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.