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.