Question 2.

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

Hendra Gunawan, Bandung as a Sea of Fire (1972, Oil on Canvas)

(a) Describe the subject matter of these paintings.

In ‘Seated Model’ by Liu Kan, a brown woman is positioned in the centre of the painting sitting on a black rattan chair. The chair’s back is facing the viewer and the woman sits with her body oriented to the left of the painting. Her left arm is rested on top of the chair while her left hand grabs her right shoulder. Her head is propped up on her upper left arm. She appears to be looking downwards at the white flower that is on her right hand, which is placed on her left thigh. The woman’s upper body is unclothed while her lower body is donned with a red skirt with a thick green stripe at the bottom and a thick white lining across her waist. The woman’s hair is fully combed back and she has floral embellishments in her hair and also as earrings. The background of this painting is a rural setting with a tarnished red brick wall, palm tree, and a bunch of white flowers (which may be where the woman had picked hers from).

In ‘Bandung as a Sea of Fire’ by Hendra Gunawan, a scene of a raging fire is depicted. In the foreground lies a man who is deeply wounded, seemingly struggling for his last breath. On his left, a wounded woman’s body peeks out from debris, appearing to have attempted to crawl out. The two figures lay among a mess of what appears to be rocks, soil and blood. In the background, men and women alike, some carrying children in a carrier on their backs, are running away from the source of the fire. The source of the fire appears to be sprouting from the right of the painting, where a mess of burnt buildings, fire, people and smoke are present. The people run upslope towards the safer forest on the upper right hand corner of the painting, ignoring the two wounded people in the foreground.

(b) Analyse and interpret the artists’ intentions.

In Liu’s painting,’Seated Model’, he seems to be conveying the message of serenity in rural places, perhaps in contrast to the busy urban life. The black woman in the painting is doing nothing at all but sitting on a rattan chair and gazing at a white flower which she is holding. The portrayal of her is extremely serene and calm, as if the woman has achieved peace within herself. This leads the viewer to reflect upon themselves. Despite being materialistically superior, the people living in urban areas often cannot achieve this ‘inner peace’ and the relaxation as the rural black woman has achieved, or at least what she appears to have achieved, as portrayed by Liu. It is my personal opinion that the artist was deeply moved by this rural, yet simple and peaceful sort of life that he hopes that it can be exposed to more people, and influence more people into reflecting about their ideals in life.

‘Bandung as a Sea of Fire’ by Hendra Gunawan speaks of the cruelty of life, and the frailty of humans. A single fire is a ble to cause so much destruction and chaos to humans, yet there is nothing these people can do, much due to the lack of technology. When the people flee, they only care for themselves and perhaps their immediate family; it is through these harsh situations that the selfish human nature comes through completely. The man and the woman in the foreground of the painting are being disregarded and completely ignored as the rest flee for their lives, stranded at the awful fire scene, wounded, with no one to turn to. The fragility of human life is also perhaps another element of this painting, as it demonstrates how weak and helpless the ordinary folk are as compared to the cruelty of nature.

(c) Discuss the impact the two paintings have on you.

These two paintings present two entirely different scenes and thus have two absolutely different impacts on me. In Liu’s painting ‘Seated Model’, I am astounded by the serentiy of rural life and how the people can live so peacefully, or at least seemingly, in such rough conditions. They do not own the best resources or technology, definitely, and everything about their life is revolved around nature– flowers, trees, soil. The people live in harmony with nature, as seen through the bare feet of the woman and the flowers in her hair. These living conditions of theirs may not be conventionally considered the ‘best’, but the people, represented solely by the single woman, seem to be perfectly at peace with it. In comparison with the modern city life, they are so much more pure and we are filled with so much greed. We could take a thing or two from the living attitudes of these people.

Contrasting starkly to the peace I felt from Liu’s painting, Hendra Gunawan’s painting led me to consider the fragility of human life. Us, the humans, are so helpless and desperate when natural disasters strike upon us. The rough and painterly brushwork of Gunawan bring across the chaos of the situation perfectly. The striking and contrasting red and black also add to the general feeling of desperation. I am able to feel for the people in this painting due to the excellent manipulation by the artist, and the desolation, desperation and panic comes through clearly.