Widayat's charisma has three sides<\/p>\n
By Agus Dermawan T.<\/p>\n
KUTA, Bali (JP): The 78-year-old painter Widayat held his
\nthird solo exhibition at the Bali Padma Hotel in Kuta from Dec.
\n26 to Jan. 3. His exhibit clearly displayed a creative power
\nfound in three aspects of the master painter's personal charisma.<\/p>\n
First, Widayat is the only living Indonesian professional
\npainter who has won acclaim for being capable of presenting truly
\nunique visual representations. There are, quite possibly, no
\nother works of this kind in Indonesia, or even the world. Judging
\nby the available reference books, observations made in many
\nmuseums around the world and various exhibitions, Widayat's
\nartistic manifestations, especially his oil paintings, express a
\nstrong originality.<\/p>\n
This originality breeds an artistic quality which some
\nobservers believe surpasses Paul Cezanne or Vincent van Gogh. It
\nis an outflow of the Widayat's unique personality.<\/p>\n
Widayat does not derive his creativity from books. Indeed,
\nWidayat is not an academic even though he has graduated from and
\nteaches at an art academy. He is not the kind of artist who is
\neasily swept up by avant garde trends and predilections. Neither
\nis he an artists who easily accepts the opinions of others.
\nWidayat is a straightforward and active person who grows and
\ndevelops by himself while standing firmly on his own soil.<\/p>\n
This does not mean that, as a social being, Widayat never
\ncomes into contact with the works of others. When he first began
\nexperimenting with acrylic, his paintings suddenly assumed
\nsemblances of Paul Klee, Kandinsky and Miro. Widayat fully
\nrealizes this.<\/p>\n
\"It was not that I was really influenced by them, I was trying
\nto approach them,\" he explained. This honest admission of
\ncloseness is a manifestation of his straightforward character.<\/p>\n
Again, and this is the second aspect of Widayat's personal
\ncharisma, his works convey a straightforward interpretation, both
\nin terms of style and content. That is the reason why Widayat's
\npaintings, though serious, are able to communicate with the
\ngeneral public. For that reason, too, the words written in the
\nexhibition's accompanying catalog that \"the predicate
\n'decorative' in Widayat's paintings is easy to misinterpret\" are
\nwrong.<\/p>\n
I have written his biography and have never encountered a case
\nof \"misinterpretation\", as pointed out by the catalog's writer.
\nWidayat's works are always comprehended as decorative paintings
\nthat are uniquely Widayat. Works that are not just motivated by a
\ndesire for ornamentation.<\/p>\n
The third aspect is Widayat's stamina. At his advanced age
\nWidayat still productively manages his creative powers. This kind
\nof potency is equaled only by Arie Smit and Barli.<\/p>\n
Assets<\/p>\n
Endowed with these three assets, the winner of the 1993 ASEAN
\nAward still manages to impress his public. Many of his paintings,
\nalthough offering no surprises, excel in the synchronization of
\ntreatment of subject matter and the tendency towards a decorative
\npainting style. The natural world, which Widayat has explored
\nhundreds of times before, is again molded into naive-primitive
\ncompositions of form and shape that blend with daring textures in
\ndark or earthy colors.<\/p>\n
His Flora Fauna, Anggrek Liar di Hutan (Wild Orchids in
\nForest), Hutan Kera di Parapat (Forest of Monkeys at Parapat) and
\nBurung-burung di Pohon (Birds in Tree) are examples of how the
\nmacro-world is made to exist in harmony with the micro-world. But
\nWidayat also presents works containing elements of symbolism,
\nlike in his painting of a crowing rooster and Ikan Merah dan
\nIkan Putih (Red Fish and White Fish).<\/p>\n
A number of displayed water colors and acrylics are no less
\ninteresting, although people are more interested in his oil
\npaintings.<\/p>",
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