Rasinta puts the lives of Karo people on canvas<\/p>\n
By Apriadi Gunawan<\/p>\n
MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): Rasinta Tarigan, a dentist, was
\nbusy than usual. He was not preoccupied by dentistry but by fine
\narts as on May 5, upon the invitation of Mega M, he took part in
\na week-long joint art exhibition at Thamrin Plaza Medan.<\/p>\n
As he was busy preparing the works for the exhibition. I
\nlooked at his house and my first impression was that it was the
\nhouse of an artist, not that of a dentist.<\/p>\n
Canvases and paint are carelessly littered in almost every
\ncorner of the house. Most of Rasinta's works depict the Karo
\n(North Sumatra's ethnic) culture. A self-made artist, he started
\nwith naturalism and later shifted to romantic cubism.<\/p>\n
His works show how he expresses the living atmosphere of the
\nKaro people in an uncompromising confusion of lines, seized in a
\ncombination of striking and soft colors in angular areas. Born in
\nKabanjahe on August 30, 1944, Rasinta said he had never made a
\nspecial plan for the style and model of his paintings.
\nEverything, he said, simply flows out spontaneously.<\/p>\n
It may strike us whether a pile of pulled out teeth have
\naffected the way Rasinta thinks, leading him to come up with a
\npainting style or irregular boxes. This, though, is the secret of
\nthe mind. There is no bargain when a spiritual and emotional jolt
\nmust be transferred onto the canvas. This is a spontaneous
\noutburst, making the artist feel as if he were in another world.<\/p>\n
It is this process that Rasinta seems to be going through. He
\nsees with his mind's eye the spirit of an object and then
\ntransfers it onto the canvas.<\/p>\n
Rasinta has been fond of painting since his childhood. At an
\nearly age in life, he devoured comic books by Taguan Harjo, Zam
\nNuldyn and Arry Darma. Influenced by these comics, little Rasinta
\nwould spend hours scrawling on paper and later even made his own
\ncomic strips. Those published include Patisumus and Hutan
\nLarangan (Forbidden Forest). His drawing teacher then was M.
\nKamiel.<\/p>\n
As he had a strong urge for painting, he made up his mind to
\nstudy painting at ASRI Yogyakarta in 1963. Unfortunately, he
\nspent only a brief period there. He returned to Medan and studied
\ndentistry at North Sumatra University (USU), where he is now a
\nprofessor of dentistry.<\/p>\n
Rasinta has a lot of activities in the campus but he has never
\nabandoned painting. He has often exhibited his works at home and
\nabroad. In 1997, he held a solo exhibition in Dients, Ota
\nHerford, Germany, for two months, September and October. It all
\nstarted with the visit of a German art observer Herr Beern to
\nRasinta's house.<\/p>\n
Impressed by his works, Herr Beer offered him an opportunity
\nto exhibit his works in Germany. Rasinta took the offer and then
\n43 of his works found their way to Germany for this exhibition.
\nThe exhibition was opened by Janina Becker, to the accompaniment
\nof a harp music, Rasinta reminisced.<\/p>\n
As a painter starting with naturalism, Rasinta has often
\ntransferred, without any polishing, the root of traditional arts
\nand culture, particularly those of Karo. Three of the five works
\nhe would like to exhibit at Thamrin Plaza Medan reflect the
\nnuances and perspectives of Karo culture.<\/p>\n
Rasinta hopes to be able to manifest in his works, basically,
\nthe sacred elements of the traditional culture couched in
\nmodernism. He maintains the spirit of the art, as seen in his
\nwork called Kampung Karo (Karo Village).<\/p>\n
This painting implies the sacredness of a traditional house.
\nAs the picture is within a frame made up of triangular areas,
\nRasinta seems to convey a message that no matter how modern a
\nparticular place is, the ancestral values implied in a Karo
\nvillage must not remain unexposed.<\/p>\n
The triangular shapes in the painting itself show that there
\nare three forces in this universe. They are: nature, human beings
\nand God the Creator.<\/p>\n
In the days of yore, when a house was built in a Karo village,
\nthe entire population had to lend a hand. The villagers then had
\nvery strong solidarity, said Rasinta, as if describing the
\nmeaning of his Kampung Karo. In the same picture, Rasinta also
\nfeatures two Karo women. The pictures depicts, as a whole, that
\nin the Karo community, it is the women who work in the field,
\nwhile the husbands usually spend their time playing chess and
\ndrinking coffee in food stalls.<\/p>\n
It is not usual for Rasinta to put the picture of a tooth into
\nhis works. However, in his Kampung Karo painting, a tooth is
\nthere. Well, I simply want people to know that the painter is a
\ndentist, he said, adding that the idea struck him after learning
\nthat a World Conference of Dentists will be held in Malaysia in
\nthe coming September. Rasinta very much want his works be
\nexhibited during the conference.<\/p>",
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