Metropolis,
1999, oil on canvas, 154 x 154 cm.
Bonny
Setiawan was born in a small Central Javanese village in 1968. Both,
his father and mother were painters. Bonny studied at the Art Academy
in Yogyakarta (ASRI). Yogya, as the Javanese city is lovingly referred
to, is the cultural heart of Java. The city is surrounded by ancient
ruins reflecting two major Indonesian religions. The great temples of
Borobudur and Prambanan are just one hour away. The city offers numerous
music and dance schools, outstanding choreographers, workshops for drama
and poetry, folk theater and wayang troupes, a notable art academy,
great galleries and excellent painters and sculptors. Yogya is also
a major batik-producing center, and of course, a tourist attraction.
Bonny Setiawan finds inspiration in this lively city. The themes of
his art reflect old Javanese traditions, such as Balinese Dancers,
Herbs Sellers, Javanese Wedding, or Wayang Kulit, as well
as topics that could reflect the pulsating life of any large modern
city, such as Carnival, Circus, Discothèque, Mask Festival,
Pasar Malam (Fair), or Showtime. Bonny’s works typically
place traditional and modern life in close proximity to demonstrate
the tensions pulling participants simultaneously into past and present
life rhythms. The large-size painting Metropolis represents modern
life in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. As the alarm clock and the
sickle-moon indicate, it is 2 o’clock in the morning. People are
assembling in the streets. In the center of the painting, five men and
one woman form a circle. The woman who is looking out at the viewer
waving her hand from the center of the painting is dressed in traditional
Indonesian garb. Right next to the group, is a figure dressed in a clowns
outfit wearing a huge mask with big round eyes, a wide grin and a shock
of hair, reminding of barong (transl. dance with mask) faces.
In the lower left-hand corner and along the bottom frame, more people
are crowded most of them are dressed in modern Western-style clothing.
Along the frame on the right side, three comic servants, panakawan
(transl. servants of royalty in wayang) characters, can be seen.
They are from top to bottom: Petruk, Semar, and Gareng.
The panakawan are purely Javanese. They are lower-class characters
who are good-natured but seemingly stupid; however, between the lines
they speak common sense and practical truth. They are beloved by Indonesians
and a main attraction in any wayang performance. In the large-size
city scene, they represent the Javanese tradition as well as common
sense in life. The main theme of this painting is tradition versus modern
life. The background shows high-rise, Western-style architecture. One
of the buildings wears the message "(w)elcome" with the first
letter of the word missing, quite as if the artist is not quite sure
whether modern life and tradition do indeed mix well.
The composition and colors of this large-size painting are reminiscent
of city scenes created by the German painter and graphic artist George
Grosz (1893-1959). One of his main themes is satirical portrayal of
cosmopolitan life. His painting Dedication to Oskar Panizza for
instance, confronts the viewer with a nightmare vision of the modern
city.Bonny Setiawan’s interpretation and representation is more
positive than George Grosz’. It appears that the traditional Indonesian
elements are saving his city from a downfall.
Girl
with Fanta, 1999, oil on canvas, 133 x 93 cm.
Besides creating crowded and busy city scenes, Setiawan painted a number
of works with one, two or three figures. Girl with Fanta represents
an Indonesian woman in traditional clothing at night before a cityscape.
Her large-size figure covers the vertical center of the painting. The
bright colors appear to move her to the very front of the canvas, while
the dark shadowed houses move towards the back. The bottle of Fanta
turns into an icon of modern Western life, quite like the McDonald
or Burgerking in the center of Jakarta. The issue is the same:
traditional Indonesian figures confront modern life.
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Balinese Dancer, 2000, photograph (2/20).
for more than 15 years. In 1996, he settled in Jakarta, Indonesia, for several years, while he currently resides in Bangkok, Thailand. His photographs have been in numerous exhibitions in Asia, and many have been published in travel magazines and business publications. 17a
