Artist Beda takes his journey of life

Artist Beda takes his journey of life

Mehru Jaffer, Contributor, Jakarta

It is not easy to find artist Beda Sudiman, for he is always
on a journey. When The Jakarta Post tried to contact him
recently, he was on his way to Yogyakarta, giving dates on the
telephone as to where he will be and when.

But few of Beda's plans for the future have much certainty as
most of the time he himself is not sure what he might suddenly
decide to do next. Most of the time Beda likes to flow like a
river, braving passages through rugged mountain terrain as well
as gentle valleys, able to absorb both muck and mineral on the
way.

Born in Kulon Progo, a tiny village in Central Java, he seemed
to be forever soaked in the pleasures of poetry and music at
first. But as he grew up he also wished to paint and studied art
education in Yogyakarta. Soon after, he returned to theater and
music, recording an album in 1995. The following year, Jakarta's
Kidi Galeri held his maiden art exhibition, bringing with it news
that Beda had decided, at least for the time being, to paint full
time.

The entire purpose of Beda's ongoing journey seems to always
have the freedom to hop in and out of the different stations of
life, savoring the unique experience so readily offered at each
stop. He is firm in his belief that without freedom there can be
no creativity, relating the very act of free movement to a more
creative flight of the imagination.

This attitude is very obvious in his art, which is not
confined to any one school or style. Thus far, the 36-year-old
painter has succeeded in preventing both himself and his ideas
from being imprisoned by any kind of boundaries, either
geographical or mental. The greatest enemy of freedom is fear, he
feels, and that is an emotion he aspires to conquer so that he is
able to enjoy without inhibitions and the wonderful gift of life
in its entirety. Life which the creator has given to all human
beings through that amazing creature called, woman.

To understand life, Beda feels that he must attempt to find
out what a woman is all about. In his mind, she is a great symbol
of both love and life. He is so grateful to women for agreeing to
be the medium for all creation that he pays his tribute by
filling dozens of canvases with women in different moments and
moods.

As Beda concentrates on the moment, he is able to capture on
canvas a sparkling spectrum of colors and even feelings that are
so fleeting. His use of primary hues, especially the color red,
in works such as Wanita dalam Cermin (Woman in the Mirror),
smacks of great passion and fills the viewer with a further zest
for life. It is imagined that the best way to appreciate a Beda
work would be against a naked, snow white wall with no other
artifacts or decorative objects around to distract attention.

"It is the emotional range of his art that first attracted me
to Beda," admits Richard Charles of Noor's Gallery in Kemang,
South Jakarta, where 20 works by the painter, mostly in acrylic
on canvas, are currently on display. Noor's is basically a home
interiors gallery and does not specialize in works of fine art
but Charles was so charmed by Beda's canvas that he wanted to
share the very individual personality of the painter with as many
more people as possible.

And ever since the exhibition opened earlier this month six
Bedas have already been sold, confirming all expectations that
this kind of contemporary art does need the right kind of
exposure to be better appreciated.

All that Beda's patrons and friends want now is that he
continue to paint without worrying about the matters of where he
should paint or where the material to do so will come from.

Perjalanan (Journey)

Noor's Gallery, Jl. Kemang Timur 18

Until Nov. 3.