Between Creative Way and Daily Spiritism:
What can be evaluated when the visual sensory focused on a visual image? Apparently, it is not quite satisfied if we only rely on the eyes. There will be a curiosity occurred to evaluate emotive conditions that lie behind those visual.
In regards to the above, then a distant reading technique is required in the practice of art criticism, a criticism technique that comprehend artwork based on art worker’s side and the readings of constructed “meaning” within art social space. Standing on the side of art workers also means trace their creativity biography.
I further believe in the comprehensive art criticism, when close reading combine with distant reading, a technique that wholly unravel visual phenomenon combine with an accurate interpretation towards meaning and social experience in absorbing the everyday world of an artist. This combination may result in or at least leads to the construction of new and more complete meanings. As stated by Nirwan Dewanto, close reading is able in recognizing artwork as knowledge and source of new creation as well, rather than as an object. Distant reading elaborates any matters concerning historical background of the author, from the realm which was raised and all the power that institutionalize (2005: 11-12).
I affirm that I apply a comprehensive criticism model in articulating these both reading perspectives. I positioned myself as a friend who not only see and read, but also feel for how Putu Sudiana Bonuz produces his artwork and perform his art social activities. In addition, I stand to perform reading and interpretation upon visual phenomenon of Bonuz’s artwork. I consider the correlative relationships, and even the complete alliance between his artwork and his spiritist behavior applied by this Nusa Penida-born man.
It is impossible that in selecting Bonuz’s artwork I was grounded by blankness. I am not denying that his position as an artist who is actively building a dialogue with me during the curation process definitely determines the staging of his visual works. Therefore, let me do the readings by up-knitting the process of this full flavor dialogue.
On an afternoon, in a fully joking statement, Bonuz said he often did small talks about religion, meditation and any matters concerning spiritual not just once or twice but several times. Several Priests and his friends often asked this alumnus of fine arts of ISI Denpasar to talk about matters relating to spiritual. “If you ever read my facebook status…. (Spontaneous writing), you can capture my mind activity. It is hard to express it orally. But, some Priest often asked me to talk about universal spiritual (not to be so serious)…hehe… ” as said by Bonuz on his text sent to me on Tuesday, 18 October 2011 at 05.15 PM.
Those matter conveyed by Bonuz on his text affirms that the ideal world in the reading process as a spiritual space is not merely the needs of individuals with personal spiritist ideas but it has been part of a public consensus; spiritual affairs also became a kind of communal agreement. In short, he shuttle between individual and public position within spiritual relation framework. It is reasonable that during the reading process of Bonuz’s creative way, we will meet a row of fine art artifacts that are psychologically inflaming spiritist spaces of the Eastern.
The history of fine art has recorded how the human spiritual spaces of every period are expressed in visual works. From the most primitive manners, by uncovering a clay sculpture of stylized figuration of human genital; Venus, in Bali known as the phallus and yoni, until the Renaissance with the depiction of various religious theory, or literature myths of gods who influenced the tradition of puppet image in the eastern world, or even up on the findings of abstractions as inflamed by Wassily Kandinsky; spirituality always actual in artwork. Thus proves that spiritualism phenomenon remains influence in contemporary fine art practice nowadays.
Bonuz artworks are in line with the footsteps of this history, in which psychiatric conditions and daily activities are filled with the history of the rites, ultimately boils down to visual works. Bonuz did not choose the path of ascetic extremes, which should be a hermit in the woods, but chose to keep the socialite world of art among the city artist and village communities.
He walks between spirituality as ritual and obsessive activity in the inner. In inheriting the tradition of Hindu-Balinese ritual, He appears as "priest", the leader of the ceremony, especially the family temple ceremonies. While, in the climb of internal spiritist, he did it by both physical and mind exercise. His intuitions play in between the desire to search the answers of the divinity by assuming the worlds as a stepping space. Exploring the divinity and seeking it in the visible nature.
In some of his artwork entitled "Red in the Sky", or a series of "Full Moon", and also the "Bayangan di Langit (Shadows in the Sky)", those clearly explaining how nature is used as a ground in seeking the answer of the obsession in discovering the divinity space. Perhaps, the perfection of God on earth is seen in natural phenomena. In visual of an artwork, color and composition are presented spontaneously, emphasizing more on the spatial imaginary exploration, a content of feelings dominantly filled by inner/spiritual conditions. Thus, the abstraction represents only the imagination space of the universe. Not to imitate photographic real impression, because the important thing is the acceleration of divinity obsession. The answer of this obsession is found on the phenomenon of the universe; between the visible and the spoken visual.
Artworks presented on "Inside of Bonuz” (The title is inspired by "Inside of Mecca", "Inside of Vatican" and others series published by National Geographic) mostly represents abstraction as the final destination of inner experiences. It emphasizes more on the expression of imaginary space impression. Abstract as the elementary formal history began to be abandoned. The same message can be gleaned from his installation entitled "Mempersembahkan Hati (Offering Heart)", although there is repetition of objects, but the impression is likely to uncover the spiritists atmosphere.
If we are now closely look into the poems in his Facebook status, for an example, The Morning Voice, was written at the full moon, in the beginning of October 2011, "Every morning / / I always greeted by a priest’s bell / / the sound of taped mantra / / rang around my little house / / compete with the twittering sound of my turtledove / / as well as fragrant incense / / as they were in a synergy / / without a command / / but in a melodious melody / / freshen the soul / / peace ...! / / The Owner of the universe is now getting closer ". There are three interrelated things are described in this poem; the whole universe is the booster energy (represented by the expression: every morning, the sound of priest’s bell, twittering sound of turtledoves and others); sense and intuition is a translator media (expression: melodious and freshen the soul); divinity is the purposes (expression: Owner of the Universe). What is written, may be as spontaneous confession, how spiritist phenomenon strongly bind the obsession of soul and body.
Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that if I summarize this note by stating that the fine art implemented by Putu Sudiana Bonuz walks between ritual history and spiritual practices in seeking the divinity meaning. The nature phenomenons become the booster energy, while other findings on the nature of divinity phenomenon are interpreted as an effort in satisfying inner/spiritual and artistic satisfaction as well. Thus, in reading the Bonuz’s artwork we should consider his daily world, in this context relates to the history of spiritual behavior which he believes and does.
by Wayan Kun Adnyana (Visual Art Curator, live at Yogyakarta)
About the Artist
I Putu Sudiana Bonuz was born in the tiny island of Nusa Penida of the southeast coast of Bali on 30 December 1972. In a place known for its fishing and seaweed farming, Sudiana began by painting fishing boats. His great interest in painting was unusual in a fishing village, but this did not discourage him from wanting to formally study painting. After finishing junior high school in Nusa Penida, he bravely moved to Bali to study at the High School of Fine Arts (SMSR). Then in 1995 he continued on to the Fine Arts College of Indonesia (STSI, now the Indonesia Arts Institute, ISI) in Denpasar.
