Nation loses its best artists

By Lenah Susianty and Ati Nurbaiti

JAKARTA (JP): Death refers to an absolute end of something positive such as a human being, an animal, a plant, a friendship, an alliance, peace, an age. People do not speak about the death of a tempest, but about the death of a beautiful day, says Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrant in Dictionnaire des Symboles.

Perhaps it is one of the most optimistic views towards death. Perhaps the best way to see death is by reviewing the year just as it is coming to an end, a period when we usually contemplate and remember family members, friends, neighbors and everyone we know. And favorite artists and writers who helped brightened up some of our boring and bluest days, who have passed away.

This year we lost one of our most noted, persistent writers; philosopher and linguist Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana who died on July 17 at the age of 86. He is most remembered for his repeated calls for Indonesians to look to Western values, not only to their lifestyles but their work ethos and passion for learning as well.

This view dominated the famed cultural debate in the 1930s with other intellectuals, published later as Polemic Kebudayaan.

In the early 1930s Takdir was one of the founders of the Poedjangga Baroe literary magazine, which was crucial in the growth of modern Indonesian literature.

In earlier years he led Universitas Nasional, one of the oldest private universities in the country. But bickering among members of the management overshadowed his efforts to expand the university's educational and cultural networks.

In 1990 he published a journal, Philosophy and the Future of Humanity, co-edited with philosophers from seven countries.

Takdir was also influential in the drive to translate as many exemplary works as possible.

As a linguist he despised the indiscriminate borrowing of foreign words and reminded, for example, that the Indonesian word for "sophisticated" is canggih. He was also among the first to lay the foundations for Indonesian grammar.

Martial arts (cerita silat) writer Asmaraman Kho Ping Hoo, an Indonesian of Chinese origin, passed away on July 22 in Surakarta, Central Java. Born in Sragen, Central Java on Aug. 17, 1926, the writer, who was more popular than many contemporary writers, left two wives, 12 children and 23 grandchildren.

Starting his writing career in 1958, Kho Ping Hoo wrote more than 400 stories of swordsmanship with a Chinese cultural background, plus around 50 titles with a Javanese cultural background. His stories in the 1950s filled in the vacuum of popular literature and continued to be most-welcomed entertainment until the 1970s.

As a literature genre which is heavy with entertainment, Kho Ping Hoo's swordsmanship stories not only attract adults but also teenagers of middle to low social classes. His famous stories, most of which were in serial forms of around 35 books, include Bu Kek Sian Su, Pendekar Gila (Crazy Swordsman) and Sepasang Pedang Iblis (A Couple of Devil Swords).

Aloysius Riyanto, locally known as A. Riyanto, who died on June 17 at the age of 51, was one of the composers who made a milestone in Indonesia's music history. His hit songs such as Mawar Berduri (Thorny Rose), Angin Malam (Night Wind), Mimpi Sedih (Sad Dream) and Layu Sebelum Berkembang (It Withers Even Before It Blossoms) were whistled and sung by almost everyone in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

He was also known as a talent scout. A number of famous singers such as Tetty Kadi, who is his cousin, Broery Marantika and Jamal Mirdad were "discovered" by him.

In 1993 he was awarded the BASF Legend Award for his achievements.

Musician Isbandi had led the state-owned TVRI's Telerama Orchestra for 15 years when he died of diabetes on July 23.

Born in Plaju, Sumatra, on June 28, 1922, Isbandi was widely known for his courage to introduce new sounds into the country's music.

"Around the 1950s he introduced an arrangement of kroncong music with a touch of jazz that made it sound very jazzy," said violinist Idris Sardi.

The most important thing was that he had provided a medium for young Indonesian arrangers to experiment and to learn. Today's famous arrangers such as Erwin Gutawa, Jimmy Manopo and Addie MS were among those who experienced Isbandi's willingness to share knowledge.

Noted painter Mochtar Apin died at 70 on Jan. 1, two months after the tragic death of the master Basuki Abdullah. He had been active since the 1940s and experimented with cubism in the 1950s.

Art critic Agus Dermawan T. noted Apin's journey as an artist covered far more than cubism. This, he said, was barely visible at a display of Apin's work at the Galeri Kafe held immediately after his death. Apin taught fine art at the Bandung Institute of Technology.

Two other painters died in April this year, Nashar and Agus Djaja.

Nashar, 66, lived in poverty and was very sick with bronchial asthma until his death on April 13. He was noted for his "non- compromising" stance, refusing to simply follow other artists who gained wealth. Nashar, whose complete works have yet to be displayed to the public, taught at the Jakarta Arts Institute and illustrated book covers of the poet Sapardi Djoko Damono.

Agus Djaya, 81, was among founders of the first association of contemporary painters, PERSAGI, in 1938. Aided by oxygen tanks like Nashar, he sketched in bed until a few weeks before his death on April 24.

Singer Uun Sarbini, comedian Roes Pentil, educator-artist Ki Suratman and fashion writer and observer Cynthia Wiyoso were also among those who passed away in 1994.