Rusli gets to the bare essentials in his works

Rusli gets to the bare essentials in his works

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): The ceremonial bade -- the vehicle in which the
corpse is transported to the funeral ground in the ngaben
Balinese Hindu cremation ceremony -- stands majestically above
the crowd in Rusli's 1969 work Ngaben.

The dignity of the bade is portrayed using simple yet swift
monochromatic washes of oil, while the exuberance of the
procession is depicted with dots of various colors embellishing
the lower part of the painting.

The structure of the bade's bridge, depicted using broad
monochromatic washes, appears to be fading into the background,
distancing itself from the main subject matter. The simple
painting is magical -- one can almost sense the beat of the drums
and the music of the gamelan, the procession moving in your
direction and the solemn, transcendental atmosphere of the
ceremony in this work.

In his paintings, some of which are on show at the exhibition
Haiku dalam Warna dan Garis at Galeri Lontar, Rusli, now 85,
strips his subjects to the bare essence of their matter, into
simple bands, strokes or even dots of color.

Tempo journalist Bambang Bujono likens his works to haiku
poems executed in lines and color. Some of Rusli's works
primarily consist of linear elements, as can be seen in his
Pelabuhan Semarang (Semarang Harbor) series (1970). In Perahu-
perahu (Boats) 3 (1970), the shape of the boats is delineated
using broad, bold, red lines. Other than a few black blotches and
yellow dots and curves, only a number of broad red lines appear
in Pelabuhan Semarang 5, yet what the lines actually delineate or
represent remain unclear.

Often times, the waters or the sea are represented by broad
bands of color, as can be seen in Perahu (Boat) 3 and Tiga Kapal
di Tengah Laut (Three Boats in the Middle of the Sea). "What I
paint is actually not the object, not its physical entity, but
rather its spirit," claims Rusli. The ordered, horizontal bands
of color certainly represent the calmness of the waters by the
harbor. The painter's works are his search for the essence in
art.

The works of Rusli and the painter, Affandi, show
similarities.

Although differing in style and technique, their works consist
of minimal lines, often leaving much of the white of the canvas
uncovered with paint. Keeping this in mind, it is no surprise
that both Affandi and Rusli studied in India. In fact they both
attended Santiniketan, although Rusli was there about two years
before Affandi.

Rusli first learned about Santiniketan when he was in fifth
grade of high school. He had read a story in a magazine about
Rabindranath Tagore's visit to the Dutch East Indies. The article
included a write-up about Santiniketan.

The article mentioned that Santiniketan was a university
without classrooms. Classes were held under trees. That intrigued
him.

He left for India, but ended in a medical school in Calcutta,
along with some other friends who chose to study there. It soon
became apparent that medicine was not for him. He left after two
months.

From Calcutta he went to Santiniketan, where painters and
artists were free to explore their interests. Those who wanted to
paint could paint -- if they were not in the mood, there was no
need to. That suited him.

"When I was young, I had wanted to become a pastor because I
thought it would be fun and easy," Rusli told Yogyakarta-based
Tempo journalist R. Fadjri.

"They are free and useful to society. I also once wanted to
become a seaman because I could then freely roam the world and go
anywhere I wanted. At another time I wanted to become a
journalist because I could freely write. All those dreams remain
unfulfilled. Instead, I became a painter."

Yet, during his years at Santiniketan (1932-1936), the artist
not only studied art, but also sculpture, architecture, English
literature, philosophy and even Katakali, an classical Indian
dance. The university had a liberal approach to education where
students had to actively search for knowledge. The art classes
were taught by first-rate artists in India. Yet, the instructors
never told their students what to paint. Instead, they let the
students paint what they wanted.

"They never taught painting techniques, and there were no
figure drawing classes. Yet, the effect of their presence was
important. They provided an atmosphere that inspired us to
advance," he recalled.

Once his instructor criticized his painting for lacking
nuance. It was a painting of a girl in the rain. The instructor
said it was quite good visually, but the viewer could not feel
the nuance of rain in the work. He told Rusli to play in the rain
for a few days. Only after that experience was the young artist
able to actually feel the nuance of rain and portray it in his
work.

He also realized that in art (including painting), what is
important is not the physical appearance, but the soul.

"So, everything has to be felt. Hence, when I want to paint, I
would sit and observe leafs, boats, and the barong for a long
period of time. What I paint is actually not the object, not its
physical appearance, but its soul," the artist claims.

While his harbor depictions seem calm, the festive spirit of
Balinese culture can be felt in Rusli's portrayal of the
ceremonies and rituals on the island in works dating from 1967 to
1973. His paintings of Bali also show that he is not concerned
about portraying the physical appearance of his subject matter,
but rather its nuance, its soul or its essence.

At Santiniketan, perhaps for the first time, Rusli felt free
to do what he wanted. There he understood what it meant to be a
painter. He learned that artists painted in search of the soul,
the essence of what they tried to depict. And Rusli discovered
freedom in his search for the essence of life.

The exhibition is being held at Galeri Lontar, Jl. Utan Kayu
68H, East Jakarta (tel: 8573388) until May 19.