Creative Power of Magelang’s Young Artists

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Heriyanto (52) works on wooden tableware at his Pinilih Craft business in North Kramat Village, North Magelang District, Magelang City, Central Java, on Monday (17/10/2022).

The Central Java regency of Magelang is not only home to Borobudur Temple, a masterpiece of religious art, and the creative power of its thriving young artists complements the majesty of this world heritage.

Painting since she was child, Utami Atasia Ishii (26) has grown into a multi-talented artist. Born and raised in Wanurejo village, Borobudur district, Magelang, the artist who goes by the nickname “Tami” produces artwork using a variety of mediums, from paintings to installations and videos to digital music.

A fine arts graduate of the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) Yogyakarta, she has participated in many exhibitions, both at home and abroad. However, behind her success is a health condition that poses a challenge to her work process. The migraines she suffers often interfere with her work.

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Migraine is a throbbing headache on one side of the head. More specifically, Tami suffers from migraine aura that begins with visual disturbances, such as flashes of light that can grow in size, move or change color.

Not wanting to be defeated by her health issue, Tami, was motivated to produce art that represented migraine aura. In 2021, Tami exhibited installation art that depicted her experiencing migraine aura titled Brain Station in the “Broken White Project” exhibit in Yogyakarta.

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A number of tableware specially made for the Borobudur Marathon at the Pinilih Craft business place, North Kramat Village, North Magelang District, Magelang City, Central Java, on Monday (17/10/2022).

This year, the organizers of the Borobudur Marathon invited Tami to collaborate with them in designing a special jersey for runners participating in the Bank Jateng Friendship Run. The event is part of the 2022 Borobudur Marathon and was held over four months from August to October in the four cities of Semarang, Jakarta, Medan and Makassar.

“At first, I said that my art was fine art. A jersey design is usually digital art. However, I was still asked to try. I was also given the freedom to create the design,” Tami said on Wednesday (12/10/2022).

For the jersey of the Bank Jateng Friendship Run in Semarang, she created a design incorporating the Lawang Sewu heritage building, herbs and spring rolls.

In designing the jersey, Tami was inspired by the three elements common to every city: its culinary, cultural and historical places. For the jersey of the Bank Jateng Friendship Run in Semarang, she created a design incorporating the Lawang Sewu heritage building, herbs and spring rolls.

"I am happy that my work has been turned into a jersey worn by thousands of runners," she said.

Painting with fire

About 4 kilometers from where Tami lives are several young painters. But unlike most painters, artist Untung Yuli Prastiawan (40), who goes by Wawan Geni, uses fire to create his artwork.

From a young age, Wawan Geni has liked playing with fire. In fact, he recalls how amazed he was to see fire burning paper. This interest has led him to experiment with fire in art.

In 2003, Wawan started trying to create art using fire, such as by using burned sticks, incense, and coconut shells to “paint” on paper.

“It turned out it was very difficult to use paper, because it was too thin. I then tried to use canvas, but it didn't burn. Then another idea came up: I turned the canvas around and this actually worked,” said Wawan, who lives in Deyangan Village, Mertoyudan district, Magelang.

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A wooden watch specially made for the Borobudur Marathon at the Jerawood Craft business premises, South Kramat Village, North Magelang District, Magelang City, Central Java, on Monday (17/10/2022).

Through a series of experiments, Wawan discovered that using burning mosquito coils and cigarettes were best suited for his technique of drawing with fire. To date he has produced more than 100 paintings, each priced over Rp 100 million.

“My paintings have been sold to [customers in] a number of foreign countries, such as England, the United States, Japan and Singapore. Apart from that, some people in [Indonesia] have also bought my paintings. Most of the buyers are arts enthusiasts, and even include former [Cabinet] ministers," said the ISI Yogyakarta fine arts graduate.

In fact, many of his paintings are inspired by the environs of Borobudur, Magelang.

Although his paintings are sold around the world, Wawan always incorporates a local element into his artwork. In fact, many of his paintings are inspired by the environs of Borobudur, Magelang.

Masks

Magelang also has a number of artists who create wooden masks. One talented young mask artist is Khoirul Mutaqin (33), who lives in Wonolelo village, Bandongan district, Magelang.

Khoirul became interested in wooden masks in around 2011, when he was fascinated by the various masks on display at the home of senior Magelang artist Sutanto Mendut. Sutanto, who saw that Khoirul was interested, told him to make a mask.

Khoirul made five Balinese masks in the first week. Sutanto was impressed on seeing the masks, and then told Khoirul to add color. Afterwards, Sutanto bought the completed masks.

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Various wooden crafts made at the Safa Woodcraft craft business, Kemirirejo Village, Central Magelang, Magelang City, Central Java, on Monday (17/10/2022).

The masks Khoirul makes are priced according to their shape and color. The cheapest masks cost Rp 500,000 apiece, while the most expensive can cost Rp 3 million.

Tami, Wawan and Khoirul are just three of the many young artists contributing to the pulse of Magelang’s arts scene. Their creativity also enlivens the colors of the country’s artistic treasures.

(This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswo)