August 2, 2023
Day 94 - Museum Affandi and making a little luck
What should one do or see when traveling? This is one of the hardest decisions when riding a bicycle with time limited by visas. It wouldn't be hard to spend a month in Yogyakarta but I don't have that time. So, what should I choose from the great bucketful of possibilities? I have already crossed off Borobudur, knowing it's not for me. Should one just wander and see where the current takes you?
Another option is to trust the recommendation of someone you know. I can thank Graham for directing me to jeJamuran, so I thought that I'd trust his judgment again by visiting Museum Affandi. Well, thanks Graham, it was terrific; I owe you a tub of honey.
I did the usual wander down a gang looking in the crooks and nannies.
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After that little jaunt I found my way to Museum Affandi that sits on the main road to Solo, about 5 km from where I am staying.
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One steps from the main road into a wonderland. It was my type of place in so many ways. Having bought a ticket, I felt no need to step into the first gallery. The outside would consume me for quite some time.
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9 months ago
Photography is prohibited inside the galleries, which is fine with me. I don't profess to know much about art at all, but I do enjoy it. In Affandi's work it was not hard to imagine Van Gogh or, for me, John Olsen.
There was an excellent 30 minute film showing Affandi at work. Born in 1907, he dropped out of school early because he wanted to paint. One sees empathy in much of his work, not just for humans but also for animals. Thus, he often painted cock fights. We often refer to humans behaving abhorrently, as behaving like animals. But, by making cocks fight, humans are making them behave like humans.
Affandi did not have a studio but worked outside. When he signed a work it was finished. He won a scholarship to study in India in 1950 and they gave him free rein. From there, he went to Europe, where he was very successful.
He settled in Yogyakarta, on his return to Indonesia, and hired a chauffeur cum leading-hand. The fellow would be supporting a canvas and handing tubes of paint as Affandi worked frantically. This fellow was lucky; he received one painting a year.
One thing that resonated with me is that Affandi was never completely happy with his work. This reminded me of a film "Jiro dreams of sushi". Jiro Ono, a master of his craft, strives to make perfect sushi but knew it was beyond reach.
Before leaving the first gallery, I asked if I could take one photo. The answer was "yes".
My next stop was the house which, amusingly, he built without approval.
I then viewed the gallery that holds his sketches and a library, before going to the third gallery that has works by other members of his family, predominantly his daughter, Kartika, herself a well-known artist. Again, it's an interesting building.
It was from this spot that I realised where the museum sat - near a major road and above a river where you would not allow your dog to swim.
The entrance fee includes a free drink - now there's a nice idea. As I wandered towards the café, that sits under the house, I met an elderly but spritely woman in a wheelchair. We talked for a few minutes and then she invited me to join her for tea and lunch.
What didn't we talk about? You'd almost have to label parts of it an R-rated conversation. This woman, an only child and now 89, never went to school but instead traveled with her parents. Her name is Kartika.
Two hours later, when I rose to leave, with us both laughing profusely, she commented that my face was interesting and that she'd like to paint it. I asked how long it would take, and she replied two hours for the sketches I will need. I said that we could do it now, now being 2 pm. But she prefers to paint in the morning and so, at 9 tomorrow, I will be sitting for Kartika at the Affandi Museum.
I was still laughing when I returned to explore more gangs.
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I finished the day with a wayang dance performance accompanied by Gamelan. I took a single photo at the end. I walked back through streets that were alive.
There could only be one bike of the day today. It was in the first gallery at Affandi, where I asked to take one photo.
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My dad was an artist, who despite great talent ended up being a teacher. He said that good enough is not good enough for an artist, only perfect is good enough... but perfect is not possible.
So it stands that artists are all frustrated. I really do understand, having dabbled in various media myself.
9 months ago
Another highlight was seeing the Mt Merapi eruption disaster recovery work which UGM played a major role in. That site would be a long, hard haul by bike though.
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