Ong, trendsetter in book cover design

Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

The threat by certain organizations last year to seize and destroy books they considered leftist in content sent a chill down the backs of not only writers, bookstores and publishers, but also book designers.

Ong Hari Wahyu, 44, one of Indonesia's leading book cover designers, was one of those terrified by the threats. "Si Ong", as he is known, was the designer for some of the targeted books.

Bestsellers by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, such as his tetralogy of This Earth of Mankind, Child of All Nations, Footsteps and Glass House, are among the old books whose covers Ong has redesigned.

As rumors spread about burning of leftist books, Si Ong -- a resident of Nitiprayan, which is known as an "artists village", in Bantul, Yogyakarta -- often received phone calls from anonymous callers and his friends, telling him he was personally targeted.

Some groups burned "leftist books" in Menteng, Central Jakarta, in a show of force, but they stopped short of carrying out their threat to raid bookstores thanks partly to strong public condemnation. Nevertheless, bookstores cleared the targeted books from their shelves.

The memory that some people who sold Pramoedya's books in Yogyakarta were detained and imprisoned during Soeharto's New Order regime weighed heavily on Si Ong.

"I was scared and wanted to go into hiding. I readied everything so that anytime they raided my house I could run away there and then," he said. Fortunately, nothing happened.

"It's true that I designed the covers of some of the books they considered leftist. As we all know, after the beginning of the reform era many books which the New Order regime banned from circulation reemerged. Many groups do not like this atmosphere of openness. They use religion and the Pancasila ideology as excuses to get rid of books."

Si Ong described the groups making all the noise about leftist books as "very disgusting", saying they even went as far as burning scientific books written by Frans Magnis Suseno.

"I wonder if they read the books. This is really embarrassing," he said.

Ong is a leader in his field, and his designs have inspired other book designers in the country.

He studied design at the Indonesian Institute of Arts in Yogyakarta, but never completed his degree.

Some critics say Si Ong never ventures far from the classic models in designing book covers.

"In fact not all of my designs are classic," he said.

Si Ong does not use classic designs for books on current affairs. For books on the Indonesian military, for instance, he does not use military symbols. Instead, he uses more subtle pictures. He frowns on realistic drawings and photographs.

It is this visual language that Si Ong loves. In a visual language, he feels he can toy with ideas and express them on a book cover.

This unusual approach often takes writers, publishers and readers by surprise, because the designs can be "difficult to understand".

"When designing a cover, the first thing that comes to mind is to draw or to paint, either from a photograph or from a drawing. To be able to compose in the visual language, I have to read the book first. I will also seek inspirations from other sources, such as old books, posters, cigarette packs, advertisements and paintings," he said.

Designing book covers is not Si Ong's only skill. He has also made a name for himself as a stage designer and artistic director.

Well-known actors such as Emha Ainun Najib, Miroto, Djaduk Ferianto and Butet Kertaradjasa are among those who are eager to work with Si Ong.

Among his more memorable work was serving as the artistic director for the award-winning Leaf on a Pillow, a feature film by Garin Nugroho.

Because the orders flood in, Si Ong often has to turn down some jobs, especially when the deadlines are short. He does four book covers a day.

"An artistic job cannot be rushed," he said.

Si Ong prefers to design book covers for emerging writers of publishers, assuming that they have idealism. Besides, they will not put any pressure on him that will adversely affect his creative job.

Although he receives less money from new writers and publishers, he is happy to design covers for them and help them develop.

"I'm happy to see dozens of new book cover designers begin to make names for themselves, and to see 114 publishers working in Yogyakarta. I long to see book publishing become a home industry in Indonesia," said Si Ong.

His ambition is to establish a book distribution syndication. The aim is to narrow the gap between small and large publishers.

This syndication would also help market books published by small publishers, as be believes that these books are generally as good as those produced by the major publishers.

"(If the syndication comes into being) it will bring books closer to their readers. Their prices will be reduced because the distribution chain will be short and the taxes reduced," said Si Ong, whose book cover designs cost between Rp 200,000 and Rp 5 million each.