Sukasman finds secret of puppets

Sukasman finds secret of puppets

Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

The floor is dirty. The furniture is in disarray, and frankly
the sitting room is a mess, as if it had long been abandoned. But
among this are traces of art: several sketches of leather puppets
drawn with white chalk on the floor.

The messy living arrangements are a clue to the restless
nature of Ki Sukasman, the owner of the house on Jl. Tamansiswa,
Yogyakarta. The 66-year-old artist has devoted all his life to
wayang, the art of leather puppetry.

When The Jakarta Post met him at his house-cum-workshop,
Sukasman was slow to talk, especially when asked about why his
planned trip to Italy last month was canceled.

Sukasman was scheduled to go to Italy, together with artist
Heri Dono, for The Venice Biennale (art event) but for technical
reasons he was denied a visa. So, Heri went to Italy without him.

Sukasman has made a name as the creator of Wayang ukur, a new
style of leather puppet. His puppets have been used in shadow
plays at home and abroad, such as in Canada, Holland, Germany and
the U.S.

He seemed deeply disappointed by the cancellation of his
Italian trip. "Never ask me that question," he curtly
intercepted, trying to divert the conversation to other topics.

Sukasman has lately been observed in a state of restlessness
or fear. He is somewhat suspicious of other people. His best
friends shrug off the condition. They say it is indicative of a
deeper creative process.

"We don't know exactly why, but he is afraid of the figure of
a soldier and the number three. He suspects that he didn't make
it to Italy because he is under the military's constant
surveillance. In fact, his suspicion is groundless; it is just an
illusion. We think that he is nurturing a great idea," said
Bambang Paningron, Sukasman's script writer.

Paningron, chairman of the recent 2003 Yogyakarta Art
Festival's organizing committee, said that, curiously, when
Sukasman was deep in a state of restlessness, he would telephone
him every morning and ask him to find soldiers to keep guard of
him.

"As I know him inside out, I will tell him that I have sent
some soldiers to keep guard. On other occasions, when he happens
to find, for example, a packet consisting of three pieces of
something -- or a symbol of the figure three somewhere -- he will
be seized by fear and ask me for help."

Sukasman first observed the puppets as a little boy. He made
leather puppets later in his youth, and graduated from the
Indonesian Fine Art Academy (ASRI) in Yogyakarta, in 1962,
majoring in advertising, decorative arts, illustration and
graphic arts.

Since graduating, he has experimented with leather puppets. He
strongly disagrees with the popular conception that the puppet's
form has already reached a state of perfection and needs no
divergence.

As an artist, he purges his restlessness with the obsessive
scientific study of leather puppets. He has tried to crack the
stylization secret of the puppet's shapes. Finally, he found a
way to modify the form by measuring individual parts: the body,
the arms, the legs, the neck and the shoulders. Hence the origins
of his puppet's name, Wayang ukur (leather puppets in
measurement).

Sukasman, who worked as a dishwasher and did other jobs in the
Netherlands between 1965 and 1974, has devoted nearly all his
life to wayang. He remains unmarried and most of his earnings
went back into his art. He owns a large house on Jl. Taman Siswa,
Yogyakarta, which serves as both his house and workshop.

Often, Sukasman falls asleep among the piles of leather
puppets in his workshop after a show. These puppets are just
like his wife and children. They live in his dreams.

For Ki Sukasman, a dream is a serious matter. It is through
his dreams that he communicates with his puppets.

"Sometimes, his actions defy reason. On one occasion, for
example, he asked to cancel his shadow play just because the
night before his leather puppets had met him in a dream. As a
production manager I have to ignore his dreams. So far, nothing
bad has happened," said Paningron.

Sukasman's subconscious has often been a source of
inspiration. His latest creation result's from his interpretation
of the physical shapes of the court jesters of the Pandawa
knights, (Semar, Petruk, Gareng and Bagong).

According to Sukasman, the physical shape of the court jesters
embodies sexual desire.

"These sexual desires are usually latent and therefore
invisible. But I believe that they are embodied in Petruk, Gareng
and Bagong."

Man is hypocritical by nature and sexual desire is often
hidden, he explained. So, our ancestors gave desire a voice in
the creation of Petruk, Gareng and Bagong.

The long nose of Petruk, for example, represents a man's
desire for a woman. It is the phallus, lust makes it bigger...

Gareng's deformed hands are the consequence of lust.
Unsatisfied and terrible desire.

"Satiation cannot be achieved - because lust is hidden in fear
or other reasons - Gareng's hands trembled so hard that they were
deformed. This is just a symbol of a pent-up desire," Sukasman
said.

The potbelly and gaping mouth of Bagong are also grotesque
representations of sexuality. "His lengthened mouth symbolizes
craving. Sexual satisfaction is sometimes achieved by the mouth."

Ki Sukasman has interpreted the stories and figures of wayang
with a familiarity that is almost stifling. His relationship with
the puppets is the restless energy that drives him. He is bound
to them as absolutely as wife and children.