2009-08-06
CHUSIN SETIADIKARA: FROM THE NUDE TO CHILDREN
Ita Soe’ad
The works of Chusin Setiadikara have been the talk of
observers of the Indonesian fine arts for the past 10
years. His last solo exhibition, which took place at
Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta on 21 February-6
March 2002, was much written up in the national print media.
Jim Supangkat, in his curatorial essay for that exhibition, deemed
that the realistic portrayal that Chusin Setiadikara was concerned
with could not be linked to the obsessive pursuit of resemblance
between image and reality, which constituted the premise of
realism in the evolution of (Western) painting, as hypothesized
by the theorist, Andre Bazin. According to Supangkat, this
premise and its discourse were nearly unknown in Indonesia.
Thus, Chusin’s engagement with realistic forms is not based on
this premise; it is linked with photography. Realistic portrayal
in his paintings is not the same as the kind of realistic portrayal
considered to have died out with the advent of photography.
Sublimation of Women’s Bodies
One of the interesting subjects to arise from the paintings of Chusin
Setiadikara is the issue of the female body. How could it not, in
view of his nude painting series? In his nude series on the subject
of women’s bodies, the paintings are visually executed through the
application of color that follows the tensions of the body’s contours.
Of course the approach he takes involves realistic depiction.
However, what is fascinating about his approach is the space he
creates, for instance, in constructing a three-dimensional illusion
or evoking a sense of volume in a transparent atmosphere. The
paintings in this series may just be unrealistic, like something that
can be imagined through the sense of sight, but is not reality. The
way this impression is constructed carries us away, to associations
with a lyrical theater stage, where the body in all its poses and
gestures gives birth to rhythm. Meanwhile, the use of white space
and light further reinforces this sense of lyric theater. Perhaps, in
truth, Chusin is only re-staging the impressions or opinions some
people hold about the position, space, and breadth of social issues
regarding men and women. The lyric theater is not without its
problems. It is precisely the context he raises that brings forth the
tensions at the very center of the eye of the beholder, over-indulged
by the aesthetic achievements of painting that takes the female body
as its subject matter.
The issue of the body, particularly the female body, in Chusin
Setiadikara’s view, is that the more time goes by, the more one
feels its mysteriousness. The body, particularly the body of a
woman, possesses extraordinary complexity in Indonesia. The
body is germane to religious and social matters, and even to certain
(political) interests. These understandings of the body lead Chusin Setiadikara to think, “When I choose women as objects for my
painting, am I exploiting or abusing (the bodies of) women? I’m sure
that I’m not doing that. To me, the body is something unavoidable
in my (artistic) life. I am clearly brought face to face with the
current situation in Indonesia, which is making an issue of the body,
especially the female body. Perhaps I too must face the ‘moral
police’ that have been revealing their power more and more of late.
I think art should have wiser references. That’s why it’s best not to
take sides either with those who are ‘pro’ or those who are ‘contra’
in these debates about the body.”
In essence, the body of a woman becomes an issue when it is
presented in strongly sensual terms. That’s why Chusin Setiadikara
believes that nakedness (or the exposure of body parts that some
believe should never be exposed) lies in the colors of the skin and
vital organs of the body. That’s why he chooses skin colors that do
not make reference to the reality of the colors of the body. Thus,
what comes through is a diminishing of the sensuality of skin.
The result, which tends to be subduing or concealing, and brings
a sense of the sublime into being, is one of the most important
findings of Chusin Setiadikara’s journey as an artist.
The Semiotics of Political Media
Today, in the current politicized situation in Indonesia, which
explicitly displays the fight in the struggle over political positions,
Chusin Setiadikara feels—as many people do—besieged by all
the billboards of the presidential candidates and their running
mates. A range of different signs of prosperity, fertility, wellbeing
and security, and other things closer in character to dreams, come
forth to terrorize our eyes. These signs are generally depicted
as backgrounds to the main objects—portraits of prospective
presidents and portraits of prospective vice-presidents.
Chusin Setiadikara is more than merely inspired by the billboards; in
fact, the compositional style of the presidential candidacy posters has
become a kind of aesthetic reality that terrorizes his memory.
Interestingly, the latest works of Chusin Setiadikara—soon to be
exhibited at Kendra Gallery in Seminyak, Kuta, Bali—have children as their subject matter. In painting children, he does not depict
them in the ways village children are most commonly portrayed,
with connotations of poverty, backwardness, and suffering. Rather,
Chusin Setiadikara presents images of village children who are
active, agile, and have futures. A form of image-making that, once
again, borrows from the image-making style of the political media,
of the sort found in the posters of the would-be presidents and
would-be vice-presidents: A highly contextual allegory.
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HIGHLIGHTS
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2011-03-30
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Van Gogh Alive – the Exhibition set to open on 16 April 2011
Singapore (30 March 2011) In commemoration of Van Gogh’s birth date today, the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands announced that it will host the world touring premiere of Van Gogh Alive – the Exhibition. Visitors will get to experience Vincent Van Gogh’s art work come alive in an exhibition that will combine the latest in sound and projection technology using images of Van Gogh’s masterpieces.
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2011-01-05
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Organized by Hou Hanru in collaboration with ShContemporary 9th September, 2010
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2031-01-01
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2010-10-06
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The installations of Java’s Machine: Phantasmagoria by Augustinus Kuswidananto (a.k.a. Jompet) have been shown in a number of variations, exploring syncretism or strategies to reconcile
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Filipino artist Bembol Dela Cruz presents the concept of art reflecting art, with an explosive narrative that carves life out
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2010-10-06
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Islamic art in Indonesia used to be associated with religious calligraphy only, but in 2009 Lawangwangi’s exhibition of Contemporary Islamic Art showed that calligraphy is just a form of language.
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 There is a new epidemic trend in the contemporary art of Asia sweeping through the population of younger artists: Animamix Art.
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Each artist has a full right, and at the same time an obligation, to explore forms and ideas continuously, although naturally there will be many obstructions and challenges along the way.
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Daniel Flanagan
From different generations and cultural backgrounds, S Teddy D and Daniel Flanagan present together their collaboration on Transubstantiation.
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Solo Exhibition:
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 Selected Solo Exhibition
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