Incarnation of the sky, a metal installation by Yani Mariani Sastranegara and Erwin Utoyo.Monday night saw the National Gallery here transformed into a unique venue where classic cars mingled with contemporary artworks inspired by features of the vehicle, both technical and functional, as well as aesthetical.
This one-of-a-kind idea that brings together art creativity based on such features is groundbreaking and underlines once more the myriad of possibilities in art making today.
A collaborative initiative of the 3-year-old Indonesia Classic Car Owners Club (ICCOC),and the Indonesian branch of Singapore based Adira Finance, the show presents 45 classic cars and 85 art works by Indonesian contemporary artists. Curated by Ritzky Zaelani and Rikrik Kusmarta, it is titled “Art Motoring: Motion and Reflection”.
Entering Hall A, one’s attention is immediately drawn to Heri Dono’s installation of motorists wearing helmets, dark glasses and a device on their chests sending out light beams.
They could easily be mistaken for hell drivers, particularly when the wings attached to their uniforms start moving up and down.
Further into hall A, Entang Wiharso, whose works often deal with the chaos permeating the human condition, offers works in a combination of dark graphite, fiber and steel. Initially appearing as a dark mass, the crashing cars become discernable when looking through our camera lens.
The artist whose aluminum images have been likened to scenes of Dante Alighieri’s Inferno in La Divina Comedia, titles these works American Dream, The Second Skin.
ICCOC secretary general, Robert Suhardiman, who founded the club with chairman Stanley Setia Atmadja, reveals he has been fascinated with classic cars since he was a high school student.
With a tad of nostalgia, Robert points at the elegance, the flowing lines, the aesthetic of the classic car, which all have an intrinsic artistic value. Since then he has nurtured a dream of combining his two passions together.
That day has now come. It takes an artist like Indra Leonardi to bring these features together in a photograph that takes one to the sublime. Imbued with a sense of nostalgia, the image of a car of which the brand is kept unclear, evokes a sense of moving through a landscape under a sky where the interweaving of dark clouds signal the coming of the night.
Yet, for all its poetic mystery, the work which is called Twilight Zone 2, is a digital print on aluminum, a medium that clearly points at the contemporary.
Matching the poetic with the technical and the beauty of the classic car, artists Yani Mariani Sastranegara and Erwin Utoyo went back to the time when the bm 328 was a winner car at Mille Miglia Races some time during 1936-37.
Erwin says the car was a dandy’s favorite, who would drive it mostly during the weekends. It reminded the artists of the peacock whose gorgeous appearance is particularly emphasized by its wondrous feathers.
Erwin then made the car-part of the work in the likeness of the bm 328, representing the peacock. Yani Mariani added thousands of metal balls hung on fisherman thread, imagining they came rolling from the heavens, and arranged them in a shape likening the bird’s feathers when it opens like a fan. The colossal work’s dimensions: 500x600x500 centimeters.
Certainly the Beetle Box by Ichwan Noor is a skillful work that attracts the attention of whoever enters the venue. Using original 1975 VW Beetle accessories, the artist has created a vehicle in the form of an attractive white box.
Set on a high pedestal, the eye-catching work is a model for its artistic touch that combines raw technological power with aesthetics, drawing even the most novel art lover to this contemporary artwork.
There are also artists whose imaginations have been inspired by realities on the ground. Nus Salomo, for instance created Gozira No Ko (Son off Godzilla), a search and rescue unit amid the rampage of disaster. His work is meant as a tribute to the Japanese whose resilience amid the worst disasters has stunned the world.
For Deddy Paw, looking back through the mirror of his Nissan Terrano allows him to reflect on his life.
Classic beauty: A classic Porsche is on show at the “Art Motoring: Motion & Reflection” exhibition, at the National Gallery, until May 1.After changing car fives times since the 1980s, he knows he has no desire to own another car for now.
Referring to classic car lovers, Deddy finds that one needs an awful lot of money to be a collector of such cars. He visualizes such a vision with his iconic apple made of coins on which toy cars are creeping around.
Indeed, acquiring old cars is not a matter of just purchasing. A long process of costly repair tests the collectors’ patience and resources.
But, as Robert Suhardiman explains, their passion for cars of times long past nurtures their drive to continue collecting and repairing.
What is more, they now have committed themselves to show that the power of automotive engineering can go hand in hand with the power of artistic creation.
Although some works in the art exhibition should not have been included, the show testifies to artistic vibrancy. Artists were so stirred by this initiative of the ICCOC that they went all out to simply create without a single thought about market value.
Nevertheless, the promise that a new car would be awarded to the best art creation may have been a powerful stimulus.
— Photos By Carla Bianpoen
Art Motoring:
Motion & Reflection
A show of 45 Classic Cars and 85 Indonesian Contemporary Art Works
Galeri Nasional Indonesia
Until May 1, 2011
To be continued at Grand Indonesia Shopping Town, West Mall, 2nd Fl
Until May 14, 2011
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