Osmania: A great but little-known painter<\/p>\n
By Susi Andrini<\/p>\n
PADANG, West Sumatra (JP): If you happen to travel here, make
\nsure to stop in at the home of painter Osmania in Kayu Tanam
\nsubdistrict.<\/p>\n
Os, as he is better known, is noted for his solitary nature,
\nwhich contributed to his mature personality as a painter.<\/p>\n
Despite his 72 years, Os' enthusiasm for his art is undimmed.<\/p>\n
"My paintings are a blend of man and technology," he said.<\/p>\n
He places his paintings in the surrealist romantic modern
\nclassic category. His works are not simple strokes of the
\npaintbrush, but the result of thought, observation and
\nsensitivity, all coming together on canvas. They are strong and
\nsharp, like those in Japanese kanji.<\/p>\n
To Os, the imagination present in his paintings is a series of
\nstories shaped in his mind. Each of the paintings reveals deep
\ncontemplation, readily apparent to the observer.<\/p>\n
His personal life shows through in his depiction of the mother
\nand child bond, a central theme of most of the paintings.<\/p>\n
Os devoted his life to caring for Rakimah, his paralyzed
\nmother. He made a wheelchair for her, fitted with an opening in
\nthe seat so she could easily relieve herself.<\/p>\n
"She was my mother and I'm the eldest of five. All my siblings
\nhave gone to Java, so it was my job to look after my mother," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Os was born on Jan. 19, 1927. He went to the Dutch elementary
\nschool for indigenous Indonesians, always receiving grades of
\neight or nine in drawing. As a fifth grader at the age of 12, he
\nmoved to the Indonesian Dutch School Kayu Tanam (INS), a school
\nset up by Muhammad Syafei.<\/p>\n
His father, then Kayu Tanam's customary chief, was opposed to
\nthe idea, warning him he would not have guidance in his life if
\nhe attended the school.<\/p>\n
"It was true that INS Kayu Tanam taught its students such
\nvocational skills as engraving, painting, arts and drama, making
\nsculptures and so on more than anything else," Os said.<\/p>\n
Upon completion of his elementary schooling, Os continued his
\nstudies at junior high school through the second year. Os had a
\nfavorite teacher, Wakidi, considered West Sumatra's first
\npainter. Wakidi and Muhammad Syafei enjoyed Dutch educations and
\nthey were both senior teachers in West Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Os often played truant because he was bored with Wakidi's
\nlandscapes. In class, he would keep moving. Os favored sketches
\nof an artisan practicing his craft, making ceramics from clay or
\nweaving a mat.<\/p>\n
Remembering how naughty he once was, Os often jokes with his
\nfriends, saying: "If I die, I'll take to my coffin my drawings of
\nlandscapes." But Os has great respect for Wakidi's instruction
\nabout art and knowledge<\/p>\n
"Wakidi's painting are refined and transmit their own light of
\nreflection."<\/p>\n
During the Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945, life was
\ndifficult. As it was hard to obtain canvases, Os painted on the
\nwheel of a horse-drawn buggy, turned it into a seal and sold it.
\nHe also grew vegetables and caught fish in the river for the
\nfamily.<\/p>\n
In 1945, Os' parents fell from a train. His mother sprained
\nher left leg and dislodged her kneecap. A Japanese doctor was
\nable to realign the leg. Unfortunately, his father was killed.<\/p>\n
Os joined the military police in Sawah Lunto but kept up
\npainting. He painted Sukarno and Hatta, the country's first
\npresident and vice president, the latter a West Sumatra native.
\nIn 1950, he left the military police and moved to Java.<\/p>\n
He worked for an advertising company. Two years later, he
\nrelocated to Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, and joined Puspa Hati,
\nthen a famous drama group. He was assigned to sell tickets and
\nmake promotional materials.<\/p>\n
Puspa Hati frequently toured the country, including stops in
\nJava and Bali. When it toured Bali, Os decided to leave the
\ngroup. He stayed in Klungkung, Denpasar and Karang Asem on the
\nisland for two years and made watercolor paintings. In this
\nperiod he sold more than a hundred of his works.<\/p>\n
Feeling the itch to move on, he went to Jakarta and joined
\nPerfini, an Indonesian filmmaking company led by Usmar Ismail. He
\nworked drawing scenery on black-and-white curtain as set
\ndecorations. His most impressive experience when came in 1960
\nwhen then Armed Forces Commander Andi Matalata and Army Chief of
\nStaff Andi Yusuf assigned PT Letfira Film to make a film on a
\nfreedom fighter in Makassar. He met a local woman, married her
\nand brought to Jakarta. Although the marriage lasted only three
\nyear, the couple had one daughter, Fatrah Hanom.<\/p>\n
Os elected not to marry again and raise his daughter by
\nhimself. He left Perfini and earned his living making advertising
\nillustrations and scenery pictures.<\/p>\n
He went door to door selling pictures. He visited the Dutch,
\nSwiss, British and Italian embassies, to mention only a few. He
\nrecounted how he pretended to be a mute as he hawked his works.
\nAn Italian woman once took pity on him and purchased 40
\npaintings. People still took kindly to him after they found out
\nabout his act.<\/p>\n
As life became harder in Jakarta and his mother aged, Os
\ndecided to return to West Sumatra in 1972. He began painting
\nagain. Many of his 30cm x 40 cm paintings, all with social and
\nhumanist themes, were sold.<\/p>\n
Os rented a house and lived there with his mother and his only
\ndaughter. He set up his workshop in front of Kayu Tanam train
\nstation. He enjoyed the support from Arbi Samah, head of arts and
\nculture division of the local administration in Padang, for his
\nworkshop, which was inaugurated by the local office of the
\neducation and culture ministry in 1988.<\/p>\n
With its strategic location, Os' house attracts many domestic
\nand foreign tourists. Trains connect Kayu Tanam and Padang
\nPanjang solely for tourists wishing to enjoy the beauty of Anai
\nValley. Visitors have included a member of the Amsterdam Academy,
\na Swiss engineer and several Australians.<\/p>\n
In 1989 a woman painter called Luise Ross, who owns a gallery
\nin the U.S., visited his workshop and was apparently quite
\nimpressed with what she saw. In a letter dated Sept. 20, 1989 she
\nwrote, "I especially liked the series of black and white drawings
\n-- they were very strong. At this time I don't think I can plan
\nan exhibition of the drawings, but I will keep them in mind if I
\ndecide to do an exhibition of artists from Southeast Asia."<\/p>\n
Os never followed up on the overture because he had his hands
\nfull taking care of his mother.<\/p>\n
Os once painted a large work with Scotlicht paint. This
\ndrawing, 8m by 30m, depicts a dance hall in a bar at Caroline
\nBeach outside of Padang.<\/p>\n
In 1995, Os joined an exhibition held to commemorate the
\nestablishment of INS Kayu Tanam educational room at the Jakarta
\nArts Center in Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta. In 1997 he joined
\nan exhibition held during the IX Nusantara Writers.<\/p>\n
Osmania looks younger than his age. Although he has three
\ngrandchildren, he still likes dancing "just for sport". He
\ndances cha-cha, waltz, tango and boogey. Once a week he visits
\nCaroline to dance to dangdut music. "A physical exercise," he
\nsaid, adding that it was good for him after painting for hours
\nand even days on end.<\/p>\n
Os has his own motto: "To make a drawing is just like making a
\nfilm." Therefore, he said, his paintings tell of human social
\nlife.<\/p>\n
When we look at his drawings, we cannot help engage ourselves
\nin deep contemplation on life and loving kindness. "No matter how
\nrich one is and how high one's social status is, one must never
\nforget one's religion and god. No matter how advanced our
\ntechnology is and how wealthy we are, we must be strongly
\nfaithful to our religion and God," he said.<\/p>\n
And he always remembers the principle introduced to him at INS
\nKayu Tanam: Man must have freedom to lead his life in this world.
\nLearning is freedom that gives birth to creativity.<\/p>\n
In the middle of this year, Os plans to exhibit in Australia
\nat the invitation of an Australian. However, he hopes that before
\ngoing to Australia, he can exhibit his drawings in Jakarta and
\nlaunch a book on his works, sources of stories that will never
\nrun dry.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, he is an artist with not enough money to turn
\nhis dreams into reality. "My drawings and my book are what I can
\ndedicate to the painting world in Indonesia," he said.<\/p>",
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