Firman Ichsan's works speak of urban man and contemplation.
In
the 1890s, Frederic Leighton, a renowned British artist of the Victorian
era, painted a young woman sitting with her chin resting on her hand,
deep in contemplation. This painting, Solitude, was a sublime portrayal
of an "inner conversation". Soon thereafter, the soul became
the focus of the new science of psychiatry.
Firman Ichsan, senior photographer, curator, and member of the Jakarta Arts Council, examines the meaning of "solitude" in his current exhibition (December 2007-January 2008 at Cassis restaurant, Jakarta). In these 25 paintings, he strives to explore the meaning of "solitude" as a process of self-reflection.
For Firman, urbanites, such as himself, need a certain process and mental state that neither rejects contact with humans nor seeks isolation as an escape from the harshness of modern life.
Yet one does still need to get a bit of space, relax, and refine one's emotions through reflection. The appropriate response to big cities, with their consumerism, individualism, class struggle and culture shock, is creativity.
"By setting myself apart, I try to paint the entire spirit and emotion of modern humans on the canvas, portraying relationships, love, powerlessness, determination, and space for adaptation," he says.
What
stands out most, he believes, is ambiguity: loneliness in bright colors,
intimacy in gloomy hues, comfort in boredom, the feminine in the masculine
and the masculine in the feminine, self-reliance in solitude, positive
energy contained within negative, and so on.
"Ambiguity can be a dichotomy, a mutually-destructive contradiction, but it can also be thesis and antithesis as the reference for a continuous dialectic leading ultimately to harmony," notes Firman.
And this is one of the main messages of the works in this show.
In another perspective, Firman shows a tireless effort to observe
the endeavors of homo urbanis to adapt, through the urge to become
and remain an individual even in a crowd.
In his paintings, we see curves and broken lines touching, interacting,
with one dominating the other at times. For him, this resembles the
feelings and emotions described earlier; in this conflict or dichotomy,
one side always tries to dominate.
"Although the figures in these paintings – women and men – are still, and solitary, they give the impression of movement through their gestures, in the positions of their hands, heads, or other body parts," Firman comments.
Firman's larger works tend to use monochrome or pastel colors; certain sectors and spaces see to lack the "support" of a place or, if there is one, it is merely a chair or a sofa in some "ownerless" space. The objects present bodies deformed from their original shape.
In his most recent works, from 2006 and 2007, we see some changes, particularly brighter colors leaping out at us. Yet the atmosphere is still one of solitary figures or objects, or occasionally more than one figure, but with no dialogue, only (perhaps) a silent understanding.
In
his smaller works, the expressive lines and curves are more sensitive,
avoiding sharp angles, much as in Western European cubism. On the canvases,
the character of the paint, thick against the flat surface of the canvas,
produces effects of soft brush strokes that leave poetic traces – an
effect we do not see in his paintings on paper. In these, the interesting
thing is how he portrays the faces of the figures. It seems less important
that the human face be complete, with lips, eyes, and nose; the essential
aspects are movement and expression, not so much the physical form
and its charms.
Perhaps what Firman says is true: "We need a situation in which we can step back, rest, and refine our feelings, to reflect and not become alienated. In the big city, we may be alone, but we need not be lonely."
