Ceramic artist mixes tradition with humor, sensuality

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.