SOVA Assignment: Lucia Hartini
1. (a) Describe the use of space, colour and brushwork.
In this painting, Lucia Hartini has painted herself as ‘Srikandi’, a brave and bold female character in a Javanese folktale in the midst of blue drapery, breaking brick walls, and endless skies.
As for the use of space, the objects in this painting is quite tightly packed, with little emptiness even in the sky, which is filled with clouds. Therefore, instead of giving a sense of serenity, it males us feel anxious looking at it as there are so much going on. Lucia Hartini, the main character exudes a strong presence in the painting as she is taking up most of the foreground with her superior stance with legs stood firmly and arms akimbo, as if in victory . A zigzaged brick wall occupies the rest of the foreground and part of the background. The use of the zigzag-ness allows to space to seem more constricted. Despite the claustrophobic walls, Hartini seems to stand above the walls, signifying her breaking through the walls that constrict her as a female. In contrast, the sky seems to be more spacious and limitless as if to show that Hartini will have a bright future where shw will shine as a great female artist. The sky, the blue drapery and the brick wall all gives a sense of depth as all three elements seems to lead to nowhere and we can’t see the end of them. Also, there is an extra-dimensional space coming out of Hartini’s eyes where it shows a stretch of sky with eyes ‘floating’ in it, which probably represents her repelling the criticisms from the public members of Indonesia that used to discriminate women artists such as Hartini.
In terms of colour, there is a strong contrast between her blue draped dress and the red brick walls. Her dress, especially, is in a shade of striking, saturated cobalt blue, which will attract the viewers’ attention inevitably. The author’s skin colour is in a healthy shade of golden brown and she seems to have a spotlight shined on her signifying her importance and confidence. The sky in the background, starts off a lighter shade of blue at the top and goes down a progression and becomes darker and darker as it goes down as if to show that we will never know what future has for us. This is the same for the walls and her dress as they also become darker and darker as it progresses to the back of the painting. Overall, the painting is filled with saturated and contrasting colours to express her contradicting emotions before and after her realization of her strength.
For the brushwork, Hartini has painted this painting with a very academic style, with details meticulously painted, such as the blue drapery, the cracks on the walls and the veins on her arms. The details on her arms shows how muscular she is depicted as, perhaps so as to show how powerful and in control she is then. Therefore, the painting looks very realistic while the context of the painting is definitely impossible, thus giving a surrealistic feel. Using such meticulous brushwork, it clearly shows the contrast between the fluidity in the drapery and the hardness of the brick walls.
(b) Comment on the influences behind this work.
Firstly, as the title of this work suggests, it is heavily influenced by the Javanese folktale character, Srikandi. Srikandi was determined to become the wife of the Pandwa prince, Arjuna and thus vowed to stand by him in battle, impressing him with her loyalty and courage. As seen from her aggressive stance and her head held up high, it shows how Hartini is trying to paint herself as Srikandi, a women with strength and courage. The reason for her wanting to paint herself as such a courageous character is due to her personal experiences as a prisoner of Indonesian tradition.
Hartini was a victim of domestic violence and was never recognized as an artist as it was the men’s world at her time in Indonesia where women were imprisoned at home, unable to express their views to the world. There, people, including her husband, chose not to recognize her as an artist and she was even criticized for having such an ambition that was meant only for the men. In her previous paintings, she often depicted negative aspects of herself such as fears, loses, empowered moments and longing. However, in this painting, she has decided to stand up for herself, reveal a self that emerged form invisibility to visibility, from fear into determination and confidence, from powerless to a recognition of her own fighting powers. The glaring eyes in that extra-dimensional space depicts the criticism and prejudices the public has deemed upon Hartini. However, she is trying hard to repels such critical responses the public has on her and fight for equality and rights of the women in Indonesia. This is seen from her fiercely staring back at those eyes that once looked down on her and vilified her. Thus, such personal experiences also sparked her to paint such a painting signifying a modern Indonesian woman fighting for her right to define her own place in the world. She also strives to protect the rights of deprived women around the world, thus painting the bright blue drapery, which is a representation of the cloth worn by members of the women’s armies who protected the Sultans of feudal Central Java. Such victimized experiences are represented by the sharp edges of the constrictive brick walls. However, due to her growing confidence, the walls that confine her are breaking, showing how she is going to breakthrough whatever sufferings she has endured and emerge as a strong woman, not inferior to men.
We can also see many surrealistic influences behind this work. The location of this painting is already quite impossible, with a weirdly shaped brick wall as if floating up in the sky, above most clouds and almost at the same height as the moon. Although this painting is not surrealistic in a sense that the objects are not derived from the artists’ subconscious but with a meaning behind each object, the choice of subject matters are indeed quite unusual, thus giving the characteristic surrealist feel. The endlessness of the sky, blur cloth and brick wall also contributes making the painting look impossible in every way. Another reason why the painting is influenced by surrealism is the extra-dimensional space that seems to be ‘zapping’ out of Hartini’s eyes. This is definitely an impossible scene and the eyes exude a sense of creepiness, thus making it a surrealist influenced painting.
