Work of distinguished artists on display

Work of distinguished artists on display

By Aendra H. Medita

JAKARTA (JP): Three artists Danarto, Sukamto and Ipe Mar'oef
expressively depict objects, taken from not only daily life but
also the shadow puppet world, through their works currently
exhibited at the Lontar Gallery which will end on Friday (Nov.17)

While the daily objects that Ipe Mar'oef has drawn, show his
firm lines and Danarto's forceful sweeps result in
extraordinarily strong lines, Sukamto shows greater emotion in
his lines.

This exhibition shows to the public what is interesting about
the objects in their works and unravel the mysteries underlying
the drawings in the exhibition.

As the three fine artists differ in terms of character, space
and style, their works can be easily distinguished, or more
precisely, the aura of each of them is reflected in their
respective works. Another distinction of these three fine artists
is that their works have contributed significantly to the history
of Indonesia's fine arts. The three of them have intensely
involved themselves not only in fine arts but also in the arts in
general.

Ipe Ma'roef is a name to recall instantly when you talk about
Indonesia's realm of sketches. He has given his-all to arts. Born
Ismet Pasha Ma'roef on Nov.11, 1938 in Tepi Bandar Oto, Padang,
West Sumatera, Ipe learned painting from Affandi, Surono and S.
Sudjojono. He began to exhibit his works as far back as 1950. His
sketches have been published in a number of literary and cultural
media publications such as Zenith, Budaya and Budaya Jaya.

In Ipe's works, each object reflects the aura of the lines he
draws to visualize his mental image. In his hands, objects have
found life. His lines are strongly drawn although his interrupted
lines may give the impression they have been made only
spontaneously. Take "Semua Melihat Ke Atas (All Looking Upwards),
for example. The drawing shows six figures and regardless of who
or what they depict, they are arranged within a shocking frame.

In his two other works, Pengamen Mojokerto (Mojokerto Street
Singer) and "Ayah Angkat Dali (Dali's Adoptive Father), Ipe is
rather different. These two drawings are almost similar because
the two figures - the street singer and the adoptive father - are
depicted as if they were siting. Ipe has successfully offered the
firmly-made lines as sitting objects although chairs are not
explicitly shown.

The works of Danarto, born on June 27 1940, show a serious
study of the objects. Danarto, a 1961 graduate of the Indonesian
Fine Arts Academy (ASRI) in Yogyakarta, is no longer at his
elementary stage. To him, a line is no longer an instrument, as
Bambang Bujono writes in the catalog of the exhibition. He
considers lines as part of the fine art language. Therefore his
lines will flow freely in keeping with what Danarto himself
wishes to have. What is interesting about Danarto is that the
expression of his love for lines constitutes a perfect totality.

Take his work titled "Wisangeni di Medan Laga (Wisangeni in a
Battle Field), for example. Here Danarto draws his object highly
descriptively so that the details of the figure can be
graphically brought out and line strokes illustrate the battle
scene in which Wisangeni is involved.

As a painter, Danarto is capable of not only making use of
lines as his strength but also of creating nature in its charm
and beauty very carefully. In his two works, Sejoli di Tepi
Telaga (A Couple at a Lake Side) and Bulan ke Tujuh (Seventh
Month), Danarto not only captures the atmosphere but also
presents his figures, charming an beautiful, in great similarity
to the figures from the shadow puppet world. Further to this,
Danarto shows in his drawings a high-level ability to essentially
explore lines.0

Sukamto is quite different from Ipe and Arief. Born in Solo on
March 13, 1945, he graduated from Surakarta Arts Academy in 1950.
Now he teaches at the Graphic Arts School of the Jakarta Arts
Institute (IKJ). His generally highly expressive works appear
within his highly characteristic frames. In the present
exhibition, his works tend to be carried away by emotion.

Studying the graphic arts in Rotterdam, the Netherlands
between 1977 and 1978, Sukamto has his preference for the objects
found in the shadow puppet world. In his works called "Abimanyu
Rancap (Abimanyu Masturbates) and "Batara Kala Lahir (Batara Kala
is Born), he resorts to more symbolism than in his other works.

These works show his understanding of atmosphere and not the
essence of shapes. To lend visual prominence to the figure in his
drawings, he makes use of dark polishing. He presents a central
object in its detailed form without much embellishment so that in
Batara Kala Lahir, a woman figure is depicted as someone with
long hair hanging loosely down to the shoulder. In his expressive
force, his awareness is recorded so that the emerging expression
is but an overflow of emotion.

Sukamto's other works are similar. They do not offer much
variation but they reflect standard processing of the graphic
styles in general.

All in all, the works stressing atmosphere are now part of the
esthetics of the strength underlying the works of these
experienced fine artists. This exhibition, therefore, may be
regarded as an event to invigorate the drawing realm because
drawing is actually the most important part of Indonesia's fine
art history.