It is not easy to determine the tendency of Albert Yonathan’s works, nor will the effort to categorize them be straightforward. Although Albert’s works use the material of ceramics, their appearance and methods of presentation are unusual in the world of contemporary ceramic art in Indonesia. Albert’s works are clearly not in the category of pottery/vessel, but it is not altogether correct to group them as ceramic sculptures/figurines or object, either. At least, the repetition of modules, geometrically arranged, that we encounter in Albert’s works create the impression of decorative art. In the contemporary art world in the West, which had experienced the dominating influence of the modern art, working with ceramic, especially if presenting the style of the decorative, is a high-risk option. These two elements—the medium of ceramic and the decorative tendency—have no place in Modernism. Although it is often said that in the world of contemporary art in the West the hierarchy of the medium does not apply, the stigma due to the exclusion of the ceramic arts and the decorative tendency from the realm of the high art still remains.

It is fortunate that Albert is working within the world of the contemporary art in Indonesia, in which, it is safe to say, the hierarchy of the medium is nothing definite.1 It is easy for the ceramic artist to join and become a part of the contemporary art world. It means that within the context of the contemporary art in Indonesia, the appreciation and reading of Albert’s works have not been contaminated by the construction of the media hierarchy. On the other hand, Albert is indirectly testing how far the world of the contemporary art in Indonesia can accept and appreciate ceramic works.

Poetic Repetition

People often accuse pattern-creating repetitions as being mere ornaments. The problem is, according to the modern belief, ornaments have been looked down upon as lowly needs. The slogan uttered by Adolf Loss, a thinker of modern architecture, which says that “ornament is crime”, serves as a mantra of sorts to be scornful of ornaments and decorations. That is why ornaments or decorative visuals have been done away with in modern art. In truth, however, the ability to create patterns is an important faculty in the journey of human civilization. Initially, through the arrangement of patterned shapes, humans show their ability to bring natural forms to abstraction, just as Gombrich explains:

“The conclusion to which we are driven suggests that it is precisely because these forms are rare in nature that the human has chosen those manifestations or regularity which are recognizably a product of a controlling mind and thus stand out against the random medley of nature.”2

In the postmodern era, the decorative looks that has been flatly rejected in modern art can precisely be used as a strategy that the feminist artists has employed, with the existence of the tendency of pattern and decoration painting.3 Through this tendency, these feminist artists try to break through the partitions that separate “high art” from “low art”. Naturally, Albert’s works that are displayed today in this exhibition are not intended to break down the barrier between high art and low art. I am sure that Albert precisely situates his works within the frame of “high art”. In other words, Albert deliberately presents his works as a component of the signifying practice of the contemporary art—one of the main “functions” of the contemporary art. In the context of contemporary art, it has been agreed that to appreciate, read, and signify art works constitute the effort to enhance the “dignity” of humanity. Through the reading and signification of artwork, it is expected that we can bring to the surface a deeper awareness in us regarding everything that the artist is conveying to us. This awareness is considered especially valuable because it has been brought to life through aesthetic experience.

It seems that Albert understands well the potentials and the risks contained in the use of the medium of ceramic and the arrangement of the works in patterns. Albert’s choice to create patterned configurations with modules made of three-dimensional objects comes as a novel and fresh approach in the realm of contemporary ceramic art in Indonesia. We can observe and sense that the repetitions of the three-dimensional modules create a distinct atmosphere and aesthetic quality, far removed from the repetition of images that results in decorative ornaments on a two-dimensional plane.

Humans, constructions, animals, and plants serve as the basis for the modules in Albert’s configurations. These modules seem to represent the universe and all its content. The underlying problem that unites these components, however, is not immediately apparent. We can view Albert’s works as symbolic artwork, but one with no binding meaning; rather, the artwork has an open meaning that suits each of our perceptions and backgrounds.

It is undeniable that the repetition of the same objects (i.e. the modules) is the most significant part in Albert’s works in this exhibition. It states that the individual is not important; what is important here is the entity that consists of the whole constituents—which in this case are the human beings and the universe. Here, the modules that represent humans, animals, plants, and constructions can be viewed with the perspective that considers the relationship between humans and culture or nature. On the subsequent level of signification, one can also say that Albert’s artwork also symbolizes the problem of human existence; the existence and the “purpose” of human’s existence on earth.

It is quite surprising how the repetition of modules in Albert’s works does not make these modules look like mass objects. This might be due to his choice to simplify the shapes that represent humans, animals, and constructions. He does not want any overpowering details. The simplification that he has done here actually also constitutes effective stylization on the part of the module component, so much so that when these modules are arranged in repetition, they create a unified and arresting configuration. What appears then is the configuration as a whole. Such simplification is also an effort of de-personalization, implying that the issue at hand refers to the problem of the whole humanity instead of the individual. Each of the unit (module) representing human and animal figures as well as constructions looks simple and tends to appear funny and profane, but it changes when the modules are unified in repeated patterns. The repetition in Albert’s works is a mantra that brings us to a contemplative and spiritual atmosphere. The sublime is garnered not through an effort of reduction, but rather by repetitions. This shows that the ornamental aspect in Albert’s works has gone beyond its physical reality. This quality proves Albert’s sensitivity in composing the modules and arranging them in neat configurations.

The Lone and Alienated Human Being

Through the configurations that Albert has created, an atmosphere of the archaic arises—an atmosphere of the past, when life was still strongly imbued with spiritual aura. The modules, which look profane when standing alone, separated from one another, give rise to configurations with spiritual and sublime aura. Repetitions of the same forms and utterances can indeed bring us to a meditative condition. It is therefore not a coincidence if the modules that represent constructions or buildings here resemble temples. This might bring us to the discussion about the Maker and Ruler of the World. Talking about the Maker will lead to debates about the Maker’s creatures—which in this case is the human being, who always feels as the most special and powerful creature. With the “legitimated status” as the ruler of the universe, the human being has a firm grip on the world.

As a logical animal, human beings have conquered and taken control of the nature using their hearts and minds. It has been proven, too, how with the mind—all along the history of civilization—human beings keep on damaging and destroying the nature. Apparently, it is not without reasons that the module of human being in Albert’s works is made with a hole in the head, between the eyes, presumably referring to the might of human’s brain. Human civilization has devastated many other lives on earth. In reality, humans as rulers of the world have brought more damage than good to the nature. Is it not true that the increasingly hostile nature, one that gives rise to one catastrophe after another, has been the result of human’s control over earth? Indeed, Albert’s works do not explicitly represent the destructions that humans have made over the earth. His works in the series of Capturing Silence seem to be implicitly talking about his concerns about other creatures on earth.

Apparently, humans always measure everything in this world using their own interests as the basis. Ironically, however, everything that was intended to serve human’s interest has along the journey turned into threats against human’s existence. Global warming and natural disasters due to humans’ actions have become a reality. Are the works in the series of Capturing Silence actually conveying the message that humans should learn from animals? That we should also think about the existence of other creatures on this earth? We are talking here about the animals that seem to be silently accepting human’s power over them. Albert’s works in this series remind us that at the end of the day, every progress that we have made alienates us from the nature.

On the other hand, human’s power and intelligence seem to have lost their significance when we realize that we live on the earth, a meaningless dot in the universe. The works in the series of Anthropomorphic Monuments of Isolation, for example, seem to be talking about human’s loneliness and isolation in the middle of the universe. Human’s presence on this earth is nevertheless a mystery, one that it is difficult to explain with our rational minds. There have been conflicts between science and nature in explaining about the origins of human beings and nature. Human beings are naturally overwhelmed by the order of nature. They, however, are invariably apprehensive about the hostile symptoms of nature that give rise to devastations, destroying lives.

Although they have been arranged out of small modules, the works in this series appear monumental. This series, therefore, also gives rise to a certain transcendental aura; it looks like an arrangement of temples. Perhaps this series also talks about human’s alienation from other human beings due to our own actions as we separate people on the basis of the different religions, ethnicities, or identities. Meanwhile, the sophistication of culture and the progress of technology seem to have confined us—as implied by the work titled Confinement.

Albert’s works give no importance to proportional scale. Human beings, animals, and buildings appear in almost the same size. This disproportional scale might have been deliberate, in order to convey the message that the interests of human beings and of other creatures should ideally be in balance. Other layer of signification that we can derive from Albert’s works tells us that human beings should be learning from the wisdom, balance, and order of nature and animals. Is it not true that the ecosystems in areas untouched by humans are always in good and balanced conditions?

Human’s presence invariably damages the ecosystem, especially when we come with high technology and greed. The work titled Equilibrium, a symmetric configuration of hummingbird figurines, seems to convey the message that humans can actually learn from the tiny bird. The hummingbird is the only bird that can fly while staying at one place; and it can also fly backward. This ability is necessary because the small bird must be able to fly to maintain its position as it feeds on nectar. Human beings no longer know the harmony between animals and the nature, the super intelligent animal that tends to wreak havoc on the nature.

Basically, the existence of living creatures on this earth is maintained through a balanced and “orderly” ecosystem. With their intelligence, human beings often disrupt the natural order. Apart from the mind, however, a human being also has a heart, which directs the human being to seek the “sense of order”. In this case, Albert’s works represent this sense of order, whether in the relation between humans and the nature, the other creatures, the environment, and the universe. It is true that the humans in Albert’s works are thinking humans who question their existence in this universe. The human beings here are ones who always hope that the cosmic order will be maintained and sustained. Basically, a good human being is one who wishes to live in harmony with other fellow human beings, the nature, and all living creatures.

At the end of the day, Albert’s works are interesting precisely because they do not talk within the social and political framework, but instead with the perspective that considers the essence of human’s existence in this world. They are even more interesting because Albert Yonathan is presenting the issue using ceramic works, whose presence in the contemporary art world in Indonesia is still minimal, and are therefore often seen as unimportant.

Asmudjo Jono Irianto

Exhibition curator

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Notes

1 If there is an issue about the hierarchy of the medium, it happens only within the circle of the art education in universities, in which the ceramic art is placed under the Crafts Department.

2 E.H. Gombrich, The Sense of Order, A Study in the Psychology of Decorative Art, Oxford: Phaidon Press Limited, 1979, p. 7.

3 See “Pattern and Decoration Painting”, in Art of The Postmodern Era, From The Late 1960s to The Early 1990s, by Irving Sandler, New York: Harper-Collins Publisher, Inc 1996, p. 141-163