Rastika, a stranger in his own land

Rastika, a stranger in his own land

Yusuf Susilo Hartono, Contributor, Jakarta

Rastika, a well-known name in glass painting from Cirebon, West
Java, is a stranger in his own land -- as far as his artwork is
concerned.

"I get more recognition in Jakarta and abroad than I do in my
own hometown," said Rastika, 60, in a mixed tone of indictment,
sadness, annoyance and anger.

Among art observers, Rastika, a widower with five children and
five grandchildren, has reformed traditional themes in glass
paintings.

A combination of rocks and clouds and that of a dragon, which
are quite often found in Cirebon's glass paintings, are also
evident in his creations. Rastika is capable of depicting
flexible and elegant forms in complicated, rich and beautiful
detail.

His colors give the impression of calmness, although sometimes
they also suggest seething passion. The color harmony suggests
western nuances, which are obviously the outcome of his wide
acquaintanceship with fine art academics.

Why is it that he has not been accorded a proper place in
Cirebon?

"I don't know," he said. "When government officials here hold
meetings with local artists, I'm never invited," he said.

His fourth son, Kusdono, 20, agreed. Confined to a wheelchair,
Kusdono is being groomed as his father's successor.

Nevertheless, Rastika has never been discouraged. He continues
his painting, driven by his neighbors' demand for his artwork to
be given as wedding gifts or used as house decorations. He also
receives orders from collectors in Jakarta.

He lives and works at his studio in the Gegesik Kulon area of
Cirebon.

Rastika said his seven-meter-by-eight-meter studio was built
in 1987 as a gift from Martha Tilaar, the owner of the well-known
cosmetics company in Jakarta. It is also in this studio that he
is training Kusdono and four other village youngsters in glass
painting skills, Cirebon-style.

He is also developing a Cirebon mask dance with his
grandchildren as the dancers. He has been working hard lately to
raise Rp 6 million to renovate his studio.

Rastika was an elementary school dropout. He had to leave
school when he was in grade six. It was when he was in elementary
school that he began to enjoy shadow puppet (wayang) shows and
also began to draw shadow puppet figures with chalk on a piece of
slate. He later drew these figures on paper.

In 1959, he improved his glass painting skills and techniques
after observing how senior artists Soedarga and Sadji as well as
puppet master Maruna, who are all dead now, went about their
work.

"I only watched how they worked and then copied their
techniques at home. So I did not learn painting formally from
them," said Rastika, who used to be a farmer.

His name became well-known in Indonesia's fine arts circle in
1977 when Haryadi Suadi, a painter and teacher, introduced him at
an exhibition at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), where
a lot of fine arts masters were attending, in addition to the
Indonesian Fine Arts Academy (ASRI) of Yogyakarta.

Joop Ave, then the head of household affairs at the
presidential palace, paved the way for his exhibition at the
annual Jakarta Fair in Monas Park. Joop later invited him to the
State Palace to draw Pandawa Lima, the legendary five figures of
the Pendawa kingdom in the Mahabarata epic.

"I'm pleased that my glass painting has been hung in the State
Palace," he said.

From then on, he has held many more exhibitions with the
sponsorship of the public in Jakarta. There are dozens of
exhibitions to his credit, such as those at Museum Wayang, Ancol,
Bentara Budaya Jakarta and Ismail Marzuki Park. An exhibition of
his works is now under way at the Candrika Gallery of the
Indonesian Fine Arts Foundation with PT Fortune Adwicipta as the
sponsor.

Every time he holds an exhibition, most of his works are
usually sold. The late Budiardjo, the former information
minister, was very fond of collecting Rastika's glass paintings.
"He had about 250 glass paintings by me. They are kept in Pondok
Tingal Magelang and Ciputat," he said.

At present Rastika is exploring his latest theme: humor. In
this way he can poke fun at the dangers of narcotics through the
drunken Petruk, a royal servant with a Pinocchio-like nose in a
shadow puppet story, who has a voluptuous woman seated on his
lap. The humor continues his former theme of calligraphy and
fragments from shadow puppet stories originating in the Ramayana
epic and the Cirebon Chronicles.

Rastika also paints on order. Once, for example, he painted
Jesus and the Virgin Mary on glass after receiving an order from
Raymond Toruan, the editor-in-chief of The Jakarta Post.

His most monumental work -- measuring 11 meters by 3 meters --
was created in 1980 and called Indonesian Images, as it contained
the theme of the Baratayuda war in the Mahabarata epic. It is on
display at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah.

In 1985 and 1986 he made three glass paintings of three shadow
puppet stories on cloth, measuring 15 meters each, titled Alas
Wana Marta Chronicle, the Cirebon Chronicles and Jaka Menyawak.
These paintings are usually hung where there is a wedding party
or a ceremony marking a circumcision. Unfortunately, the three
paintings were bought by French, American and Dutch collectors,
respectively, each paying Rp 1 million for his work.

Recently Rastika has had reason to be upset. His paintings of
the shadow puppet motifs have been copied. However, he has
decided to continue painting rather than seek a legal solution to
the infringement. He has chosen to devote himself to the Cirebon
glass painting school and follow the advice given once to him by
Joop Ave.

"I don't want to be like young artists creating so-called
abstract paintings," he said.