ART : Irvine Center Exhibit: Now, That’s the Spirit : ‘Reflections of Art, Mirrors of Culture’ is probably the most ambitious and qualitatively superior effort in the history of the center.

“Life is a vital force permeating the smallest particle of the universe, and attention to proper rituals allows the soul of the dead to journey peacefully to the afterlife.”

That may not fit on a bumper sticker, but it conveys something of the harmonious world view of the cultures that populate the islands of Indonesia.

“Island Indonesia: Reflections of Art, Mirrors of Culture,” at the Irvine Fine Arts Center through Oct. 30, brings together more than 160 carvings, textiles, jewelry, paintings, everyday implements and other objects from the villages of the Indonesian archipelago, the fifth most populous nation in the world.

The focus is on the animistic beliefs of the non-Islamic population of the islands, although some pieces reflect the influence of Hinduism or Buddhism. According to animists, the universe is divided into the Middle World (where humans, plants and animals live) and the Upper and Lower worlds (dwelling places for a vast array of gods).

Animists believe that spirits live everywhere in nature, as well as within the human body, and ancestors continue to exercise positive and negative influences on present generations. Wearing special charms helps ward off the actions of malevolent spirits who cause disease, infertility and other misfortunes. Burying the dead according to elaborate rites ensures that the “vital-force” spirit leaves the body of the deceased to journey to the Lower World instead of hanging around and causing trouble for the living.

Such beliefs, coupled with a taste for luxuriant design incorporating spirals and serpentine lines, have influenced the look of both ceremonial and mundane objects. Examples of knives, earrings, shields, masks, baskets, hats and other objects in the exhibit are alive with pattern and imagery. Essentially, all these useful items are also religious objects, incorporating deeply held beliefs within the humblest routines of daily life.

On a baby-carrier, the beadwork image of a spread-legged sitting figure with extended arms and hair that curls around the head like the rays of the sun protects a Dayak infant against sickness. An elaborate winged lion guards a Balinese household against disaster. Crablike amulets representing female reproductive organs are worn by women in the Torajan culture of Sulawesi to ensure fertility.

Two feline creatures on either side of an architectural element from Nias are reassuring symbols of the underlying dualities that each contribute to the flow of life. As one observer of Indonesian cultures has written, “Creativity and power come from the temporary dangerous union of complementary opposites.”

The most stunning object in the exhibit is an elegant, early-20th-Century tau tau from the Torajan culture of Sulawesi. This life-sized wooden image of a dead man is mounted on a finely carved horse indicative of his high status.

The water buffalo horns of his sweeping headdress, the delicacy of the carving and the fine material of his hand-woven cloak are other signs that the guy was a local bigwig. His slender, uplifted hand is a sign of his philanthropic good will.

The only people who rate such attention are wealthy or high-ranking middle-status men. Made from a fruitwood tree cut down especially for the occasion, the tau tau is lubricated with coconut oil to achieve a color close to nut-brown human skin. The face is rendered in a generic way, rather than as a portrait likeness in the Western sense.

Wrapped with cloth (covering a person is a way to “cover them” with respect), heaped with sacrificial offerings and smeared with the blood of a freshly killed pig, the tau tau is placed in a “sleeping” position beside the dead man. After a large and noisy procession, both body and statue are moved to the rice granary adjacent to the dead man’s home--a symbol of life.

When the body and statue are moved to the burial ground and placed on an elaborate catafalque, the crowded, jolly atmosphere of the seven-day funeral continues, with water buffalo fights and other entertainments. The tau tau artist gets to cart home a portion of each of the many pigs sacrificed, and guests also leave with major hunks of protein slung between poles.

Finally, only close relatives remain to proceed solemnly to the burial vault. A black chicken is released, symbolizing the soul’s freedom. Survivors know the soul has finally made its journey to the Lower World several weeks later, when the home of the deceased shakes on its pilings. The tau tau remains on public view as a reminder that proper attention has been paid to the dead.

Poignant in a different way are the graphic (yoo-hoo, Jessie Helms!) trio of towering pregnancy and birthing figures from the Tunjung culture of East Kalimantan. The first figure crosses her arms low over her softly rounded pelvis. The second figure, also perched on long, angular legs and with stringy arms plastered at her sides, grips the emerging head of her baby with one hand. The third figure, whose facial features are crudely painted in red (why?), holds her bulky little newborn monster against her genitals.

Other highlights include a potpourri of masks from different cultures. They include a pointy-nosed Westerner with a monkey fur goatee; a fearsome Hudo mask from the Kenya Dayak culture of East Kalimantan, with massive, curling appendages (worn by a first-time visitor to a community for purposes of concealment and symbolic protection); a Garuda mask of a bird’s face with a huge open beak and pop eyes (an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu); and a ladylike court mask from Java with a heart shaped face, pert triangular mouth and delicately serpentine eyebrows.

The exhibit, drawn from 10 private Southern California collections, was organized by Armand J. Labbe, chief curator of the Bowers Museum, with the assistance of center curator Dorrit Fitzgerald.

Extra efforts were made to find graceful ways of installing pieces of wildly varying sizes in the awkward public space of the center, and these efforts have paid off. Tall wooden carvings frame several entryways, approximating the architectural function of the pieces in their original setting. Displays are clear and inviting, and informational materials--including a well-illustrated free brochure--are copious.

Another editing session (and a larger type face!) might have made the extended labels less ponderous and easier to read at a glance. In the context of an exhibit, it’s more important to make the material come alive--to give an idea of the everyday lives of the people--than to dwell on every jot and tittle of anthropological detail. More photographs of contemporary Indonesians using objects like the ones in the show also might have helped illuminate the human context.

Labbe’s major constraint, of course, was the need to carve out a theme based on materials available in local collections, rather than beginning with a premise and substantiating it by scouring a broad range of collections. Yet the exhibit is probably the most ambitious and qualitatively superior effort in the history of the center--not to mention a fine example of community arts cooperation while the Bowers Museum is closed to the public during renovation.

“Island Indonesia: Reflections of Art, Mirrors of Culture” is part of the Festival of Indonesia 1990-91, a national art and performing art event initiated by a private Indonesian cultural foundation. The exhibit remains through Oct. 30 at the Irvine Fine Arts Center, 14321 Yale Ave. in Irvine. Hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Information: (714) 552-1018.