Final Project (Thesis) Exhibition “ALIENIZATION AS AN IDEA FOR VISUAL ART CREATION”

Basically, the human essence is an individual subject, which stands alone and cannot be divided. However, on the other hand, humans are also social creatures (Homo socialis) who need the role of other people to live, so there is a duality in human existence, namely as individual creatures and social creatures. A social group certainly requires the role of individuals for the sustainability of a system based on cooperation. So that a human being is expected to be able to fulfill his function within a social system that houses him.

The tension between the concepts of individual and group cannot be denied in human life. On the one hand, collective values need to be maintained for the sustainability of the system, but on the other hand, individuals also want to support their own bodies so that they do not drown/lose themselves in universal values. So can we agree that a system can guarantee the goodness of all things in total? And can we also fully believe that individuals must fight for each identity/desire?

In the tension between individuals and groups there is a space in between, that space is alienation. Alienation refers to the word “alien”, which can be interpreted as something different/other/outsider. Alienation can briefly be explained as the separation of humans from the values around them. The phenomenon of alienation includes separation from the group, separation from the environment, and even separation from oneself. The phenomenon of alienation has emerged strongly since western civilization entered the modern era, so that the phenomenon of alienation is closely linked to the identity of modern humans.

Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the phenomenon of alienation appears increasingly clear in human life. Firstly, it is clear that humans have become separated from each other, and secondly, humans are increasingly separated from the universal values that are the basis of human civilization. In the second point, what is meant by universal values are human values themselves, which are expected to guarantee the massive good of the people. As a small example in human civilization, in this pandemic phenomenon there are individuals who refuse to submit to the system so that other individuals are directly affected. One individual does not seem to see value in another individual, but instead sees himself—and everything he believes in—more important than the existing reality.

Individuals who reject the system are alienated from the truth values that apply in their environment (of course in this case the system in question is a system that has been tested and can be accounted for). These individuals become aliens from the social system that houses many other individuals within it. So does the argument that an individual’s identity/will must be fought for still apply in this case? Can someone who disturbs public comfort be condoned in the name of individual freedom? In short the answer is no. This can be answered in a low tone: an individual must be responsible and guarantee that the values he believes in do not take away the freedom of other individuals.

Hegel (b. 1770), a German philosopher, offered a solution to the phenomenon of alienation. This solution is “self-alienation”. The concept of self-alienation can briefly be explained as an activity to abandon the egoism within oneself. The egotism that needs to be abandoned is things that are sentimental in nature, in the form of prejudice, and anything that has not been tested, which can harm other individuals.

Rizaldi composed a narrative about an individual’s journey in overcoming his separation through self-alienation. Through his daily experiences, Rizaldi encountered many phenomena of alienation and was finally moved to explore further the concepts of alienation and the meanings to overcome them. Topics such as self and group identity; private space and public space; I and them, have always been the main discussion in Rizaldi’s works because his personal unrest always stems from these things. Through his artistic efforts, Rizaldi presents a series of paintings that are connected linearly. The series of paintings he presents is a small offering of great hope for human social life in general.