Cartoonist Pramono sketches country's journey

Cartoonist Pramono sketches country's journey

Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post

The only sign that he still has high hopes for a better future
here is that he remains faithful to what he has been doing since
his early days -- drawing political cartoons that reflect the
ailments suffered by this "sick country."

According to award-winning cartoonist Pramono R. Pramoedjo
,"Yes, this country is sick and sometimes its annoying to see our
leaders and people let this sickness hamper their true purpose of
becoming a nation."

"We have been sick for so long. I may be sick too (looking at
the perpetual sickness)," he quipped.

A total of 250 of Pramono's cartoons are currently on display
at the Graha Cipta II of the Taman Ismail Marzuki cultural center
in Cikini, Central Jakarta. The exhibition, Bias Cermin Retak
Negeriku (Reflections of my country's broken mirror), showcases
his works from the 1990s until 2005 and runs until June 4.

His works from 1971 until 1981 have been introduced to a wider
public in a book published by Pustaka Sinar Harapan.

"My cartoons can serve as a reminders to us as they are not
timeless. People have to understand the context and what was
happening around the time I drew them."

Born in Magelang, Central Java, 63-year-old Pramono has
sharper eyes than the political critics and an even healthier
heart than the politicians. He describes his standard of
objectivity in the following terms: "A cartoonist should be like
a bird flying over an issue. He must see everything through his
bird eyes, distant but clear."

His works cover political, economic and social themes. For a
newspaper, a cartoon is as important as the editorial. It gives
the readers a clue as to the stance of the paper.

"It's our second editorial. The hardest job faced by a
cartoonist is to decide what issue to tackle," said Agung
Kartika, a cartoonist with Forum magazine. Agung said that he had
been one of Pramono's students and a great admirer as he knew how
sharply Pramono sensed issues and how he could position them in
the wider context or perceive them from different angles.

Pramono enjoyed a stint studying at Gadjah Mada University's
School of Law while at the same time studying at the Indonesian
Institute of Fine Arts in Yogyakarta. He dropped out of law
school as he could not afford to pay double tuition fees and
decided that he preferred to continue his art studies.

His horizons were considerably broadened when he was invited
to take part in a committee by first president Sukarno to
design the National Monument (Monas) between 1965 and 1966. The
project was stopped due to the political turmoil that also led to
the fall of Sukarno.

Later in 1966 until 1968, Pramono also took part in designing
the Kesaktian Pancasila National Monument at Lubang Buaya, East
Jakarta, built to mark the failed 1965 September coup attempt by
Indonesian Communist Party.

It was around this time that Pramono officially became a
cartoonist for Sinar Harapan daily. He continued there until the
daily was banned in 1986. After it started publishing again under
a new title, Suara Pembaruan, Pramono found himself drawing
cartoons once again.

With other members of his generation, Pramono helped revive
Sinar Harapan in 2000 and he works for the paper until today.

With the press enjoying new freedom in the post-Soeharto era,
Pramono has also been basking in the winds of change.

Intimidation and threatening phone calls were commonplace in
the past whenever cartoons on certain institutions or officials
were published.

Military officers paid an uninvited visit to his editors to
"give a lesson" to the cartoonist who drew a Scorpion tank with
ABRI (Indonesian Armed Forces) emblazoned on its running over
civilians.

"The former chief of the security and order command (the late)
Benny Moerdani once called me and asked why I drew him so ugly,"
Pramono reminisced.

"So far, it's safe and sound now and no senior officials ever
object to my cartoons. But I wonder is it because they never see
my work," he said when asked to describe the situation nowadays.

A prolific cartoonist, if not one of the best in the world
today, his technique and approach in tackling an issue of the day
is unparalleled in Indonesia. Some even equate him with Ranan R.
Lurie from The Times in London and Tim Mitelberg from L'Express
in Paris.

Pramono, however, remains a down-to-earth Javanese.

"I am still nothing. What I do is just corat-coret
(scribbling). I admire the works of G.M. Sudarta (cartoonist with
Kompas) and the late Thomas Lionar, a young cartoonist from
Bangka island. Lionar was named best cartoonist from the
perspective of art and ideas in 1992 but he died young because of
lung disease," said Pramono, who admits that he has enjoyed
comics and watching Walt Disney films since he was a child.

"Now I must read newspapers, check out the news on the
Internet, watch television and listen to radio talk shows.
Sometimes, some many ideas are flying here and there that I have
to work fast to decide what to draw."

Born in a middle class Javanese family, Pramono was fortunate
to be able to get the best schooling available at that time --
the Dutch colonial era and the Japanese occupation.

He thanks his father, R. Pramoedjo, for his impressive drawing
technique. His father, a drawing teacher, introduced and
encouraged him to draw and to nurture his talent.

The death of his father brought about a drastic change in his life
as he and his brothers and sisters were forced to help their
mother in order to survive.

His biography, Malu Sendiri (Shame on me), paints a portrait
of how hard life was for Pramono (and most other people) in the 1940s and
1950s.

The fact that he managed to emerge from hardship and become a
celebrated success is probably due to his humility, willingness
to learn and devotion to what he does best.