Elusive Tarmizi stages solo exhibition

Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta

Amidst the hustle and bustle of often-incomprehensible works of art, the exhibition at the One Gallery offers some respite and a breath of fresh air.

The display shows works of Itji Tarmizi, an artist of great potential in the 1950s, and a member of the Sanggar Pelukis Rakyat who disappeared without leaving a single trace after the 1965 political upheavals in the country. Pelukis Rakyat consisted of a group of artists aspiring to bring the voice of the common people, creating what they called "art for the masses". It was affiliated with Lekra (the People's Cultural Association) that became the arm of the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party. Fleeing to his home village near Bukittinggi, Sumatra, Tarmizi unlike his peers, managed to escape jail.

Anxiety and fear kept him from artistic expression until the early 1990s, but a refined sensitivity, multiple skills and creative strength tangible in his varied works testify to the enduring basics sustaining his oeuvre.

Generally reflecting realistic representation, Tarmizi's works also seems to be inspired by the Old Masters and impressionist techniques. Examples may be seen in Gadis Nelayan (Fishing Girl), a 130 x 90 cm large canvas featuring a beautiful, white-skin woman with European facial features and a skirt in read, blue and gray colors, or in Senja (Twilight), a 180 x 1100 large canvas featuring a woman in a white dress with a transparent pink stole standing against a diffused, multi-colored sky.

Particularly interesting is his 300 x 90 cm canvas entitled Akhir Abad (The End of the Century). The color and brushwork of the woman and her daughter flow into the surrounding color, while the fabric of the man's shirt blends the hue of the other half of the canvas. Striking in the work is the difference in facial features of people in the left part of the canvas which are the usual human features, while the faces in the right part of the canvas positioned as the front of the crowd, are painted in the likeness of prehistoric creatures looking into an empty space. Is this symbolic of the human condition at the turn of the century, a setback to an earlier stage of civilization?

Tarmizi's oil paintings also include issues of the present time. Kosmonot (Cosmonaut), 120 x 100 cm, features Yuri Gagarin in his Sputnik capsule, while Meteor is like an abstract painting.

Abstract are also his works of compositions using colored patches, which he has cut, sewn and embroidered himself. I learnt this from my grandmother who was an expert in embroidery, crochet and weaving, he explains.

One may also be struck by his sketches made in charcoal, pencil or ink, which document the variety of layers in society and their activities. There is a scene showing the men playing cards, and another scene featuring three women vendors. Sketches also feature people around a discussion table, as well as construction workers. But the most expressive and atmospheric is undoubtedly Sketch No. X titled Pergi ke Pasar (Go to the Market) which shows the vendors on their way to the market place while dawn is making way for the penetrating rays of the sun. Equally fascinating is his ink-on-paper self portrait anno 1990 titled Sketsa Masa Tuaku (Sketch of My Old Age) in which the deep-cut wrinkles set the accent on the strength of a man of many sufferings.

The son of Tantuah Baginda Ratu, a military officer of Chinese descent and his Minangkabau wife, Itji Tarmizi was born in 1939 in Tepi Selo, Lintau, West Sumatra. He has been deaf since he was eight years old, and lost his speech not much later. In 1953 he ventured to Yogyakarta, together with his brother. He enrolled at ASRI, the Indonesian Art School, but dropped out and joined the Pelukis Rakyat which was then led by Hendra Gunawan.

His paintings have been purchased, among others by the then former President Soekarno, and James Stewart of the Asia Foundation in Bangkok. His paintings are represented in the book on the Adam Malik Collection.

As this goes to print, Itji Tarmizi's health condition is worsening, and this solo exhibition titled Suatu Kehadiran may well be the first and the last during his lifetime.

Suatu Kehadiran by Itji Tarmizi; Gallery One, Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta; Phone 532 1267; Nov. 23 - Dec. 7, 2001.