Timur Biru

Sunday Movie: Brimstone

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Set in wide-open-19^th-century spaces, it’s a two-and-a-half-hour sadomasochistic Western domestic horror film divide in four chapters. The theme of film is about the evil of incest. Dutch-immigrant preacher from hell, Guy Pearce and Dakota Fanning starring as his daughter, who he explicitly wants to marry.

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Which he thinks it’s God’s will, he cites the Bible story of Lot and his daughters to prove it. The film opens with chapter one called Revelation, when a frontier wife – Fanning – plays Liz with a daughter and stepson; she’s also mute, speaks in sign language. The hell of Liz started when the family goes to church and the new preacher shows up. The preacher is called the Reverend.

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Liz knows she and her family are in great danger. Wrongly accused of a crime she didn’t commit, Liz is hunted by vengeful Preacher telling Liz that he has to punish her.

Brimstone is that the more the film moves into the past, the closer it gets into heart of darkness. When domestic sexual abuse of the past of life brings the future punishment and judgement of the lone survivor, Liz, but then Reverend calls it “love”. Such a one creepy spark of grotesque suspense.

The theme may be termed sexuality abusive, is that incest of demon of any of young girl could imagine of her very-own-home-nightmares.

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Watch trailer

Last call watch Brimstone at GoetheHaus Jakarta 14^th May 2017, 19:30.

Drawings as The Secret of Characters

Maren Karlson is a Berlin-based illustrator has a style of abstract combine with still life and portrait demonstrating a fresh and new perspective of the female in every bold characteristic should have.

From the interview by The Editorial Magazine to talk about her artworks. As a young girl, Karlson always felt very strongly that no matter what she did, no one would take me seriously. She figured it must have been because she looked younger than she was. Anything she did was called “cute”.[1]

Karlson is using the female character in her drawings as an outlet for the secret wish to be more intimidating, less cute, more assertive and less nice. The character she made basically embodies everything she has always wanted to be.

For Karlson feels it is important to portray a female that is expression extreme emotions; anger, fear, resentment, rage, shadenfreude-aggression which is not an emotion of young girl express freely.

She wants to draw girls who are unafraid of spoiling the fun, who demand the expression of feeling, who are proud to ruin an atmosphere that shames women for speaking up, who confidently take up the space they deserve, and who will never be scared into being silent because they have nothing to lose.

399396-054b679c2cf942d1b54d858ec11e234e — Dungeon Baby

Karlson is more in control freak to her creation process, she plans them out down to the very finest detail. These days she has come to think that it is also important to let go and not censor yourself before have even made anything. When trying to create without thinking or judging while she does it, and accept any idea, no matter how “bad” she thinks it is. There will always be time for judgment later.

399396-e33cb4115cd240baa84edb3ebb5d3d5f — 2 Private Eyes

Karlson says it’s been very luxurious to live in Berlin as an artist. Berlin sometimes that she feels like a lot of people stay isolated, they don’t really care about meeting new people because they “already have friends.” She’s not seriously complaining because she has some amazing and inspiring friends who are really supportive, which she really thankful for.

Marlen Karlson

@maletearz69

The Powerful “Kingdom of Girls”

KK1 — Ibapyntngen in the cottage. (Karolin Klüppel)

Mawlynnong is about 90 kilometres from the capital of Meghalaya, Shillong, India. Mawlynnong is over hundred years old, keeping the surrounding environment clean an age old tradition. The society is matrilineal making women economically powerful. The Khasi trival inhabitans are known to be worshippers of nature which make them the main occupation of the villagers is agriculture.[1]

KK2 — Wanda on the stairs to the treehouse, 2013. (Karolin Klüppel)

This Discover India Magazine declared the village as the cleanest in Asia in 2003, brought a Berlin-based photographer, Karolin Klüppel was travelled to india to document the phonemenon – tribes in the east Khasi Hills, Mawlynnong is located home to just 95 houses and a population of around 500.

KK3 — Yasmin, playing at the river, 2014. (Karolin Klüppel)

In the Khasi tribe, when the youngest daughter inherits the family’s wealth and property, which men rarely own. The system also dictates that children take their mother’s surname and once a man marries, he lives in this mother-in-law’s home. A family with only sons is considered unlucky, Klüppel reports.[2]

KK4 — Grace with dry fish, 2013. (Karolin Klüppel)

KK5 — Grace in my dress, 2014. (Karolin Klüppel)

“To Disrespect a woman in this culture means to harm the society. Daughters are often more wanted than boys, and a family with just sons is considered to be miserable, because only daughters can assure the continuity of a clan.” Klüppel said in a statement to In Sight and Violet[3] magazine.

KK7 — Ibapyntngen, playing, 2013. (Karolin Klüppel)

Karolin Klüppel saw this inverted world of herself. For nine months spanning two years lived with different Khasi families.

Klüppel says some, upset by their second-class status, are calling for gender equality. But mostly she was struck by “the respect that Khasi men have for women,” which is at the heart of this photo series. “I want everyone to know about cultures that are different from the patriarchal world we live in – and I want people to question that system.”[5]

KK9 — Phida with balloon, 2013. (Karolin Klüppel)

Indonesian Art in the Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Century

Untitled 2 (Beringin) by Wakidi

World as we see it is kind of different from each eyes whose see. A painting might be one of the oldest media to show the philosophy differ principally according to the painters subject and meaning which they reflect, transform and express it.[1] From reality within his spiritual world – simplify their deep head and feelings – as an individual interaction with the world.

The paintings in this collection from Art 1 New Museum show the development of Indonesian art in the twentieth and onto the twenty-first century.[2] The paintings are mostly represent a romanticized view of the Indonesian Landscape: colonial times, and also supported the notion of Mooi Indië. Mooi Indië (“Beautiful Indies”) was likely have been used term for the romanticized idyllic landscapes portraying the Indies, inspired by the beauty of indie land, people and culture, and therefore paint with their highest sense of aesthetics. [3]

And other than that, Modern painting are also came into Indonesia was often considered to be introduced by Sindhudarsono Sudjojono who urged Indonesian painters to shy away from painting in the Mooi Indie genre and create artworks that expressed their own thoughts and feelings.

Pulang Bawa Kaju (Bringing Wood Home) by S. Sudjojono, 1968

According with Sudjojono’s thought: during the early development of Indonesian art, some artist often painted the lives of common folk, with their own individual characteristic styles. And the exhibition shows two of the best are Affandi and Hendra Gunawan.

Boats at Kusamba by Affandi, 1981

Picking Lice by Hendra Gunawan

And the time after the fall of Soeharto in 1998, Amrus Natalsya and other painters in the era of end of 1980 artists whom are associated with Lekra (People’s Cultural Agency) of the Communist Party were detained following the aborted coup d’etat of 1965 had been released from prison and became active again creating artworks express their thoughts and point of views of political and racial discrimination during that time with marked freedom in their artworks as you can see it in Armus Natalsya painting.

Menyerbu Alengka by Armus Natalsya

Near to today in the 21^st century Indonesia seems has increased and managed great economic development. For modern artist and art collectors were developed more sophisticated, formalistic tastes, one of catches my eyes is a painting by Srihardi Soedarsono.

Jiwa Samudra by Srihadi Soedarsono, 1987

And for above all, I met this the most beautiful woman in such an exotic feels of beautiful Javanese woman wears kebaya. In a steady posture and gesture, the sense of power and self-control. This beauty is made by Basoeki Abdullah his characterized as realism.

Lady in Kebaya by Basoeki Abdullah

Picture is talking thousand words, speaking of creating a vision. Painting are one of example of human experiment of their eyes to the mind through their body into a media. Kind of elegance of experiment which evokes legitimate admiration, affords us intellectual and aesthetic pleasure. A meaningful expression without words. When truth can be seen in each of who sees it with different point of view followed by the same feeling of artist’s visions.

Exhibition
Indonesian Art in the Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Century
Art:1 New Museum

Jl. Rajawali Selatan Raya No 3
Jakarta 10720 Indonesia

Artists
Wakidi , Affandi , Jeihan , Koempoel , S. Soedjono , Chris Suharso , Suparto , Putu Ngurah Wardhana , Abdullah , Srihadi , Fajar Sidik , But Mochtar , G. Sidharta , Nashar , Rusli , Bagong Kusudiarja , G. Sidharta Soegijo , Hendra Gunawan

Selfscape

When art involves conscious for decision-making and portrait reflects self-consciousness, then what exactly the message or meaning of portrait? Why do certain artists decide to create other people as an object as a visual archives of presence and somehow decidedly so in a particular time and space? The question declares itself; “Describing existence of one particular object”.

Portrait painting of someone we know and stranger are often having a common issue: it’s not about the familiarity (resemblance) of the subject and the vision into a painting. Most of party are stated portrait painting is about imitation from ‘mimesis’ which are from classic Geek philosophy, Plato. Hand-Georg Gadamer said ‘mimesis’ is widely known “has the sense of ‘making the absent present”. To actualized of ‘nothing’ into ‘something’. When there are many of interpretation of Portrait itself. To manifest idea into physical. Xie Dongming as the most well-known realism painter from China.[1]

Through paintings Dongming not only noted as ‘existed’ but actualized the idea of life and culture of China. Dongming creates the portrait not fully realism but also expressionism at the same time. The power of the expression from the paintings also giving us the idea of identity through the technique and color material. He could brought us to get close to our feelings to whom see it, also summarized his or ourselves experiences of live interaction that contained intention of appreciation and value.

The result that he want to reach, not only for the value of ‘accuracy’ about certain situation or events but the accession of experiences of beauty. The portrait tells manifestation of reaching its own beauty, rather than fully speaking for the object instead.

Exhibition

Selfscape by Xie Dongming
15–24 February 2017 | 10.00 – 18.00 WIB
Gedung D Galeri Nasional Indonesia

References:

Pameran Tunggal Xie Dongming “Selfscape”
The Philosophy of Self-Portraiture in Contemporary Art, Holly Armishaw

Following

We are living in the era of software, hardware, smartphone apps controlled the future. For technology digital media now shifting from passive customer to active customer. The differences of them two are how they consume the media; old days was the phase of receiving information, and today people are more active to creating information. People are easily create content, moving picture, photos, sounds, texts and so on.

The receiving eyes and ears are now directed to calculated machine (software / apps) which controlling its own users. The barrier between the power and control by machine itself are so thin and tend to be illusive.

In this exhibition, thirteen of Indonesian Artists facing this situation with production strategy method and visual not to against the limitation of this phenomenon. Otherwise, the artists were playing within the cracks.

Chosen method, system and texts they displayed with various shape of information that has been filtered to process of exchanging codes made by its artist, curator team, and also the visitor themselves.

The content of the exhibitions are displayed not just for showing the technology and method the artists used but to make an open dialogue to talk about the negotiate production and content between the artist and the visitors.

In my humble opinion, ‘Following’ exhibition has its own purposes of the nowadays digital-technology media: in this era which people are easily make a content and creating a new art by downloading it through apps and software are the opposite of what – ‘somewhat called as’ – ancient artists do. Just a bit of reminder, the media of displaying a content is not always about how easy and complex of the process but the true meaning of each pieces. How they can relate to the right audiences and their habits.

Exhibition
9– 21 Februari 2017. Pukul 10.00-19.00 WIB
(waktu istirahat pukul 14.00-15.00 WIB)
Gedung A, Galeri Nasional Indonesia

Curator
Mahardika Yudha

Artists
Adel Pasha. Adhari Donora. Adityo Pratomo. Andang Kelana. Ari Dina Krestiawan. Ari Satria Darma. Budi Prakosa. Gelar Agryano Soemantri. Gooodit. Mahesa Almeida. MG Pringgotono. oomleo. Ricky ‘Babay’ Janitra

Galeri Nasional – February 2017

Yesterday

Have you told me as many funny things?
Or are you having fun?
Bitter coffee and sugar cookies,
dandelions, and juicy grapes,
denim jacket and red silk,
memories, and what it’ll become
Have you just forgotten
everything that passed?

Once, or twice, in a thrice

Puff, it’s gone.

“Yesterday love was such an easy game to play. Now I need a place to hide away. Oh, I believe in yesterday.”

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