way. However, this is the characteristic of this era, after one era full of burden. And now, people can criticize the president freely. People can now express what they think and feel in freely. The writer hopes that this is not just euphoria.
I Made Arya Palguna, a young painter who was born in Ubud, Bali in 1976, is now showing several works in one exhibition entitled “monolog” (monologue). He wants to show a transformation from many of his desires which is driven from the feelings that really influenced in his way he views the world and when he is working. Palguna’s works are his mumbles. He wants to follow his thoughts and imagination as free as possible. He wants to ngemigmig (in Balinese it means mumbling/grumbling on one’s own). With the strokes and colors that are made in a careless way, Palguna wants to say anything unreservedly. “Why should I be burdened by many problems? For example about the politics that is not sure of where it is going and how”. He explained about how he takes his first step when about to start his work; even though his work will be on a social-political problem, he will do it in his own way. In Balinese, Palguna wants to deliver his nguyut (meaningless confusion in his mind), his ipit (his mumbles) and all his kemeng (his grumbles) through his paintings.
Going further on “Monolog”, Palguna wants to comment abundantly of what he sees everyday, or what is now being greatest influence on the public life, like the mass media, either printed or electronics. So far the media has been in power. The narration that is presented by the media turns out to be a great issue and as if it is the one and only. In contrast, other narrations are gagged or at least have no chance to speak up. Exclusively about the media, Palguna’s work entitled Sex Education was made with the ideas that were to confront the television which programs are not from Indonesia, meaning the product of the West or Japan. Specifically, Palguna wants to grumble about the programs by MTV which honestly are becoming more and more interesting, but is getting more and more filled with symbolism and sensuality. In this work there are several figures which are illustrated having glowing hearts colored red, which symbolizes the possession of power. There is also an expression saying “SLUTSEX…SLUT SEX…SEXSLUT…, and numbers that are carelessly being put into. In the middle of the painting, Palguna made a model of a staircase which gave a dimensional effect.
Such illustration is the impression of MTV that Palguna got. Palguna thinks that in the sake of showbiz, and even in this world in general, we are the winner and also the loser. “The television has become the fastest way to give information about sex. The TV is now become has now become vulgar, especially foreign programs“, Palguna briefly wrote in order to describe this works. Here he is representing the couch potatoes who are enjoying the eroticism that has been made into a commodity, and is also becoming the critics.
The staircase is adopted by Palguna as one special character in which he gives personal accentuation of his artworks. In almost all of his artworks there is at least one staircase that is put in based on his personal desire and of course were placed with compositional considerations. The development and the idea of the symbolization of the staircase are often made through short considerations like a decision that is based on the roll of the dice. So, if it happens this way, why should people make plans?
One clear point is Palguna’s desire to back off from the artistic trend which only focuses on the attention on social and political problems that has become the people’s concerns today. With the many problems that are presented in front of him, Palguna consciously picks up one closest reality which he can interpret in his own language. He wants to view himself through his works that he is working on in spontaneity and automatism. He wants to show the movement of his personal thoughts. He believes that if someone wants to correct the social structure of a general public which is thought to be wrong, one must start from himself and correct his own life first. The Snakes and Ladder game is one of the means that Palguna uses to see his own self, and of what he plays around with in order not to get stuck in a world full disorderliness.
The Snakes and Ladder board has become Palguna’s playground. It has become a playground that is full of imagination and dreams. Accidentally the staircase figure can be used to give a three dimensional effect, with the addition of how Palguna plays around with contrasts and the composition of figures, numbers and letters in different kinds of levels. And so the question will be: till when and how far can he let his mumbling and grumbling go? Or until how far can he work on dividing dimension using snakes and ladders and numbers and figures so that it can be represented and the presentation itself will not become monotonous? Or in other words, what kind of power would be used in order to prevent the audience from getting bored with the repetition of the snakes and ladders?
Obviously, from the daily experiences, when mumbling, when grumbling, or even when shouting freely, one cannot deny certain personal patterns that he is using. Man cannot make one million kinds of noise in one go. This means that the connection of Palguna’s artistic-aesthetic work in the snakes and ladders pattern is his typical personal character which at the same time can be his ‘prison’. Therefore, Palguna has to search for more ‘noises’, new creative and fresh forms even from outside of something which is steady, because if he does not do this, his artistic-aesthetic structure might become motionless and his artwork will only have the reproductive traits.
“I want to have an affair!” In a socio-cultural system, having an affair may mean something that is disgraceful. But for the sake of imagination and experimentation in search for new artistic forms, one must have an ‘affair’ and free himself from structural or functional burden, get out from conventionality. Thus the snakes and ladder game may become scrabble, or chess, or computer games, or even it can become a game of soccer. It all depends on what and how Palguna interpret them all.
Back to Palguna’s paintings, one aspect that should be given recognition on Palguna’s world is on his bravery in ‘mumbling’ artistic forms, his bravery in letting himself go along with his own intuitions and imaginations. In the writer’s personal opinion, in some circumstances, one must sometimes have enough courage in expressing what he feels needs to expressed. So wish you all a happy ipit (mumbling) and kemeg (grumbling) time.
M. Dwi Marianto
Research Center
ISI Yogyakarta