Yusuf Susilo Hartono
\nContributor
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Surakarta, better known as Solo, has a long cultural history,
\nparticularly in the arts. The city has a style of its own in the
\nfields of dancing, shadow puppetry and bridal make-up, genres of
\nart originating in the Surakarta palace.<\/p>\n
In modern painting, Solo once had artists who were greatly
\nconcerned with the state of the city, known the world over as one
\nof the centers of Javanese culture. One of these artists was
\nDullah (1916-1996), a palace painter during the administration of
\nSukarno, Indonesia's first president.<\/p>\n
Amid the hullabaloo of contemporary fine arts, the artistic
\ncommunity remains greatly enamored of his works, which generally
\ndwell on the exoticism of rural life and the naivete of village
\nchildren and young women.<\/p>\n
Before the establishment of the city's Sebelas Maret
\nUniversity (UNS) in 1976, the Surakarta Cultural Society (HBS)
\nwas widely recognized as an association of Solo artists,
\nindigenous or otherwise, and also a place where they could
\nimprove their skills.<\/p>\n
In a situation not particularly conducive to the development
\nof painting, four painters from Solo, all teaching at UNS, are
\nnow exhibiting their works at Galeri Cipta II at Ismail Marzuki
\nPark.<\/p>\n
These painters are Arfial Arsad Hakim, 52, a graduate of
\nBandung Institute of Technology (ITB); Sunarto, 55, also an ITB
\ngraduate; Suatmadji, 51, a graduate of Yogyakarta's Indonesian
\nArts Institute (ASRI), and Putut H. Pramono, a UNS graduate.<\/p>\n
As there is no common theme, the four demonstrate their own
\nstyles in the works exhibited.<\/p>\n
Arfial, actively exhibiting his works since 1974, presents the
\npoetic image of West Sumatra's chain of mountains through the
\nsoft and analytical use of color. Houses, roads, trees, rice
\nfields, hills, the sea and beaches feature in this oil paintings,
\nwhich rely on the use of soft colors: raw brown, light green and
\nlight blue accentuated by dark coloring. One of his works,
\nentitled Yang Memanfaatkan Sembari Merusak Lingkungan (Those
\nMaking Use of the Environment and Destroying It, 1998), reminds
\nthe viewer of the construction of villas in the Puncak area. As
\nthese villas stand on land originally serving as water catchment
\nareas, their construction has resulted in terrible flooding.<\/p>\n
Sunarto, meanwhile, creates decorations in his paintings with
\nbroken, bending and curving double lines to form a particular
\nstylization that sometimes cuts across the expanse of color. Some
\nof his works seem symbolic, for example Jatayu dan Harimau (The
\nEagle and the Tiger), in which he depicts a fight between an
\neagle with bound legs and a tiger.<\/p>\n
While Sunarto makes use of decoration, Suatmadji plays with
\nvarious ideas with a strong social content. These ideas are
\nexpressed through drawings, collage, painting and installation
\nusing oil paint, acrylic, etching, pens, wood, metal and mixed
\nmedia.<\/p>\n
One of his works, called Wanita Menunggu Turunnya Harga
\nSembako (A Woman Waiting for the Prices of Daily Necessities to
\nGo Down, 2001) is dominated by red and black and shows the figure
\nof a woman with her eyes wide open and her lips expressing
\ndisappointment.<\/p>\n
As for Putut, his abstract paintings are the result of his
\nresponse to nature and life. The paintings are presented in
\noverlapping colors of black, brown, blue, orange and white, plus
\na cut to give accentuation. His latest picture, produced in 2002
\nand using acrylic and oil paint on canvas, is called Kantong
\nHidup (Pocket of Life).<\/p>\n
When opening the exhibition, former minister of mines and
\nenergy in the New Order era, Subroto, noted that, even today,
\nunlike in dancing, Javanese literature and shadow puppetry, Solo
\nwas yet to create its own fine arts style.<\/p>\n
Suatmadji, responding to the criticism, said that trying to
\nfind Solo's identity in fine arts was as difficult as trying to
\nfind the identity of Indonesian fine arts, a topic that has long
\nbeen debated without any solution.<\/p>\n
He added that the exhibition was not based on a \"heroism\"
\nrelated to the place of origin, or Surakarta, as each of the four
\nfeatured artists had tried to be honest with their own identity.<\/p>\n
The exhibition will run through to February 28, 2002 at Galeri
\nCipta II, TIM, Jl. Cikini Raya 73, Central Jakarta.<\/p>",
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