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Jagat KertasMenelusuri Jejak Diri

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MUZIUM SENI ASIAUniversiti Malaya50603 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Tel : 603-7967 3849 / 3805Faks : 603-7967 3985E-mel : umag@um.edu.my azizras@um.edu.my

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ISBN 978-983-99191-3-4

Cetakan 2013© MUZIUM SENI ASIA

Hak cipta terpelihara. Tidak dibenarkan mengeluar ulang mana-mana bahagian teks, ilustrasi dan isi kandungan buku ini dalam apa jua bentuk dan dengan apa jua cara, sama ada secara elektronik, fotokopi, mekanik, rakaman atau cara lain kecuali dengan keizinan bertulis daripada Ketua Galeri Seni Universiti Malaya.

Reka bentuk bukuMoHd FAIRUS ISMAIL

FotografiMoHd FAZLI ZAINoRdIN

PercetakanjABATAN PENERBIT,UNIvERSITI MALAyA

vi KANdUNGANCoNTENTS

PRAKATAFOREWORDDr. Choong Kam Kow

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JELMAAN SETIAWAN SABANATHE MANIFESTATION OF SETIAWAN SABANAJuhari Said

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NARASI-NARASI KERTASPAPER NARRATIVESAgung Hujatnikajennong

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TRANScENDENTAl PAPERBambang Sugiharto

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BIODATA

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Paper has played an important role in the development of human civilization. Since invented, some said perfected by Cai Lun in the 1st century during the East Han dynasty of China, paper has made possible for the communication, conservation and expression of knowledge and ideas throughout the ages.

In fact, paper has not only been the ground for artistic expression where all forms of art are executed upon it, it is also

- Dr. Choong Kam Kow

PRAKATAFoREwoRd

Malah, kertas bukan saja menjadi wadah ekspresi seni di mana semua bentuk rupa terlaksana ke atasnya, ia juga merupakan bahan penting untuk pengucapan 2 dimensi dan 3 dimensi seperti potongan kertas, kolaj, timbulan dan arca dalam seni tradisional mahupun seni moden.

dalam budaya Cina, Taiwan, vietnam kuno, Siam dan Korea—kertas juga dianggap perantaraan suci

Kertas telah memainkan peranan yang penting dalam pembangunan tamadun manusia. Sejak ia diciptakan – ada yang mengatakan disempurnakan pembikinannya sekitar abad 1 Masihi oleh tokoh Cai

Lun semasa pemerintahan dinasti Han Timur di China – kertas telah memungkinkan perhubungan, pemuliharaan, pengucapan ilmu serta ide dari zaman ke zaman.

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an important material for 2 dimension and 3 dimension expression such as paper cut, paper collage, relief, sculpture in both traditional folk and modern art.

It is also a sacred medium which can be turned into joss objects, sculptures and paper money as spiritual offers to the ancestors and the spirit of the ‘other world’ as practised by the Chinese, Taiwanese, ancient Vietnamese, Thais and Koreans in their traditional rituals and religious ceremonies.

Contemporary art in the 70’s of the last century has opened up new doors for artists to explored, experiment and exploit the paper’s new dimension as an expressive medium in visual art. Handmade paper, fibres and pulp have played greater roles

bila diangkat menjadi bahan upacara keagamaan seperti colok, patung dan wang kertas yang lazim dibakar untuk penyembahan kepada roh nenek moyang atau semangat-semangat tertentu.

Seni kontemporari 1970an di abad lalu telah membuka ruang baru untuk seniman meninjau, menguji dan mengeksploitasi dimensi baru pada kertas sebagai bahan perantaraan ekspresi seni tampak. Kertas buatan tangan, serat dan palpa telah memainkan peranan yang lebih besar dalam penciptaan bentuk baru bagi senirupa semasa. Pada dekad-dekad 70an dan-80an, para seniman telah memanfaatkan ciri-ciri pada kertas untuk memungkinkan pengucapan visual mereka. dalam dekad yang menyusul pula, ramai seniman meneruskan usaha

10 as viable media for new art forms in contemporary art. It saw many artists in the 70’s and 80’s took advantage of the expressive characteristics of paper for their visual expression. Many artists in the subsequent decades have continued to push the paper beyond its conventional boundary, limits and capacity for new artistic manifestation.

In Asia today, therefore, we can see numerous leading contemporary artists engaging in using the paper, pulp or fibres as creative media for their specific style of work, like Cheung Yi of Hong Kong, Han Kijoo of South Korea, Chew Teng Beng and Sulaiman Esa of Malaysia and Setiawan Sabana of Indonesia, just to mention a few.

In this regard, the trail of artistic journey of Setiawan Sabana, particularly in the handling of paper as a creative medium is full of visual significance. He started as a printmaker and naturally has dealt with a variety of paper with which the textures, thickness, ink absorbance and general behaviors must be thoroughly studied and understood.

merintis batas-batas baru supaya kertas dapat melangkaui kekangan, halangan dan kemampuan konvensional.

Pada masa kini di Asia, kita dapat saksikan ramai seniman kontemporari seperti antaranya Cheung yi (Hong Kong), Han Kijoo (Korea Selatan), Chew Teng Beng dan Sulaiman Esa (Malaysia) dan Setiawan Sabana (Indonesia) mengangkat kertas, pulpa atau serat sebagai bahan perantaraan kreatif dengan gaya mereka tersendiri.

dari segi ini, jejak kesenian Setiawan Sabana membawa pengertian yang besar, khususnya dalam penggarapan kertas sebagai bahan perantaraan kreatif. Beliau yang pada asalnya seorang pandai cetak, sememangnya amat berpengalaman dalam menangani pelbagai jenis kertas: tekstur, ketebalan, serapan dakwat dan ciri-ciri kertas yang memerlukan penelitian dan pengetahuan intim. dengan mengembeling semua pengalaman dan pengetahuannya, dia melakukan penerokaan dan penerapan kertas dalam karya-karyanya secara

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The experience and knowledge have further provided him new insight into the paper capacity, potential, behavior and character. By capitalizing these experience and understanding, he gradually ventured into the full exploration and exploitation of paper in his work. He used the paper to mould, sculpt, and cast various types of objects, human faces and forms for his installation configurations.

I was very impressed by his installation of masks and limps at the 23rd Asian International Art Exhibition (AIAE) at the Museum of Guangzhou College of Fine Art in 2008. Dozens of paper relief sculptures of faces, cast from Setiawan’s own face, together with a few pieces of forearm, legs and idea sheets were displayed on the floor and the walls creating a total visual ambience for viewing. The gallery space was transformed into a kind of imagined universe. I was drawn to walked through, went around, stand to stare or squad down to peep, hopping to discover more beyond the paper material and space. It was full of interactive engagements. In the 24th AIAE, he again presented an installation at the National Visual Art Gallery in 2009

perlahan-lahan. dia menggunakan kertas sebagai acuan, arca, dan menempa pelbagai objek, wajah dan bentuk manusia untuk konfigurasi pemasangan.

Saya begitu kagum dengan pemasangan topeng-topeng dan anggota badan oleh Setiawan sewaktu Pameran Seni Kontemporari Asia (AIAE) ke-23 di Muzium Kolej Seni Halus Guangzhou, pada tahun 2008. Terdapat banyak arca timbul yang dibuat berbentuk wajah, lengan dan kakinya sendiri sambil diiringi dengan kepingan-kepingan lembaran ilham dipamerkan sekitar kawasan lantai dan dinding, mencipta satu persekitaran visual yang lengkap pada pandangan mata. Saya terdorong untuk berjalan merentasinya, mengelilingi dan berdiri untuk menyaksikan atau sesekali mencangkung untuk mengintip sesuatu; penuh dengan harapan untuk mencari maksud yang melangkaui bahan kertas dan ruang. Ianya penuh dengan titik pertemuan interaktif.

Pada AIAE ke-24 yang bertempat di Balai Seni visual Negara, Kuala Lumpur beliau telah mempamerkan pemasangannya. Ianya sesuatu yang mengujakan dan penuh inspirasi.

12 in Kuala Lumpur. It was again very stimulating and inspiring.

Such reflection of cosmic phenomenon were again appeared at his solo exhibition at the Bentara Budaya Jakarta in May 2011. The Jagat Kertas Series of installations showed that he did not just work on paper but rather, has gone further to transform the material into various manifestations and conceptual configurations. The paper was not used as ground or background where images and forms were normally executed upon, but as grammars to construct visual language. The exhibition consisted of installation works made of paper, paintings, video, 3 dimension objects, print works, mixed media and performance art.

And now, the culmination of his philosophic thought of the universe has again manifested in this exhibition, ‘The Cosmos of Paper: Trail of the Self’ which you are about to view and experience. He has explored and exploited the paper to its fullest potentials. The paper is not only a visual element, but is also a spiritual

Fenomena jagat ini sekali lagi tercermin sewaktu pameran solonya di Bentara Budaya jakarta, Mei 2011. Pemasangan jagat Kertas membuktikan yang beliau bukan hanya sekadar berkarya pada kertas malah telah mengubah bahan tersebut menjadi konfigurasi kepelbagaian imej dan rupa. Kertas bukan lagi digunakan sebagai asas atau sekadar latarbelakang untuk imejan dan rupabentuk, tetapi sebagai nahu membina satu bahasa visual. Pameran tersebut juga menunjukkan karya-karya instalasi yang diusahakan dari kertas, lukisan, video, objek 3 dimensi, karya cetak, media majmuk dan seni persembahan.

Kini, kemuncak pemikiran falsafah beliau tentang alam sejagat menjelma lagi dalam pameran ‘jagat Kertas: jejak diri’; yang mana anda akan saksikan atau alami tidak lama lagi. Beliau telah meneroka dan memanfaatkan potensi kertas sepenuh-penuhnya. Kertas bukanlah sekadar unsur visual tetapi juga saluran kerohanian dalam sang seniman berhubung dengan dirinya dan sebagai manifestasi alam sejagat.

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conduit for the artist self engagement and manifestation of the cosmos.

The whole gallery is again transformed into a macro universe filled with groups of floating human bodies, suspending free shapes, flocks of frogs, lines of round shapes, rolls of distorted plastic bottles filled with bits of paper and decay books, etc. All are made of paper or connected to paper to express the sense of cosmic environ.

I am sure when the viewers enter the gallery ambience they will be able to interact actively with the Cosmos of Paper created by Setiawan Sabana. The creative process that he engaged in presenting this exhibition may be seen as closely linked to his spiritual experience. I think it must be his personal creative and academic journey that has led him to the awareness of the cosmic dynamism at this point of time in life.

His works have been exhibited in Venice Biennale, Istanbul, Alexandria, USA, Australia, the Far East and South East Asia. Such experience has made

Seluruh ruang pameran telah sekali lagi diubah menjadi cakerawala mikro yang dipenuhi jasad-jasad manusia terapung, bentuk-bentuk yang bebas di ruang udara, kelompok-kelompok katak, baris-baris bentuk yang bulat, gelungan-gelungan botol plastik yang berisi kecaian kertas dan cebisan buku dan sebagainya. Semua dibuat dari kertas atau berkaitan dengan kertas sebagai pengucapan persekitaran alam jagat.

Saya percaya, apabila pengunjung masuk ke suasana galeri ini, mereka dapat berhubung cara interaktif dengan jagat Kertas yang dicipta Setiawan Sabana. Proses kreatif yang dilalui beliau dalam mempersembahkan pameran ini boleh dilihat sebagai sesuatu yang intim dengan pengalaman kerohaniannya. Pada tanggapan saya, begitu pekanya beliau terhadap dinamisme alam jagat di peringkat usianya kini adalah terkesan dari perjalanan akademik dan kreatifnya.

Karya beliau telah dipamerkan di venice Biennale, Istanbul, Alexandria, Amerika Syarikat, Australia, Asia Timur dan Nusantara. Pengalaman sebegini

14 membolehkan beliau menyerap kepelbagaian budaya dan tradisi dalam ciptaanya, menjadikan karyanya bermakna dan mampu merangsangkan sebarang renungan dan saling kaitan. Maka, pameran ini dapat menawarkan inspirasi dan petunjuk baru untuk penerokaan kreatif rakyat Malaysia, khususnya para seniman kita.

dengan ini, saya dengan sukacitanya melancarkan jagat Kertas: jejak diri – Setiawan Sabana dan saya ucapkan kejayaan berterusan kepada usaha kreatif beliau buat masa kini dan di masa hadapan. ■

him to absorb many aspects of culture and tradition into his own creation, making his work profound and capable of stimulating reflection and interaction. Therefore, this exhibition can certainly offer inspirations and new pointers for creative pursuit for our Malaysians, and in particular, our fellow artists.

With these notes, it is now my great pleasure to declare the Cosmos of Paper: the Trail of the Self – Setiawan Sabana exhibition open and wish him great success in his future creative endeavour. ■

Ucapan dr. Choong Kam Kow pada majlis perasmian pameran “jagat Kertas: jejak diri – Setiawan Sabana”.Keynote by Dr. Choong Kam Kow during opening ceremony of the exhibition “The Cosmos of Paper: Trail of the Self – Setiawan Sabana”.

* diterjemahkan dari Bahasa Inggeris ke Bahasa Melayu oleh dhogee. Translated from English to Malay by Dhogee.

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Garis lengkung

Mencakar langit mendung

Kan ku lepaskan naga

Bertakhta di atasnya

Latiff Mohidin, Garis lengkung A Curving Line, 1967

ESEI KURAToRCURAToR ESSAy

A curving line

Etched on the lowering sky

I release a dragon

That sits triumphantly on the arc

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Bahan binaannya berasal dari alam. Bulan bersama matahari, juga pohon pisang dan batang padi yang bakal hancur mereput untuk pulang ke bumi! Ruang impian ini berupa tempat seorang pemikir, setelah puas memerhati dan menikmati disetiap pengembaraan. Hasilnya pula adalah pandangan dari mata bersama hati yang dibentuk oleh fikiran yang berilmu serta kemahiran yang halus, tajam dan teruji.

Sejak dulu, Setiawan Sabana sudah memelihara seekor naga besar, panjang serta kuat dan bertenaga. Kadang-kadang ia melingkar dan melilit sambil bersahaja. Menjalar lalu menghembus nafas berupa api atau bahang panas

dari sebuah singgahsana ‘lengkung’ yang tersembunyi disebalik kabus tebal seni cetak sejak lebih 30 tahun yang lampau. Seniman sejati punya ruang tafakur, persegi keramat atau pentas bersemayam. Sejak awal, ternyata Setiawan Sabana sudah mula membina ruang itu sedikit demi sedikit.

From his early days, Setiawan Sabana has been rearing an inner dragon, it’s long serpentine body imbued with energy and strength. At times, the creature curls and coils effortlessly. The dragon glides past us, its fiery breath emanating from an unseen ‘curved’ throne that has lain hidden behind the thick fog of the art of printmaking for the better part of the past 30 years. A true artist will have

JELMAAN SETIAWAN SABANATHE MANIFESTATION OF SETIAWAN SABANA

- Juhari Said

18 Semenjak ‘pengembaraan kertas’ 1979, beliau tersedar bahawa ada seperti ‘roh’ mengekorinya pulang dari pulau luas serta terbesar dunia itu. dia terasa begitu dihampiri dan nyata bahawa itu adalah milik kepunyaannya. Terbukti pengalaman tujuh bulan di Australia dan jepun begitu membekas dan meninggalkan kesan yang begitu mendalam. dia seperti dilanda ‘berehi’ selama tujuh bulan! dirinya ibarat dilantun ke tujuh petala langit dan menjunam ke tujuh petala bumi.

Keluasan lautMenggerak dadaNafas terpautPada rasa seluas maut

Sitor Situmorang, Cinta, 1951-1955

Inilah titik permulaan garis lengkung Setiawan Sabana. Garis lengkung ini bisa bertemu hujung dan pangkal kalau dipertanggungjawabkan sepenuh dan sejujurnya. Atau ia boleh hilang saja ditelan atau dibaham musim. Ini bukan garis permasalahan matematik atau garis kebuntuan teknis. Ia adalah pencarian

room to meditate, a sacred square or throne upon which he resides. From the beginning, Setiawan Sabana has built that space, a little at a time.

His building materials are drawn from the cosmos itself. The moon and the sun, and also the banana trunks and the rice stalks which shall eventually crumble into the earth! This dream space is a place for the thinker, after long periods of contemplation and finding the joy of every exploration. The end result is thus born out of the heart and the mind; shaped by wisdom, tempered by his time-tested, fine and exacting skill.

Eversince his ‘paper exploration’ of 1979, he has become aware of a soul that seems to haunt his return from the wide, vast island that the world is. He feels it’s intimacy and it soon becomes apparent that such a spirit in fact his to begin with. The period of seven months living in Australia and Japan had left a profound impact on him. He describes it as being swept by a torrent of passion for seven entire months. It was akin to being raised up to the seven layers of heavens and later thrown into the seven depths of the underworld.

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gurisan-gurisan makna serta tujuan hidup yang berlandaskan ketulusan dan keikhlasan. Bagai lapisan-lapisan kertas putih yang terasing tapi masih ditembusi oleh sumber-sumber cahaya yang menerangi perjalanan seorang seniman.

Sememangnya Setiawan Sabana pada peringkat permulaan sudah memperlihatkan serta memahami proses pengkaryaan itu berdasarkan rangka-rangka kerja yang bersifat menyeluruh. Ini jelas terbukti dari simbol-simbol serta manifestasi garis lengkung yang sudah bertemu dan menjadi bulatan

The breadth of the seamakes my chest heavemy breath is caughtby the vast touch of death

Sitor Situmorang, Cinta, 1951-1955

This is the genesis of Setiawan Sabana’s curve lines. This curve line will ultimately enjoin itself at one defining point if drawn out responsibly and with integrity. Adversely, it may also fade away, devoured by the changing seasons. This is not a mathematical or technical conundrum. It is a search for etches in meaning and the purpose of a life built upon honesty and sincerity. Similar to layers of plain white

Mentari, 1986Gurisan asid/Etching

Skyscape, The Immiginative, 1991Gurisan asid/Etching

Pemandangan Langit Iv, 1993Suterasaring/Silkscreen

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22 dalam banyak karya-karya awal dan semasa beliau. (Sila rujuk karya bertajuk Mentari, Sky Scape - The Imaginative dan Pandangan Langit IV). Cuma pengucapan ini hanya diterbitkan dalam karya-karya seni cetak yang berukuran agak kecil, maka oleh itu ia sering terbiar dan terlepas dari penganalisaan.

Pada 1994, ketika saya masih menuntut dalam bidang senigrafik tradisional jepun di Tokyo, saya sempat berpameran dengan tajuk Kilimanjaro In Nagasaki. Karya saya yang berwarna hitam merah itu saya jadikan poskad, lalu saya kirimkan ke Bandung. Apabila Setiawan Sabana menerima poskad tersebut, saya diberitahu bahawa beliau juga berpakaian hitam merah semasa perasmian Pameran Menyapa Alam, Merambah Kertas pada 1994. Apakah ini satu kebetulan atau petanda gelombang primordial yang bisa merentasi ruang dan waktu dan amat sukar dijangka dan difahami oleh akal?

Ketika itu iklim politik di jepun agak panas dengan isu ancaman senjata nuklear dari Korea Utara. Tetapi ternyata negara matahari terbit itu begitu bijak

paper, while separate from each other, all may still be pierced by light, the source of which illuminates the path of an artist.

From the beginning, Setiawan Sabana had already displayed his capacity to understand the process of creation based on wide, encompassing frameworks. This is evident from his use of symbols and manifestations of curved lines that meet and become one in many of his earlier and even current works. (Mentari, Sky Scape – The Imaginative and Pandangan Langit IV). Due to the fact that these expressions were made on small prints, it was easy to overlook and had suffered neglect from deeper analyses.

In 1994, when I was still studying traditional Japanese printmaking in Tokyo, I had the chance to hold my exhibition Kilimanjaro in Nagasaki. The series, dominated by hues of red and black, were reproduced as postcards which I then mailed to Setiawan Sabana in Bandung. I was later told that he had also adorned black and red attire at the launch of his exhibition Menyapa Alam, Merambah Kertas in 1994. This could have been a mere coincidence, but was it also a

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menghadapi provokasi ‘Uncle Sam’ yang sering menangguk ikan di air yang keruh. detik 1994 begitu mengingatkan, bahawa kita harus menjadi dan bertambah dewasa setiap masa setiap detik demi sebuah peradaban.

Selepas 1994, saya melihat karya Setiawan Sabana dari sudut yang agak berbeza. Pada hemat saya, beliau tidak merancang atau berhasrat untuk memberi definasi baru atau re-evaluasi terhadap kaedah senigrafik secara umum atau secara khusus di Indonesia. jika pada awalnya Setiawan Sabana dianggap melahirkan karya ikutan atau cangkokan Barat kerana membuat gurisan asid atau sutera saring, itu hanyalah masalah teknis yang kecil. Kalau beliau dianggap menuruti kaedah senigrafik Eropah atau jepun itu pula hanyalah hal pengurusan.

Kita harus sedar senigrafik yang ada sekarang merupakan salah satu dari produk kesenian moden. Untuk melengkapinya satu sistem telah dicipta bertujuan untuk menguruskan produk tersebut supaya dapat dipasarkan secara efektif dalam industri. jadi agak mustahil

primordial wave that cut across time and space, something difficult for the mind to expect and accept?

At the time, the political climate in Japan was quite highly-charged due to the threat of a nuclear strike by North Korea. Yet, the Land of the Rising Sun was quite adept at handling instigations by Uncle Sam whom frequently tries to take advantage of such murky international situations. The 1994 incident reminds us that we must constantly grow and mature for the preservation of civilisation.

Post-1994, I began to see Setiawan Sabana’s works under a different light. In my humble opinion, he does not deliberately set out to give new definitions or re-evaluations of prevalent printmaking methods, much less to do so specifically within the Indonesian context. If in his early days Setiawan Sabana was deemed to be influenced by the West due to his etching and silkscreen, which is in actual fact, a small technical issue. If he was seen to have adhered to European or Japanese printmaking methods, that is only an issue of art management.

24 kita boleh menilai dan mengukurnya dari perspektif seorang seniman yang ideal? Cuma, tepuk sajalah dada, tanyalah selera. Kita boleh akur pada resepi senigrafik moden kerana kita merasakan banyak lagi perbuatan peniruan dan ikutan yang sedang kita lakukan. Atau kita boleh bersembunyi merangkul semangat kesenian moden kerana ia memberi banyak pulangan yang mengghairahkan. Barangkali kita boleh menolak terus—seperti jadi talak tiga?

Meneliti karya-karya Setiawan Sabana, secara halus beliau mengingatkankan kita bahawa tiada apa yang kekal dan sempurna dalam kehidupan ini kecuali dia yang SATU. Kita terlalu dihantui dan begitu kemaruk mendokong serta mengejar material, sedangkan segalanya adalah objek-objek sementara yang rapuh. Inilah salah satu yang boleh kita pelajari dari arkeologi, namun unsur-unsur keimanan ini sering dipinggirkan oleh obsesi dan keangkuhan para ilmuan yang sekular. Paling sinis dalam pameran tersebut apabila buku-buku dan lebaran-lebaran yang rosak mereput diletakan di atas music note

We must realise that today’s printmaking is a legacy of modern art. To enhance it, a system was created to ensure a better management of the product so that it can be marketed effectively in the industry. It seems quite insurmountable for us to evaluate and measure such matters within the ideals of an artist. Alas, everyone can make the choice for himself. One can choose to adhere to the existing recipe of modern printmaking—afterall there are many other elements that we frequently adopt and imitate. One can opt to quietly nurture the spirit of modern art, for it does bring us many tempting luxuries of life. And one can also reject it all in entirety, daring a divorce that can never be reconciled.

Studying in detail the works of Setiawan Sabana, we are reminded that nothing in this world is truly perfect and eternal except for the Divine. We are too obsessed and desperate for material goods even when such objects are truly fragile. These are basic lessons gathered from archaeology, yet secular scholarship at its worst ego and arrogance, frequently banishes morality to the fringes. This

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stand di sudut ruang pameran. Ia terang-terangan memberi sebuah gambaran ‘pinggir’.

Satu penyataan yang menusuk bahawa kegemilangan serta kehebatan disuatu masa dulu, kini hanya menjadi sebuah nyanyian, siulan atau hiburan semata-mata. Tetapi dalam masa yang sama beliau juga menggunakan beberapa buah rehal untuk mempamerkan lebaran-lebaran yang juga rosak mereput itu. Mungkinkah dia membisikan sesuatu kepada kita tentang apa itu sebuah tanggungjawab dan nilai-nilai keilmuan yang hakiki, kerana rehal itu adalah sebuah petanda serta simbol keilmuan dalam tamadun Islam. Atau beliau ingin mengusik. Pilihlah yang mana kamu suka, sebuah rehal atau music note stand.

Keinginan dan perwatakan manusia itu juga begitu, cuba disampaikan dalam karya-karya kertas berbentuk tubuh manusia yang bergantungan dan bergelimpangan dalam ruang pameran. Cuba bayangkan jika objek-objek tersebut diperbuat dari bahan berat, keras dan pejal seperti batu, gangsa, besi atau

final note of cynicism in the exhibition is apparent in the decaying pages and books placed upon stands on the edges of the exhibition floor. Nothing speaks more clearly of being ostracised.

One statement that impresses is how glory of the past are often reduced to mere song and mere entertainment pieces. At the same time, several rehals (book stand for the holy quran) are also installed in the exhibition, holding decayed pages. The artist hints to us of responsibility and value of knowledge, for the rehal is an icon that speaks of Islamic wisdom and knowledge. Or he could be somewhat jesting: choose what you like, a rehal or a musical note stand.

The desires and facets of Man are relayed to us via paper-based human forms, suspended and scattered throughout the exhibition space. Imagine for a moment, had these objects been made of heavier material such as stone, copper, iron or cement. Our reaction may be affected, visually perceiving the sheer weight of such suspended objects, glimpses of Man’s capacity for incorrigible arrogance. Quite

26 simen. Kita akan menerima respon yang menular dan membebankan pandangan mata kerana ia akan memberi sisipan-sisipan tentang sebuah kedegilan dan keangkuhan manusia. Tetapi kertas-kertas itu berlainan dan memberi rupa dan rasa rendah diri, akur lalu bertawaduk. Atau di kalangan kita tidak terasa apa-apa kerana itu adalah cara hidup kelompok-kelompok masyarakat moden. Barangkali juga ada yang hanya akan mempercayai bahawa setiap pesanan dan pengertian yang dilihat dan didengar itu hanya tepat dan betul jika disampaikan oleh alat-alat elektronik yang hebat. Bukan dengan medium yang buruk, lapuk dan mundur.

Kesimpulannya saya melihat karya-karya di pameran Setiawan Sabana sebagai sebuah jelmaan prinsip-prinsip dan tingkat-tingkat kejiwaan beliau. Tanpa disedari beliau melihat, bekerja dan berkarya dengan memenuhi serta merangkumi segenap keperluan nilai-nilai murni kehidupan. Karya-karyanya adalah refleksi-refleksi pendidikan awal ‘rumah bonda’ yang berkembang dengan begitu baik dan sihat. Ini merupakan

the contrary, paper speaks of humility, of piety. Equally possible, one may not even be the slightest bit moved, for such is the way with some of us in this modern society. There are also others, who will only be convinced when the message and meaning is displayed and made audible through sophisticated electronic means; certainly not by these weathered, dilapidated relics of the past.

After viewing Setiawan Sabana’s exhibition, I arrived at my own conclusion that these works are manifestations of the layers and levels in the artist’s spirituality. Without being self-conscious, he had envisioned, executed and created to the full extent and dictation of Life’s precious values. His works are reflections of the early knowledge gained through life in the family home yet later extending out well and thriving. These are glimmers of light nurtured by the soul, expanding and always in danger of veering far from course if one isn’t careful tending to them.

After a life of exploration, he has retraced his footsteps and markers from the past. These beacons from the past are

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kerlipan-kerlipan cahaya asuhan naluri yang diikuti, berkembang dan adakalanya boleh tersasar jauh jika seseorang itu tidak cukup hati-hati untuk menguruskannya.

Setelah puas mengembara beliau menjejaki bekas-bekas dan tanda-tanda silam. Kesan-kesan masa lampau ini dikutip, disusun dan dibina semula. Kini dia boleh pulang dengan senang dan gembira meniti ‘titian lengkung’ yang sudah bertemu dan telah menjadi jambatan peribadi untuk laluan hariannya. ■

Artikel ini ditulis bersempena dengan Pameran Solo ‘The Cosmos of Paper: Trail of The Self - Setiawan Sabana, di Muzium Seni Asia, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur pada 21 Februari hingga 21 Mac 2013.This article was written in conjunction with the solo exhibition of Setiawan Sabana’s ‘The Cosmos of Paper – Trail of The Self ’, held at the Asian Art Museum, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 21 February to 21 March 2013.

gathered, arranged and rebuilt. Now he returns home, with ease and joy, stepping on that ‘curved line’ which has since enjoined itself, forming the personal bridge that which the artist treads upon eachday. ■

* diterjemahkan dari Bahasa Melayu ke Bahasa Inggeris oleh dhogee. Translated from Malay to English by Dhogee.

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Berpuluh tahun sudah, Sabana dikenal sebagai ‘seniman kertas’. Ini bukan lansiran tanpa alasan. Sabana telah menekuni kertas sejak ia mulai menggeluti seni cetak grafis pada akhir 1970-an. Berangsur-angsur penjelajahannya terhadap kertas berkembang, dari sekadar menggunakannya sebagai ‘alas’ dwimatra

Melewati rentang puluhan tahun, karya-karya Setiawan Sabana pada akhirnya menegaskan suatu ajaran: Kerja seorang seniman bukanlah ihwal bertungkuslumus belaka dengan tindakan penciptaan. Seniman

bukanlah mesin yang senantiasa harus ‘memproduksi’, dan menjadikan karya-karya seni sebagai tujuan akhir. Penciptaan seorang seniman seharusnya difahami sebagai satu bagian saja dari pencarian yang lebih panjang dan esensial. Bagi Sabana, seni adalah jalan menuju penghayatan yang mendalam terhadap diri dan dunia, yang melaluinya ia ingin menemukan hakikat menjadi manusia. Perjalanan panjangnya sebagai pengajar dan peneliti seni turut membentuk cara pandang yang demikian.

NARASI-NARASI KERTASPAPER NARRATIVES

- Agung Hujatnikajennong

Spanning decades, the works of Setiawan Sabana finally make their bold statement: it is not the task of an artist is to be a mere slave to creation. The artist, is not a machine that constantly produces and whose ultimate goal must rest entirely with the final created product. Thus said, the creative process of an artist should be seen as an aspect of a search that is more

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bagi citra atau gambar cetakan, hingga memperlakukannya sebagai entitas otonom yang memiliki ‘hak sendiri’ untuk bicara. Pada karya-karya mutakhirnya, Sabana tidak memperlakukan kertas sebagai material belaka, melainkan sebagai medium sekaligus idiom. Ini memang bukan pandangan yang populer dalam sejarah perkembangan seni rupa yang didominasi oleh seni lukis dan seni patung. Tapi Sabana tak pernah goyah oleh anggapan tentang status ‘sekunder’ karya seni cetak grafis maupun gambar pada kertas. Kesetiaannya pada kertas menghasilkan jejak-jejak pemikiran yang menarik.

Seperti dicatat oleh Mamanoor, pergeseran artistik penting terjadi pada awal 1990-an, ketika Sabana mulai memanfaatkan kertas sebagai basis untuk mempersoalkan ‘kemuasalan’ (the origin).1 Pergeseran itu tercermin pada karya-karya yang menggunakan kertas tidak hanya sebagai alas gambar

essential and eternal. For Sabana, art is the pathway that allows a deep experience of the self and world, and it is by this path that one finds the meaning of being human. It is a way of thinking that has been shaped by his own lifelong journey as a teacher and observer of art.

For decades, Sabana has been known as ‘the paper artist.’ Such label is given not without reason. Ever since he first delved into printmaking in the 1970s, Sabana has been diligently working with paper. It was not long before his exploration soon ventured beyond merely using paper as the ‘placemat’—upon which his visuals and vision were imprinted—but the paper itself was given autonomy and bestowed the right to speak for itself. In his latest works, Sabana goes beyond treating paper as a material, but rather as a medium and an idiom. Unfortunately, this approach has never been popular in the history of visual art, dominated as it were by sculpture and painting. Sabana, however, has not allowed

1 Mamanoor, Ruh Kertas pada Karya Setiawan Sabana, dalam Setiawan Sabana dan Hawe Setiawan (eds.), Jagat Kertas, kumpulan tulisan, Bandung: Garasi 10, 2011, hal. 139.

30 atau pembangun bentuk maupun objek trimatra. Karya-karya Sabana dalam periode ini mulai menggarap berbagai kemungkinan bahasa (rupa) yang inheren pada material kertas. Sabana mulai membuat kertasnya sendiri dari beragam bahan limbah dan sampah serat, juga dengan bahan-bahan pewarna dari alam. Ia menelusuri asal-muasal kertas, dan peran kertas sebagai medium yang turut membentuk kebudayaan dan peradaban. Berbagai narasi tentang kertas digunakannya sebagai pijakan dalam penciptaan, sekaligus bahan perenungan yang memperkaya muatan makna. Melalui serangkaian instalasi monumental—di antaranya Monumen Kertas (1994) dan Symphony in Black: the Global Orchestra (2003)—Sabana menggunakan kertas sebagai metafor tentang persoalan-persoalan kebudayaan yang lebih luas.

dalam perjalanan artistik Sabana, eksplorasi kertas berangsur-angsur

himself to be swayed by the perceived ‘secondary’ status of printmaking or visuals upon paper. This unwavering loyalty to paper has resulted in a fascinating trail of thought.

As noted by Mamanoor, an important artistic contention had begun in the early 1990s when Sabana began using paper as a basis for his enquiry into ‘the origin’.1 The main point of contention being that paper was no longer rendered subservient as a mere placemat or foundation upon which visuals and forms of three-dimensional objects were developed. Sabana’s works during this period began cultivating the many possibilities of visual language inherent within the paper material itself. Sabana began making his own paper using recycled waste and natural dyes. He dissected the role of paper and its origin as a medium that influences culture and civilisation. The various narratives about paper were

1 Mamanoor, Ruh Kertas pada Karya Setiawan Sabana (‘The Soul of Paper in the works of Setiawan Sabana’), Setiawan Sabana and HaweSetiawan (eds.), Jagat Kertas, (‘Cosmos of Paper’)—Collection of writings, Bandung: Garasi 10, 2011, pg. 139.

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menjadi kompleks, dari sekadar eksperimentasi artistik, menjadi penelitian sejarah dan budaya, dan pada akhirnya penghayatan filosofis terhadap kertas. Sebagai akibatnya, dalam karya-karya Sabana, kertas memang menempati posisi yang tidak hanya serba ambigu, tapi juga menggandeng berbagai persoalan. Alih-alih berfokus pada aspek yang spesifik dari kertas, Sabana justru secara intensional membiarkan berbagai kemungkinan pesan atau makna dalam karyanya. Mamanoor menulis bagaimana kehadiran kertas dalam karya-karya Sabana selalu mampu memancing penafsiran yang berlapis-lapis: “...kertas sebagai media karya seni rupa, kertas sebagai subjek sejarah, kertas sebagai artefak dan saksi peradaban, kertas sebagai objek-objek di dalam ruang kekaryaan, dan kertas sebagai tolok-pikir perbincangan riwayat kemanusiaan.”2

used as stepping stones in his creations, emerging as a material for contemplation that further enriches meaning. Through a chain of monumental installations—among which are Monumen Kertas (1994) [‘The Monument of Paper’] and Symphony in Black: The Global Orchestra (2003)—Sabana adapts paper as a metaphor for a wider discussion of cultural issues.

Throughout Sabana’s artistic journey, the exploration of paper gradually becomes more complex; from merely an artistic experimentation into what is to become a study of culture and history, finally emerging as a philosophical experience. As such we find that in Sabana’s works, paper occupies a position that is not just ambiguous but also encapsulates a multitude of questions. Rather than focusing on a specific aspect of paper, Sabana intentionally allows various possibilities of meaning and messages in his work. Mamanoor writes how the presence

2 Ibid., hal. 148.

32 Pembicaraan mengenai ‘kemuasalan’ dalam karya-karya Sabana menenemukan kembali relevansinya pameran tunggalnya kali ini, The Cosmos of Paper. Ia memang masih terus berupaya mencari makna kertas secara historis, ekologis dan kultural. Akan tetapi, seperti tersirat dalam kata ‘cosmos’, sepertinya Sabana kini lebih tertarik untuk melihat segala macam permasalahan secara holistik, di mana batas-batas pencarian konsep melebur ke dalam suatu narasi yang luas dan cair. dalam pemikiran Sabana, yang historis tentu akan bersifat ekologis, dan yang kultural akan dengan sendirinya bersifat historis.

di antara sekian banyak lapis penafsiran terhadap karya-karya Sabana, persoalan sejarah kertas masih menempati posisi menarik. yang lebih menarik, kertas dan seni memiliki kemiripan arah gerak dalam perkembangan sejarah. Ini bukan saja karena kertas adalah salah satu

of paper in Sabana’s works had successfully courted multiple layers of interpretations: “…paper as a medium of visual art, paper as a historical subject, paper as an artefact and witness to civilisation, paper as objects in the artistic space, paper as the launching point of a discussion on humanity.”2

Discussing the ‘origin’ within Sabana’s works brings us back to the relevance of this solo exhibition: The Cosmos of Paper. The exhibition displays the artist’s enduring capacity to find the meaning of paper in historical, ecological and cultural terms. Yet, as implied by the word ‘cosmos’, Sabana has taken a more holistic view of issues, where the boundaries to conceptual exploration melt into a vast and fluid narrative.

In Sabana’s thinking, the historic will take on an ecological character while the cultural adapts for itself a historical essence.

2 Ibid., pg. 148.

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medium paling tradisional dalam praktik seni. Tapi juga karena eksistensi kertas dalam kehidupan manusia yang lebih luas dapat dijadikan cermin untuk menelisik gerak kebudayaan dan peradaban.

Pada masa pra-modern praktik seni terikat pada ritual-ritual pemujaan. dari perspektif itu, seni dan ‘agama’, dalam pengertiannya yang luas, tak jauh berbeda. demikian halnya, penggunaan kertas dalam konteks pra-modern juga terkait pada ritual-ritual penyampaian suatu ajaran atau pesan (terutama dalam bentuk gambar). Sebagai contoh, tradisi pembuatan kertas dalam masyarakat Mesir kuno (3000 s.m) bukan semata-mata untuk kepentingan praktis dan fungsional. Penemuan kertas dari bahan sejenis tumbuhan (Cyperus papyrus) memang dilatarbelakangi oleh kebutuhan untuk menyebarkan ayat-ayat dan gambar dalam Book of the Dead yang mengisahkan perjalanan manusia setelah mati. Akan tetapi pemilihan papyrus sebagai bahan kertas pada masa itu juga didorong oleh budaya visual yang berkembang pada masa itu. Masyarakat Mesir kuno mengaitkan bentuk tumbuhan tersebut dengan salah

Amidst all of the layers of interpretation towards Sabana’s works, the historical significance of paper still occupies an interesting position, even more so considering that paper and art reflect the flow of historical events. This is not simply due to the fact that paper has always been one of the traditional media for art. Equally also is the pervasiveness of paper throughout the breadth of humanity, rendering it a mirror upon which we see reflections of the movement of culture and civilisation.

In ancient history, art was often tied to ritualistic worship. Viewed in that perspective, art and religion in their wider meanings do not venture far from each other. The use of paper in the ancient context is bound by the rituals of delivering teachings and messages (especially in the form of visuals), for example: the paper-making traditions of ancient Egypt (3000 BCE) where it served more than just a practical and functional need. The discovery of the plant (Cyperus papyrus) was followed by the need to spread words and pictures of the Book of the Dead as a documentation of life after death. On

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36 satu dewa purba mereka, yaitu Ra, yang sering disimbolkan dengan bentuk matahari. Secara fisik, daun pohon ini memang mirip rambut terjurai atau garis-garis cahaya yang memancar dari satu pusat.

Contoh lain yang menunjukkan kaitan antara ritual keagamaan, budaya material, seni dan budaya visual di masa lalu adalah keberadaan uang persembahan (joss paper, atau pinyi dalam bahasa Cina) yang digunakan sebagai media penghormatan kepada kerabat dan leluhur. dalam berbagai upacara masyarakat Cina, uang persembahan biasanya dibakar, atau ditempatkan pada peti mati sebagai simbol perbekalan yang dibutuhkan oleh para arwah di akhirat. dalam contoh ritual kebudayaan Timur ini, cukup jelas bagaimana material kertas dalam bentuk uang persembahan digunakan sebagai jembatan bagi dua dunia: yang fana dan yang baka. di masa lalu, kertas justru identik dunia imaterial, yang spiritual dan tak terjamah.

Kebudayaan modern (Barat) berangsur-angsur menjadikan kertas

the other hand, it must be noted that the choice of papyrus as paper material was also driven by the developing visual culture of the time. Ancient Egyptians identified the shape of the papyrus plant with one of their gods, Ra, often depicted as the sun. Physically, the papyrus leaves resemble strands of hair or lines of light emanating from a single source.

Another example that shows the interconnecting link between religious rituals and material values with visual art and culture is the Chinese practice of money offerings (joss paper or pinyi) used to honour deceased relatives and ancestors. Meant to accompany the deceased into the hereafter, the Chinese practice a ritual of burning money offerings or placing them at the coffin. Within the context of this Eastern ritual, paper (in the mode of money offerings) becomes a bridge of sorts between two worlds: the present and the eternal. Thus, paper in the past had also assumed an identity that of the immaterial world: spiritual and intangible.

Modern culture gradually transformed paper into a ‘secular’ material.

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sebagai material yang ‘sekuler’. di era modern sekularisasi berbagai aspek kehidupan manusia tidak hanya tercermin pada kertas, tapi juga seni secara umum. Sekularisasi seni dilakukan melalui proses yang menjadikan seni sebagai bidang otonom yang berfokus pada pencarian bahasa visual (dalam seni rupa). Bahasa seni rupa modern khususnya dalam karya-karya dwimatra memang dilakukan dengan medium kertas. Akan tetapi, puncak otonomi seni justru terjadi melalui seni lukis dan seni patung. Kertas, selain mengalami sekularisasi—dilihat semata-mata sebagai entitas material belaka—juga mengalami marjinalisasi, ketika eksplorasi bahasa seni pada medium kertas dwimatra dianggap sebagai ekspresi sekunder. Seturut dengan proses pentahbisan lukis sebagai kanon-kanon dalam sejarah, karya-karya di atas kertas dianggap sebagai derivatif atau komplementer belaka.

Ada masanya otonomisasi praktik seni menjadi sangat identik dengan semangat eksperimentasi dan penjelajahan yang menggebu-gebu, yang menjadikan seni tercerabut dari sifat-sifat muasalnya yang ‘manusiawi’. Terutama dalam seni

In the modern era, secularisation of the different spheres in human life was not reflected just on paper but also in the arts in general. The secularisation of art had taken a passage that saw it gaining autonomy in its preoccupation with finding a visual language. The language of modern visual art was mainly articulated through two-dimensional works performed on paper. It must be said that the autonomy of art reached its zenith through both painting and sculpture. Paper, apart from experiencing secularisation—held in regard only for its material form—also suffered marginalisation with any exploration of artistic language upon its two-dimensional surface deemed to be a secondary mode of expression. Following the use of paintings as canons of history, works of art on paper were also perceived to be merely derivative and complementary.

There were times that the autonomy of art became identical to the burgeoning spirit of experimentation and exploration, detaching art from its origin of humanity. Especially in modern art, when such a spirit is reflected in the way artists treat their chosen medium. Driven by the

38 modern, semangat itu terefleksikan pada cara-cara banyak seniman memperlakukan medium yang mereka tekuni. didorong oleh keinginan untuk melahirkan dan menahbiskan idiom dan bahasa rupa yang baru dalam sejarah, para seniman modern sejak awal hingga pertengahan abad ke-20 sangat mengutamakan seni lukis. Ekspresi bahasa rupa dwimatra (melalui sapuan kuas, warna, garis, bidang, dsb.) dianggap sebagai previlese ranah seni lukis. Pada akhirnya yang disebut ‘seni lukis’ adalah cat dan kanvas. Bisa diduga, marjinalisasi medium kertas sangat berhubungan dengan alasan ‘pragmatik’ masyarakat modern. durabilitas material kertas tak sejalan dengan pencarian ‘keabadian’ nilai-nilai yang dibutuhkan dalam sejarah: Kertas dianggap ‘kurang monumental’.

jika dalam sejarah seni rupa kertas dianggap sekunder, maka dalam kehidupan sehari-hari masyarakat seni modern kertas justru merupakan material multi-fungsi. Perkembangan teknologi digital, terutama komputer, memang menyebabkan kertas menjadi berkonotasi ‘kuno’. Akan tetapi di sisi lain, intensitas penggunaan komputer yang semakin

desire to create and expand new frontiers to visual language and idioms, modern artists from earlier on right up to the mid-20thcentury truly prioritised paintings. The expression of two-dimensional visual language (throughbrush strokes, colour, lines, space, etc.) was seen as the privilege of painting. Ultimately, what was seen as painting referred to paint and canvas. As expected, the marginalisation of paper was again tied to the ‘pragmatism’ of modern society. The durability of paper was not in line with the search for ‘eternal’ values demanded by history. Paper is simply ‘not monumental enough’.

While paper had been relegated to a secondary position in the history of visual art, yet in daily life, paper emerged as a multi-functional material. The development of digital technology, especially of computers, has contributed much to making paper into a relic of the past. Despite the intensity of computer usage, paper continued to be relied upon by modern society. The difference today, however, is that paper has now become the vessel for information that has been edited, arranged and organised by digital means.

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meningkat pada kenyataannya tidak serta merta mengurangi ketergantungan masyarakat modern pada kertas. Bedanya, hari-hari ini kertas menampung dan merekam informasi yang cenderung lebih rapi, tertata dan tersunting secara digital. Kertas-kertas dewasa ini tak banyak lagi dapat menampung ekspresi-ekspresi yang spontan, karena komputer memungkinkan proses pengolahan data dan informasi secara lebih ‘matang’. Pada titik itu, kertas dalam kebudayaan digital memang cenderung menjadi ‘produk akhir’ yang mereduksi kesalahan-kesalahan yang justru manusiawi. Kehadiran buku-buku kuno sebagai penghargaan terhadap artefak ‘kebudayaan analog’ dalam karya-karya Sabana mewakili kesadaran tentang perubahan status kertas dalam kebudayaan digital.

Pameran The Cosmos of Paper ini menjadi semacam muara dari berbagai perbincangan tentang kertas dalam karya-karya Setiawan Sabana. Penjelajahan artistik Sabana, baik dalam wujud dwimatra maupun trimatra, dikerjakan dengan kesadaran penuh tentang berbagai potensi kearifan kertas. Bertentangan

Paper is unable to handle spontaneous expression because computers provide a more ‘mature’ treatment of information and data. In this sense, the role of paper in digitalculture is inclined towards being that of a final product, the final reduction of errors that are essentially human. The presence of ancient books in Sabana’s works represents a tribute to such ‘analog culture’ artefacts, an awareness of paper’s transformed status in digital culturalisation.

The Cosmos of Paper exhibition is like an estuary where various dialogues on the identity of paper flow. These matters are clearly prominent in Setiawan Sabana’s work. The artistic exploration of Sabana, whether in two-or-three-dimensional forms, was undertaken with full awareness of the various potentials found in papermaking knowledge. Opposing the dogmatic views that shape hierarchies in artistic mediums, Sabana proposes a point of view that emphasises nature and humanity inherent in the practice of art. The choice of paper as a medium in almost all of Sabana’s works is an ode to the natural cycle: nothing is eternalin

40 this world. The characteristic of paper, its fragility and sensitivity—represent an acknowledgement of the natural order. It is fully aware of ecological dilemmas that should not be aggravated by an overflow of artistic works withthe potential to bespoil nature.

Furthermore, the study of diverse papermaking traditions across various geographical regions has opened Sabana to the personification of paper. In his latest work, the presence of various paper artefacts from Asia had rendered the artist himself as a subject. Sabana explores his vision of cultural identity through paper. He makes us aware that Asian culture, especially that of Southeast Asia, had been shaped by a mix of cultures criss-crossing each other, eventually taking root and transforming itself in history. Here he acts like an ethnographer who fondly gathers signs to be developed into presentation of the Self and the world. Such ponderings of regional identity are becoming more fascinating today as we stand amidst an explosion of cultural political development, where the boundaries of race, nation, region etc gradually melt away in the vision of a ‘global society’. ■

dengan pandangan dogmatis yang turut membentuk hirarki medium seni, Sabana justru menyodorkan cara pandang yang lebih menekankan sifat-sifat alamiah dan manusiawi yang seharusnya inheren dalam praktik seni. Pemilihan material kertas pada hampir seluruh karya-karya Sabana didasarkan pada penghargaan pada siklus alam: Tak ada yang abadi di dunia ini. Sifat-sifat kertas yang ringkih dan sensitif dianggap mewakili suatu kepatuhan pada hukum alam. Ia juga sepenuhnya menyadari persoalan-persoalan ekologis yang tak seharusnya diperburuk oleh ‘limbah’ penciptaan seni yang berpotensi merusak bumi.

Lebih jauh lagi, berbagai penelitian yang telah dilakukannya tentang tradisi pembuatan kertas di wilayah-wilayah geografis yang berbeda telah membawa Sabana pada gagasan tentang personifikasi kertas. dalam karya-karya mutakhirnya, kehadiran beragam artefak kertas dari Asia mewakili subjek dirinya. Sabana juga menjelajahi gagasan tentang identitas budaya melalui kertas. Ia menyadari bahwa kebudayaan Asia, khususnya Asia Tenggara, dibentuk oleh

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percampuran berbagai sumber budaya yang saling-silang, bertumpuk dan bertransformasi sedemikian rupa dalam sejarah. di situ ia bertindak bagai seorang etnografer yang gemar mengumpulkan tanda-tanda untuk dibangun menjadi suatu representasi diri dan dunianya. Persoalan identitas kawasan ini menarik di tengah perkembangan politik kebudayaan di tengah situasi mutakhir, di mana batas-batas tradisional bangsa, negara, kawasan, dsb. semakin melebur dalam ilusi tentang ‘masyarakat global’. ■

* diterjemahkan dari Bahasa Indonesia ke Bahasa Inggeris oleh dhogee. Translated from Indonesia to English by Dhogee.

in itself. The work was not limited to a certain form or style. Indeed his exhibition consisted of installation works, paintings, video, sculpture, print works, mixed media, performance art and simple objects. All were made of paper or connected to paper. At the culmination of his career, this reputable artist does not seem to bother anymore about aesthetic fuss or formal technical norms. It does not matter

Such a reflection is exactly what would be expected from the exhibition of senior artist Setiawan Sabana, at Bentara Budaya Jakarta, May 10-19, 2011. The artist did not simply work on paper, but rather transformed it into various metaphors and interesting conceptual transfigurations. The paper was not simply used as the material or a background, but rather as a language

Paper is an essential part of human civilization, the medium that makes possible the proliferation of ideas, the bridge that mediates the best minds in human history from one epoch to another.  Indeed, in human civilization

paper has never been simply a material thing; it has constantly transformed itself into a spiritual vehicle, transcended its physical nature and, in that way, broken through any kind of human boundaries. It follows that the reflection on, or working with, paper would naturally mean tracing the dynamics of civilization: tracing its happiness and suffering, its dilemmas and deepest hopes.

TRANScENDENTAl PAPER

- Bambang Sugiharto

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90s he came to the awareness that in Indonesia the tradition of printmaking needed a significant break-through. The art of printmaking, he said, called for a redefinition and reinterpretation in terms of the contemporary art world and the Indonesian context. This was the reason why he gradually distanced himself from any formal theoretical and methodological framework, and instead, started with the exploration of new possibilities and the sympathetic observation of the specific Indonesian context. Since then his exploration of the potential of paper seemed inexorable. In

anymore even whether or not his works can still be called ‘art’. For him, it seems, such a concern is already a thing of the past.  What counts for him at present is how to articulate the dialectics between the fluctuation of civilization and his own spiritual journey. And contemporary art seems to give him the freedom to use any mode of expression and style, and as a consequence, his works are also open to any kind of interpretation and further interactive.

Starting with graphic printmaking in his earlier artistic career, his interest in paper deepened. In the 80s, it was Setiawan’s experience in Australia that first sparked his interest in paper. While busy with photo etching he gradually came to become aware of the unique character of paper: its texture, its thickness, its colors and fibers. His experience in Japan opened his eyes to the profane and sacred character of paper.  The traditional Japanese paper, washi, made him aware of the various functions of paper in human life: through paper one can even communicate with the ancestors and the mystical other-world. His study in the U.S. opened his mind to the plethora of possibilities of contemporary art. In the

Jagat Kertas (Paper Universe), installationBentara Budaya Jakarta, 10-19May, 2011

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44 printmaking. The work was an installation consisted of piles of various decaying books. Despite the simplicity of the idea and technique, it created a very strong impression and stimulated profound reflection. This work, while traveling to Venice Biennale, Istanbul or Alexandria, time and again gave him unique experiences in terms of the reaction of the spectators. In Istanbul someone was so impressed by the work that, in return, he gave Setiawan a beautiful book, which turned out to be a scripture of a new religion. In Alexandria someone told him that he was “mummifying” the book. And in Australia, among the Aborigines, under

his hands paper was no longer simply a medium; it became an extremely versatile conceptual language. He created his own various kinds of paper, played and worked with it, and eventually paper became his primary subject as well as his strategy to address and elaborate on social issues, and to reflect on the tacit dynamics of human life: its hidden suffering, happiness, hypocrisy and deepest yearnings. The way he works is interdisciplinary. He uses, for instance, archeology, anthropology, history and philosophy to understand better the position of paper in civilization. He was concerned especially about the paradox of paper: it is so transient and vulnerable, yet it has also built great and long lasting civilizations. 

The turning point of Setiawan’s work was when he created the Monument of Paper (1997, 2005). It was the moment when for the first time he shook off the formalistic aesthetic tradition of

Jagat Kertas (Paper Universe), installationBentara Budaya Jakarta, 10-19May, 2011

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curtains cascading from the ceiling. The work was inspired by the image of ghostly spirits in Indonesian culture, and indeed it seemed to create a creepy atmosphere of the spirit of the abandoned paper-culture. In several exhibits, this work in fact stimulated responses from other artists in the form of music performance and performance art.

All this illustrates that Setiawan’s creative process is closely linked to his spiritual experiences. His personal journey of life has invariably led him to the awareness of the cosmic energy mysteriously at work in many important moments of his life; the energy of soil, water, fire, light, even prayer, music, words, etc. And now, at the age of 60, as he arrives at another breathtaking new decade, he experiences a significant shift in his basic point of view. He no longer simply reads the book of civilization, he now sees through it to enjoy the interconnection of cosmic spiritual energy behind what is visible, at the levels of micro cosmos, meta cosmos, as well as macro cosmos.

Thus, his previous works were a profound reflection on the illusory side of civilization, the ambiguity of

the fantastic dome of a starry night sky, he unexpectedly found on the ground a petrified paper which really looked like a fossil, fossilized paper. All such experiences eventually drove him to ‘read’ the whole of civilization in terms of the history of paper, and reflect further on the destiny of its culture. This brought him to the bigger installation work, The Legend of Paper, which consisted of many smaller works, including the previous Monument of Paper. The Legend of Paper was a compilation of many works stemming from his reflections on various disasters such as the tsunami, the increasing environmental pollution and global political violence, etc. One of the most interesting works here was the Symphony in Black: the Global Orchestra. This was an installation of music-stands normally used in an orchestra, and the sheets music on them were gruesome papers  smeared with black carbon and embellished with photos of casualties of war, soldiers in action, George Bush giving a speech, etc., while there were  also some intravenous-feeding bottles hanging here and there. This was an allusion to the invasion of Iraq by the U.S. army (2005). Another impressive work of this installation series was the Spirit of Civilization. This was gigantic paper

46 and thereby drove us to review our position in the larger cosmic constellation. What we saw there were some banal objects such as a big mortar for pounding rice, plasma TV, books, stone, figures, gigantic curtains falling from the ceiling, etc., all made of paper. Illuminated by beams of light here and there the objects were transformed poetically into signs and traces of the inner dynamics of human civilization. The cascade of gigantic paper curtains was not merely the spirit of a vanishing paper-culture, it also seemed to insinuate the frightening wilderness of ideas in modern intellectual culture; the piles of scorched books looked like a gruesome epitaph of intellectual vanity; the fibers of paper on the screen of a plasma TV became a sort of landscape of outer space; the hollow human paper figures seemed to allude to the vulnerability of body and humanity, etc. This, however,

intellectuality, or the tragedy of global interaction, articulated through the metaphor of paper.  At the same time they were an invitation to rethink the essence of paper in an age where the role of paper has been encroached upon by the screens of the new media, computer and digital technology in general.  However, if in the previous exhibitions Setiawan’s works were philosophical, in his latest exhibition in Bentara Budaya, Jakarta, the works were more poetic and mystical in character. The mode of Installation seemed the right choice, because they transformed the whole space of the gallery into an all-consuming cosmic atmosphere which interconnected the objects into one theme. In that way, it also positioned us in the orbit of objects,

Jagad Kertas Leluhur, 2011, mixed media Bentara Budaya Jakarta,10-19 May, 2011

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In this exhibition Setiawan seemed to recollect and at the same time highlight retrospectively his spiritual journey. What is interesting is that in this mature stage of his career, he reconnects all of his works with his inner disposition, and the other way round, opens his inner journey to the outer world. This explains why these days he has been busy in the garage at his house. The garage has been transformed into “Garasi 10”, a small venue for various cultural activities, a sort of meeting point between his private life and public affair. “Garasi 10” is a space for interaction, be it a discussion, film screening, exhibition, or live music, etc. Interaction and collaboration are indeed his latest concern, and with that he seems to return the arts to its essential nature which is relational, and to its basic role as the conscience of human culture. ■

was not so much a pessimistic and gloomy perspective on civilization as the depiction of a spiritual evolution which sees through life from the shifting frames of reference: the shift from culture to nature, and finally to the spiritual dimension behind both.

But above all, one of the salient features of the works was the symbol of a black circle, symbolizing the universe, but more often it looked like holes, present in most of the works. The holes in the piles of scorched books, in the petrified paper, in the view of the outer space; everywhere. The black holes  seemed to invite us to see through and beyond the physical dimension of the works, leading our inner eye toward the most sublime beyond the macro cosmos but also to the ultimate depths of our inner micro cosmos. The holes seemed to serve as small peeping holes to see the ultimate cosmic emptiness, the mystical paradox of full-emptiness or empty-fullness: the answer to the whence and whither of our existence. Thus if a poem is the maximization of the capacity of limited words  to articulate  the ineffable, the works of Setiawan are truly poetic in that within their limited physical simplicity they are trying to articulate the unlimited and sublime behind human reality.

Bambang Sugiharto is a professor of aesthetics and observer of arts and culture, currently teaching at Parahyangan Catholic University and Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia.

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Born on May 10, 1951 in Bandung, west java, Indonesia

ART EDuCATION [2002] Graduated from doctorate Programme ITB (doctor) [1982] Graduated from the Art department, Northern Illinois University, USA (MFA) [1977] Graduated from the Art department –ITB (drs).

OCCuPATION Professor, Faculty of Art and design, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

SOLO ExHIBITIONS [2011] “jagat Kertas”, Bentara Budaya Gallery, jakarta, Indonesia [2008] “Blind Book”, Sigi Art Gallery, jakarta, Indonesia [2005-2007] Traveling solo shows of “Legend of Paper” in jakarta, Bandung, Solo, Magelang, Surabaya, Semarang, Indonesia [2004] “Monument of Paper”, Hidayat Gallery, Bandung, Indonesia [2000] “Nostalgia”, Print show, Hidayat Gallery, Bandung, Indonesia [1991] Print show, oda Gallery, Hiroshima, japan [1989] Print show, Natsuhiko Gallery, Tokyo, japan [1989] Print show, The japan Foundation Gallery, jakarta [1982] Print show, Northern Illinois University Gallery, USA.

RECENT GROuP ExHIBITIONS [2012] “Report/Knowledge” Soemardja Gallery, ITB Bandung, Indonesia I “Paper Art”, Gedung Indonesia Menggugat. Bandung, Indonesia [2011] “Art and Spirituality: Read!” Art 1 Gallery, jakarta, Indonesia I “26th International Art Exhibition, Seoul, Korea [2010] “All but Paper”, dia Lo Gue Gallery, jakarta, Indonesia I “In Memoriam Sudjojono”, Selasar Sunaryo Art Space. Bandung, Indonesia I “Legend of Paper”, Art Summit Indonesia, Gedung Kesenian jakarta, Indonesia I 24th International

BIodATASETIAwAN

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Art Exhibition, National Gallery, Kuala Lumpur [2008] 23rd Asian International Art Exhibition, Gouangzhou, China [2007] 22th Asian International Art Exhibition, Bandung, Indonesia [2006] Art Festival, ITB, Bandung, Inndonesia I jakarta Biennale, National Gallery, jakarta, Indonesia I Art Exhibition, Langgeng Gallery, Magelang, Indonesia I Art Exhibition, Gracia Gallery, Surabaya, Indonesia [2005] Icon Kemang Gallery, 22 des 05 – 20 jan 06, jakarta, Indonesia I “Fragments; Small is Beautiful 13”, Edwin Gallery, jakarta Indonesia I 20th Asian International Art Exhibition, Manila, the Philippines I yogyakarta Biennale 2005, yogyakarta, Indonesia I “Artrologia”, Galeri Ci+, Bandung, Indonesia [2004] “Art with Islamic Spirit”, Cipta II Gallery - Taman Ismail Marzuki, jakarta, Indonesia I 19th Asian International Art Exhibition, Manila, The Philippines [2003] CP Biennale 2003, National Gallery, jakarta, Indonesia I The 18th Asian International Art Exhibition, Hong Kong [2002] “Imagining the Book”; international workshop, seminar, exhibition, The Library of Alexandria, Egypt I 17th Asian International Art Exhibition, daejeon Museum, daejeon, Korea.

AWARDS [1998] The japan Foundation Grant to visit museums and galleries in japan, two weeks [1997] The japan Foundation Grant “Collaborative Event: Urbanization”, Six Artists from ASEAN, Bandung, Indonesia [1995] The dAAd fellowship: an academic and cultural visit to Germany, two months [1989] The japan Foundation Research Grant to do research on modern printmaking in japan, four months [1985] Gold Medal, 2nd Seoul International Art Exhibition, Pan Asia Association, Seoul, South Korea [1984] Silver Medal, 1st Seoul International Art Exhibition, Pan Asia Association, Seoul, South Korea.

COLLECTOR • The victorian College of the Arts, Australia • The Asia Pacific Museum, warsaw, Poland • Club of young Artist, Budapest, Hungary • Pan Asia Association, Seoul, South Korea • Kunsan University Gallery, South Korea • Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia • jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman, jordan • Kyungsung University, Pusan, South Korea. ■

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54 BENGKEL KERTASPAPER MAKING woRKSHoP- 22 Februari 2013, Muzium Seni Asia, Universiti Malaya “PAPER. CREATIVITY AND ENVIROMENT”

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yBHG. TAN SRI dR. GHAUTH jASMoNdR. NoR EdZAN CHE NASIRENCIK ABd. AZIZ RASHIdSEMUA STAF MUZIUM SENI ASIA, UNIvERSITI MALAyA

dR. CHooNG KAM KowELLy SETIAwAN, PATRA AdITIA,SyARIF MAULANA, BAMBANG SUGIHARTo,AGUNG HUjATNIKA jENoNG, yUdI ARAB,yAMPAN, ILHAMSyAH, yUdI AdIKUSUMA,RUdy HARjANTo, LILI H. SUTIoNo,INdAH TjAHjAwULAN, ARIANI, ARIF. ■

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PENGHARGAANACKNowLEdGEMENT

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Galeri Seni Universiti Malaya (UMAG) diilhamkan pada tahun 2011 oleh Naib Canselor Universiti Malaya, Tan Sri Dr. Ghauth Jasmon. UMAG berhasrat menjadikan seni visual sebagai pengalaman penting bagi komuniti universiti demi memajukan pengetahuan seni dan budaya. Ia berperanan sebagai gerbang awam kepada sumber intelektual Universiti Malaya.

�e University of Malaya Art Gallery (UMAG) was initiated by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Malaya in 2011. UMAG aims to make the visual arts an essential part of the experience of the university community with the hope of advancing the knowledge of art and culture. It acts as the public gateway to the University’s intellectual resources.