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Odyssey From Pencil - April 2005
When Narko Leaves His Pencil
Narko Hanjaya was born in Solo, Central Java in 1956. He is part of a family of artists; his brother Gunawan Hanjaya is a renowned floral painter and his uncle Tedja Suminar, a well known artist from Surabaya. Even his aunt Muntiana Tedja, uncle Adi Munardi and his niece Lini (Natalini Wedhiasi) are all artists.
Narko is potentially surrounded by their influence, yet his work remains free from the floral world of his brother, the figurative painting of his uncle and the decorative style of his aunt.
Narko Hanjaya’s work cannot be perceived as part of a family group. He has his own path, with clear vision and strong faith. He expresses himself in simple pencil and paper. The subject matter he transfers to paper is unique to what he as an artist finds fascinating, bringing satisfaction to his artistic soul.
Yet the subject matter which interests Narko is anything but simplistic, in fact it can be perceived as categorically “unpictorial” and so unusual to be concentrated on by any artist. For example, a river rock, a set of stairs leading to a temple, a shrine in the rice field, a bird cage by a neighbouring house or even the washing line. There are many details represented- the needle sharp pointed pencil marks every pore and core of the object, with magic lighting falling upon it. The process that distils the actual object to the page of his work seems to evoke a perfect clarity.
Narko’s work can be seen to relate to the work of Ken Pattern, a Canadian expatriate artist, well known in Jakarta. However, Narko’s black and white work is a labor intensive process. Now Narko’s work is taking a new turn, as he takes up painting with water color on paper.These new paintings are now created for his exhibition entitled “Odyssey from Pencil”. The subject matter that used to be expressed in black and white are now rendered in color with equal dedication.
His focus on an object is often direct and in extreme close up, giving a new angle on an everyday objects. This approach reminds the viewer of American photo realism, as in the work of Chuck Close and Robert Cottingham.
For an in-depth discussion of Narko’s work, we will examine the pieces entitled “Dialog Dalam Topeng”, “Keduanya Dalam Aksi” and Dua Seniman Tua di Sisi Panggung”.
The first two paintings contain figures in glamorous costumes. Narko is very confident in capturing the intimate details of the ornaments, which become dominant in the work. The third painting has two old actors, sitting at the corner of the stage, just before they make their entrance. There is no story or meaning attached to the subject matter, which for another artist would be impossible to express without trying to make some sort of artificial statement or meaning into the scene. Narko’s figures merely exist, caught in their actions without any awareness or artifice.Another example of this type of work is the beautiful pieces entitled, “Persembahan’, Keranjang” and “Dua Becak”. These objects become all the more interesting due to their lack of pretentiousness. He never attempts to capture a major theme or to be seen in an historical or social context. Narko’s work is free from the struggles associated with the cutting edge of the art world, which is reflected in the work by the Indonesian artist Dede Eri Supria.
To quote Narko Hanjaya, “my work is the witness of life and the objects that exist before my eyes, no more than that".
The simplest concept. Dare to be simple. That is the beauty!
Narko’s work is the epitome of photo realism, which for some decades has not been seen in the world of Indonesian art. To understand the significance of Narko’s work, one must first review realist art in Indonesia.***
There was a meeting in the mid 1980s of Indonesian art experts- there was a dilemma-why was there a prevalence of young Indonesian artists who are seen to be talented at a young age, receive prizes and then do not continue with a career in art after their teenage years?
The Indonesian Education Department, UNESCO and the Indonesian National Commission have a competition every year in which they collect nearly 10 000 works b y children. The art experts thought there should be an answer there as to why young artists do not pursue artistic careers.
Unfortunately there is no answer to this question, but there may be a clue which could be a key to the answer. The educational system for children’s art does not introduce the importance of drawing form. The children have freedom to express themselves, improvising in visual harmony alone.
By the time they reach the rational teenage years, when they want to create form by drawing from a realistic context, they doubt their ability to express themselves and therefore discontinue their career in art.
The concepts of Realism and Naturalism are still the basis of modern art. In the western history of art, great artist like Piet Mondrian and Josef Albers would become abstract artists only after an early career of Realism. Pablo Picasso was famous for his Cubism, but his early body of work was Realist. Alexander Colder, an abstract sculptor of the Kinetic school, was also a realist painter in his youth.
Realism is not only an art concept, but also a foundation of excellent draftsmanship. “Ars imitatur naturam” (good art is the ability to imitate nature). It is a movement with a limitless time span, up till now, a period of 2300 years.
The diminished fashion of Indonesian realist painting is clearly shown by art history. After the Raden Saleh period- up till 1880, came Abdullah Surio Subroto at the first quarter of the 20th century. He was a landscape painter with a realist, naturalist and photographic style.Realism was carried through the Dutch Colonial period in Indonesia by A.A.J. Payen, Beynon, Lebret and Abraham Salm.
The style of Abdullah, which was claimed as means to lure buyers, was followed by Mas Pirngadie, Omar Basalmah, Sudjono Abdullah, Ernest Dezentje and many others, who were categorized as “Mooi Indie” or Indonesian Molek (beautiful pictures of Indonesia). In a national context, this was seen as a cynical title.S. Sudjojono in his book Seni Lukis, Kesenian dan Seniman, 1949-2000, referred to the timidity of this group if they offered an alternative piece to the Mooi Indie style. The standard reply in this case was “Dat is niet voor ons, meneer” or “This is not for me, mister”, and as a result, realist work suffered a blow to its reputation. Realist and Naturalist art were seen to be commercial- that is why not many painters wanted to be involved in carrying the style to a new generation. The growing popularity of the Art Academy and University in Indonesia, tend to teach how to keep up with latest trends, and view Realism as old fashioned.
Narko Hanjaya can be seen in this context as a skilled draftsman in figure and form. He is very diligent in delivering detail into his work through mimesis. He is not concerned with the deliberation of art history, but will certainly add to the Indonesian art constellation. He will give a new accent to the life and rebirth of the Indonesian Realist art form. “A simple and humble wish is bound to bear abundant fruit.”
Agus Dermawan T
Art Critic
