Five Yogya painters represent two generations of regional art

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): An exhibition of five painters representing two generations of Yogyakarta artists will open this evening at Edwin's Gallery in Kemang, South Jakarta. The daily life of the common folk is predominant in the works of the modest artists which will be displayed to July 31.

With the exception of Djoko Pekik, the artists have received little recognition in the world of modern Indonesian art because their paintings are considered by most critics as commonplace. However, as art critic M. Dwi Marianto notes in the exhibition's catalog, the five have had decades of often turbulent experience, lending a historic aspect which makes for a worthy exhibition.

Born in 1919 in Surakarta, the oldest in the group, Suromo, presents a variety of different themes. Some possess an eerie, dreamlike quality presented as a "campy" fantasy. Done in a rather muddy palette, his landscapes succeed in evoking the dryness of arid volcanic soil. The movement of the flowing river is less successfully suggested by using faceted forms to depict its waves.

Some of Suromo's works include strange, distorted figures that seem to be personifications of his inner emotions rather than depictions of actual humans. The variety of subject matter stems from his experiences as an artist. He has dedicated himself to modern Indonesian art from the very beginning when he joined Persagi, the Association of Indonesian Artists, upon the invitation of the late S. Sudjojono, the father of modern Indonesian painting. In the 1950's he taught at the Indonesian Art Academy (ASRI) in Yogyakarta.

Unfortunately, in the mid-60's, the political situation forced him to lie-low. It is unclear whether or not the artist was associated with the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), but putting is subtly, Dwi Marianto writes that "the dark cloud emitted from a version of the Bharatayuda became a wall that imprisoned him."

After almost thirty years, Suromo has started to paint again. Today, he prefers to listen to his own inner voice. He purposefully claims, "to become an artist one must be able to place himself, meaning that he should not always look right and left nor always take into account other people's complaints and comments. Listen to your inner voice and use it as a guide."

Suromo's most intriguing painting is Kadang Tani, a composition using four bays of a structure. The two middle bays include depictions of three generations of family: grandmother, father, mother, and a young son, on the left. A pond separates boys playing and women working in the foreground from a well- proportioned structure in the background. The inner ditch is flanked by two flanges of rural life. On the left is a portrayal of goat fighting and people riding in an andong (horse-cart). A cow-driven cart and a harvest scene is shown on the right flange. The highly ordered composition seems to be suggestive of the artist's search for his own peace of mind.

The four other artists represent the generation after Suromo. Wardoyo, for example, was Suromo's student at ASRI. Although he was also a student of Trubus, a member of the Institute for People's Culture (LEKRA) an organization affiliated with the PKI, and frequented the LEKRA's supported People's Art Studio in Yogyakarta, Wardoyo was never interested in politics. He was therefore spared during the "cleansing" operations against the communists in the mid-60's.

Nonetheless, the political change did effect his work. Abstract art dominated the art scene, while realist works of art associated with socialism was belittled and degraded. Wardoyo's realist paintings also suffered from this shift in artistic trends.

The excessively made-up woman appearing in his three paintings illustrates his interest in the life of villagers in the city. One painting shows the woman making faces at a small trouser-less boy, as a blind man smiles while counting the alms that he has collected. Unfortunately, the depiction is technically rather weak and contrived. The scene's irony, which should have attracted the attention of the viewer, is distracted by the awkward portrayal of the interaction between the boy and the woman. The artist's attention to detail saves the painting. The broken teeth of a comb sticking out of the woman's bag reminds us of the artist's interest in the social aspect of his subject. In another painting, Style, the woman is shown with a substantial wrist watch.

His current paintings have clearly depreciated from his 1960 portrait of a young woman in the collection of the late President Sukarno. It is clear that he has been removed from the environment which once fostered his artistic talents.

Two dimensional

Also painting the common folk, Kuncana treats his figures as two dimensional patterns. His Night Guards lines up five figures as flat shapes below forms that depict houses in a village. A similar two-dimensional composition shows seven figures carrying a boat. The painting, Father Buys a Used Boat may have been satirically titled.

World Cup Fever is a bird's eye view of a village soccer match. Although shadows are carefully added to indicate depth, the figures themselves are still treated as flat motifs. The painting lacks the dynamism crucial for a painting of the action filled sport. Like Wardoyo's painting, details prevail. We can see a commotion building up: there are men starting a fight, perhaps over gambling, women supporters eager to lend a hand to their favorite team, and boys joining in with their own game of soccer. Although the composition presents an interesting array of activity, it is rather statically rendered. The artist fails to convey the excitement of the match.

A.Y. Kuncana, another of Suromo's former students at ASRI, claims that Trubus and Sudjojono dan Hendra Gunawan were the most influential painters in his artistic career, although he is one of the supporters of the anti-LEKRA cultural manifesto in Bali.

Yogyakarta born Sutopo learned under the guidance of Hendra at the Sanggar Pelukis Rakyat. Hendra's influence can be clearly seen in his composition and his treatment of forms. He often uses a high horizon line below which he arranges a scene including two or three figures, typical of Hendra's compositions. The plane of the figures' torsos are placed parallel to the picture plane, also often seen in Hendra's paintings. Therefore, the sarongs of the women in his paintings are reduced merely to batik patterns.

Although his paintings can be compared to those of Hendra in form, Sutopo clearly lacks Hendra's expressive rigor. Nonetheless, he has developed his own charm, clearly evident in the paintings of the balloon vendor, the toy vendor and the becak driver. Each of these paintings convey a curious sense of humor through the interactions of the subject matter he depicts.

Small people

In the exhibition catalog, Dwi Marianto claims that Djoko Pekik's association with Sanggar Bumi Tarung forced him to hibernate like Suromo. Today, he continues to depict the "small" people. His portrayal of the jamu gandring (a sweet with ginger flavor) vendor and other "peripheral figures" indicates his personal biases. He told Dwi Marianto, " Yes, in this case I am biased. My biases, according to my instincts, are not toward the opposite side of those peripheral figures. My heart is also with the side that represents those such as the jamu gandring vendor."

However, the often unwelcome vendor is portrayed as not entirely deprived. He is shown in the Alun-alun square in front of the gate to the Kraton Yogyakarta. The wayang golek figures on his carrier become symbols of his pride.

Another painting suggests the hardship of a mother carrying a child. Here again, the inclusion of the little girl's toy sticking out of the woman's sarong suggests the poor family's struggle to achieve happiness.

The artist's recognition in the world of modern art is not without reason. While his paintings are perhaps the least faithful to realism among the five, they are the most successful in communicating his stories and messages.

His most interesting painting portrays a comic figure, a member of a performing arts troupe, seducing a female performer grooming in her dressing room. The man bends over a gendang drum to tickle the woman's knee. She combs her long hair in indifference and disgust. It is a rather humorous scene rather than a malicious one in which sexual harassment is involved. The locked gate in the background reasserts the woman's rejection. The confidence of the artist is evidenced by the use of swift bold strokes.

Was the interest in genre painting a product of the past, or is it typical of the Yogyakarta artistic tradition? asked critic Dwi Marianto.

Because the 1950s was a formative period in the development of the five painters, the exhibition of their works is hoped to enhance our limited knowledge of Indonesian art history, particularly around the 1950's.

This exhibition of genre paintings is clearly an effort to provide a more comprehensive picture of modern Indonesian art. Although it is certain that its commercial aspect has been carefully considered, significant attention has also been placed in the representational value of the exhibition, which shows a diversity of works.

Former minister of information Boediardjo, who will open the exhibition, lauds the gallery's effort's not only to market works of art for limited circles, but, more importantly, to spread the seeds of "appreciation and intention" in painting to a larger community.