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Space-Land-M ankind Ruang-Tanah-Manusia

Environmental disaster has become the a major international

issue, both in the North and the South . Hence the term

environment has acquired the connotations of dilemma, a

problem.

Contemporary art in the North has been intensively exploring

environmental issues based on a critical perception . But in the

process, the real meaning of the environment has been

clouded. Artistic expression about the environment has been

marked by blankness and gloominess.

Ecological disaster is no doubt also a part of the Southern

experience. Thus, there are many works in Southern contem­

porary art which are similar to Northern expressions . The

objective of this kind of work is to build an awareness that

could help prevent a global catastrophe. Ecological disaster

has to be reevaluated .

However, artistic expressions related to the environment in

Southern contemporary art are not entirely linked to ecologi­

cal problems. There are many expressions which still see the

environment through local traditional beliefs. Southern

societies, still retaining links with agricultural activity, perceive

the environment as a revelation of the space-land-mankind

relationship. In many traditions, space-land are identified as

containing the essential material of human life: air, earth and

water.

In contrast to works on environmental disaster, several works

of Southern contemporary art see the space-land-mankind

triad as an equilateral relationship. The environment is

represented in terms of the balance between man and nature.

Landscape painting has become one important tradition for

expressing this balance.

Kerusakan lingkungan menjadi salah satu isyu terpenting di

dunia, baik d i Utara maupun Selatan. Karena itu istilah

lingkungan sendiri mengandung berbagai konotasi, sebuah

masalah.

Seni rupa kontemporer di Utara secara intensif menjelajahi

masalah-masalah lingkungan berdasarkan persepsi kritis. Tapi

dalam proses itu, makna sesungguhnya dari lingkungan makin

samar. Ekspresi artistik tentang lingkungan ditandai

kekosongan dan kesuraman .

Kerusakan lingkungan jelas merupakan bagian dari

pengalaman Selatan. Karena itu banyak juga karya dalam

seni rupa kontemporer Selatan yang mirip dengan ekspresi

Utara. Tujuan dari jenis karya ini adalah membangun

kesadaran yang dapat membantu menghalangi bencana

global. Kerusakan lingkungan harus ditinjau kembali.

Namun, ekspresi artistik yang berhubungan dengan

lingkungan dalam seni rupa kontemporer Selatan tidak

sepenuhnya berhubungan dengan masalah ekologis. ada

banyak ekspresi yang tetap melihat lingkungan melalui

kepercayaan tradisi lokal. Masyarakat Selatan, tetap

mempertahankan ikatan dengan kegiatan pertanian, dan

melihat lingkungan sebaga i perwujudan hubungan ruang -

ta~ah - manusia . Da lam banyak tradisi, ruang - tanah

dianggap mengandung bahan yang sangat penting bagi

kehidupan manusia: udara, tanah dan air.

Bertolak belakang dengan karya yang menggambarkan

kerusakan lingkungan, sejumlah karya seni rupa kontemporer

The space-land-mankind relationship can also be considered

as a perception of the environment not as a factual reality but

as a mythological presence : seeing the environment as

inseparable from human kind. The ecological problem within

this perception is seen as a disintegration of the organic

relationship. In many works, the disintegration is expressed

as the power of nature to fight back. This way of thinking

leads artistic expression towards a representation of nature

as a power. Through the use of this metaphor, the belief can

be clearly discerned that man is not the center of life and

reality.

di Selatan melihat segitiga ruang - tanah - manusia sebagai

hubungan yang seimbang. lingkungan dihadirkan dalam arti

keseimbangan antara manusia dan alam. Lukisan

pemandangan adalah salah satu tradisi penting untuk

memperlihatkan keseimbangan ini.

Hubungan ruang - tanah - manusia dapat dianggap sebagai

persepsi tentang lingkungan yang tidak sebaga i kenyataan

tapi secara mitologis: yai tu melihat lingkungan sebagai

sesuatu yang tidak mungkin dipisah dari manusia. Masalah

lingkungan dalam persepsi ini dilihat sebagai disintegrasi

hubungan organik. Dalam banyak karya, disintegrasi

diekspresikan sebagai kekuatan alam yang memukul balik.

Cara pikir ini membawa ekspresi artistik melihat alam sebagai

kekuatan. Melalui penggunaan metafora ini, kepercayaan

yang terkandung di dalamnya dapat dilihat dengan jelas,

yaitu manusia bukanlah pusat kehidupan dan realitos.

The Beatiful World Series JAFAR ISLAH Painti ng 102 x 72 em KUWAIT

LIST C>F VVC>RI<S

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1 Houmet Souk Pointing 80 x 99 em Abdel Majid Ben Massao Tunisia

2 Building a House (Membangun rumah) Installation 5 x 5 m Morintan Sirait Indonesia

3 Tradged Pointing 70 x 50 em Joe Mozola Zambia

4 Drifting 2 Pointing 114 x 84 em

Jerry Buhori Nigeria

5 MQdern Jungle Photograph

Mohamad Horanadi bin Haji Buntor Brunei Darussalam

6 Reaching the Horizon (Menjangkau Cakrawala) Pointing 91.5 x 137 em PG. Timbang bin PG. Hj. Tuah Brunei Darussalam

7 Social Presentation III (Presentasi Sosial III) Installation 244 x 122 x 122 em Bonyong Munny Ardie Indonesia

8 Gorgona 1995 Pointing 330 x 435 em Josip Vanista Croatia

9 The Beautiful World Series Pointing 102 x 72 em

Jafor Islah Kuwait

10 The Beautiful World Series Pointing 102 x 72 em

Jafor Islah Kuwait

11 The Beautiful World Series Pointing 102 x 72 em

Jafor Islah Kuwait

12 The Beautiful World Series Pointing 102 x 72 em

Jafar Islah Kuwait

13 From Stilt to Stilt Pointing 122 x 213.5 em PG. Timbang bin PG. Hj. Tuah Brunei Darussalam

14 Pollution is Mankind Drawing 43 x 64 em Suriya Tebsallra Thai land

15 River and Others- 122 Pointing 100 x 80 em Monsoor-UI-Karim Bangladesh

16 River and Others- 123 Pointing 100 x 80 em Monsoor-UI-Korim Bangladesh

17 The Perils of Pollution Drawing 43 x 64 em Suriya Tebsallra Thailand

18 Pollution is Catastrophe Drawing 43 x 64 em Suriya Tebsallra Thailand

19 Roma 1972 Pointing 35 x 45 em Viroj Chiam Chirawat Thailand

20 EI Miror the Observer1994 Pointing 94 x 110 em Efrain Vidal Peru

21 The Nile Pointing 80 x 120 em Pro!. Dr. Ahmed Abdel EI Koreem Egypt

22 Street on an Island Drawing 30 x 38 em Mai Anh Vietnam

23 Instinct Pointing 70 x 95 em Vu Thong Vietnam

24 Light in the Darkness-E Pointing 81 x53em Nasreen Begum Bangladesh

25 Light in the Darkness-B Pointing 81 x 53 em Nasreen Begum Bangladesh

26 -

Pointing

Razanakotoorison Moreel Madagaskar

27 Metamorphosis Pointing 100 x 70 em Prof. Dr. Mostala EI Razzos Egypt

28 Nature-63 Pointing 66 x 76 em K.M.A. Quayyum Bangladesh

29 Flight Pointing 127 x 180 em Rom Kumor Indio

30 Impending Storm Pointing 152.5 x 112 em

Jehangir Sabawala Indio

31 Trapped Lakes Pointing 150 x 170 em

Jehangir Sabowala Indio

32 Story of a Moonlight Night Episode-9 Pointing 94 x 96 em Syed Jahangir Bangladesh

33 Story of a Moonlight Night Episode-4 Pointing 95 x 96 em Syed Jahangir Bangladesh

34 Nature-62 Pointing 66 x 56 em K.M.A. Quayyum Bangladesh

Tsenan Ambanidia RANDRIANASOLO JUSTIN Painting 65 x 50 em MADAGASCAR

The Nile

Instinct VUTHANG Painting 70x 95 em VIETNAM

PROF. Dr. AHMED ABDEL EL KAREEM Painting 80 x 120 em EGYPT

LIST c»E "VVC>RI<S

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35 Bird and Flower Painting 80 x 100 em Bui Mai Hien Vietnam

36 Reflection Painting

Abdullah Nawawy Saudi Arabia

37 -

Relief

Ahmed Hamid Elarabi Sudan

38 A Market in the Mountains (Pasar di Pegunungan) Painting 145 x 145 em H. Widayat Indonesia

39 Spy (Mota-mota) Painting 150 x 150 em Lucia Hartini Indonesia

40 Lake on Mt. Paekdu Pointing 117 x 92 em Kim Chong Song North Korea

41 Snow Season Painting 57 x 100 em Ham Song Chol NorthKorea

42 Mangyongdae in April Painting 144 x 92 em li Bang Min NarthKorea

43 Evening of Hoeryong Chon Painting 55 x 81.5 em Li Gyong Nom Narth Karea

44 Alakamisy Ambohimanga Painting 80 x 70 em Ravelona Jean Andrianaivo Madagascar

45 Tsenan Ambanidia Painting 65 x 50 em Randrianasolo Justin Madagascar

46 -

Painting

Mohammad Ali Abdullah Qatar

47 -

Painting

Nasir AI Athiah Qatar

48 A Piece of Land for Sale (Sebidang Tanah Untuk Dijual) Installation 5 x 2.6 m Arahmaiani/ Rahmayani Indonesia

49 Tanzania Wildlife I Print 60 x 50 em Francis Lubas Imaniama Tanzania

50 Tanzania Wildlife II Print 60 x 50 em Francis Lubas Imaniama Tanzania

51 Sirene Painting 103 x 103 em Abdel Mapd Massaoud Tunisia

From Stilt to Stilt PG. TIMBANG BIN PG. HJ. TUAH Painting 122 x 213,5cm BRUNEI DARUSSAlAM

Fuerzas Agustinianas 1986 LlDYAAZOUT Sculpture 243 x 432 x 1 70 em COLUMBIA

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ESS.A...'Y"S

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Cuba Las Artes plasticas en Cuba han experimentado un notable

auge en los ultimos anos. Un clima altamente creador para

el ejercicio de los diferentes " oficios" vinculados 01 arte, ha

servido de plataforma a todo el trabajo de artistas y talleres

con 10 transformaci6n del panorama social propiciado por el

proceso revulocionario, 10 renovaci6n del sistema de

ensenanza artistico, particularmente con 10 creaci6n del

Instituto Superior de Arte (1978) y 10 paulatina tendencia 01

debate an 10 esfera artistico cultural.

Varias generaciones confluyen en este auge, pues muchos de

los creadores que en 10 decada del sesenta se encontraban

e~ plena madurez artistica, se convirtieron a 10 vez en

profesores de las escuelas de arte.

EI panorama de los setenta estuvo conformado, en primer

lugar, por 10 consolidaci6n de 10 obra de un significativo

grupo de artistas cuya trayectoria se habia iniciado en

decadas anteriores y que se erigian yo en estos anos como

"maestros" con una gran incidencia en 10 producci6n

plastica nacional; por otra parte, irrumpia tambien en este

ambito, un amplio movimiento de j6venes creadores que se

forma ban 0 eran recien egresados de los centros de estudio

creados en 10 decada, como 10 Escuela Nacional de Arte. En

este contexto se insertan los artistas Roberto Fabelo y Nelson

Dominguez, quienes comenzaban a participar activamente

en Salones Nacionales y Juveniles de artes plasticas, eventos

encargados entonces, de promocionar y estimular 10

creaci6n de manera mas amplia y cuya realizaci6n

comenzaba a sistematizarce en aquellos anos.

La pintura, en particular, trat6 de refejar el clima de

transformaciones que se sucedian en el pais. EI prop6sito

encaminado a reflejar artisticamente 10 cotidianidad epica

de aquel proceso se conjugaba con un afan de busqueda de

nuevas soluciones formales, que constituian un manifiesto

intento de dotar a 10 creaci6n, de mayor dinamismo. Aunque

10 t6nica predominante aun quedaba atrapada dentro de los

limites de una visi6n romantica, edulcurada de esta realidad.

EI proceso de experimentaci6n formal de este periodo se

materializ6 con una concepci6n todavia limitada. EI

intercombio con el escenario artistico internacional era aun

asistematico, sobre todo en relaci6n a 10 participaci6n de los

artistas en eventos internacionales 0 el enfrentamiento con 10

critica foranea; el nivel de informaci6n de los creadores era,

por 10 tanto men os amplio, y el contacto con las Fuentes se

producia por vias indirectas fundamentalmente.

No obstante, 10 producci6n artistica fue sentando pautas

para 10 caracterizaci6n global de un periodo en el cual

confluyen tendencias tan disimiles como el informalismo,

influencias del op-art y otras vertientes de 10 abstracci6n, 10

neofiguraci6n de corte expresionista, el pop y el

fotorrealismo. Los recursos de tales lenguajes son asimilados

y "filtrados" en nuestro medio a portis del prop6sito de

reflejar 10 realidad propia en su multifacetica cotidianidad,

ampliando y reorientando paulatinamente, los patrones de

referencia en cuanto a informaci6n te6rica y visual , junto a

una formaci6n mas completa, desde el punto de vista tecnico

con un sentido tambien mas abierto e integrador.

La conjunci6n de todos estos factores salva a 10

experimentaci6n plastica del deslumbramiento y 10 imitaci6n

indiscriminada de tendencias cosmopolitas, para trascender

los dictados y "Iineas de modo" impuestos por el mercado de

arte internacional.

obra de Fabelo y Nelson Dominguez logr6 trascender 10

que se ha dado en lIamar 10 "etapa romantica" de 10 plastica

n Cuba, destacandose por su nivel de realizaci6n tecnica,

versotilidad y volumen . Ello explica 10 permanencia de estos

outores en el activo escenario del arte, nacional e

internacional. Ambos exhiben su capacidad para re-crear

los pasajes mas intimos de 10 vida de cualquier individuo,

revelar 10 esencia visionaria del creador, reflejar los

conflictos existenciales del hombre y descubrir un universo de

fabulaci6n, a partir de una iconografia personal que define

un estilo yo reconocible y reconocido.

Desde fines de los setenta y como resultado del propio

desarrollo de 10 sociedad y de sus transformaciones

graduales, el proceso de Institucionalizaci6n del pais, 10

creaci6n del Ministerio de Cultura, 10 labor de las

Instituciones de promoci6n del arte, el perfeccionamiento del

sistema de ensenanza artistica, se posibilita un acelerado

avance en 10 producci6n artistica en 10 decada del ochenta .

La voluntad de revolucionar concepciones en 10 creaci6n se

revierte de manera casi inmediata en 10 transformaci6n del

panorama artistico en 10 decada del ochenta .

Lo mas importante es tal vez el enfasis con que se plantea ,

esa voluntad de renovaci6n y ruptura dialectica: 10 avidez

por conocer, aprovechar y readecuar los recursos del

lenguaje artisco internacional yel interes por dar 01 proceso

de creaci6n de 10 obra de arte, una fundamentaci6n concep­

tual mas s6lida .

La asimilaci6n critica y activo de las mas disimiles Fuentes no

es s610 10 continuidad de esa invariante de nuestra tradici6n

plastica manifesto desde 10 primera vanguardia de 10

decadas del viente y el treinta, sino una capacidad

fortalecida en estos anos por un sistema de ensenanza

superior, enriquecido con las nuevas concepciones sobre 10

creaci6n y 10 amplia funci6n del arte.

La plastica de los ochenta no hace otra coso que ponerse a

tono con las inquietudes y las exigencias de su propio

tiempo, sobre todo, porque las condiciones socio-culturales 10

hacen posible.

En terminos semanticos, las instalaciones, 10 audaz

incorporaci6n de materiales, procedimientos y expedientes

total mente nuevos 0 inusuales en 10 producci6n plastica

precedente, 10 asimilaci6n de diferentes tendencias, no

responden 01 simple afan de "estar 01 dia" ; motivaciones

cognoscitivas ocupan ahora un lugar mas relevante, 10

profunda fundamentaci6n conceptual de las obras exigen

una postura reflexiva y una actitud investigativa en el

proceso previo a 10 creacion y durante 10 creaci6n misma,

todo vez que se aspira a plasmar artisticamente los

resultados de esas motivaciones. La ruptura se produce sobre

todo frente a 10 diferenciaci6n entre las disciplinas, frente a

los contornos convenidos entre elias, apuntando hacia el

intercamblo que borra 10 fronteras entre las difersas

expresiones.

EI raflejo de los problemas de 10 realidad trasciende los

limites inmediatos de 10 observacion - contemplacion y

supera las preocupaciones "Iocalistas" . Nada mas afin a una

optica contemporanea que 10 profunda reflexion en torno a

los problemas internos y externos de 10 existencia humana, 10 ciencio, las preocupaciones filosoficas, y nod a mas fructifero

e inobjetalbemente valido que esas disquisiciones

intelectuales, cuando en modo alguno son ajenas 01 estudio y

a 10 revalorizacion de nuestras tradiciones, a 10 valoracion

de las expresiones populo res de nuestra cultura, aun

aquellas que han sido rechazadas por "incultas" 0

"antiartisticas" .

Jose Manuel Fors y Santiago Rdriguez pertenecen a este

grupo que representa tal ruptura estetica . EI primero , a

partir de una optica diferente 01 asumir 10 fotografia mas alia

de su acufiada funcion documental, pero tambien con un

cambio de "foco" a 10 hora de tomar 10 naturaleza como

pretexto tematico para transmitir sensaciones,que mas Ie

deben a 10 subjetividad que a 10 reproduccion de una

imagen . EI segundo, asume 10 exacta dimension del sistema

filosofico de 10 religion Yoruba y 10 inserta en un discurso

plastico extraordinariamente simbolico, creando su propia

iconografia que nada tiene que ver con 10 tendencia colorista

y superficial de representacion de diedades, que mucho

complace 01 "gusto turistico".

En esta linea, pero circunscripta 01 cuerpo mitologico de 10 Sociedad Secreta Abakua(expresion tambien de origen

sincretico} se encuentra 10 obra de Belkis Ayon, quien

representa a los artistas cubanos mas jovenes y cuyo

riguroso proceso tecnico y senti do revoluc ionario de 10 grafica, se reflejan en su obra yo madura.

En los ultimos anos de 10 decada del ochenta, muchos

artistas realizan u:na obra de aguda critica social y de

anal isis de determinadas situaciones y problematicas de 10 sociedad cubana . Esta produce ion de nitido caracter

circunstancial ,pronto do paso, en 10 decada del noventa, a

un arte que expresa las preocupaciones y reflexiones de los

artistas mas jovenes acerca del entorno social, con una

tonica diferente ala hora de "juzgar", re-crear 0 comentar

aspectos puntuales de 10 sociedad, y en 10 que se destacan

mas bien los valores "universales" de 10 condicion humana .

La intensa relacion con 10 realidad y con 10 que acontece

intercionalmente en el arte, los hace transitar

desprejuiciadamente dentro del actual contexto

"multicultural" . Ello Ie permite estabiecer una peculiar

armonia entre las esencias de nuestro cultura y 10 apropiacion de lenguajes contemporaneos "universales", en

una suerte de sintesis que se acomoda muy bien en medio

del dinamico pensamiento y los d iscursos fundamentales de

10 sociedad actual.

Si bien 10 muestra de 10 plastica cuban n sio Exposicion

del Arte Contemporaneo de los Poi N o A lin ados no

representa, ni con mucho, un resumen de las lineas presentes

en nuestro panorama artistico, 01 menos deja ver algunos

direcciones puntuales de 10 vasta produccion del momento.

Esta vez 10 alianza circunstancial de artistas disimiles resulta

una ace ion licita, para propiciar un acercamiento 01 fenomeno artistico en Cuba y constatar 10 "convivencia" de

varias generaciones que operon al unisono, trascendiendo

cualquier prejuicio critico que hiperbolice unas orientaciones

esteticas en detrimento de otras.

Un conjunto notable de estas obras y de estos artistas se

vincula con aspectos de nuestra realidad, yo sea a troves del

pri sma de las tradiciones, el entorno natural 0 el origen

sincretico de nuestro cultura .

Se trata de un arte coracterizado por 10 renovacion

constante, 10 voluntad investigativa, poseedor de una solido

estructura teorico-conceptual , que incorpora 10 valorativo; 10 cognoscitivo y 10 proplamente estetico, con un alto nivel.

Chi I e Engraving arnl Drawings

In Chile, for a long time, drawings and engravings served as

accompaniments to paintings and sculptures. Thus, the great

painters from the last period of XIX century and from the

beginning of XX century were eminent draughtsmen, but,

unfortunately, their drawings were never shown as serious

work. Engraving, which was taught at the School of Fine Arts

at the beginning of this century, had few adepts. Drawing, as

a secondary means of realizing paintings and sculpture, and

engraving were seen by many as handicraft production and

were like· poor stepchildren in artistic production until the

mid-1960s.

It took time for drawing to develop autonomy as creative and

met~phorical work because the language of line was

considered only a means to fix or stop images for a picture

or sculpture. Thus, drawing was understood as an aid, a

fixed tool which explored the different possibilities in the

transformation of the image for a great work: a painting or a

sculpture.

On the other hand, engraving may be related to the strate­

gies of photogravure for illustrations in newspapers, books

and even in comics . However, their formats and their essence

were not understood by the public nor critics until the mid-

1960s. It was at this moment when a group of artists from

Concepcion, including Pedro Millar and Jaime Cruz, among

others, obstinately initiated the positioning of engraving as

an artistic genre in its own right among the visual arts in

Chile.

This small sampling of artists from Universidad Catolica de

Chile, at the invitation of this exhibition and the Culture

Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, has

not been chosen to tell us the history of these two artistic

genres. It is meant instead to point out the particular mystery

of the two languages of these genres, which are crossed and

boosted themselves, as revealed in the work of these five

artists (Jaime Cruz, Pedro Millar, Ignacio Villegas, Gonzalo

Cienfuegos and Veronica Barraza) who are today developing

these difficult disciplines.

From the 1960s until the present (the apogee of drawings

and engravings) it has been shown that drawing and engrav­

ing, along with other forms of "graphics," are languages

able to produce a symbolic world penetrating and revealing

the individual and common events in our country, like, for

example drawings, sculpture or facilities . A number of great

exhibitions of drawing, engraving and mixed techniques on

paper from the beginning of the 1970s until today have

borne witness to this .

The artists on display here, as we said, are a small and an

important trial of what we could call the graphic spirit which

characterizes the work of artists of line and engravings.

To understand these art forms, we first have to talk about the

small format, and of that centered space where the artists

want to close and fix the eye of the spectator. Pedro Millar,

with his litographic images, denotative and precise, shows us

the ambiguous relation between the image and its name,

between the image and its function , but also the distance

between the resolution like a form and its referent. With

Millar, the small format becomes a vehicle of images that the

spectator may transform . The artist's work is presented as a

visual memory, a piece of information the spectator can

reconstruct using her or his imagination. The minimal struc­

ture points to a concentration of perception and functioning

of memory.

In the work of Jaime Cruz, the format is a little wider, but in

here the complexity of small details and the screen lines

produced by the etching and the carborundum applied to the

metal and developing in its impression on paper, evidence

bad habits of its program "Los Mutantes", in which Cruz

developed the distortion of the human body. His engravings

also catch the eye, especially from the black side, working

with a multiplicity of reliefs which form a world of textures

that evoke human bodies cut into pieces and mutilated .

In his work, Cruz delicately crosses the residues of the

drawing with textures which talk about an informal far world

that comes from the paintings from the beginning of the

1960s : is the matter that reveals the being in its dimension of

finitude.

With Veronica Barraza, the precise denotation is also set out,

that is to say, the visual data involves directly the object or

thing that wants to be revealed . Her serigraphs also set up a

reference to the privacy of the sight with respect to images,

which have always been in the iconography of primitive arts,

but also it refers to some fossilization of real things. In it exists

an obsession to investigate the simpler things and reveal them

with charm and royalty.

If the engravers mentioned above use drawing as a mecha­

nism for engraving, like a structure that marks and defines

the image, being a drawing covered and deleted by inks, for

Ignacio Villegas, drawing that uses coal is a gestural element,

a manual mechanism that arms and disarms the image again

and again to finally make the moving process of the drawing

be exposed as a work. His eye looks at the body from a

private perspective, that is to say, characters have been .

caught in a meditative moment, where the person has been

thrown towards himself, revealing the attitudes and expres­

sions of his inner world. This simple thing of coal on wood is

now a definite work.

For Gonzalo Cienfuegos, on the other hand, graphics

techniques are the principal mechanism of creation. Drawing

is the strategy that supports both the line and the autonomous

work, a structure that classifies and backs up his pictures.

Cienfuegos' works are independent from the concept of the

picture and have with him a pure thematic relationship. The

investigation of the line, of the drawing line screen, of color

in the drawing and different graphic line screens that also

are printed in the engraving makes him a draughtsman who

makes this production system the principal foundation of his

work, as can be seen in the lithographs on display here.

Cienfuegos prolongs his themes in the stone, on which he will

explore, directly, a handmade drawing on the paper, its

different process of the graphic study. The character of the

line, its intensity, its fragmentation, its discontinuance in

broken lines, tell us about a direct and immediate work in

which the artist never comes back, because his corrections

belong to a definitive work.

Thus, characters, landscapes and things are the images that

form the adventure of the drawing as an instrument of

colorfulness.

GASPAR GALAZ C.

Ja~uary, 1995.

China Trend of Development in Traditional Chinese Painting

The 20th century saw two differing yet mutually supple­

mentary movements in traditional Chinese painting. One, led

by Huang Binghong and Qi Baishi, drew on the ancient

Chinese tradition while the other, with Xu Bei'hong and Lin

Fengmian as leading exponents, looked beyond the border

for inspiration. As time went by, both movements gradually

turned from classical towards contemporary in form and style

which eventually led to the emergence in the 1980s of the so

called "folksy," "primitive," and "new literati" arts . A number

of artists fram both movements stood out with their fine works

produced by delving into real life and making innovations.

O n the art scene, the vigorous development of ink and wash

painting is most noticeable. Based on the traditional literati

painting but transformed along modern lines, the contempo­

rary ink and wash draws inspiration , instead of retreating,

from real life. The artists broke away from the old rules

governing artistic creation and sought to establish new ones .

The seemingly grotesque look of their work is not wantonly

produced but contains a deeper rational meaning that reflects

a thorough grasp of the artistic tradition . They do not believe

in rebellion without rules to follow or destroying without

building . Working piously to raise their experiences of life to

a higher aesthetic level , they strive to lay bare the part of

human psyche that was previously covered up in the classical

art. Among them is Shi Lu , a well known artist from North­

west China . Shi 's works are marked by strong individuality

and characteristics of an Oriental style of expressionism. In

his works, the traditional principles are deliberately violated

and his paintings were consequently sneered at as "savage",

"bewildering", "messy" or simply "black." Braving such

criticism, he tenaciously established a distinct style of his own

which, by the old yardstick, appears to be guided by no

rules . But the "no rule" system of his is in fact based on a set

of more sophisticated principles characterized by the so

called "rationally wild" and "aesthetically rugged" brush­

work. His artistic achievement served as a connecting link

between the past tradition and future development of the ink

and wash painting .

Another representative artist of contemporary Chinese

painting in the 1980s is Gu Wenda, whose large ink and

wash works marked another turning point in the transforma­

tion of literati painting . Breaking the natural order of time

and space in composition, Gu freely reorganized a variety of

symbols into a vast and mysterious mass. In terms of tech­

niques, he shifted from the traditional literati painting which

attaches prior importance to delineation and created a new

style that emphasizes "wash." The "wash" style was carried

to the extreme.

It should be pointed out that the unique tradition of Chinese

painting contains many concepts found also in contemporary

art such as abstraction ism, composition, expression of

individuality and free choice of media . While being very

different from classical Western art, traditional Chinese

painting comes close in spirit to Western modernist ort,

especially that of the early period . How to carryon with the

reform, given the link between the traditional and the contem­

porary ? Shi Lu and Gu Wenda provided important clues : by

.,

furthering the course of disintegration, new things will be

discovered and created . The new universe bears intrinsic links

with , but is completely transformed from , the old . The focus of

Shi and Gu's work was placed on exposing secrets hidden in

the depths of the human mind and soul.

The movement that advocated borrowing from Western art

took a different path . By first studying, then departing from

Western art, the movement sought to establish linkage

between Western art and contemporary Oriental art for the

final purpose of bringing to pass East-West interfusion . Lin

Fengmian and Wu Guanzhong are two representative figures

of this movement. In his ink and wash paintings, Lin adopted

th·e fluid , moist-looking and vigorous lines from murals and

ceramic art but was consequently pressured into relegating

those rebellious lines to a secondary place in his works. Wu

Guanzhong, regarded as Lin's successor, carried the "Lin-Wu

system" step by step and methodically to the edge of ab­

stractionism. With a deeper understanding of contemporary

art, Wu boldly brought the "Lin Fengmian lines", with some

renovations of his own, from backstage to the fore. As a

result, the traditional cursive and freehand brushwork

assumed a radically changed form in his natural istic abstrac­

tionist works. While Huang Binghong in his late years came

close to abstraction ism by reinforcing the traditional stan­

dard, Wu approached the abstract as a rebel. His deep

understanding of the law governing the use of art media

enabled him to forge ahead against people's ridicule. He

believes that art media ought to be the focus of attention in

establ ishing new rules of the ink and wash painting . While a

fluid effect is difficult to produce in oil painting , it is quite

easy to bring forth that effect with the ink and wash . Yet the

traditional literati painting is governed by rules that restrict

the freedom of brush movement. Therefore, the question

regarding the fluidness of the ink and wash was studied as a

starting point in dealing with the disintegration and renewal

of the traditional system. The Wu system is yet to be estab­

lished . The artist is continuing with his work to achieve a

higher standard .

Wu's work led to an important development. As artists awoke

to the centrality of art media by moving towards the abstract,

a number of experiments were carried out with various

materials such as water, ink, paper: and chemicals. Most of

these experiments, however, were done on a technical level,

still far from being guided by a higher awareness concerning

the art medium. A good grasp of abstraction ism is needed to

do the job. In this regard, a group of artist led by Zeng You

and Liu Guosong have carried out successful experiments.

Their works bear either optimistic and romantic fantasies or

aesthetically understated forms , tranquil scenes and light

colours. In their works, the subject was depicted not so much

as a purpose, but as a result of the application of the brush.

The media gained ascendancy over the form . In other

experiments, even the use of Xuan paper and the brush was

d iscarded . In their place, other materials were used to further

the reform of the ink and wash painting .

Apart from Zeng and Liu , some other artists a lso left their

marks on the new art scene, such as Xiao Huixiang who, by

W I king with thin ink and raw Xuan paper in his Ring Series

( Illtl I ri s, discovered a new spiritua l space un ique to the

l mbination; Jia Youfu whose graph like paintings are

nized as ha ving unusually powerful symbols; and Tian

I imin who casted away the so called "bone" method in

Ir ditiona l ink and wash painting and transplanted impres-

i nist forms, light and colours to his works, thus creating a

n w type of figure painting called the "boneless figures ."

After the founding of New China, with the support of the

Chinese government, artists associations and various re-

arch bodies devoted to Chinese painting were set up at

national , provincial and city levels across the country. A large

number of artist were trained and made remarkable achieve­

ments, which bodes well for the future development of Chinese art.

TIAN FUHUI

Malaysia Contemporary Malaysian Art: From Version to Vision Sem I(ontemporer Malaysia: Dari Versi ke Visi There are many ways of representing local identity in

contemporary Malaysian art. In its short history, Malaysian

art has had its share of attempts made by the country's

modern artists to portray identity in their works. But appar­

ently, representation (especially self-representation) is quite

different from recognition in the international art arena

overwhelmed by the "universality" of the Western aesthetic

paradi"gm. Past efforts to instill identity have been variously

labeled as provincial , characteristic (of the people), or just

plain local - all not quite assuming of an "identity." Identity in

modern art is not merely a matter of the self defining itself,

but also of the "other" recognizing that self.

As long as the "universality" of art is equated with the

"universality" of Western art, local identity, it seems, would

remain just "local", and recognized as a "local" derivation.

And that "Iocalness" is perceived in terms of local content,

locally derived techniques and local depictions.

Malaysian art from the 1930's until about the 1960's could

be approached in this way. With the exception of a few

artists who were quite totally converted to producing artworks

that mimicked Western examples explicitly, most artists

injected local content into their versions of Western art, in the

form of local landscapes, peoples and scenes of social life.

Stylistically the renditions ranged from figurative Western

Academic paintings to abstracted representation . These

representations of the local physical and social environments

Ada banyak cara untuk mempresentasikan identitas lakal di

dalam seni MalaYSia, seni Malaysia telah menerima bagian

dari usaha-usaha para seniman negara tersebut dalam

menggambarkan identitas tersebut dalam karya-karya mereka .

Tetapi, tampaknya representasi (terutama representas i diri)

sangat berbeda dari pengakuan dalam arena seni

internasional yang sudah dijejali oleh "keuniversalan" dari

paradigma estetik barat. Usaha-usaha di masa lampau dalam

menanamkan identitas telah diberi berbagai julukan

sepertibers ifat kedaerahan , bersifat khas masyarakat, atau

semata-mata lokal - semuanya tidak begitu memberi asumsi

mengenai "identitas". Identitas di dalam seni modern tidak soja

merupakan masalah mendefinisikan diri sendi ri, tetapi

mencakup pula bahwa yang "lain" juga mengakui diri tersebut.

Selama "keuniversalan" seni masih disamakan dengan

"keuniversalan" seni barat, tampaknya identitas lukal akan tetap

menjadi sekedar "lakal ", dan diakui sebagai derivasi "lakal ".

Dan "kelokalan" itu dipandang dalam kerangka berpikir isi

lokal, teknik-teknik yang diderivas i secara lakal dan

pengungkapan-pengungkapan lakal .

Dari tahun-tahun 1930-an sampai 1960-an , seni Malaysia

dapat didekali dengan cara ini. Dengan pengecualian

beberapa seniman yang sudah secara menyeluruh

mengkonversikan diri untuk menciptakan karya-karya seni yang

meniru contoh-contoh Barat secara terbuka , s~bag ian besar

seniman memasukkan isi lokal ke dalam karya-karya dalam

were not only essentially circumscribed by Western attitudes

about art, but also were coloured by stereotypical Western

views of the cultures of the non-Western "other" in the tropics

and south-seas. Mostly, these works were patronized by

westernized local elites, while regarded in a patronizing way

by Westerners. Not surprisingly, identity still eluded the artists

and nationalists alike.

In the 1960s, "batik painting" came into the Malaysian art

ne in a big way. "Batik" was seen as the possible answer

t the need to reconcile modernism in art (and in national

life) with the insistent 'search for identity.' The batik technique

not only offered the 'look' of modern art, but was also in

accord with the formalist canon of modernist painting .

(Evidently, in their practice, modern Malaysian artists strongly

emphasized techniques in ~rder to explore formalistic

aspects). Many artists combined the technique of batik with

the depiction of local scenes. In the "cracked" images, it

would seem that a more genuinely local character was given

to modern art in Malaysia . But unfortunately, this offering

came to be regarded as superficial attempts at practicing

modernist art -- batik paintings were viewed by some as

exercises in decoration, and hence quite at odds with the so­

called serious aesthetic struggles of the "avant-garde." Batik

technique could give the character, but batik paintings were

doubted as modernist art, even as "serious" art. As long as

artists looked to developments in Western art in servitude and

awe, and as long as modern art was defined by the West,

bentuk pemandangan alam lakal, manusia dan pemandangan

kehidupan sosial lakal ke dalam versi-versi lokal dari seni

barat. Dalam hal gaya penafsiran tersebut mencakup dari

lukisan-Iukisan Akademi Barat sampa i representasi abstrak.

Representasi-representasi lingkungan fisik dan sosia l yang

bersifat lakal ini tidak hanya secara mendasar dibatasi oIeh

sikap-sikap barat mengenai seni , tetapi juga diwarnai oIeh

pandangan-pandangan Barat yang steroetip tentang

kebudayaan "lain" yang bukan Barat di daerah tropik dan lout

selatan . Kebanyakan karya-karya ini didukung oleh ka langan

elit lakal yang kebarat-baratan, dan secara diakui secara

meremehkan oleh orang Barat.Tidak mengherankan , identitas

masih menghindar dari seniman dan nasionalis.

Dalam tahun-tahun 1960-an "Iukisan batik" memasuki dunia

seni Malaysia secara besar-besaran. "Batik" dianggap sebaga i

jawaban yang mungkin bagi kebutuhan untuk memperba iki

hubungan antara modernisme dalam sen i (dan dalam

keh idupan nasional) dengan "pencarian jati-diri " yang terus­

menerus. Tehnik batik tidak hanya menjanjikan "tampang" sen i

modern, tetapi juga sesuai dengan standar formalistis lukisan

modern. (Terbukti , dalam praktek mereka, seniman Malaysia

modern sangat menonjolkan tehnik-tehnik untuk menyelidiki

aspek-aspekformalistis). Banyak sen iman menggabungkan

tehnik batik dengan penggambaran adegan-adegan lakal. Di

dalam gambaran-gambaran "retak-retak" nampaknya kesenian

modern di Malaysia menunjukkan "sifat" lokal yang lebih murni.

CD

the search for identity at home became exercises of 'self

appropriation' .

But things were beginning to change on the Western horizon.

The dominating Modernist canon was beginning to be

questioned. Things were changing the world over. Memories

of oppressed and marginalised sociocultural groups were

reviving. The global rise in Islamic consciousness inspired a

similar resurgence in this country. It reinforced the decision of

the National Cultural Congress in 1971 that stipulated Malay

culture as the basis for the national culture. (In Malaysia,

M~lays are Muslims according to the Constitution) . "Islamic­

ness" became a consideration in contemporary art produced

by Malay artists. And the apparent end of the Cold War

subsequently seemed to put to an end as well to the polarized

ideological choice between the symbolical freedom and

democracy of American abstract art and the "people's art" of

socialist realisms.

It was within this global socio-political ambience, and under

the conditions of global capitalism of the last 10 years, that

contemporary art practice in Malaysia began to exhibit a

certain amount of self-confidence. There seemed to be

optimism that there is light at the end of the identity tunnel.

Artists began to show works that revolved around social ,

political and cultural issues - cultural heritage, the environ­

ment, AIDS, gender, urbanization, ethnic wars, etc . At the

same time, art of the formalistic persuasion seemed to be

Namun, sayang sekali , penawaran ini jadi dianggap sebagai

usaha yang dangkal untuk mempraktekkan kesenian yang

seolah-olah modern - lukisan batik o leh beberapa pihak

dianggap sebaga i latiha dekorasi , dan karena itu sangat

berlawanan dengan perjuangan kelompok "avant garde" yang

konon serius estetis. Tehnik batik dapat memberikan karakter,

namun lukisan batik diragukan sebagai seni modern, ataupun

sebagai seni yang "serius". Selama para seniman memandang

perkembanganseni Barat dengan perasaan rendah-diri dan

terpukau, pencarian jati-diri di negeri sendiri menjadi latihan

"menilai-diri" .

Akan tetapi, telah mulailah muncul perubahan di ufuk Barat.

Standar modern is yang diminan mulai dipertanyakan. Di

seluruh dunia terjadi perubahan. Kenangan mengenai

kelompok sosio-budaya yang dijajah dan disingkirkan

dihidupkan kembali. Kebangunan global dalam kesadaran

Islam membangkitkan gelombang yang serupa di negeri ini. Ini

memperkuat keputusan Kongres Budaya Nasional pada tahun

1971 yang menentukan budaya Melayu sebaga i dasar

budaya nasional. (Di Malaysia, arang Melayu adalah orang

Islam sesuai Undang-Undang Dasar). "Ke-Islaman" menjadi

sua tu pertimbangan di dalam seni kontemporer yang

dihasilkan oleh seniman Melayu. Dan nampaknya akhir

Perang Dingin selanjutnya mengakhiri pilihan ideologis yang

dipolarisasi antara kebebasan dan demokrasi simbol is dari

seni abstrak Amerika dan "seni rakyat" dari rasialisme sosialis.

Di dalam suasana sosio-politis global dan dalam persyaratan

kapitalisme global dari dasawarsa yang balu lalu , maka

111IIving still and becoming even stronger, motivated by the

I lUI oning market for "hotel and bank art". If for so long,

III u st for identity in art in Malaysia was oppressively

II (1m d by a versioning of modern art in Malaysia, perhaps

t d y, there is a clearer vision that Malaysian art ~ contem­

I orary art.

ZAINOl ABIDIN AHMAD SHARIFF

Pusat Seni Universiti Sains Malaysia

praktek seni kontemporer di Malaysia mulai memperlihatkan

sedikit kepercayaan-diri. Para seniman mulai memamerkan

karya yang berputar mengenai isyu-isyu sosial, politik dan

budaya - warisan budaya, lingkungan hidup, AIDS, gender,

urbanisasi, peron etnis, dst.nya. Sekaligus, sen i persuasi

formalisis masih juga kelihatan berjalan terus dan bertambah

kuat didorong oIeh pasaran "seni hotel dan bank" yang mulai

berkembang. Kalau demikian lama pencarian jatidiri dalam

seni di Malaysia , barangkali masakini telah terdapat suatu visi

atau pandangan yang lebih jelas bahwa seni Malaysia

adalah seni kontemporer.

ZAINOL ABIDIN AHMAD SHARIFF

Pusat Seni Universiti Sains Malaysia