Lantern wizard going strong at 100<\/p>\n
Alpha Savitri, Contributor, Surabaya<\/p>\n
The popular and much sought-after artworks, damarkurung or unique
\npainted lanterns of East Java, overshadow the meticulous artist
\nbehind the creations, Masmundari, a grandmother now a
\ncentenarian.<\/p>\n
A very modest woman, she lives in a simple house located in a
\nnarrow alleyway on Jl. Gubernur Suryo VII\/41B, Gresik, East Java,
\nwith her only daughter and three grandchildren. None of the
\nlanterns made from her paintings adorn her home.<\/p>\n
As she was seated on the damp floor, painting on a sitting-
\nroom table, Masmundari was not aware of the presence of a
\nstranger until a tap on the shoulder startled her and made her
\nlaugh.<\/p>\n
"You must be a journalist. You've got a big bag, so you want
\nto take my pictures," she said in Javanese. Still laughing, she
\ntook out newspaper clippings from a locker in the sitting room,
\ncontaining articles about her, and photo albums showing her
\npictures with top officials, including former presidents Soeharto
\nand Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.<\/p>\n
Masmundari looked healthy at 100, though her hearing was
\nimpaired, requiring one to speak very loudly when communicating
\nwith her. As her pronunciation was not so clear either, her
\ngrandson Nur Samaji, 27, acted as interpreter for her guests.<\/p>\n
Besides painting, she keeps doing the household chores:
\nwashing and cooking. "She gets angry if we ask her to rest.
\nNobody can stop her particularly when she is absorbed in her
\nart," said Nur Samaji.<\/p>\n
She spends the best part of her days painting on canvasses and
\nmore frequently on paper. After making sketches on paper sheets,
\nshe paints with slender bamboo sticks dipped in oil paint. It is
\nthese pictures that will adorn damarkurung, Gresik's coastal
\nstyled lanterns.<\/p>\n
The traditional lamps are made of bamboo frames with
\nMasmundari's paper paintings on four sides. By tradition, Gresik
\nlanterns are only sold on the eve of Ramadhan (Muslim fasting
\nmonth). People usually hang the lamps on their porches and light
\nthem moments before the drums in the mosque are beaten to mark
\ntwilight prayers.<\/p>\n
In 1970, only 10 damarkurung (literally meaning cased lamps)
\npainters remained. Today Masmundari is the very last one. Who
\nwill succeed her? Or, will such lanterns soon disappear from East
\nJava as no one else is as yet seriously interested in this
\ntraditional art?<\/p>\n
While 10 years ago Masmundari was capable of producing
\npictures for 300 lanterns a year, now with her advancing age she
\ncan at the most turn out 30 lamps for the fasting month, which
\nsell at less than Rp 50,000 per unit. More luxury lanterns using
\nmica sheets, normally made on order, may cost hundreds of
\nthousands of rupiah. Her canvas paintings though are more
\nexpensive.<\/p>\n
Born in a family of artists, Masmundari is the eldest of four.
\nHer father, Sinom, was a famous lantern painter and wayang
\n(leather puppet) master in Gresik, and her mother was Mak Ijah.
\nAll her three siblings learned the art of damarkurung handed down
\nthrough eight generations, but the others have already passed on.<\/p>\n
Claiming to have had no formal schooling, she had only been
\ntaught to recite the Holy Koran and transcribe Javanese into
\nlocally styled Arabic characters. Though she is well versed in
\nlantern painting, originally she had no instruction. Her father
\neven taught her to sing. "No women did the work. Lantern making
\nwas seen as men's job," she was quoted by Nus Samaji.<\/p>\n
As a young girl in the Dutch colonial period, however,
\nMasmundari led a hard life by selling goods or working as a
\nporter, carrying salt from the harbor to a factory.<\/p>\n
"When I was very tired, many young men would help me. They
\nwere mostly after me because I was quite pretty," she said,
\nbursting into tearful laughter.<\/p>\n
This village star finally married. But she went through
\nseveral marriages until her fourth and last marriage, from which
\nshe had a daughter, Rokayah, now 56 with three children. While
\nshe was silent on her first three husbands, she beamed when asked
\nabout the fourth: "He was Gondorukman, a top ludruk (folk drama)
\nartist."<\/p>\n
Sadly, he left without a word early on in her pregnancy. "He
\nnever returned, probably he was too ill or caught by the
\ncolonizers," she reasoned.<\/p>\n
As a consolation, Masmundari started painting with the
\nequipment left behind by her late father, imitating his basic
\nstyle. When she sold her works, they were more in demand than the
\nproducts of other lantern artists of that time. People said
\nMasmundari's paintings were more refined.<\/p>\n
Eventually, Masmundari established herself as a damarkurung
\npainter. An artist from Gresik, Imang AW, was later attracted by
\nher pictures. He then introduced her to more modern materials and
\ninstruments. And it was Imang who took her to Jakarta's Bentara
\nBudaya exhibition center for a successful display.<\/p>\n
Thereafter, she began to be recognized not only in Gresik but
\nalso across the country, with more and more exhibitions ahead.
\nMasmundari's works have now become part of the collections of art
\nenthusiasts both here and abroad.<\/p>\n
Masmundari's lanterns have their own characteristics. She has
\nhad the courage to depart from standard themes. Normally,
\ndamarkurung patterns are related to Gresik's history, the legend
\nof Anglingdharma and wayang episodes. Her pictures, while
\nretaining some classic designs, have included current events like
\nwedding parties, busy roads and funfairs.<\/p>\n
Masmundari has also created imaginary figures, namely Mbok
\nOmah and Nyonya Muluk. The former has a dozen kids, making her
\nmovements very cumbersome, and the latter is a Dutch woman who
\nlikes traveling by air balloon or plane.<\/p>\n
Masmundari's creativity has earned her various awards. Among
\nothers, she has received Gresik Regent Djuhansyah's award in
\n1990, Malang's Tugu Park Foundation award in 1991, the Kartini
\nAward in 1996 and the East Java provincial administration
\ncultural award in 2002.<\/p>",
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