Firm taking illustration off the drawing board

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): American author Kurt Vonnegut recalled the 1930s as the golden age of illustrators in the United States.

They got more money than authors whose stories they illustrated, and they were often as famous, or even better known, than the writers themselves.

"And Norman Rockwell was their Michelangelo," Vonnegut asserted in one of his books.

That was before television took over.

Still, illustrators in the United States are still respected. There are plenty of projects to be done as many companies depend on them, like the giant corporation of Walt Disney.

The illustrators are therefore paid well, and of course, their rights are protected by this illustration society.

Courses offering the study of illustration can also be found all over the country.

These are some of the glaring contrasts with the condition of illustrators here in this country.

"Here, illustrators are second class artists. They're not even considered artists. They're only seen as drafters or sketchers," illustrator Amalia Kurniasih, 25, told The Jakarta Post recently.

The poor condition of illustrators inspired her and her colleagues to collect their money and establish The Illustration House a year ago.

Located in Pondok Jaya, South Jakarta, it is a small company specializing in making illustrations.

With a total of 12 illustrators, most of them ITB graduates, Amalia claimed the company was the first of its kind in this country.

"We just want to improve illustrators' fate so that they will get more respect and appreciation," said Amalia, or Lia.

Lia started to feel the discrimination about illustrators when she studied Graphic Design at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) School of Fine Arts and Design.

"The curriculum itself doesn't explain much about illustration, its theory, the history and so on. Illustration is only a supporting subject," she asserted.

Later on, she saw more unfairness experienced by illustrators.

"Illustration work are paid way cheaper than any other artwork. Graphic designers, for example, are usually given commission worth several percent of the total budget of a project. Not with illustrators. They are paid per piece of illustration," Lia said.

That means getting less than Rp 1 million (US$105.30) for a black and white print ad. For a freelance illustrator, it could be less than Rp 500,000.

For all rights reserved illustrations, the House gets nearly Rp 3 million each. Compare that to illustrators in the United States who can get some $5,000 to $11,000 per illustration.

Besides being underpaid, illustrators must adjust their styles to the client's demand, while it should be vice versa, with the illustrator giving input on what works best.

"People demand illustrators to be able to do different styles other than their signature style. At first, as we were still very new, we said yes. But now, we're offering them our style -- either they will take it or not," Lia said.

Even though they are still struggling to find clients, some of the illustrations are now on the pages of magazines like Gatra.

Their work can also be seen in a Milkyway chocolate ad. One of the illustrators, Lambok Hutabarat also works for Tempo magazine.

According to the account director at The Illustration House, Andia Soen, the lack of attention occurs because Indonesians simply do not appreciate the art.

"Drawing has never been seen as an important subject at school. Sciences are always considered higher than art," said Andia, who also an ITB graduate.

Lia said that Indonesians are also overawed by technology, which is why work in graphic design and photography are paid higher.

"Digital is booming and everybody turns their heads to it. People here are trend-minded. Just take a look at TV commercials. They look almost the same with one another. The concept may be different, but the application is similar," she said.

"In other countries, it's different. People see the effectivity. If hand drawn illustrations are better and more effective than digital art, than they use it."

With The Illustration House, Lia dreams of promoting handmade illustrations because she believes they are more lively and the art value is higher.

"The trend is maybe still toward digital, but I don't want to be a copycat and follow where the trend is going. I believe in specialty. If we're consistent and good at it, I believe people will look for us," she said.

The House also plans to conduct illustration exhibitions, and a workshop for school children.

"We see that the great talent of many children for art is wasted because the school curriculum and also parents are not supportive," Lia said.