Amrus Natalsya, from rural to urban

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): In the 1950s, Amrus Natalsya was already known as a sculptor, as well as a painter. He started to sculpt in 1954 as a student of Yogyakarta's Indonesian Fine Arts Academy (ASRI).

That year, he dared to bring his work to his faculty. Having little self-esteem, he positioned his sculpture early in the morning, and let it be viewed by his lecturers and colleagues without them knowing who the sculptor was.

Widayat, his senior at the faculty and who saw the sculpture early in the morning, asked, "Wow, whose sculpture is this? It is good!" Painter Hendra also hailed the work, as well as the others. After hearing mostly positive remarks, he became confident in his work, and continued to sculpt.

The following year, the work was exhibited at an exhibition to mark ASRI's fifth anniversary in 1955. The work was placed in the middle of an open space, right at the entrance.

Sukarno, who attended the event, liked the work and bought it. "I thought the money I would receive would be enough to buy a Vespa motorcycle," the sculptor said. In fact, Sudarso, who was in charge of the sale, gave him either Rp 200 or Rp 2,000, he was not sure, but it was certainly not enough for a Vespa. "You are still a beginner," explained Pak Darso.

Since then, he has continued to sculpt and has become more famous. His Yogyakarta sculptures were submitted to a sculpture exhibition held at the Youth Building in Jakarta in 1957. A documentary focusing on the sculptures was made at Sanggabuana Studios in Kebayoran Lama, Jakarta. His works were also sent to the Youth Festival in Surabaya in 1958. Due to shortages in funds, the sculptures were left behind in Surabaya. Up to now, what has happened to the works remains unclear.

Apart from creating sculptures, Amrus also paints. His paintings, equally strong, are also collected by art lovers. One of his works, Kawan-kawan (Friends), is in the collection of the late president Sukarno.

Yet, during that time, he was better known as a sculptor. Amrus created sculptures seriously. Commissioned to sculpt for Hotel Duta, he searched for wood all the way to Lampung. He worked on the pieces there for a couple of years, and later took them to Jakarta to be completed.

The coup d'etat in 1965 came as a surprise to Amrus. During the crushing of the coup, the Ali Archam Academy, where his works had been stored, was destroyed and burned. Considered his masterpiece, Keluarga Tandus di Senja (Desolate Family in the Dusk), that was featured in Claire Holt Art in Indonesia, was also burned.

The sculptures that were being prepared for Hotel Duta (now the Duta Merlin shopping center), were also destroyed. Now, every time he reminisces about that period, he feels sad.

"Let bygones be bygones. Let the work return to its origins, from the earth back to the earth," he said hopelessly.

Although he did not know what was going on at the time, because he was a member of the communist-leaning People's Cultural Institute (Lekra), Amrus was apprehended. From 1968 to 1973, he was detained in Tangerang prison. Even there, he continued his creative activities. He even had more time in prison to diligently work on his sculptures.

In 1978, at the Pasar Seni art market in Ancol, North Jakarta, Amrus had the idea of creating new kinds of works. He saw at Pasar Seni that everything was available. There were works on canvas, watercolors and even sculptures (mostly Balinese sculptures). What other innovative works could he create there, to be distinct from the rest?

Incidentally, during the time Pasar Seni was being built there was a significant amount of wooden boards. He collected them and started to carve them. He depicted, among other things, the forest, a man stealing birds, trees and other vegetation.

If the surface was too small in size, he would join it up with another board. To give dimension to the works, he applied color. This was the beginning of Amrus's two-dimensional paintings on wood that have become popular and famous, apart from his three- dimensional sculptures.

Amrus's paintings on wood mostly reflect the atmosphere of everyday life in villages. Sometimes, he would also depict scenes of common folk in the city, but a rural impression is still emphasized.

In his most recent exhibition, from July 21 to July 31 at Galeri 678 in Kemang, South Jakarta, he displays a new theme, metropolitan life in the city. He wants to explore the life of a society that spends its life in tall buildings or skyscrapers. "Buildings have become a part of our lives, and that is a reality", he said.

"The population in the cities is so large, and grows by the day, while the price of land is already so high. So, vertical development seems to be the only solution," said Amrus analyzing like an economist, a demographer as well as a city planner. Through his works, we see his vision of our metropolis. Hopefully, Amrus's paintings on wood can help us visualize what will happen to our cities in the future.

Will we let our cities be filled with towering buildings and become concrete jungles? Do we not want to preserve at least part of our old towns, especially those which have historical value? Do we not want to conserve the way we comfortably live in our towns today, for our children and grandchildren in the future? Perhaps, in the end we will still need kampong environments in our cities.