Lubis contributed new genre in decorative paintings

By Ipong Purnama Sidhi

JAKARTA (JP): Yogyakarta is certainly no Paris, but both bustling cities share something in common: they are good places for artists to start on the path to fame.

Yogyakarta is often likened to a kerosene lamp in a dark paddy field which attracts insects from all over the place. At least scores, but probably hundreds of artists have arrived here to develop their careers in the ancient city.

This happens all the time. That is the reason why lots of prominent artists whose names and role are written about in the history of Indonesian art have their roots in Yogyakarta.

Paris boasts big names like Picasso, Miro, Dali, Chagall, Van Gogh and Kandinsky. Yogyakarta has maestros such as Affandi, Sudjojono, Hendra Gunawan, Handrio, Widayat, Fadjar Sidik, Nyoman Gunarsa, Aming Prayitno, Djoko Pekik, Lian Sahar and contemporary artists such as Heri Dono, Eddie Hara and Ivan Sugito.

When the Indonesian capital was moved in 1946 from Jakarta to Yogyakarta, the big names in painting also moved to Yogyakarta, turning the city into a center of excellence in painting. The artists went on to form groups and workshops where they could exchange ideas to feed their creativity.

Painter Batara Lubis was one of the numerous artists who came to Yogyakarta to build a career. He left his hometown of Hutagodang, southern Tapanuli, North Sumatra, in 1953. In Yogyakarta, he learned painting from Trubus S., who was known for his fanatical academic approach. Lubis was unable to meet the requirements set out by and was eventually dismissed by the painter as "untalented".

Lubis did not give up and sought to learn from another painter, Sudarso, who became his second guru. It was at Sudarso's place that Lubis would often meet with Affandi and Hendra Gunawan, the latter whom he considered his "third guru".

From that time onwards, Lubis considered that he was in the right place to improve his painting skills. He could express his aesthetic ideas freely and let loose his imagination. Between 1953 and 1986 Lubis created dozens of paintings. He died in 1986 at the age of 58 in Yogyakarta.

In a memorial show to the artist, works by Lubis will go on display at Galeri Kembang in Jakarta from Nov. 20 through Nov. 30.

Under the tutelage of Trubus, Lubis had shown his skill in catching the essence of an object. His oldest work on display -- Lanskap 1953 -- is a panorama in a hilly area painted in dusky colors. From Trubus, Lubis learned to select the right colors to picture foggy landscapes.

Critic Warso Wahono says that it was from Trubus that Lubis learned how to make a particular green color as he applied in the Topeng Batak (Batak Masks) series and Pasar Burung Yogya (Yogyakarta Bird Market).

After tutoring Lubis for two years, Hendra Gunawan advised Lubis to return to southern Tapanuli.

In the catalog of his exhibition held in 1983 at Bentara Budaya in Yogyakarta Lubis noted: "I went back to my home village to create new works. It is at these times in the village that I realized how precious my gurus' lessons had been. I could then use the (Batak) traditional motifs as a source of inspiration. I could better use my artistic instinct to create artworks."

Armed with the skills he obtained in Yogyakarta, Lubis began to observe and develop decorative patterns commonplace in his hometown. You can see the result in Topeng Batak, 1985 which shows his skill in designing and coloring traditional Batak motifs.

The works on display at Galeri Kembang clearly demonstrate the complete history of Lubis' career as a painter. They are also a milestone of the decorative painting genre that developed in Yogyakarta.

This new genre is Lubis' contribution to modern Indonesian art history.