Hidajat holds true to his principles

Hidajat holds true to his principles

By Chandra Johan

JAKARTA (JP): A rosy view of life used to be the dominant
trend in Indonesian painting. The most popular paintings were
those that invoked happy feelings in the viewer. The art works
were usually created according to formal esthetic formulas, with
artists strictly following traditional rules of composition.

If a painter was inclined to tell a story through a painting,
he would very likely choose a light-hearted theme. Never could we
expect a story about somber realities, let alone chaos.

But not all painters succumbed to such market demands at the
expense of their principles. A few artists did not care if they
were marginalized, as long as they did not give up their own
fundamental truths. Hidajat LPD belonged to this rare species.

Hidajat has been fiercely clinging to his ideals and resisting
market demand, so his name is rarely mentioned in local painting
discourses. One reason for this, perhaps, is that he rarely holds
exhibitions.

His name resurfaced when he held a joint exhibition with a
more well-known painter, Jeihan, at Cipta II TIM Gallery on April
27. Renowned poet Sutardji Calzoum Bachri mentioned him in his
talk about arts in the 1970s. Among fellow artists and cultural
observers, Hidajat is a big name.

His artist friends see an extraordinary spirit for life in his
thin body. Many liken him to the late painter Nashar, in that he
never surrendered to popular market demands, which have
controlled the direction of art here over the past few years.

"Perhaps people will remember (the late poet) Khairil Anwar
when they talk about the spirit of life," said Sutardji. "But I
will also give credit to Hidajat ... His energy for life is often
greater than the reality of life itself."

A true artist always has ideas, dreams, obsessions or hopes
which are greater than their daily realities. Maybe it is because
of his tremendous spirit that in the 1970s Hidajat took up more
than one field of art.

Besides painting, he wrote essays and plays. In 1974, he
stirred up controversy when he sneered at the "polygon" poems
championed by Goenawan Mohamad and Sapardi Djokodamono as
"uninnovative and of low quality".

One of his plays was titled Valium 100 (100 Drugs). It
contained criticisms of the materialism of some people of the
period.

"You can imagine that you will be intoxicated after taking
five pills, let alone 100 pills," he said.

Later, he chose painting as the medium to concentrate on. His
works reflect the social and humanitarian problems he is
concerned about.

He does not offer visual beauty by way of pleasant textures,
brilliant colors or beautiful subjects.

Hidajat doesn't attempt to invite people to consider esthetic
beauty, rather, he invites one to consider life.

There is a side of life which is dull and dark and slips from
the attention of the general public. This dark side of life gets
a new meaning in Hidajat's hands as seen in his works Tarawangsa,
Tarawangsa III, Kecapi Suling, Kali Pasir and Pulang (Coming
Home).

In these works, Hidajat is keen to catch each situation,
especially the life of common people at night. Using a pallet
knife, he generally covers the whole canvass with dark colors,
except the human figures, which are picked out with bright
yellows and white.

The figures are not portrayed in detail, but overall notions
of movements and feelings are apparent. He does not work quickly
as expressionists do.

It is with this contrasting tonal technique that the subjects
of his paintings appears somber and tranquil -- and this is where
Hidajat's strength lies.

Even when he blots the whole canvass surface with red as in
Kali Pasir, he glazes the landscape black -- making the sandy
river appear gloomy and tense.

Hidajat is said to be a specialist in portraying atmosphere.
The painter loves living among the common people. He understands
the living conditions of the people in his community. He has been
an ojek (motorbike taxi) driver, a street singer and a ring
hawker. In his works, he always tries to look into the deeper
meaning of life.

"Once I saw a pregnant ronggeng dancer. She keeps on dancing
just to make ends meet. Then I portrayed the dancer as a symbol
of hardship; she hid her suffering behind her smile, her simple
movements, passion and pretension."

Hidajat uses a dancer to illustrate the pretension he sees in
today's society, just like the ronggeng dancer who smiles to hide
her bitterness.

This is what may have inspired him to create a painting he
calls Kita Semua Ronggeng (We Are All Ronggeng Dancers), which
depicts many masked people performing a dance. The front row is
full of figures of generals and beautiful women and men -- all in
Javanese wayang (puppet) costumes.

In this particular work, Hidajat satirically unmasks the
hypocrisy people try to hide. The image is dramatic, with dark
clouds in the background.

Besides social realities, Hidajat also produces paintings with
historical themes, such as Wewayangan, Sejarah Orba (New Order
History) and Ojo Dumeh (Don't Be Self Righteous). He also paints
portraits, dances and criticisms of contemporary society.

His works are in contrast with those of Jeihan, whose theme of
works revolve around tranquility and no things like social
upheavals.