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.