Kerton's images of historic Yogyakarta
By Asip A. Hasani
YOGYAKARTA (JP): To have been able to witness the historic events surrounding Indonesia's independence in the 1940s would have undoubtedly been a privilege. The late artist Sudjana Kerton was one of those lucky enough to be able to record some of the events in his paintings and photographs.
He also created sketches of the ceremony marking the transfer of power from the Dutch colonial administration to Indonesian leaders. He also depicted Indonesian guerrillas and the life of ordinary people.
His sketches dominate the ongoing exhibition of Kerton's works in Yogyakarta. Titled "Revolution and Evolution of Sudjana Kerton", the exhibition at the Vredeberg Fort complex opened on July 26 and will run until Aug. 7.
Other works include watercolors, lithographs, woodcuts and etchings. The display of 150 of his earliest and last works is organized by his relatives. Kerton died in 1994 at the age of 72.
The exhibition has received an enthusiastic response from Kerton's local admirers and art collectors. Many of his works, especially the sketches, have never been exhibited.
Tjandra Kerton, a son of the famous artist, said his father had hidden many of the works about the independence revolution for 25 years. Between 1950 and 1976 the family lived in Europe and the U.S..
"Only in 1991 did he open up all his old works to us," Tjandra said. "It is the first time we have exhibited them."
Kerton used to work as the illustrator of Patriot, a newspaper led by Usmar Ismail from 1944 to 1950. This explained why he the independence revolution was his favorite theme. The subject was common in the work of other artists of his generation, such as Popo Iskandar or Srihadi.
His personal close relations with president Sukarno allowed him to witness special events like the Round Table Agreement that he recorded in his sketch Perjanjian Meja Bundar. Because of limited equipment and facilities, Kerton mainly worked on sketches until 1950.
His professional background as a newspaper illustrator provided him with the skill to portray an event in a simple but direct manner. In the Transfer of Power from the Dutch to Indonesian series, the Indonesian soldiers stand up straight while the Dutch appear tired.
Not all of Kerton's early works are about the revolution. They also concern the daily life of ordinary people, a subject which greatly inspired him throughout his life.
Ordinary people was a favorite theme in most of the images he created after he lived in the U.S. and Europe. The attraction is obvious in his later sketches, watercolors, woodcuts, lithographs and etchings, as well as his later oils on canvas.
Kerton was the first Indonesian artist to win a Unicef award for his woodcut titled Homeward.
Dwi Maryanto, a teacher at the Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI) in Yogyakarta said Kerton's constant return to the theme of ordinary people's everyday life showed that the artist's inspiration was not fueled by a fiery ideological spirit.
"Kerton portrayed the life of ordinary people with a great sense of humor. He brilliantly illustrated how the people survived," said Maryanto, who is curator of the exhibition.
The ongoing exhibition is an opportunity for the public to compare Kerton's early, middle and later periods. The differences are apparent in works completed when he was young in the 1940s, when he honed his skills in the 1950s and 1960s and the latest creations that made him famous, Maryanto said.
His superb figurative painting skills are evident in the sketch series of 16 naked figures. His mastery improved while he was in Amsterdam in 1950 and at the Art Students League, New York, in 1951. In the U.S., he learned about sketching under Yaseo Kunoyoshi and graphic art from Harry Sternberg and Will Barnet.
The works on show also illustrate the history of Kerton's painting career. It is possible to trace how the movements of impressionism and post-impressionism influenced him.
"Kerton was a man who was courageous about experimenting with different painting styles. When he was in France, he tried his hand at impressionism and post-impressionism, although he later abandoned them," Maryanto said.
Tjandra said the first exhibition of Kerton's works was held in Yogyakarta rather than Bandung because Kerton had "special emotional ties" with the former. The West Java capital is the artist's hometown, where he founded Sanggar Budi Luhur studio upon his return from the U.S. in 1976.
"He lived in Yogyakarta for several years when Indonesia had its capital city moved from Jakarta to Yogyakarta in the 1940s," said Tjandra. "Yogyakarta had become an important source of inspiration."