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August 27, 2006 , The Jakarta Post
Cynthia Webb, Contributor, Gold Coast, Australia
Awang, his Danish wife Maiken, a teacher, and their two-year-old son, Roar, already had plans for a three-week visit to Java to see family and friends in June or July, this year. When the arrangements were made some months ago, they could not have imagined they would be returning to a badly damaged and suffering Yogyakarta. There was also the continuing threat from the nearby volcano, Mt. Merapi, which was under high alert status. Many artists have included the written word, or sometimes, just letters, as decorative components of their compositions. Awang had done that too, along with his previous styles of expressionism and semi-abstract works, but in 2002 he thought, "Why not make the letters and words actually become one with my subject -- in the same way that art and life are fused together?" When first trying out his idea, he found it very difficult to create a successful work but experimented until he found a way of adapting the shading principles of traditional drawing, and placing the letters within the patterns of shadow, so that the form of the subject, (usually a figure or face), would still be clearly visible. His words and the visual subject always connect with each other in meaning, and when onlookers stand close, they can read the letters and words, which make up the little story or poem woven into the work. However, standing back from the painting, the pictorial image becomes the main impression. The writing is always in Indonesian language, with translations provided beside the work on display. These works are executed in acrylic on canvas, of course completely drawn and painted by hand, and are very time-consuming to execute. They require a lot of artistic discipline and patience. Fortunately Awang is a man who only requires five hours sleep a night. He combines his professional art career with the role of carer of little Roar, while his wife Maiken works as a teacher. A lot of his painting is done during the night while everyone else sleeps. Awang did a Graphic Arts course at the Modern School of Design in Yogyakarta in 2000, and sees no artistic conflict in using modern technological advantages to aid the development and design of his paintings. Sometimes he pre-plans on the computer, the all-important variations of tonality or shading, which gives a three-dimensional impression to the work. This becomes a guide from which to redraw the work on canvas and do the complex work of fitting the lettering into it. He says he feels lucky that he is a modern man living in a city and therefore can take full advantage of technology. "We cannot hide from, or deny modern technology. This is our opportunity to use it to enrich our work and make it easier", Awang said. Awang is a nickname, which came to him because his younger sibling couldn't say Behartawan, his real name. However, Awang-awang has a beautiful meaning and is an appropriate name for an artist (up in the air, uncertain, far off, perhaps drifting, dreaming). He was born in Palembang in 1970. He started drawing from an early age and when he was about 13 he saw in a magazine a reproduction of a Van Gogh painting, and the words, "Maestro of Impressionism". At the time he didn't understand the meaning of this, but the painting itself and its style, made a powerful impression upon him. "I borrowed some tubes of paint from a friend and tried to paint like Van Gogh, straight from the tube on to paper," Awang laughed as he remembered these early beginnings. Awang never attended art school, but learned a lot from his good friend Tony Algazali, a sculptor who lived in Yogyakarta. From him he learned about the technical aspects of art, and how to find and interpret a concept. He also met a lecturer from I.S.I. (Institut Seni Indonesia), Sumartono, who was also a sculptor and from him Awang learned more valuable lessons. From Tris Aminoe, formerly an illustrator for Yogyakarta's daily newspaper Kedaulan Rakyat, he learned batik painting. He has been inspired by the work of Picasso too. These are some of his teachers and his inspirations, together with his immense admiration for the young painters of Yogyakarta. "They are really active and creative -- full of energy and ideas. Maybe it's because Indonesia is a hot country, and it burns the brain to find ideas," he laughed. He says this because living in cold northern Europe is very different from the life he knew in Yogyakarta. He says: "The longer I stay here, the more I understand the people. Nature is always reflected in the population. In a cold country, life can be very difficult, especially in the middle of winter. In Indonesia, I smile all the time, but here in the Danish winter, I cannot smile, because my mouth is frozen!" Awang laughed again -- he's always joking, but there is a strong element of truth here. He continued, "In this situation, people cannot `hang out', enjoy the life of the streets. In winter the mood changes drastically. I have learned how to fit myself into Danish society. In the house I can live like an Indonesian man, but outside I must behave like a Dane". Awang's Scandinavian destiny first touched him in 1994. When he was 24, a friend asked him to paint a portrait of his Swedish friend, to be given as a birthday present. The recipient loved the artwork, and asked to meet the artist. So began a lasting relationship, which became like a foster family. Two years later the Swedish couple invited Awang to come to visit them in Sweden and he stayed there for five months, and had his first taste of the seriously cold weather. In the Swedish town of Bredaryd, he had his first art exhibition of about 13 paintings. He met his future wife Maiken in 1994, when she holidayed in Yogyakarta, and they met again on her second visit to Yogyakarta in 1997. They married in Denmark in 1998, and had a second wedding, resplendent in traditional Sriwijaya costume, in Palembang in 2000. This special occasion brought the Danish family to Indonesia and they met their Indonesian family. A son, Roar Langit, was born in April, 2004. They have since divided their time between their two vastly different home countries. Awang hopes to arrange a future exhibition in Indonesia. He has had numerous exhibitions in Denmark and one in Germany, also a two-man joint exhibition in Singapore. He has painted wall murals, designed logos, and taught batik painting in Denmark. His unusual style of work is now becoming known and recognized by the people of Copenhagen. Awang's art philosophy is expressed in his poem: Poetry of Art Art is beautiful Awang observed that his painting is "very personal. One person will like my paintings and another won't. My paintings are built up from my poems, and the poems come from daily life. I like to sit and talk about life, but there are some things that are too difficult to talk about. But I can share my feelings with people, through my poems in the paintings". Visit Awang's website: http://www.awangart.dk |
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