Page 8 - Coming Home • Soundsibility • Putu Bonuz Sudiana
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SOUNDSIBILITY experiences, and appreciation of life. And life, for Bonuz, is
The aesthetic of Bonuz is rooted in the artist’s views,
synonymous with sound. “The basis of my thinking, this life, is
Echoes of the Universe sound. Life happens because of sound, including words. We can
in the Painting of Bonuz change, for example, become good or bad, because of sound,”
says Bonuz, speaking in his frank and energetic manner.
Bonuz believes in the power of sound. Sound can have a
powerful mental and psychological influence on the person who
by Arif Bagus Prasetyo hears it. Bonuz explains: “When listening to music, reciting poetry
or chanting prayers, people can feel thrilled, moved or frightened,
It is Wednesday, 20 May 1964. Microwave antennas in even though they do not understand the words. In myths, people
the Bell Telephone Laboratories (now Bell Labs), New Jersey, in can be harmed if someone pronounces a curse on them. That is
the United States, catch a strange buzz. The sound is coming the effect of sound. Even today, the fate of people can change
from all parts of the sky, constantly. Two Bell Labs astronomers, because of sound. That’s how powerful sound is.”
Robert Wilson and Arno Penzias, are confused. At first they think
the unknown sound is only noisy interference. They think it’s Bonuz’s painting is an artistic effort to express a deep
because of a dove nesting in the antenna. appreciation of sound as a life force, a fundamental energy that
underlies the existence of the universe. The sound Bonuz refers to
But in fact not. It turned out that the murmur they heard is certainly not limited to aural signals that can be captured by the
was Cosmic Microwave Background radiation (commonly sense of hearing. With the power of his intuition and imagination,
abbreviated as CMB). CMB is the remnants of energy waves Bonuz reaches out to sounds that cover the entire spectrum of
from the beginning of the creation of the universe, more than 13 energy waves that drive and activate the universe.
billion years ago. Wilson and Penzias actually heard the “echo of
creation” (a term given by Time magazine): the faint sound that In his paintings, Bonuz creatively gives a structure to the
has filled space and time since the universe was born. waves of macrocosm and microcosm that he captures. He hears
the “echo of the universe”, the pulsating life force everywhere, then
The universe is not mute. It has a voice. It lives and paints it like a composer writing notation to create music from a
speaks. It speaks to whomever has the wish and the ability to sea of sounds. If Wilson and Penzias hear “echoes of creation”
hear it. through microwaves, Bonuz hears “echoes of the universe”
through antennae of intusion and imagination. Like radio
Soundsibility, the title of a painting exhibition by Putu Sudiana astronomy technology that translates “echoes of creation” into
Bonuz, is a term arising from “sound” and “sensibility”. Sound, of audio signals at Bell Labs, Bonuz’s sensitivity and artistic skills
course, is that which is perceived through listening. Sensibility translate “echoes of the universe” into visual images in the field of
means keenness, the ability to appreciate and respond to painting.
complex emotional or aesthetic influences. Soundsibility
displays aesthetic vision based on awareness and sensitivity to Bonuz’s paintings are abstract expressionism, featuring
sound or noise along with all its layers of deep meaning. exciting visual drama played by lines, shapes, and colors with high
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