Artist teaches age-old lesson through 'Arok Dedes' exhibit
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
"I am honored that my novel has inspired the creation of so many paintings," said acclaimed author and fine arts enthusiast Pramoedya Ananta Toer at the April 7 opening of a painting exhibition held at Galeri Lontar in Utan Kayu, East Jakarta.
As many as 20 paintings by painter Muhammad Yusuf are on display at the gallery through April 30, depicting the visual interpretation of Arok Dedes, an historical fiction by Pramoedya.
Gallery director Bambang Budjono lauded Yusuf for making visual interpretation of a literary work, as it would enrich the Indonesian art heritage.
"Yusuf continues the traditions of our veteran artists," he added.
Yusuf, more commonly known as Mat Ucup, is no new kid on the Indonesian art block.
Along with fellow artists of the Taring Padi art and culture network in Yogyakarta, Mat Ucup has frequently shown his work at exhibitions in cities across Indonesia and in foreign countries.
Last November, he organized a painting exhibition in Utrecht and The Hague, the Netherlands, entitled "Hentikan Perang Sipil" (Stop civil war) and "Cegah Kerjasama Militer" (Ban military cooperation) received a genial welcome.
Previously, Mat Ucup has also taken part in exhibitions at the Ismail Marzuki Fine Arts Center, Erasmus Huis and the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) in Jakarta.
Mat Ucup said most of his works were inspired by Mexican mural painter Diego Rivera -- but obviously, it is not pure Rivera.
"I have experimented with color, and I have my own character," he told The Jakarta Post.
The 20 paintings -- completed over a 20-month period -- feature the journey of Arok as told by Pramoedya, from his beginnings as an ordinary man, through conspiracy and armed revolt, and to his attainment of political power.
This interpretation of Arok Dedes, Mat Ucup said, was driven by a desire to visualize an episode of the nation's history. He said the nation had forgotten its history so completely that it often repeated the same mistakes of past generations.
He underlined that forgetting history and the value of its lessons would disrupt the nation's path to maturity.
It was amid such frustrating thoughts that he came across Pramoedya's Arok Dedes, which triggered the creative outburst that resulted in the present exhibition.
Born in Lumajang, East Java, on August 6, 1975, Mat Ucup was trained at Yogyakarta's Indonesian Art Institute (ISI) over 10 years. Most of his artwork have a common thematic threat that reflects the artist's passion for defending marginalized people.
Pramoedya Ananta Toer's "Arok Dedes": A Visual Interpretation runs from April 7 through April 30 at Galeri Lontar, Jl. Utankayu 68H, East Jakarta.