Lenythegreat’s Weblog

Liu Kang, Seated Model (1953, Oil on canvas)

 a) Describe the subject matter of these paintings. 

In Liu Kang’s ‘Seated Model’, painted in 1953 in Bali, Indonesia, the subject matter of the work is a semi-nude Balinese woman. It is a full body portrait of her.  The woman seems to be middle-aged. Her hair is neatly pushed back to the top of her head and held together by a red hair accessory. She is wearing a pair of relatively large and round white earrings. Her eyes are closed in a clam and peaceful manner while she rests on a black chair. Her left arm is placed at the top of the chair and her left hand holding onto her right shoulder, while supporting her head.  Her right arm rests on her thighs, and she is clutching a small buch of white flowers in her right hand.  Her sarong is red in colour, with thin gold and green strips at the bottom. She has a white band wrapped around her waist. The woman appears to be relaxed and at ease in her half-seated, half-slouching position . The model is painted against the background of an architectural structure on the left with plants all around.

In Hendra Gunawan’s ‘Bandung as a Sea of fire’ painted in 1972 in Bandung, Indonesia, the main focal point of the painting is on the Indonesian man in the centre of the painting. He is lying on the ground among what it seems to be charred ruins, with his legs bent, left arm over his stomach and right hand clutching his chest, at the position where the heart should be. There is bright red blood on his shirt and where the heart is located. His mouth and eyes are open, which gives viewers a sense of pain, agony and helplessness that he is going through. Above his head, there appears to be another woman peering over him with her two hands and face smeared with blood as well. In the background, there are many people, some depicted quite accurately and some are just mere silhouettes. They all seem to be running away from a fire in the middle of the background.  Black smoke is emerging from the fire as well.

b) Analyse and interpret the artists’ intentions.

In Liu Kang’s ‘Seated Model’, he has painted the woman in a calm manner, using brushstrokes that are almost invisible, but there is proper modelling of the subject matter through the use of tones. The colours are naturalistic and non-exaggerated, he paints what he sees. The ‘cloudiness’ of the painting gives a soothing and relaxing feel to the painting..  Liu Kang wants to depict the calmness and peaceful life of the natives of Bali, Indonesia. He wants to capture the simple life of the Balinese, with no serious problems to distract them from their peaceful state of mind. His intention can be further emphasized in a similar work done in 1954 titled ‘Artist and Model’, where through his simple depiction of Bali shows he simplistic nature of the Balinese lifestyle. In Hendra Gunawan’s ‘Bandung as a Sea of fire’, Gunawan made use of exaggerated colours, using mostly shades of red, orange and brown. The red he has used is very bright and glaring, and the colour is used in every part of the painting. He wants to depict the chaotic scene of Bandung, with all the bloodshed, destruction and lives lost. This is due to the conflict which arose because of the Indonesian communist Party at that point of time, where fights and guerrilla wars were being carried out most of the time. The use of fast, painterly brushstrokes and unmodelling of his subjects reveals the anxiousness and frantic atmosphere of the scene as well. He wants to express his concern and anger over such incidents, his strong political beliefs clearly expressed through his paintings. He does ntlike such chaotic scenes of pain and agony, and thus he tries to bring across his message to the public and the government to end it. It is known that because of his political beliefs, the government considered him as a threat and imprisoned Gunawan for 13 years.

c) Discuss the impact the two paintings have you.

Liu Kang’s ’seated model’ gives me a sense of peace, a sense of calmness, whilst Gunawan’s ‘Bandung as a Sea of fire’ makes me feel anxious, frantic, and urgent. This is due to the way the artists has painted their subject matters in. The careful modelling of the woman in Liu Kang’s work meant that the atmosphere of Bali was so calm and peaceful, that Liu Kang was able to paint the woman at his own pace, and through  the painting bring out the inner peace that the woman is experiencing as well. Gunawan, on the the other hand, used fast brushstrokes to roughly paint out the scene with minimal toning and modelling. This gives me a sense of urgency, and the fact that the artwork appears largely unmodelled meant that he wanted to express the chaotic scene through his fast brushstrokes to the viewers. Liu Kang’s painting makes me feel very secure. The Balinese woman in the woman in the work is depicted in a peaceful manner, and she seem to have nothing to worry about. As for Gunawan’s work, the scenes of fire, destruction, helplessness, pain makes me feel very unsecure, and afraid. If I were to put myself into one of the people’s shoes, I feel that I will definitely experience a horrible time.
Also, noticing that both paintings are done in Indonesia, I have come to realise that Indonesia goes through many kinds of situations, from peaceful to utter turmoil. The comparison of the 2 paintings has given me insight on the human spirit, how humans behave as they go through different experiences in life. They have let me understand the fratility of life, from one time it can be so peaceful, and the next, become a living nightmare.