Frans says painting no intellectual activity

Frans says painting no intellectual activity

Springs of Fire Springs of Tears; Frans Nadjira; Thomas Hunter,
editor/translator; Matamera Book & Yayasan CAK Denpasar; 132 pp.

DENPASAR, Bali: "I have never believed that painting is an
intellectual activity. There has been no painter in the world,
however famous she or he could be, who has won the Nobel Prize,"
says Frans Nadjira, 56, at his upmarket home in Banjar Biaung,
Batubulan, Gianyar, Bali.

Frans is also known as a talented painter.

"Creating literary works gives me more satisfaction than
anything else," he says.

In 1998, he published an anthology of poems called Springs of
Fire, Springs of Tears in Bahasa Indonesia and English. It was
published by Matamera Book & Yayasan CAK Denpasar.

Over the past five years, more and more art collectors have
been buying his abstract, expressionist paintings, and he is rich
enough to self-sponsor publication of the book.

Although his paintings are gaining recognition, he spent a lot
of his money publishing the book, which may not earn him as much
money as his paintings.

Born in Makassar (now Ujungpandang) in 1942, he studied at the
Indonesian Art Academy in Makassar, but he dropped out of the
school because he felt he "got no inspiration" there.

Then he worked as a sailor, traveling to places around
Southeast Asia. However, the job was not satisfying. He quit and
worked with a logging company in the hinterland of Kalimantan,
where, he says, he could "enjoy the salt and the mountain
breeze".

But working as a sailor was the most memorable. "At sea there
is no such thing called 'wealth', only courage."

In 1970, he moved to Bali after quitting his job as a
freelance journalist in Jakarta. He recalls all he had then was a
sarong and a little money which he used to rent a room in a
modest boarding house in Sanur.

It was in Bali that he created a poem called Selamat Jalan I
Gusti Nyoman Lempad (A Bon Voyage for I Gusti Nyoman Lempad),
which used to be a compulsory piece every time the town held a
poetry reading contest. The poem tells of his admiration for an
elderly artist from Ubud, Bali.

Frans admires Balinese culture, which he says has become his
main source of inspiration. But he is strongly opposed to the way
western tourists see Bali only as an exotic destination.

"I don't have to change my name into that of a Balinese, like
I Made and I Wayan and wear Balinese attire, thinking that I
would be more Balinese than the native Balinese."

So, after 20 years in Bali, Frans remains his own person.

In 1979 he took part in a International Writing Program at
Iowa University in the U.S.; he loved to visit towns far away
from the city to learn about the local culture.

His adventures in the U.S. inspired him to write a poem called
Sungai Mississippi (Mississippi River). The work talks about the
alienation of human beings in the automation era, where inhuman
adages apply like time is money and social relations are no
longer harmonious because machines have taken over most human
roles. He wrote:

"Oh machine, give me this day a card bearing my fortune."
I said oh just about an hour ago as I pressed the button of the
bending machine. But what popped out was a boat made of ice cream,
complete and perfect, just like that.

"Have a drink, won't you. This wine made from the liquid of an
Indian's brain!"

Frans did not hesitate to read this poem before an American
audience, for example at the opening of his painting exhibition
at Ganesha Gallery in Jimbaran.

"When I was in America, I was amazed to see the way Indians
were treated. Even though I was a guest there, I did not have to
praise everything about America, did I?" he says.

Just like Bali, America failed to change his character. He has
created dozens of poems since he moved to Bali -- all about human
relations with their fellows, with God and with nature.

He began A Bon Voyage for I Gusti Nyoman Lempad as follows:
At this final meeting words, my sole possession, must do the works
of eyes: "Bon voyage, soft stone of gray shaped with an ax. and he
closed it with: Because they are all I have. I look out at you
through words: "Bon voyage soft stone of gray, shaped with an ax.

Frans also aptly talks about human destiny in poems such as in
Sajak Kampuchea (Song for Kampuchea), which begins: One more line
will complete this portrait, a spring of tears. and ends: One more
line will complete this ballad of tears.

Frans' works are worth reading but because he lives in Bali
far from the "literature industrial center", he may not become as
famous as other poets like WS Rendra and Sutardji C. Bachry.

-- Putu Wirata