Bandung artist finds inspiration for his work in the human body
JAKARTA (JP): Jeihan Sukmantoro, 55, has not changed much, despite his age and reportedly poor health. He retains his youthful spirit.
He retains his fiery talking style. He talks fast and spontaneously. You have to listen attentively or you will miss a lot of the points he makes. As, often, the statements he makes contain something worth pondering -- something that many people frequently miss.
When talking to Jeihan, one is almost spellbound by his dramatic body language and absorbing subject matter. He will gesture, move around, sit and then suddenly stand or half squat on his chair. He spills out superlatives to emphasize his points.
Perhaps one would expect him to change after his haj pilgrimage to Mecca, but apparently he has not. The religious journey may have improved his piety, but not changed his behavior. His success as an artist has given him everything he wants: luxury cars, vast properties, a five-store studio and American educations for his children. Yet he chooses to live in his humble old house in Cicadas, Bandung, one of the most crowded residential areas in the world.
For Jeihan, this humble house has invaluable historical value he will never forget. It was once a "breeding ground" for young talented artists and intellectuals like Sutardji Calzoum Bachri, Abdul Hadi WM, Hidayat, Todung Mulya Lubis, Remy Sylado, Sapardi Djoko Damono, Saini KM, Leon Agusta, Ikra Nagara, Darmanto Jatman, Sudjoko, Wildam Yatim, Emanuel Subangun, Yudhistira Adinugraha, Arswendo Atmowiloto, Gerson Poyk, Leon Agusta, the late Sanento Juliman and many, many more.
"At that time, the cost of my paints equaled that of a few kilos of rice. Sometimes I swapped them for used clothes," said Jeihan, recalling his life in the 70s.
He showed me several portrait paintings of his close friends. Some people in the paintings have had their eyes blackened but others have their real eyes painted in.
All these portraits are part of his personal collection, and are kept on the third floor of his studio in the Padasuka area of Bandung.
In this five-story building, visitors can enjoy a number of Jeihan's best works from the 50s until now, starting with wood- cuts, sculptures, water colors, oil paintings, and ceramics from the start of his career.
Born in Surakarta (Solo), into a royal family in the center of the mystic world of pewayangan (shadow puppetry) and experts of Javanese culture, Jeihan studied painting at the Surakarta Cultural Institute (HBS) in the 50s under the guidance of Sumitro Hendronoto. In the 60s he continued his studies at the Bandung Institute of Technology's School of Art. It was here that he came to learn about Western concepts of painting. However, he was reluctant to learn theories and decided to drop out of the school.
He portrays himself as a tough man, full of self-confidence, who upholds professionalism. He has kept on painting even when his art is not appreciated as it is today. In his early days as a professional painter, he lived a humble life, sleeping in an unoccupied shop beside the Cihampelas swimming pool in Bandung.
"You know, at that time Sanento Juliman (the late Indonesian famous art critic) joined me in living like a gypsy. He had no place to stay and had to sleep in the small empty shop", he recalled.
Together with Sanento Juliman, Remy Silado, Hariadi Suadi and some other friends, Jeihan introduced gerakan sastra mbeling (literally meaning "nasty literature"), stirring a big controversy in the 70s.
Jeihan is well-known for his passion for literature and shrewdness in composing poetry. He is among few poets who can create poems in a few minutes -- the same way he makes sketches for drawings.
I once asked him to write me a few poems for publication. I told him he had a few days to write the poems. To my amazement, he immediately took a few pieces of paper and a ballpoint pen, smiled as he thought and rested his foot on the chair. He uttered some words and composed them into poems.
"There we are. That is great. This is magnificent poetry. You can wait!" Then he spoke as if calling someone's name. "Narko! Tikno! Narkotik, No!". So the piece became a puisi mbeling, a "nasty poem" he called Narkotik, No. The poem was a piece of advice for Narko and Tikno not to use drugs.
Jeihan focuses on painting human figures, mainly women. Those figures are taken out of their backgrounds and the faces are delineated by black eyes.
When asked why most of his paintings depict women, Jeihan looked confused.
"You know, the woman is actually much stronger than man. Much stronger! They have extraordinary strength you cannot tell. That is extraordinary."
"And you know," he continued, "I always want to have relations with women. My spirit is burning when I am among women."
However, when asked why most of his paintings are humans, he quickly replied: "Because I am a human."
When he starts talking about human beings, Jeihan looks so spirited. His view on humankind has always become an inspiration for many.
He says he has got a new perspective of humankind after returning from his pilgrimage to Mecca. Painting people free of prejudice has become his raison d'etre.
"Imagine, we see millions of people there become the same as us. They are us. We are them! We are equal. I see them as I see myself. So, those who hate others hate themselves as human beings," he said, with excitement in his eyes.
"See all my paintings about human beings -- they are all taken out of their context. This means that what is important in a person's life is not their status, because people are created the same."
So, what's new with Jeihan? On his very recent haj pilgrimage, he created a number of paintings, including Jumrah, "Tawah", "Mabit di Mina", "Moon above the Kaabah" and a few other paintings. In those paintings, Jeihan said, he tried to record "essences", and the works tend toward abstraction.
"Everything leads to the abstract, and does not imitate anything else. If it imitates, it imitates itself. And if it is a mountain, it is a mountain that exists in the painter, in his soul" he said.
-- Chandra Johan