The Existence and Visual Language Analysis of the Punakawan Reliefs at Surowono Temple

Abstract

When researchers in the fields of Fine Arts and Design study traditional artworks—particularly the Hindu-Buddhist temple reliefs found in the Indonesian archipelago—there is a tendency to employ "Western" approaches or methodologies. Most Western approaches emerged as modern methodologies after the Renaissance (14th–17th centuries); concepts such as the Golden Section, Modulor, Nirmana (visual elements/principles), and Semiotics were largely developed in the post-Renaissance era (after the 17th century). Since temple reliefs in the archipelago were created prior to the advent of these Western approaches, their creation naturally did not rely on such methodologies. Consequently, this study examines the reliefs of Surowono Temple in Kediri Regency—specifically those featuring Punakawan figures—using a non-Western approach: the Bahasa Rupa (Visual Language) framework developed by Prof. Dr. Primadi Tabrani (ITB). This choice is based on the following considerations: (1) the Punakawan reliefs at Surowono Temple were created during the Majapahit era, long before Western approaches emerged; (2) Punakawan figures are unique to the archipelago (absent in India and the West) and originated from the cosmology, spatial concepts, and temporal context of that time; and (3) Tabrani’s Bahasa Rupa approach is grounded in fundamental theories of ontogeny and phylogeny, serving as a "grounded theory" that is both distinctive and aligned with the archipelago's cosmology. From a cosmological perspective, this study concludes that the Punakawan reliefs at Surowono Temple utilize a distinctive visual language characterized by: (1) head-to-toe depiction; (2) enlargement; (3) reduction; (4) detailed enlargement; (5) X-ray view; (6) illusory scene boundaries; (7) multiple background layers; (8) twinning/duplication; (9) shifting/displacement; (10) bottom panel line serving as the ground line; (11) a combination of pradaksina (clockwise) and prasawya (counter-clockwise) viewing sequences; and (12) the inclusion of a time dimension within the RWD ( Ruang-Waktu-Datar or Flat-Space-Time) framework.