English for Design II
Prepared by : Indra Tj
UNIT VII
The Clay Master
http://articles.ibonweb.com/magarticle.asp?num=731
October 2001
IBonWEB.com - A visit to "Rumah Tanah Baru", Widayanto's gallery in the
rural area of Depok is a delving into art. The experience is also a journey for
his visitors from the hustle and bustle of a metropolitan city to a tranquil and
peaceful sanctuary. After a long and busy journey from Jakarta to Depok
under a scorching sun, finding a place like Rumah Tanah Baru is a surprise.
"This house is open to the public during weekends," says Widayanto, or
Yanto as he is usually called.
Going Forward For Art Exploration
A Ganeshi ceramic statue titled "Liman Jungkitan" (An Elephant on a
Seesaw) welcomes all visitors when they enter the Rumah Tanah Baru.
Ganesha-Ganeshi is one of Yanto's masterpieces. He created Ganesha, the
Lord of Beginnings in Hindu belief, with a magnificent white elephant's head,
in male and female form from his own imagination. "Ganesha-Ganeshi has
invited many responses both positive and negative," Yanto states," Even my
lecturer criticized Ganesha-Ganeshi as a crude creation."
But Yanto is open to all comments, to enrich his creativity. Indonesian
culture, flora and fauna, and myths also inspire his creativity. Loro Blonyo, a
statue of a Javanese bride and groom, is another Yanto masterpiece, which
he claims, has been duplicated by several artisans. He usually ignores the
copycats as long as they are artisans. "I am happy if they find new passions,
inspired by my designs, to create ceramic art," he states. Besides, he
believes that they use different materials and create different works from his.
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Yanto's ceramic glazing technique is called celup miring; glazing one part of
the ceramic, and decorating the other part by drawing or sticking on some
decorations, and bercak, a spill effect that creates dots. Dragon flies,
butterflies, frogs, fishes and leaves are the predominate decorations.
His workshop was established in 1990 in Tapos, a hilly area in Bogor, West
Java. He bought six ovens to support the production process, each oven
costing Rp. 50 million. Yanto says that he generally uses 5 tons of clay every
month. This is shipped from nearby Sukabumi, West Java, which has good
quality clay. At present he employs around a hundred in his workshop. Yanto
claims that he has designed about 7000 products since 1983.
The environment inspires his imagination. "I get my creative passion in a
mountainous area. A hot climate will paralyze my creativity," he says. Yanto
stresses the warmth of each creation. "They have to reflect my character
strongly, and every piece is individual."
He often creates new colors and decorations. "I follow trends to make my
designs marketable, but I drive the market demand, rather than follow it," he
states. He also combines both commercial and idealistic aspects to create art
that has selling power. He values the opinions of his friends, staff,
colleagues, and customers. "I like to express all my imagination in ceramics,
but of course, it is better if people want to buy them, so I do need people's
comments," he says. He admits that some people call him a merchant, not
an artist. "I don't care what they call me because what I want to do is to
combine art and business."
Yanto has proved that he can make money from ceramics; six outlets in
Jakarta sell his creations such as souvenirs, works of art, crockery, bathroom
accessories, office equipment, and much more, costing from Rp 7500 to
Rp.50 million. He avoids stating the exact revenue of his business. "But we
manage to reach about Rp 2 billion per year," he estimates. Yanto says that
80% of his customers are local people from various backgrounds. "My
customers are mostly young mothers hunting for items for their home."
In 1997, Yanto established Rumah Tanah Baru as his model house. It stands
on more than one-hectare and houses many ceramic utensils combined with
antique furniture and traditional cloth that complements the green
surroundings. He organizes tours Mondays to Saturdays to publicize ceramics
further and to let the public know how they are created. A shop, named
Warung N'toep, is located in the center to sell his wares.
A Decisive Moment
Yanto's connection with ceramics was based on his hobby of drawing that
sent him to the Ceramic Department in the Art and Design Faculty of the
Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). He completed his studies in 1981.
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The ambiguity in ceramics, even after the long production process, dictated
his choice. He explains that to produce ceramics, there are many steps, such
as shaping, baking, painting, and glazing, so that the whole process takes a
longer time than completing a painting, for instance. He describes the
difficulties in producing ceramics.
"Failure is omnipresent. We never really know what will ultimately happen. It
often happens that the ceramic breaks or its color changes in the last firing,"
However, these uncertainties did not deter him from choosing ceramic arts
as his major. "Ceramics enticed me to become totally immersed."
In 1991, he hired management consultants to manage his business
professionally. It cost him so much that he hired them for only a year.
"Imagine, even if I combined the cost of all of my workers' salaries, it would
not have been enough to pay their rates," he laughs. The first question they
asked him was, "Who do you want to be, Van Gogh or Pierre Cardin?" Van
Gogh, the renowned Dutch painter, was an artist who did not have a
business sense.
On the other hand, Pierre Cardin, the French fashion designer, combines a
sense of art and business creativity. "I chose to be Pierre Cardin because I
wanted to express my passion in my art and of course I wanted people to
buy it."
Most of his friends in the Art and Design Faculty preferred to become
painters rather than ceramic artists. "I can understand why they thought that
way since people generally appreciate paintings more than ceramics," he
explains. He continues that people will frown to hear that a ceramic statue
costs Rp 50 million. "But they usually accept much higher painting prices," he
sighs.
Yanto has worked hard to get to where he is today. He compares his efforts
to that of a bee. "A bee works hard among beautiful flowers. I also am in
action to create beautiful things". It is no surprise that he has chosen the bee
as his trademark.
( Taken from Laniana D Gautama )
( Further Reading )
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/STYLE/arts/06/27/indonesia.art/
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Indonesian artist
focuses on motherchild bond
June 27, 2000
Web posted at: 12:56 p.m. EDT (1656
GMT)
Reuters contributed to this report.
Sculptor F. Widayanto is interested in the different stages of the
relationship between a mother and her child
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- They include half-mermaids, half-deer, half-snakes,
half-humans. Yet the creatures in this exhibition all have something in
common: a link between mother and child.
They're all sculptures by F. Widayanto, an Indonesian artist whose 32
ceramic pieces were exhibited recently in a show called "Ibu and Anak" or
"Mother and Child."
The 46-year-old artist, known as Yanto, initially focused on Japanese women,
showing the different stages in the mother-child relationship. Soon he began
employing mythological images, hence the creatures.
Yanto uses rattan, wood, bamboo and metal to complement the clay work,
and it's going over well with the public. By the end of the exhibition, he had
sold most of the pieces to local collectors for $3,000 to $6,000 each.
"What I like is really the combination of the wood, the ceramics and
everything, exhibit visitor Tjie Tjin Siang said. "It is very traditional. This is
Indonesian art."
One of the pieces "Ambung-ambungan" or "Kissing and Hugging" shows a
mom's first lesson of love and affection for her child. Another is "Klekaran,"
or "Taking a Nap."
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"I have to think of something else (about) the relationship between
the mother and her baby," Yanto said. "So the character, the
expression between the mother and the son, is very important to me."
Indra Tj – Private Collection-2003
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A. Reading & Understanding
B. Find the Information about other the Indonesian Artist who
worked in clay ?
C. Synonyms related to the reading above.
1. journey
2. hustle and bustle
3. sanctuary
4. master pieces
5. magnificent
6. imagination
7. response
8. artisan
9. ignore
10. copycat
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D. Antonyms related to the reading above
1. passion
2. ambiguity
3. difficulties
4. uncertainties
5. compare
6. effort
7. traditional
8. affection
9. Taking a Nap
10. important
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
E. Re-write the stories above with your own words.
F. Please use your own dictionaries for finding the words
bellow and
the meaning in Bahasa Indonesia
1. there are many steps, such as shaping, baking, painting, and glazing =
2. Failure is omnipresent =
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3. "Ceramics enticed me to become totally immersed."=
4. It is no surprise that he has chosen the bee as his trademark=
5. He began employing mythological images, hence the creatures=
G.
Structure: Modals + Infinitive
Kata kerja ‘Modals’ : can/could , may/might, must/have to, shall /should , will/would
selalu diikuti oleh bentuk kata kerja pertama. (Infinitive)
Complete the sentences below with the most appropriate ‘Modals’
1.
I was tired, but I ------------- sleep.
2.
We’re sorry as we ------------- come to your party next Saturday.
3.
He’s not going to watch television this evening, he --------- write a letter to his
parents abroad.
4.
That lady is a very interesting person, You ------------ meet and talk with her.
5.
When you play tennis, you ------------- watch the ball.
6.
There were no buses yesterday evening. We ------------ home.
7.
This train doesn’t go to Bandung. You ---------- stop at Jatinegara station and
change the train.
8.
---------- to get dinner together with me tonight ?
9.
When you are driving, you ---------wear a seat-belt.
10.
We haven’t got any money today. We ----------- got o the bank soon.
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