Sculptor does not clown around with his art<\/p>\n
A Christiant Kusuma, Contributor, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Those who have patronized a McDonald's fast-food restaurant
\nanywhere in the world are no doubt familiar with the red-haired,
\nballoon-nosed figure of Ronald McDonald.<\/p>\n
But do you know the man responsible for the statues found at
\nMcDonald's outlets in Indonesia? He is 38-year-old Herry Maizul,
\nan artist who has overcome physical disability -- his left leg is
\nshorter than his right and the fingers on his left hand are
\nstunted -- to succeed.<\/p>\n
\"The statues of Ronald McDonald at every McDonald's in the
\ncountry are my work,\" said Herry, who was born in Padang Panjang,
\nWest Sumatra and currently resides in Yogyakarta, where he owns
\nthe Prasasti Gallery.<\/p>\n
Herry certainly never expected to receive an order for a
\nRonald McDonald statue when he took part in an art exhibition in
\n1994. At the exhibition, a bronze statue made by Herry, called
\nPeragawati (Model), was bought by Bambang N Rahmadi, owner of the
\nMcDonald's franchise in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
When he delivered the statue to Bambang in Jakarta, Herry was
\noffered the job of making a Ronald McDonald statue.<\/p>\n
\"Just use the money I have paid you for Peragawati. If you
\nfail (to make the Ronald McDonald statue), I will give you a
\nreimbursement,\" Herry quoted Bambang as saying.<\/p>\n
With the money, Herry crafted a fiberglass replica of Ronald.
\nBambang was pleased with the result and placed an order for more
\nthan 100 statues.<\/p>\n
After successfully completing the order, Herry was brought to
\nthe attention of a foreign businessman, who asked him to make 16
\ntwo-meter-tall fiberglass Ronald McDonald statues.<\/p>\n
With 70 people working on the order, each figure took a week
\nto complete. After all 16 of the statues were completed, they
\nwere shipped off to other countries in the Asia Pacific region.<\/p>\n
\"This is the first time we have sent statues of Ronald
\nMcDonald abroad,\" said Herry.<\/p>\n
Herry has built a successful career as a sculptor, despite the
\nfact that his parents, Lasmi St. Malano and Martini, were never
\ninvolved in art. Of his family, only one of his younger brothers
\nhas ever displayed any artistic talent.<\/p>\n
\"He is better than me at drawing,\" said Herry, the eldest of
\nsix children.<\/p>\n
It has not all been plain sailing for Herry though. He has
\nexperienced his share of tough times too. While still a student
\nat a fine arts school in Yogyakarta, he went to Bogor for a month
\nand sold his own greeting cards on the sidewalk of Jl.
\nSuryakencana Bogor.<\/p>\n
\"It wasn't bad. I earned enough to buy food,\" he said.<\/p>\n
While a student at Yogyakarta's Art Institute of Indonesia
\n(ISI) in 1985, he and a fellow student, Zulhenry, sold greeting
\ncards and painted portraits on Jl. Malioboro. The pair would work
\nfrom 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.<\/p>\n
Now Herry is enjoying the fruits of his hard work, though he
\nnever thought he would ever be as successful as he is today. He
\nsaid his mother wanted him to help her run their shop after he
\ncompleted junior high school in Padang Panjang in 1977. And the
\nschool principal advised him to enroll in a special school for
\nthe disabled.<\/p>\n
\"I rejected these suggestions and said then that I would earn
\na university degree despite my disability.\"<\/p>\n
After completing junior high school in 1977, Herry enrolled in
\nthe fine art high school in Padang Panjang. He stayed there for a
\nyear before Syaiful Adnan, a noted calligrapher, took him to
\nYogyakarta to study at the fine art high school there. He then
\nwent on to ISI, where he majored in sculpture, graduating in
\n1994.<\/p>\n
While in Yogyakarta, he was also asked to join a center for
\nthe disabled. But he refused, because he believed that disabled
\nchildren educated at a foundation felt inferior to other people
\nonce they left the protection of the foundation and entered the
\noutside world.<\/p>\n
And one thing Herry has never felt is inferior. He recalls as
\na child, playing and fighting with other children his age.<\/p>\n
\"A friend of mine teased me once and I challenged him to a
\nfight,\" said Herry, now a father of two.<\/p>\n
\"I want to prove that disabled and able-bodied people can get
\nalong,\" he said.<\/p>",
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