Worldwide Kiss

We seem to see the fault or bend of time, where rationality begins to take control of humans....

HERYUNANTO

Bre Redana

Without human intellect, we would be stuck in one place: that's what comes to mind when I gaze upon Gustav Klimt's original artwork titled "The Kiss" at the Belvedere Castle (formerly the Modern Gallery) in Vienna, Austria, some time ago.

The figure of a male-female couple embracing warmly by the artist is depicted as flat without any volume, melting and merging with the entire canvas space filled with colors of gold, silver, platinum, besides oil paint that, when observed in detail, portrays a flower garden.

"The Kiss", imitations printed on various material surfaces such as t-shirts, bags, glasses, etc. and sold as souvenirs in various shops in Vienna and other places in the world, are one of his masterpieces. which became an important milestone of the Modern era.

Modernism itself can be referred to as the pinnacle or consequence of the previous era, the Renaissance, which is related to the development of human reason and intellect, particularly in Europe. Leaving behind the Middle Ages, this era was marked, among other things, by the divine works of artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

These works from past centuries can be found in various important museums or galleries in the world, well maintained and protected, based on the awareness: works of art are hiding places for truth, reality.

Modern masterpieces such as "The Kiss" utilize technical skills from the previous era, depicting a perfect portrayal of humans in their relationship with God which adorns many churches in Europe. In the modern era, these technical expertise are utilized to express new ideas about a world that is no longer solely sacred, but also profane, ordinary, and everyday, just like "The Kiss" mentioned earlier.

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We are like witnessing the faults or bends of time, where rationality begins to dominate humans, which, besides being celebrated, also causes anxiety as humans are always hesitant in facing change. It is from this perspective of anxiety that perhaps we can somewhat understand why at that time Galileo Galilei was punished for his new belief that the Earth revolves around the Sun, which differed from the previous absolute belief that the Earth is the center of the universe.

Traces of the Modernism Movement can be seen in various parts of Vienna, including the Secession Building which I imagine as the Jakarta Cultural Center, a place where artists gathered during its time. Artistic works were just one aspect of the implications of the ideas that simultaneously developed in all fields during that era: fine arts, literature, music, theater, dance, architecture, science, medicine, technology, psychology (remember Sigmund Freud?), philosophy, economics, and so on.

Gustav Klimt's friendship with the French sculptor, Auguste Rodin, resulted in a work that in my eyes is no less amazing, namely "Adam and Eve" which is different from the heavenly approach of the previous era. This is more “worldly.” The painting is juxtaposed with Rodin's sculpture entitled "Eva" which inspired Klimt to create this work. "Eva", a bronze statue by Rodin, showing the figure of Mother Earth naked, burying her face in her hands, hmm, perhaps embarrassed.

Rodin's own famous and worldwide work, such as "The Kiss" by Klimt, is "The Thinker". The statue depicts a man sitting with his chin propped, lost in contemplation and deep thought.

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Apart from the works of art above, what other markers mark the fault of time from the divine era to the era of mind supremacy?

A pandemic broke out in Europe, recorded in history as the Spanish flu, which claimed tens of millions of lives, including Gustav Klimt. Klimt's student, an equally famous painter named Egon Schiele, painted his teacher in the morgue. A few days later Schiele became infected and went to the afterlife. At that time, before the pandemic broke out during World War I, 1914-1918.

There is an expression, La historia returns, the story repeats itself.

It gives me chills to contemplate this era with the grey memories of the recently passed Covid pandemic, and the following wars, both in Ukraine and the Middle East.

I am just as confused as I see the breakdown of the times, when natural intelligence becomes fake intelligence, being becomes clicking, "becomes" becomes "automation", rationalism becomes thumbism. Humans are increasingly being reduced to their integrity.

”The digital era is iki kerjo ora ono preine, Mas,”said a friend in Javanese (In this digital age, work has no holidays, Mas) .

I don't know what kind of civilization is facing us in conditions like this.