Individual liaison: Gregorius Sidharta, tradition, and modernity

Abstract

Individual liaison: Gregorius Sidharta, tradition, and modernity

Understanding the dialogic relation between tradition and modernity in our current cultural dynamic remains an ‘incomplete project’ that requires careful examination. Approaching and thoroughly interpreting both roles in our society, mainly in how they influenced our current paradigm of culture, continue to pose risks and challenges. This article will explore the works of Gregorius Sidharta Soegijo, a renowned maestro of Bandung modern art, whose conversa­tional practice proposes a particular means of harmonizing these antagonistic tensions and various derivatives issues that might later follow. By using art criticism as its primary modalities while simultaneously cross-referencing both modern and contemporary aesthetic paradigms, this article will demonstrate how Sidharta’s inclusive and deliberate approach might provide a dialogic site for various antagonist polarities—mainly tradition and moderni­ty—to coexist within a democratic, horizontal, and productive axis. His audacity in contempla­ting inward and resorting to his idiosyncrasy would also be highlighted for its contributive nature as the pretext of his attempt to reconcile, resolve, and synthesize the long-desirable harmony between tradition and modernity. These gestures have undergone a consistent, gradual process of internal reflection that touched upon his personal experiences, particularly his encounter with multitudes of cultural values, perspectives, and paradigms that each proposes their significance.

Arbitrase individual: Gregorius Sidharta dalam dikotomi tradisi dan modernitas

Tradisi dan modernitas dalam kemutakhiran saat ini masih menyimpan banyak selubung pemaknaan yang menunggu untuk dibuka, didalami, dan dimaknai kembali. Mendekati dan memahami keduanya dengan adil dan menyeluruh adalah upaya yang beresiko. Gregorius Sidharta Soegijo, salah satu maestro patung modern Bandung, menunjukkan cara yang khas dalam menengahi beragam tegangan beserta ragam derivasi konflik yang dimunculkan. Dengan berpijak pada metode kritik seni terhadap sepilihan karya Sidharta untuk kemudian diperiksa secara menyilang baik terhadap konsep-konsep estetika modern serta kontem­porer, artikel ini akan menunjukkan bagaimana Sidharta menemukan kesetim­bangan untuk menghidupkan keduanya dengan berpijak pada idiosinkrasi diri untuk mempertemukan, mendamaikan, menengahi, serta melakukan arbitrase pada dikotomi tradisi dan modernitas. Keseimbangan ini ditemukannya melalui perkembangan pemaknaan diri yang secara gradu­al bersentuhan dengan beragam perbedaan nilai, paradigma, dan ideologi yang membawa keutamannya masing-masing.