TAXU ART CLINIC: 2006 Exhibition
January 21 - February 18, 2006
CP ARTSPACE, JAKARTA
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Taxu Art Clinic 2006
By Asmudjo J. Irianto & I Wayan Seriyoga Parta

The Taxu Art Clinic was founded in 2001, as a more-organized effort from several students of the Denpasar Art School, who had previously done the "breaking through the hegemony" movement, a movement protesting the Establishment in Balinese art world. The emergence of this group can actually be predicted when young artists appeared with critical thoughts about the Balinese art realm. Having an especially strong identity as a distinct art realm in the constellation of Indonesian modern art, the Balinese art praxis seems reluctant to move away from such identity. The strength of Balinese art world as a special realm in Indonesian visual art rendered the developments in the contemporary art in Java not necessarily inevitable. The strong identity and the palpable "rules of the game" in the art praxis, especially in the genre of Balinese painting, make the existence of discourses quite discretionary. The need for the production of conceptions, and the critical attitude toward art, are therefore difficult to create.

Meanwhile, a new generation of artists arose, influenced by the bustle of the contemporary art on Java, especially in Yogyakarta, Bandung, and Jakarta. It is thus easy to predict that the Balinese art provides a too-narrow and sectarian area for these young rebels. Furthermore, they see the Balinese art identity as focusing more on the aspect of art-as-commodity, rather than on the potentials of art as a space for critical thoughts. It is inevitable, therefore, that the early works of these students are works where the spirit of revolts runs rampant. After they banded together in the Taxu Art Clinic, however, their works have become quite "tamed" - not as fierce as they used to be when they were in the movement of "breaking through the hegemony".

The revolt of these young artists becomes important and shows potentials, precisely because they were smart in choosing a robust "enemy". The superfluous backlash from the parties under attack fostered the existence of the young rebels, and precisely showed the relevance and urgency of the rebellion. In other words, their protests are proven more-or-less true due to the hostile responses. Rebellion, especially rebellion against the dominant art genre, is actually a very difficult thing to do in the world of contemporary art, a world of art where everything is allowed. The counterattack against these young artists precisely nourished them. The young artists are also smart enough in taking advantage of the momentum and retain it. They formed the Taxu Art Clinic, and their works in the beginning are mostly criticism on the social, cultural, political, and art issues on Bali.

Fortunately, this spirit in criticizing others is accompanied by a critical attitude toward themselves. The Taxu Art Clinic has a high enthusiasm in learning and observing the world of contemporary art. Their understanding about the importance of networks for young artists compels them to maintain close connections with groups of young artists on Java. This has further strengthened the existence of the Taxu Art Clinic. Meanwhile, the insight that art does not concern merely revolution, gives rise to an awareness among these young artists to sharpen their skills. They not only try to hone their understanding about the content of art, but also improve their skills in creating visual constructions. From the beginning, realistic portrayal has been an apt and dominant choice, as the consequence of their aim in creating works that represent social-political issues. Although the genre of realistic portrayal has previously developed in Bali, its usage as a means of critical discourse seems to be characteristic of the Taxu Art Clinic.

Works of realistic portrayal often suspected of having mere mimetic aims. That is why the genre is deemed unimportant in modern art. In contemporary art, however, realistic works thrive again due to its potentials to represent things. This is in keeping with the tendency of contemporary art that again wishes to represent things outside the art. On the other hand, there are still dissenting views and understandings about "realism" as a category referring to realistic works - a lot of interpretations can be derived from it, and they depend on certain time and space. However diluted the understanding on realism might be, it is actually not quite important in contemporary art, which focuses more on the representation context and message of art, rather than on the concept and aspect of art itself. Realistic portrayal, therefore, is a matter of choice and skill of the artist. This choice, however, is not without its risks. In some cases, the sophisticated skills of the artist in creating realistic works, without being accompanied with the ability to develop ideas and issues, will only result in works that are worth not more than decorative posters. Besides, the common perception on art as something that should display only beauty and mastery further marginalizes the position of realistic works in the eyes of the art wardens. Therefore, although these realistic works have reclaimed a place in the world of contemporary art, this position has not been regained by the skill and sophistication of the artist; rather, it has been instigated by the artist's ability to compose and develop issues through realistic portrayal. On the other hand, one cannot deny the fact that the skill of the artist is also the cause for an appreciation of the work. Such appreciation is not one arising in discourses, since this skill appears as something that can be perceived, instead of something that is considered as difficult to understand and appraise.

Realistic portrayal plays an important part in the history of Indonesian art, starting from the Persagi (the Association of Drawing Masters), Social Realism, up to the era of contemporary art of today. After the political trauma of 1965, the realist genre shrank and is replaced by a-political works. Abstract art and decorative art played an important part in the Indonesian art realm of the day. The realist stream, however, never completely disappeared. In 1970s, this stream even appeared in the New Art Movement that protested the dominance of formalism. In 1980s, realist paintings resurfaced, for example through the works of Dede Eri Supria. Due to the influence from the developments of contemporary art in the industrialized nations, however, it was only in the 1990s that the realist genre again took a domineering position, with many sub-genres. Another trigger was the competitions in paintings, which resulted in winners highly skilled in creating works of realistic portrayal. Mastery in skill became the precondition; although the context of the message and representation were still deemed more important. This made everyone happy: the art critics and philosophers were happy with the context of representation displayed by the works of realistic portrayal; while the parties with no need for discourses were happy with the quality of appearance and skills betrayed by these paintings.

Amid this bustle, however, there is always a niche providing a space for the artists who are not satisfied being mere followers of the mainstream. The strength of the matter of representation in the contemporary art inevitably co-opts the discourse about art itself. It is as if the matters of aesthetic and art itself are not as important as the "matters" of the social and the political that the artists talk about. It has to be admitted that the aesthetic creativity and skill are still important, as shown by the appreciation from the public and the art world, which finds roots also in the aesthetic quality and the skill of the artist. Unfortunately, due to the lack of discussions, what often happens is epigonism and mannerism. Luckily, there are always artists seeking another possibilities through the realist genre. This, for example, is betrayed by the Jendela Art Group, who has a distinct aesthetic paradigm compared to other young artists of today. Handiwirman and Rudi, two proponents of the group, are able to explore realistic portrayal with a different angle. Rudi departs from his sensitivity about material, and is able to create painting works leading to the problem of visual construction itself, instead of to the potentials of representation. Handiwirman works even betray conceptual contents through the composition of realistic portrayal. Paintings precisely become a proof of his natural talent in developing concepts. Handiwirman's works are able to capture objects in works of realistic portrayal and turn them into new realities on his canvass. Handiwirman's works give rise to philosophical questions about trivial things, whether it is about the origins of the objects or questions about them as they are turned into new realities.

Members of the Taxu Art Clinic learn a lot from the realities of the contemporary art in Indonesia, and they are thus compelled to think again about realistic portrayal. The effort to seek again the problem of realistic portrayal, ignoring its main potential as a means for representation, is naturally risky; especially if this is an effort to return to aesthetic problems. This is contradictory with the potentials of realistic paintings in contemporary art, which focuses more on the message and the problem proposed by the artist. By displaying subject matters from outside the art world, the realist works seem to serve as vessel to talk about things other than art or painting. That is why the realist genre has been marginalized in modern art, which focuses on seeking the essence of art. Contemporary art, on the other hand, has no problems whatsoever with realistic portrayal, as evidenced by the re-emergence of the realist genre with its many manifestations.

In contemporary art, the term "realism" has become even more difficult to define precisely. It has to be admitted that the discussions about the essence and meaning of art are no longer considered important in contemporary art. In the era of "anything goes" and "the end of art," any tendency can be employed, depending on the agenda of each artist. In contemporary art, therefore, the term "realist" does not have to have an exact definition. The context of representation, the illusive aspect on the canvass, the resemblance with the subject matter, and the skill of the artist make realistic works more acceptable and readily understood. Apparently, the awareness that realistic works seem to close the possibilities for discussions about the matter of art itself, disturbs some members of the Taxu Art Clinic. The habit of thinking critically causes the members of Taxu Art Clinic to re-think the realist tendency that they have been using. It seems that the path of political representation, which has been their main preoccupation whether it is in the politics of art or in the politics of power, no longer provides enough challenges. NGK Ardana begins this tendency with his garlic paintings in the realistic portrayal, appeared in the CP Open Biennale 2003. This serves as the trigger for other members of the Taxu Art Clinic to think again about the realist tendency.

Today, the reading of artworks cannot depend solely on the visual construction of the works, but relies so much on the ability and perception of the readers. In this case, the meaning of the representation and the narration carried by realist works enable them to be read in more complex ways. Therefore, it is inevitable that in observing the works of the Taxu Art Clinic, the history of the group and the intention of the artists are of utmost importance. The works of Gede Mahendra and Ardana can be misleading if we read only the things that are in plain view. Mahendra's intention to question again the realist tendency simultaneously becomes the path for him to re-question the meaning and essence of painting. It can be denied that the consideration of painting as the source of the fine art tradition, and the hegemony of painting in modern art, is due to the fact that it is through paintings that the modern artists question the essence of art. For its actors, art becomes a cognitive realm (looking into what art is); and one will argue that it is the reason why there is progress in art in the modern art tradition. Maarten Doorman states:

During the twentieth century, art increasingly became a reflection of man's intellectual activity, of his way of observing, feeling, and thinking, independent of the content of those observations, feeling, and thoughts. (...) In the very first issue of the De Stijl Journal, Mondrian wrote that "the life of modern cultured man is gradually turning away from the natural: life has become more and more abstract"; the "essence of all emotion of plastic beauty" was achieved through abstraction, through the "exact plastic of pure relationship."¹

We know that the intellectual manifestation of the modern artists' search for the essence of art culminates in the abstract painting. When the modern art went bankrupt and the realist tendency resurfaced, the tradition of thinking and seeking answers for the value of realist art continues. The realist tendency, however, shall not find answers in the context of its own self (as paintings); rather, it is incorporated in the value and thoughts about the context of the representation, in the context of the signified and its reference, and in the understanding and awareness about what is being represented.

Considering this, some members of the Taxu Art Clinic try to work again on the realist tendency, but by avoiding the context of the representation on matters outside art, and without creating merely mimetic and illusive art. In this case, NGK Ardana is one important exponent. One cannot deny the fact that the objects in his paintings are easy to recognize - groups of garlic seemingly exist in a vacuous space. There is no narrative content in those paintings. They appear almost like abstract works, albeit not as the common abstract works. The gigantic garlic in Ardana's works has been decomposed as painting formations, and turned into illusions of forms. The garlic as an object can still be present as an important thing, first because of the character and the structure of the layering skins that can be used as the structure of forms on the canvas. Second, and a minor consideration in this case, is its potentials of representation, and here the interest and background of the artist must also be talked about. In his new works, Ardana uses photography to help capturing his objects, although the composition is still done on the canvas.

Gede Mahendra's works are the opposite of Ardana's. Albeit presenting brush strokes of abstract paintings, the works are actually done with the method of realistic portrayal - they completely copy the photograph of brush strokes of existing paintings. These paintings fulfill the condition of resemblance; they appear precisely as the objects they reproduce. They are realist works that can easily mislead the viewers as they appear just like abstract works.

Mahendra's works are detailed and the enlarged brush strokes fool us; it is as if the paintings are large digital prints. Whatever meaning we might assign them, it is clear that these paintings are Mahendra's way to rethink about realistic portrayal and about the essence of paintings. In fact, his works reside at the border between the abstract and the realist. In the beginning, he produces models of abstract paintings in small sizes, which are fully arranged and focused on the formalist aspect, with the pattern of gestural paintings. Then, Mahendra photographs the miniature paintings and crop some parts that he finds interesting. He uses these parts as the subject matter of his paintings, and moves them to the canvas accurately and with minute details. What he does repeats what the painters of realistic portrayal do - only, he represents abstract paintings and it is not appropriation because what he reproduces is the models of abstract paintings that he created. The ambiguity in the identity of the style he chooses has been there since the beginning. Even if we position Mahendra's works as works of representation, what they represent are non-representational. Thus, conceptually, the works seem to compel us to enter twice the realm of philosophical discourse about the essence of paintings. This shows that the matter of painting concept is an important matter for him.

The presence of Pocari Sweat cans in Moniarta's works remind us to works of pop art. They, however, reside not in the realm of pop art. The presence of empty white canvases helps create the composition and configuration of forms. It is naturally possible to see Moni's art as a comment on the pop culture, but we might read too much into it. We can feel that what appears is the visual plasticity succeeding in presenting the character of fragile and distorted aluminum. The space created by the planes of white canvasses convinces us further that Moniarta talks about the character and the visual construction in his works. We can say that, just like Ardana's works, Moniarta's works are closer to the concept of abstract paintings. His choice to work only with Pocari Sweat cans strengthens this argument. For Moniarta, the distorted Pocari Sweat cans are more important as visual objects rather than as things with symbolic potentials.

The works of Gede Puja betray a measure of simplification compared to his previous works that used written text. In this exhibition, the figures of children appear without obvious narration. With soft colored background and non-realist facial hues, Puja's works appear more as lyrical configuration of forms, using figures of children as their objects. There are almost no emotions and narration betrayed by these works. There are no pretensions about the realist tendency, which is otherwise rampant in the contemporary art. It is obvious, however, that the works are a far cry from being mere mimetic art. Albeit appearing as realist works, just like Ardana's and Moniarta's works, we feel as if we are witnessing the composition of forms. This is because the painter focuses more on the intensity of colors and the formal aspects of paintings. Puja's paintings seem to want to return paintings to the aspect of forms, but by borrowing subject matters - or objects, to be exact - from outside the realm of art.

Probably it is the works of Wayan Suja that still leave a measure of representational content, albeit less than they used to do. Like Puja, Wayan Suja also presents minimal figure and hues. Signs with connotative meanings - such as the Dunkin Donuts paper bags - are balanced with the deliberate distortion of forms. It is clear, therefore, that the matter of visual construction and the form is an important consideration, although there are also signs functioning symbolically.

Like his colleagues, Puja also uses the help of digital photography. Interestingly, the distortion of forms and the changing of colors are done with the help of a computer. In other words, what he does is to process photographs just like others will. His works, however, do not appear as realistic portrayal. Naturally, the distortion can also be viewed as a construction of meanings. Even if Puja talks about the construction of meaning, the idea that comes to mind is that the distortion is his comment about realistic portrayal, which seems to follow a rule saying that what appears on the canvas must closely follow the reality of forms that one sees through the eyes. In fact, what appear on realist works, especially realistic portrayal, can be very different from what the eyes see. What appears on the canvases of realistic portrayal is the translated illusion, appearing to resemble the reality due to conventions and habits.

It is ultimately not easy to re-question realistic portrayal in the painting tradition. The emergence of formalist awareness (and memory) in the modern art creates the risk of talking merely about the potentials of forms when we discuss about realist works in the effort of excluding the potentials of representation. However, the discussions about the potentials of forms are very different from the talk about the formal aspects in abstract works.

On the other hand, the works of the artists in the Taxu Art Clinic do not merely talk about the aesthetic potentials, but reflect also some critical thoughts about the realist tendency. This is not solely in the effort to disclose the meaning and the possibilities of the Realistic Portrayal, but also to know further about the tradition and the meaning of paintings in the era of contemporary art. Considering their age, we can be sure that these artists will still have a long journey ahead of them, trusting that their critical attitude will still be present as the faith these young artists hold on to.

Footnotes:
Maarten Doorman, Art in Progress, A Philosophical Response to the End of the Avant-Garde (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2003), page. 136.

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