Glass painter hopes gloomy will pass quickly<\/p>\n
Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Muntilan, Central Java<\/p>\n
The terrorist attacks in New York last September have affected
\ntourism in the small town of Muntilan, where the Borobudur temple
\nlies. The number of foreign tourists visiting the temple and its
\nsurroundings has fallen drastically.<\/p>\n
Apparently, the attacks have also affected local glass painter
\nMaryono, whose customers are mostly foreigners.<\/p>\n
He compared the current situation with three years ago, when
\nriots broke out in Jakarta and various parts of the country,
\ncausing a scarcity of foreign tourists.<\/p>\n
Previously, Maryono had always been able to sell two glass
\npaintings a day thanks to the foreign tourists flocking to
\nBorobudur Temple. But now he only produces between two and three
\na week, as no tourists visit his house anymore.<\/p>\n
Declining to mention the financial losses he has suffered due
\nto the current situation, Maryono recalled a time when only rich
\nvillagers around Magelang, Temanggung, Wonosobo, Parakan,
\nBoyolali and Yogyakarta came to his house in the 1960s to buy his
\nworks.<\/p>\n
At that time, glass paintings indicated the social status of
\ntheir owners.<\/p>\n
"I and my elder brother (the late Sastro Gambar) failed to
\nmeet the market demands," he said, adding that buyers' favorites
\nin those years were mainly pictures of punokawan (servants of
\nroyalty in Javanese puppet dramas), Demak grand mosque, Arabic
\ncalligraphy and furniture decorations with foliage motifs.<\/p>\n
Maryono often uses Petruk, one of the four punokawan, to
\nrepresent various human characters or symbols in his paintings.<\/p>\n
In his painting Ojo Dumeh (Don't be Arrogant), Petruk is in a
\nsuit walking with his pretty wife with his luxurious house in the
\nbackground, inscribed with the letters PT (an abbreviation for
\nPetruk).<\/p>\n
"This picture describes how the poor can become rich someday
\nand the haves can become poor, so the rich should not display an
\narrogant attitude toward the poor," said Maryono.<\/p>\n
In his legendary painting entitled Melik Nggendhong Lali
\n(Greed for Wealth Makes People Unaware), Petruk represents a king
\nwho forgets everything. The king is sitting on a chair with a
\npretty woman on his lap and a bottle of liquor on a table nearby,
\nwhile one of his hands holds a cigar. "People are still
\ninterested in this painting, which describes the behavior of
\ntoday's figures."<\/p>\n
Maryono began painting on glass in 1953 when he was still in
\nthe fifth grade. At that time he devoted his attention to glass
\npaintings until his works enjoyed a boom in the 1960s. But after
\nthe 1960s he produced glass paintings only in a cursory manner.<\/p>\n
In 1980 he even had to do his paintings on transparent plastic
\nplates using cheap paints because he couldn't afford to buy
\nglass. The price of these paintings was less than Rp 1,000 a
\npiece at that time.<\/p>\n
The sale of glass paintings began to experience a revival in
\n1984, when cultural expert Umar Kayam bought one of Maryono's
\nglass paintings entitled Melik Nggendhong Lali at a price of Rp
\n3,500.<\/p>\n
"I have since produced glass paintings again and in 1992 I was
\ninvited to display my works at Bentara Budaya Jakarta, together
\nwith Kartadihardjo and Sulasno, both painters from Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
"During the display all my paintings were bought by Jakartans
\nat high prices, even reaching Rp 500,000 per piece," he said
\nwhile showing the clippings from Kompas daily and Tempo magazine,
\nwhich reported on his exhibition.<\/p>\n
Since then, Maryono has focused more attention on the
\nproduction of glass paintings, which have attracted many local
\nand foreign buyers to his house said Sutanto, the owner of Mendut
\nStudio.<\/p>\n
"Whatever he paints sells well."<\/p>\n
Maryono is now the only glass painter in Muntilan following
\nthe death of his brother several years ago.<\/p>\n
Now with the decreasing number of foreign tourists visiting
\nhis gallery, he still produces glass paintings to fulfill local
\ncollectors' orders.<\/p>\n
"Only one or two buyers visit my gallery every week."<\/p>\n
Today, he can finish two glass paintings measuring 40 x 50
\ncentimeter a day. The paintings sell for at least Rp 150,000
\neach. The price can soar to Rp 500,000 each for foreign buyers.<\/p>\n
"I hope the situation in the country will be back to normal
\nsoon and tourist arrivals will increase again," he said.<\/p>",
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