Sukasman finds secret of puppets<\/p>\n
Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
The floor is dirty. The furniture is in disarray, and frankly
\nthe sitting room is a mess, as if it had long been abandoned. But
\namong this are traces of art: several sketches of leather puppets
\ndrawn with white chalk on the floor.<\/p>\n
The messy living arrangements are a clue to the restless
\nnature of Ki Sukasman, the owner of the house on Jl. Tamansiswa,
\nYogyakarta. The 66-year-old artist has devoted all his life to
\nwayang, the art of leather puppetry.<\/p>\n
When The Jakarta Post met him at his house-cum-workshop,
\nSukasman was slow to talk, especially when asked about why his
\nplanned trip to Italy last month was canceled.<\/p>\n
Sukasman was scheduled to go to Italy, together with artist
\nHeri Dono, for The Venice Biennale (art event) but for technical
\nreasons he was denied a visa. So, Heri went to Italy without him.<\/p>\n
Sukasman has made a name as the creator of Wayang ukur, a new
\nstyle of leather puppet. His puppets have been used in shadow
\nplays at home and abroad, such as in Canada, Holland, Germany and
\nthe U.S.<\/p>\n
He seemed deeply disappointed by the cancellation of his
\nItalian trip. \"Never ask me that question,\" he curtly
\nintercepted, trying to divert the conversation to other topics.<\/p>\n
Sukasman has lately been observed in a state of restlessness
\nor fear. He is somewhat suspicious of other people. His best
\nfriends shrug off the condition. They say it is indicative of a
\ndeeper creative process.<\/p>\n
\"We don't know exactly why, but he is afraid of the figure of
\na soldier and the number three. He suspects that he didn't make
\nit to Italy because he is under the military's constant
\nsurveillance. In fact, his suspicion is groundless; it is just an
\nillusion. We think that he is nurturing a great idea,\" said
\nBambang Paningron, Sukasman's script writer.<\/p>\n
Paningron, chairman of the recent 2003 Yogyakarta Art
\nFestival's organizing committee, said that, curiously, when
\nSukasman was deep in a state of restlessness, he would telephone
\nhim every morning and ask him to find soldiers to keep guard of
\nhim.<\/p>\n
\"As I know him inside out, I will tell him that I have sent
\nsome soldiers to keep guard. On other occasions, when he happens
\nto find, for example, a packet consisting of three pieces of
\nsomething -- or a symbol of the figure three somewhere -- he will
\nbe seized by fear and ask me for help.\"<\/p>\n
Sukasman first observed the puppets as a little boy. He made
\nleather puppets later in his youth, and graduated from the
\nIndonesian Fine Art Academy (ASRI) in Yogyakarta, in 1962,
\nmajoring in advertising, decorative arts, illustration and
\ngraphic arts.<\/p>\n
Since graduating, he has experimented with leather puppets. He
\nstrongly disagrees with the popular conception that the puppet's
\nform has already reached a state of perfection and needs no
\ndivergence.<\/p>\n
As an artist, he purges his restlessness with the obsessive
\nscientific study of leather puppets. He has tried to crack the
\nstylization secret of the puppet's shapes. Finally, he found a
\nway to modify the form by measuring individual parts: the body,
\nthe arms, the legs, the neck and the shoulders. Hence the origins
\nof his puppet's name, Wayang ukur (leather puppets in
\nmeasurement).<\/p>\n
Sukasman, who worked as a dishwasher and did other jobs in the
\nNetherlands between 1965 and 1974, has devoted nearly all his
\nlife to wayang. He remains unmarried and most of his earnings
\nwent back into his art. He owns a large house on Jl. Taman Siswa,
\nYogyakarta, which serves as both his house and workshop.<\/p>\n
Often, Sukasman falls asleep among the piles of leather
\npuppets in his workshop after a show. These puppets are just
\nlike his wife and children. They live in his dreams.<\/p>\n
For Ki Sukasman, a dream is a serious matter. It is through
\nhis dreams that he communicates with his puppets.<\/p>\n
\"Sometimes, his actions defy reason. On one occasion, for
\nexample, he asked to cancel his shadow play just because the
\nnight before his leather puppets had met him in a dream. As a
\nproduction manager I have to ignore his dreams. So far, nothing
\nbad has happened,\" said Paningron.<\/p>\n
Sukasman's subconscious has often been a source of
\ninspiration. His latest creation result's from his interpretation
\nof the physical shapes of the court jesters of the Pandawa
\nknights, (Semar, Petruk, Gareng and Bagong).<\/p>\n
According to Sukasman, the physical shape of the court jesters
\nembodies sexual desire.<\/p>\n
\"These sexual desires are usually latent and therefore
\ninvisible. But I believe that they are embodied in Petruk, Gareng
\nand Bagong.\"<\/p>\n
Man is hypocritical by nature and sexual desire is often
\nhidden, he explained. So, our ancestors gave desire a voice in
\nthe creation of Petruk, Gareng and Bagong.<\/p>\n
The long nose of Petruk, for example, represents a man's
\ndesire for a woman. It is the phallus, lust makes it bigger...<\/p>\n
Gareng's deformed hands are the consequence of lust.
\nUnsatisfied and terrible desire.<\/p>\n
\"Satiation cannot be achieved - because lust is hidden in fear
\nor other reasons - Gareng's hands trembled so hard that they were
\ndeformed. This is just a symbol of a pent-up desire,\" Sukasman
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The potbelly and gaping mouth of Bagong are also grotesque
\nrepresentations of sexuality. \"His lengthened mouth symbolizes
\ncraving. Sexual satisfaction is sometimes achieved by the mouth.\"<\/p>\n
Ki Sukasman has interpreted the stories and figures of wayang
\nwith a familiarity that is almost stifling. His relationship with
\nthe puppets is the restless energy that drives him. He is bound
\nto them as absolutely as wife and children.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sukasman-finds-secret-of-puppets-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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