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A True Artist Born - It Will be Examined by Time

By Cynthia Webb, December, 2001.

The true artist is born, not made. Nurkholis' life is a demonstration of this aphorism. He was born, in 1969 in Jepara, a conservative and industrious community, espousing Islamic traditions. Nurkholis outgrew the limitations of his surroundingslike an exotic plant, spurred on by inspiration to explore the world of art and spirit.

From his early years in kindergarten, he dreamed of being an artist. He recalls thinking that the artist's life is special and free, different from the lives of others. He now realises that the reality is not always as he thought, while his youthful dreams were being inspired by Basuki Abdullah, Affandi, Widayat and Hendra Gunawan.

Nurkholis' irrepressible artistic energies soon began to be expressed in chalk and "spidol" (texta) pen drawings on the old wooden panels in his indulgent grandfather's house. These early works are there even now. At this early age he had an unusual collection of "pets"… small creatures of nature which he observed with great love and fascination. These included a bat, a fish, an eagle, butterflies, and frogs and grasshoppers which he asked his amused grandfather to bring back from the sawah.

This is the awareness of the "true artist". The eyes are somehow wider open, for taking in the infinite variety of "the ten thousand things". The artist is visually insatiable. He experiences, processes and understands his world through form, line, light and shade, proportion and symmetry. This is what is undeniably born in the artist and what carries them through the varying fortunes of an artistic life. This is the real "difference" that the young Nurkholis was vaguely aware of, as he looked at pictures by the already famous artists of that time.

At primary school (SD) Nurkholis had an excellent but conventional Islamic education at a Madrasah school. In such a school more than usual attention is given to God, to philosophy, religion, Islamic art and calligraphy. Later at Junior High School (SMP) he experienced a modern Indonesian education. In Senior High School (SMA) it continued, and Nurkholis majored in Literature (Sastra) and formally studied art for the first time. During this time Nurkholis was writing poetry and sending his work to various publications. He also joined with some friends to exhibit his paintings for the first time, in Jepara and Semarang, and all his works were sold.

At the age of twenty years, Nurkholis began studying at the Institute Seni Indonesia ( ISI) after doing one semester of study of Literature at UGM. Now on his true path, he thrived in the environment of ISI. An additional gift in his life from ISI was that there he met his artist wife, Hety Nuriani who was also a student of Fine Art.

Nurkholis began painting professionally in 1989. He has moved through three style "periods" as he explores the world of art for the best way to express himself. He was one of many young artists of his time, who were drawn to Surrealism and at this time the images of the creatures of nature from his childhood collections, reappeared on the canvases. What could be more surreal than a grasshopper? Now the development of his youthful fascination with strange forms revealed itself on his canvases.

Commencing in 1993 Nurkholis began a series of works depicting rock formations, leaving behind the surrealist style. Here was a very contrasting direction from the images of flying objects and open skies during the previous surrealist work. There is balance here, as he moves from the world of the space and the imagination to the solid, dense and grounding energy of the rocks.

After continuing with this work for approximately six years, Nurkholis began to feel unfulfilled and somewhat bored. He had travelled on his journey of exploration, to a place where he knew he must change even though the previous works had sold well. There was no further sense of direction in his work. For three months he experimented with everything he could think of. He even tried mixing oil paint with watercolour, but to no avail. The frustration increased and for some time he achieved nothing. The first artistic periods constitute Nurkholis' exploration of the environment, and so the as yet unknown direction that his work was to take, was a natural progression into the world of personal introspection.

One day one of the children observed to him, "Dad you are a painter, but how come you don't paint anymore?" Now Nurkholis frustration overflowed as he heard the truth of his own feeling from the mouth of his child. He kicked out at a nearby canvas with his bare foot. This was a moment of truth, and a turning point in his artistic career, because later when he looked at the impression made in the wet paint, there he saw his new direction. The image was interesting. It was filled with possibility and subtle suggestion. Nurkholis realized that he could take this further and was soon experimenting with the method for preparing paint layers on large canvases, and with making imprints with his whole naked body, not just the foot.

With his way now open before him again, he surged forward making many works including one in which he and his artist wife collaborated to print two bodies entwined together in the act of love. Now the same child-critic was asking, "Dad, why are you painting naked people?" to which Nurkholis has only been able to reply "Ngak apa-apa" (it doesn't matter) as the answer is beyond the child's young mind. However many others were asking the same question. Nurkholis' response is that he believes the human body is "energy" and tries to express that on canvas. He knows God's creation is perfect. Therefore he wonders about the complexity of our relationship with our bodies. He asks why do humans seem to be so unsatisfied with their physical self. They demonstrate this in so many ways, such as being ashamed, wishing to change or "improve" it by cosmetic or even surgical means. Also by concealing it under clothing, which often takes the form of various uniforms through which we can assume another "identity" such as religious garments, military or other uniforms, usually work-related. Or it may be just clothing selected to identify with a peer group. When questioned about ourselves, we do not answer "I am a human being", but "I am a teacher", or "I am an artist", a "student", a "becak driver" and thereby hide in that persona.

Nurkholis longs for the time before we became ashamed. In a way it is a spiritual question - a call back to the mythical Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve lived naked and unashamed. He fervently wishes humans could say "I am a human being" with real conviction and understanding of what this means. "Our body is our only reality. Everything else is other. How did we become so repressive about our bodies?" asks Nurkholis. He is shocked by the wide exploitation of the body and he also questions conventional standards of beauty. To Nurkholis, whatever you are is your beauty. He thinks about the few places left on earth where tribal people still live naked and free, comfortable in their physical bodies and also in their relationship to their environment. This is the "one-ness" which so many of earth's people have lost. Through his "body language" series of works Nurkholis invites us all to look at ourselves through new clear eyes and to love who and what we are.

At the time of his radical change of direction with his work Nurkholis knew it was risky and controversial in this conservative Islamic society. He must totally believe in himself. He might have to fight for his art. He knew art dealers would protest that his previously good selling work was no longer available. He thought about Picasso and how much poorer the world of art would be if he had been too afraid to move into exploration of unknown artistic expressions. However Nurkholis knew there was a risk that his professional income would fall. This was important as by now he was the father of three young children. At this stage of his artistic life, his authenticity was being tested. However, supported by his wife, Nurkholis defiantly ignored the pressures being exerted upon him. He went ahead and prepared an exhibition which was opened at the end of July 2000 at the Dirix Gallery, Yogyakarta, by Kartika, the daughter of his childhood role model, Affandi.

At the exhibition, Nurkholis screened a videotape so that people could understand the process which created these ethereal and fascinating canvases where transparent bodies seemed to float in space, inspiring the imagination of all who looked at them. He was somewhat nervous before the opening night, hesitating to go ahead with showing the video footage. Painting with the naked body, and filming the coupling of lovers even though in the name of art, was certainly revolutionary and shocking in the social context of Java, even in broadminded, artistically open Yogyakarta. However, Nurkholis true artistic spirit told him, he had gone this far and it must be "total", no compromise. There was this one last step to take, so he screened the film. Although he was not visited by the police, as he half expected, much attention and publicity followed and Nurkholis' career took a leap forward. In retrospect, the work to date has a poetic completeness. He has explored humanity's natural environment, our surreal/dream world and now our physical/spiritual reality.

To the time of writing he is still absorbed with the same working method and body language style and is experimenting further within it, by adding collage and some brush-painted work to the body-impressions on canvas. As to his future directions, Nurkholis said: "This is my art, which is like a river, so why would I look for a place near the side of the river? My art is like water flowing, always trying to find the ways to pass through obstacles. I do not want to know now, about my future work, but just to wait and see. There will be no compromise because of business thinking, or commercial pressures. For me it is Totality of Art. It will be examined by time who is the true artist and who is not." Contact: Cynthia Webb

Email cinti35@hotmail.com

Self Portrait as a Wanted
200 x 145cm
Oil on canvas