Ceramic artist mixes tradition with humor, sensuality
Text and photos by Stevie Emilia
TAPOS, Bogor (JP): Ceramic artist F. Widayanto blends creativity and a sense of humor in his latest art collection, Golekan, three-dimensional statues of men and women inspired by a traditional wooden puppet play from Cirebon, West Java.
Widayanto dug deep into the history of the nearly extinct play and created a series of works of art.
Unlike most puppet plays, whose stories stem from the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, the Wayang Cepak puppet show in Cirebon tells stories of Javanese princes, heroes, and ordinary people.
It is mainly used as a means to spread Islamic teachings in the area, while also containing philosophy, humor and expressions of social and political concern.
In some of his works, Widayanto tries to voice his concern over the present situation within the community, while in the others, he makes people smile.
It took him two years to complete his golekan collection, 12 statues of men and 49 of women, which he made in his 1.1 hectare studio far from the city's chaos, in Tapos, Bogor.
His latest works entitled Golekan will be displayed to the public from Oct. 25 to Oct. 31 at the Bentara Budaya building, Jl. Palmerah Selatan 17, Central Jakarta.
One of his statues, Zachlan Jago Panco (Zachlan, the Arm Wrestling Master), portrays a man with a stylish hairstyle, who wears a tight T-Shirt bearing the brand name Dior, showing off his muscles.
The statue was created after the artist learned of the new trend among men to hold arm wrestling contests in pubs.
"It surprised me. They competed in arm wrestling contests, but they smelled of strong perfume just like women," said Widayanto, who is better known as Yanto.
In another statue, Korset Isun Mudun (My Corset's Slipping Down), he laughs over women's tendency to perform "all-out" while attending parties even though this could make them look funny and feel uncomfortable.
Despite his criticism, Yanto cannot help admiring the beauty of women and reflects his feeling by accentuating women's curves and lines in his works.
Most of his female statues bear a sensual look, a tantalizing body -- a slender neck, a firm bosom and a slim waist.
Eyes
Some of them, such as Bar Adus (After a Bath), Yayung Ngudut Wae (Woman Who Keeps Smoking) and Nyai Cupluk Netekin (Mrs. Cupluk Nurses Her Baby), even openly display parts of the female body.
The artist claimed that he had no intention of making fun of women, saying that he wanted to show that some women still like to show off their beauty as they are proud of it.
The faces of his female statues are unique, each reflecting character. None of them are similar in expression, but they have something in common: almond-shaped eyes.
"There were people who said they look Chinese, but I was inspired by the eyes of "ancient" Javanese people," said Yanto, who graduated from the Bandung Institute of Technology's School of Art and Design.
The name given to each work of art is in line with its facial expression or body shape, such as Solehah Mesem (Solehah Smiling), or Geger Isun Gatel (My Back's Itchy).
Giving names to his ceramic works, which conveys a sense of poetry for certain people, has been the artist's habit since he produced the Mask, followed by the Loro Blonyo, the Ganesha Ganeshi and the Ukelan series in 1995.
In the Mask series the ceramic masks feature two-dimensional male facial expressions, while Loro Blonyo depicts Javanese bridal couples representing Dewa (God) Sadono and Dewi (Goddess) Sri as symbols of prosperity and fertility.
In Ganesha Ganeshi, Yanto uses an image of Ganesha, an important god in the Hindu religion, while in Ukelan he created a three-dimensional woman's face with her hair done in an ukel, or chignon, above a slender neck.
"I gave names to the statues because it makes me feel attached to my works," Yanto said.
In Golekan, all of his statues wear traditional clothing, mainly batik, to heighten their characters and to introduce traditional fashion.
"The batik pattern in Golekan is not taken from any specific area in Java, it's completely my creation. But it's influenced by Pekalongan batik which I adore," Yanto said.
The female statues also wear earrings and hair ornaments in various forms like crescent moons, tongues of flame, lilies and cylinders. These accessories were not made by Yanto, but he selected them himself from the stores.
Rich color
Unlike his previous art works, which were mostly dominated by the natural color of clay, the Golekan are flashy and rich in color.
Still, one can identify the artist's works from the decorative pattern, which is typically his, such as the addition of flora and fauna ornaments like bees, frogs, fish, butterflies, lizards, various flowers and print forms of original leaves in the pottery.
The Golekan ceramic statues are not mass products and are not made to order.
"I want to create my own works of art, not because of people's orders," said Yanto, who planned to exhibit his works of art at least once a year.
Yet, he realizes the need for commercialism to continue his creations and to bring income for his 30 workers who help him produce the ceramics in his workshop
He found the solution by making ceramic handicrafts and other functional ceramic items, which he sells at his residence on Jl. Setiabudi, Central Jakarta, under the name Clay Statements.
Among the handicrafts and daily items were dinnerware, table clocks, ashtrays, buttons, bowls, flower pots, cards and women's accessories, such as necklaces, earrings and brooches.
For each of his hand-made Golekan, Yanto does not hesitate to set a high price, ranging from Rp 5 million (US$1,428.5) up to Rp 12.5 million each.
"It's a reasonable price as it takes me a long time to make them, not to mention the risks," Yanto said.
The highest risk is when the statues crack, break, or the glaze scorches after firing.
Compared to his previous ceramic arts, technically, Golekan was difficult to create, but finding the ideas for each statue, he said, was smoother.
"In the making of Golekan, I don't deal with many norms, such as while creating Loro Blonyo and Ganesha Ganeshi," said Yanto, who took his clay from Sukabumi.
The completion of Golekan helped him refresh himself after failing to create ceramic arts depicting Semar, a major figure among shadow puppets.
"I still need more time to approach and learn about Semar," he said.