Remembering Itji Tarmizi, an enigmatic painter

Amir Sidharta, Contributor, Jakarta

A distressed family consisting of a man and wife and a little boy attempts desperately to escape the fuming volcano behind them. Their anxiety is skillfully conveyed through the expressions on their faces and their gestures. The strokes of a somber hue of oils, applied intensely either with a palette knife or paint brush, define the tragic nuance of the painting.

This disquieting depiction is the work of Itji Tarmizi, the youngest member of Sanggar Pelukis Rakyat (People's Painter Studio), who was considered one of the most talented painters in the country.

Tarmizi passed away on Nov. 28 following a brief battle with liver cancer. Immediately after being diagnosed with the malignant disease a mere two months ago, his friends prepared a solo exhibition, at One Gallery in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, starting on Nov. 23.

Although he managed to inspect the preparations for the exhibition the day before it began, he was in grave need of medical attention on the day of the opening and could not attend the festivities. It was to be his first and last solo exhibition, and he never saw his works on display.

The artist seemed to have had a rather unfortunate life. He was hearing impaired, making it hard for him to communicate.

In 1953, he joined Hendra Gunawan in the studio. His presence was noted by art historian Claire Holt, who mentions him and even includes images of two of his paintings in her book Art in Indonesia. Tarmizi's paintings could also be found in the art collection of President Sukarno.

In the 1960s, he was at his prime, and produced his best work. One of his most monumental works is a rendition of a fisherman's family on the north coast of East Java, gazing across the horizon, as if anticipating an auspicious future. The painting is done in a style derived from the Russian social realist school and resembles the kind of realism developed in China.

It is still unclear whether Tarmizi learned his painting techniques in Russia or China, but there are reports suggesting that he had in fact spent time studying in Russia. Although he had recently started to reveal his past experiences, he tended to evade questions relating to trips to Russia or China.

The Pelukis Rakyat received substantial support from LEKRA, the People's Cultural Institute. Following the abortive coup of Sept. 30, 1965, members of the Pelukis Rakyat were hunted down.

Practically all of Tarmizi's colleagues were captured and imprisoned. Miraculously the artist was able to escape and return to his homeland in Lintau, West Sumatra, where he lived under his grandmother's protection.

For over 30 years, throughout the New Order era, he produced very few works, the quality of which declined. Although he was never physically imprisoned, he was not free to express his feelings and thoughts. From his grandmother, he learnt the art of embroidery, and produced his own compositions, which appear to have cosmological significance.

Towards the end of his life, he would appear wearing unique attire of his own design, embellished with his symbolic embroidery. These designs didn't appear in the extensive One Gallery exhibition.

Tarmizi reemerged on the Indonesian art scene after the fall of the New Order in 1998. By chance, a number of his old works appeared in Indonesian art auctions and he managed to view them. He also revisited his old works, many of which are still kept with much pride in the houses of prominent art collectors.

Earlier this year, he was reunited with the painting of the East Java fishing village. He spent quite some time gazing at the scene. It was like a father looking at his long lost son. He became inspired to paint again.

Although he worked hard on redeveloping his painting skills, his recent works lacked the strength evident in his output from the 1950s and 60s. Simply put, he had been out of practice for more than thirty years.

Di Akhir Abad (End of the Century), completed at midnight, Dec. 31, 2000, is a painting inspired by the monumental 1960 depiction of the family in the fishing village in East Java. However, the figures in the recent work look like primates, not dissimilar to the characters in the movie Planet of the Apes, painted in soft pastels. To be frank, it is a far cry from the earlier piece.

Perhaps with practice, Tarmizi could have reemerged to become one of Indonesia's best painters, but his health failed him. What I regret most is not having been able to conduct a proper interview with him. Communicating with him was always quite difficult.

Meirizal, his nephew, would spell out the questions I asked him letter by letter, and he would then answer in his own manner of speech, which was not easy to understand. His nephew would also need to interpret what he was trying to say to enable me to fully understand what he meant.

Tarmizi's enigmatic character and experiences were fascinating and important for us to learn about and comprehend. Unfortunately, his knowledge is now gone forever and we will only be able to study him through his art works.