Samsul Arifin

 

The work is in good condition overall, as is the canvas. There are indications of minor wear and handling around the edges, but the paint layers are well-preserved and stable. Under ultraviolet light inspection there is no evidence of restoration. Unframed, on stretcher.
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Tumbangnya Sebuah Pemikiran (The Fallen Thought) features a new perspective in Samsul Arifin’s work. It is articulated in the artist’s signature iconography of pencils, goni, and graffiti on the wall, yet there is a shift in mood here from other works in this series. Assuming a more serious tone, spanning two meters high and almost three meters long, the monumental canvas illustrates the stump of a once towering pencil. Fragments of its graphite core and shattered wooden body are strewn all over the floor while Goni sits in a corner, holding its tip. In the background, scribbles and doodles are graffitied onto the wall. The words appear childlike, frustrated and irregular.

The scene illustrates the sad but inevitable conclusion of Samsul’s Thinkers, the series in which the artist always portrays Goni sitting precariously on top of the fragile, exposed graphite core of a tall, sharpened pencil, and pondering upon the fate of Indonesian education. Hidden within the composition is an array of contrasting elements: there is graffiti on the wall, but no spontaneity in the brushwork, there is a sense of complete stillness amid a chaotic tableau, and there is cynicism but also inherent innocence. Despite being completely surrounded by ruins, however, Goni escapes unscathed. It is a minor detail that exudes a breath of hope. With this renewed energy, placed in the context of his most recent series in which Goni assumes the role of warrior and defender of the arts, Samsul assures the viewer that sometimes, when one has reached the bottom, the only way to go is up.

Tumbangnya Sebuah Pemikiran represents an important chapter in the artist’s artistic oeuvre, one of change. There is a moment in everyone’s lives where events unravel to reveal a certain situation. Mankind is not always in control of what happens to them, but we can always be the author of our own choices. Perhaps all we need is to change the way we think.