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Lot Essay
I Nyoman Masriadi has been hailed as a leading figurative painter in contemporary art by art historians, critics and collectors alike. Born in Gianyar, Bali, Masriadi studied painting at the Institut Seni Indonesia (ISI) in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta. During this time, he consolidated his interest in figurative painting, and gradually developed his ability to depict bold muscular figures seen in his paintings. Witty and direct, his art work often bears themes of confrontational situations in daily life. Early works by Masriadi drew visual references from traditional Balinese art and Cubism - for instance, Untitled (1945 - ?) (Lot 1414, Asian Contemporary Art Day Sale, November 2011).
1999 marked the year Masriadi left ISI without completing his final assessment. This occurrence was an early indication of Masriadi's predilection towards his art making process. Focusing mainly on the work before him, Masriadi paid little regard to curators or exhibition programmes, considering them to be an interference. Indeed Masriadi only had his first solo exhibition in 2008 - at the Singapore Art Museum.
The early works of Masriadi were dominated by a series of socio- political works that focused on the collapse of the New Order regime of President Suharto in 1998. The immediate effects of this collapse saw the death of more than a thousand Indonesian citizens and the near break-up of the Indonesian nation; this instability was to rock the nation for the next four years. Over this period Masriadi produced a clutch of works including his critically acclaimed "Bantul Series", which set him apart as one of the leading artists from the region.
By 2002, Masriadi had clearly established himself as a leading contemporary artist in Indonesia whose works were characterized by an incisive wit. His works tell stories whose complexity is often times shrouded in humour, offering the viewer multiple levels of interpretation. Man from Bantul, executed in 2000, is one such example. Masriadi paints a dark-skinned soldier holding a broom, a commonplace household cleaning tool. According to Goenawan Mohamed, the broom can also suggest the Indonesian parlance, menyapu bersih or 'total annihilation'. Masriadi's penchant for word play is reflected all through his oeuvre.
Masriadi's Blekik Jones and Soekarno's Treasure continues in this line of figures that the artist has created and highlights a crucial juncture in Masriadi's figurative painting practice, marking the consummate achievement of the 'sculptural' painted body with a multi-layered narrative thread, developing from keynote works such as Sudah Biasa Detelangi (Used to being Stripped) and Uang Segar (Fresh Money) (Lot 1413, Asian Contemporary Art Day Sale, November 2011).
The single painted figure, towering over the viewer at just under three meters tall, is heaving under the weight of a raw, unrefined diamond. The spare landscape, on the horizon of which stands a shovel and a pair of boots belonging to the painted figure, concisely articulates a context relevant to the narrative of the painting.
The title of the painting, "Blekik Jones and Soekarno Treasure", scribbled on the bottom left of the painting, contains more clues that aid in the unpacking of the pictorial narrative. Blekik Jones is the unmistakable and somewhat eccentric name of the struggling hero in the painting. His name alludes to Indiana Jones, the intrepid adventurer and treasure hunter. Indiana Jones is one of American cinema's most revered characters, recognisable by his accoutrements - a bullwhip, a fedora and a leather jacket. Masriadi appropriates key visual elements of Jones, outfitting his lead character with a leather jacket slung over the shoulder, a fedora reminiscent of Jones, a rolled up treasure map in his left hand and in addition to the original Jones outfit, a pistol in a holster. But while Jones is the all-American cinematic hero, BlekikJones comes from much humbler stock. Blekik is a little backwater sleepy village settlement on the northern fringes of Yogyakarta, the central Javanese town in which Masriadi lives and works. As a settlement, it is not particularly distinguished by any geographical or touristic features and does not lay claim to any small-time notoriety either. In this regard, Blekik Jones embodies some of the most unlikely and incongruous character traits possible.
Masriadi's protagonist is the archetypal small-time hero, recycled and refashioned from a pastiche of contradictory elements. As a painter, Masriadi derives a great deal of pictorial influence from his interest in video gaming. The highly charged formal and symbolic compositions in his works draw from the imagination and aspirations often revealed in the work of video gaming creators. Blekik Jones celebrates small-time heroism, bearing similarities to the action heroes created by video game makers.
Painted figure aside, the context of the painting is important in the unpacking of the painting's narrative. The "Treasure" reference marks a continuity with the Jones narrative but when read alongside the reference to Sukarno, the first president and hero of modern Indonesia, the painting gains in historical relevance. The era of President Sukarno, marked by a consciousness of the industrialised West's dominance, guided Indonesia to align itself with the fledging nations and economies of the non-West and the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement. President Sukarno was seen to be more sympathetic and aligned to the communist systems and governments in the Soviet Union and China. He espoused breaking free from the reliance on foreign economic contribution from the West, and often bore a strong anti- Western and anti-capitalist stance. He was well-known for his mistrust of the capitalist market system and the venturesome mining and resource-gathering activities of the West.
Seen in this context, Masriadi's Blekik Jones and Soekarno's Treasure seems to make an overt comment on history, particularly Indonesia's relationship with the West in the Sukarno era. It is a poignant work contemporaneously too, especially in relation to the PT Freeport gold and copper mine union strikes presently taking place in Papua, Indonesia. Yet, the narrative that Masriadi builds is typically neither straightforward nor particularly pointed. Instead, his allusion to this era in Indonesian history is laced with humour and irony. On the one hand, Blekik Jones, hailing from one of the most deeply-seated Javanese cultural areas in Indonesia, could and should be seen as the natural inheritor of all the wealth implied in the painting. Yet, as the bifurcated character Masriadi has created him to be, he can also be seen as a product of the West and is seemingly cast by the painter to advocate the exploitative, opportunistic and mercenary facades of cultural imperialism.
With Blekik Jones and Soekarno's Treasure, Masriadi has created a new hero in his oeuvre of painted figures. The hyper-real gleaming, ebony black skin of the figure buffed to a glossy shine exudes all the initial impressions of a traditional hero type, physically attractive, stronger, braver and more clever than the average man. Yet, Blekik Jones brawny body, crawling with sinews, and his thick and coarse countenance set in an unattractive grit, defies a straightforward positive categorisation. Masriadi's hero possesses, and even encapsulates, the postmodern rejection of traditional wholesome values. He is a hero true to his times, openly revealing of the contradictions and struggles he embodies.
1999 marked the year Masriadi left ISI without completing his final assessment. This occurrence was an early indication of Masriadi's predilection towards his art making process. Focusing mainly on the work before him, Masriadi paid little regard to curators or exhibition programmes, considering them to be an interference. Indeed Masriadi only had his first solo exhibition in 2008 - at the Singapore Art Museum.
The early works of Masriadi were dominated by a series of socio- political works that focused on the collapse of the New Order regime of President Suharto in 1998. The immediate effects of this collapse saw the death of more than a thousand Indonesian citizens and the near break-up of the Indonesian nation; this instability was to rock the nation for the next four years. Over this period Masriadi produced a clutch of works including his critically acclaimed "Bantul Series", which set him apart as one of the leading artists from the region.
By 2002, Masriadi had clearly established himself as a leading contemporary artist in Indonesia whose works were characterized by an incisive wit. His works tell stories whose complexity is often times shrouded in humour, offering the viewer multiple levels of interpretation. Man from Bantul, executed in 2000, is one such example. Masriadi paints a dark-skinned soldier holding a broom, a commonplace household cleaning tool. According to Goenawan Mohamed, the broom can also suggest the Indonesian parlance, menyapu bersih or 'total annihilation'. Masriadi's penchant for word play is reflected all through his oeuvre.
Masriadi's Blekik Jones and Soekarno's Treasure continues in this line of figures that the artist has created and highlights a crucial juncture in Masriadi's figurative painting practice, marking the consummate achievement of the 'sculptural' painted body with a multi-layered narrative thread, developing from keynote works such as Sudah Biasa Detelangi (Used to being Stripped) and Uang Segar (Fresh Money) (Lot 1413, Asian Contemporary Art Day Sale, November 2011).
The single painted figure, towering over the viewer at just under three meters tall, is heaving under the weight of a raw, unrefined diamond. The spare landscape, on the horizon of which stands a shovel and a pair of boots belonging to the painted figure, concisely articulates a context relevant to the narrative of the painting.
The title of the painting, "Blekik Jones and Soekarno Treasure", scribbled on the bottom left of the painting, contains more clues that aid in the unpacking of the pictorial narrative. Blekik Jones is the unmistakable and somewhat eccentric name of the struggling hero in the painting. His name alludes to Indiana Jones, the intrepid adventurer and treasure hunter. Indiana Jones is one of American cinema's most revered characters, recognisable by his accoutrements - a bullwhip, a fedora and a leather jacket. Masriadi appropriates key visual elements of Jones, outfitting his lead character with a leather jacket slung over the shoulder, a fedora reminiscent of Jones, a rolled up treasure map in his left hand and in addition to the original Jones outfit, a pistol in a holster. But while Jones is the all-American cinematic hero, BlekikJones comes from much humbler stock. Blekik is a little backwater sleepy village settlement on the northern fringes of Yogyakarta, the central Javanese town in which Masriadi lives and works. As a settlement, it is not particularly distinguished by any geographical or touristic features and does not lay claim to any small-time notoriety either. In this regard, Blekik Jones embodies some of the most unlikely and incongruous character traits possible.
Masriadi's protagonist is the archetypal small-time hero, recycled and refashioned from a pastiche of contradictory elements. As a painter, Masriadi derives a great deal of pictorial influence from his interest in video gaming. The highly charged formal and symbolic compositions in his works draw from the imagination and aspirations often revealed in the work of video gaming creators. Blekik Jones celebrates small-time heroism, bearing similarities to the action heroes created by video game makers.
Painted figure aside, the context of the painting is important in the unpacking of the painting's narrative. The "Treasure" reference marks a continuity with the Jones narrative but when read alongside the reference to Sukarno, the first president and hero of modern Indonesia, the painting gains in historical relevance. The era of President Sukarno, marked by a consciousness of the industrialised West's dominance, guided Indonesia to align itself with the fledging nations and economies of the non-West and the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement. President Sukarno was seen to be more sympathetic and aligned to the communist systems and governments in the Soviet Union and China. He espoused breaking free from the reliance on foreign economic contribution from the West, and often bore a strong anti- Western and anti-capitalist stance. He was well-known for his mistrust of the capitalist market system and the venturesome mining and resource-gathering activities of the West.
Seen in this context, Masriadi's Blekik Jones and Soekarno's Treasure seems to make an overt comment on history, particularly Indonesia's relationship with the West in the Sukarno era. It is a poignant work contemporaneously too, especially in relation to the PT Freeport gold and copper mine union strikes presently taking place in Papua, Indonesia. Yet, the narrative that Masriadi builds is typically neither straightforward nor particularly pointed. Instead, his allusion to this era in Indonesian history is laced with humour and irony. On the one hand, Blekik Jones, hailing from one of the most deeply-seated Javanese cultural areas in Indonesia, could and should be seen as the natural inheritor of all the wealth implied in the painting. Yet, as the bifurcated character Masriadi has created him to be, he can also be seen as a product of the West and is seemingly cast by the painter to advocate the exploitative, opportunistic and mercenary facades of cultural imperialism.
With Blekik Jones and Soekarno's Treasure, Masriadi has created a new hero in his oeuvre of painted figures. The hyper-real gleaming, ebony black skin of the figure buffed to a glossy shine exudes all the initial impressions of a traditional hero type, physically attractive, stronger, braver and more clever than the average man. Yet, Blekik Jones brawny body, crawling with sinews, and his thick and coarse countenance set in an unattractive grit, defies a straightforward positive categorisation. Masriadi's hero possesses, and even encapsulates, the postmodern rejection of traditional wholesome values. He is a hero true to his times, openly revealing of the contradictions and struggles he embodies.