Critical Dialectics between the Natural and the Artificial in Mangu Putra’s Paintings 1994-2000

Abstract

This study examines the critical dialectics between the natural and the artificial in Mangu Putra’s nature-themed paintings produced between 1994 and 2000. The research investigates how natural phenomena are visually represented, transformed, and reconfigured through artistic modes of representation. The analysis combines Karl Popper’s conceptual distinction between the natural and the artificial with the visual semiotic framework of Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen. Eight paintings are analyzed to identify recurring modes through which the natural–artificial relationship is constructed. The findings reveal eight modes and three interconnected levels of the natural–artificial dialectic. The study argues that Mangu Putra’s criticality does not merely reside in depicting human intrusion into nature but also in revealing how nature itself becomes visually constructed, mediated, transformed, and objectified.