DRINGU
widarto adi
DRINGU
widarto adi
Copyrights (c) 2015 by Widarto Adi All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author/publisher. Layout, Photography and Epilogue by: Widarto Adi Epilog Editor and English Translation by: Broy RB Hendrarto To purchase or license images/prints please contact: dartophoto@gmail.com ISBN-13: 978-1508740377 ISBN-10: 1508740372 Printed by CreateSpace, An Amazon.com Company This title is available in print and ebook through www.amazon.com
for my belated grandfather, mbah Probolinggo ~Imam Suwadi Hardjoatmodjo and my belated father ~ Hadi Suwignyo
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DRINGU
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BEYOND
DRINGU
PANTAI BENTAR
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My late grand father Haji. Imam Soewadi Hardjoatmodjo and my late uncle Heri Purwanto tombstone in public graveyard in Randu Putih Village, Dringu, Probolinggo, East Java
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epilogue Written in Bahasa Indonesia by Widarto Adi Edited and Translated by Broy RB Hendrarto
Kalisalam Village in Dringu, Probolinggo is a sub-district where my late grandparents used to live. Our family called them Mbah Probolinggo and Mbah Putri. Their real names were Suwadi Hardjoatmodjo and Winastie.Dringu is a special place for me because our family visited Mbah Probolinggo every Lebaran to celebrate the end of Ramadhan and to meet all the uncles, aunts and cousins. Dringu is very special because I loved to explore its villages. It’s a priceless memory because I grew up in metropolitan cities like Surabaya and Jakarta. In Dringu, I enjoy the aura of a village that is wide and peaceful with its rice fields and other fields everywhere; as depicted in elementary Bahasa Indonesia books. The sub-district is consisted of 14 villages. My grandparents lived in Kalisalam Village ever since the Dutch-colony era. Dringu, as part of the city of Probolinggo, is a farming area producing sugar. The rail tracks were constructed to transport the produce. One can still see its remaining. Now, Dringu is famous for harvesting shallots and corns. In Dringu, I had a bad experience. It was the first time that a hungry dog went after me, hehehe. It seemed that the dog was irritated by my presence when it tried to eat an ox-tail. Then, everyone was panicking when a large motorbike fell over me. I think it was a Harley Davidson. I was 5 at the time. It happened right in front of Mbah’s house. Hence, I broke my left ankle. It turned out that the rider was still training on how to ride one. It all happened because I stepped out of Mbah’s house to wander around the village. Hahaaha. I am currently a graphic designer and also a professional photographer. Mbah Probolinggo himself was a freelance photographer. He was the one who lent me the Yashica FX-3 camera complete with a bag and a 50 mm f/1.9 lens for me to use in learning photography because I had to go through some photography classes on campus in 1999. Mbah Probolinggo was a school principal. He was previously a teacher of the people’s school where he had met Mbah Pu-
tri, his student. When they got married, Mbah Probolinggo looked for extra income as a mobile photographer by making family portraits and ID pictures. My late father also inherited this side job. Mbah Suwandhi, Mbah Putri’s younger brother, also learned the techniques of dark room and photography. He told me how my father wandered around the village to earn some extra money. Later on, my father became an employee of Pertamina; and so did Mbah Suwandhi. For them, photography wasn’t just a source of income anymore but it became a hobby. One could say that the way Mbah Probolinggo knew photography was magical. He helped a visitor who ran out of money. According to late Uncle Santoso who was my father’s fifth younger brother, the visitor sold all of the photography equipment to him. The way he taught me how to take pictures was also very unique. He allowed me to take pictures of anything I want. When I asked him whether it was the right thing to do, he still told me to take pictures of anything. “You’re free, take pictures of anything you want,” he said. He only said that I should record all the settings when I took the pictures. Later on after printing all the pictures, he started to comment beginning from the composition, setting, sharpness, asa/iso. At that moment, I understood that you can’t be afraid of being wrong when learning about photography. Just like Nike says: Just do it! When we know what our mistakes are, we’ll remember them for the rest of our lives. The freedom that he had given me took the burden off my shoulders and proved me wrong of the myth that learning photography is hard. It becomes difficult only when we give up and I didn’t experience it because I enjoyed the freedom to create. I wasn’t afraid of mistakes and learned to correct them afterwards. My photos have become my hobby. In 2001, Mbah Probolinggo passed away due to illness. It may sounds strange, but I wasn’t sad. I was happy because he wasn’t in pain anymore and he passed down his knowledge to 132
me. As a Muslim, he was a Hajj. He completed his duties on Earth. I still remember his smiling face before being buried. People said that it was a sign of God welcoming him on His side. I shed no tears. I felt grateful and proud. Photography becomes a hobby and my side-job to make money because my background is graphic design or visual communication design. In 2004, the whole family visited Dringu during the Eid al-Fitr festivities. This time, I brought a DSLR Nikon D70. I wandered around the village and took pictures of the Kalisalam Village and Randu Putih Village. They’re all in Dringu. After coming back to Jakarta, I uploaded the pictures on multiply.com which currently doesn’t exist anymore. On that year, my main profession was a lecturer where I used to study: University Tarumanegara at the DKV program of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design to be exact. As I said before, photography was my side-job. I worked on few commercial projects; taking pictures of products, interiors and food. They were all side-jobs. When I was in the middle of a photo session, one of my clients said that he was so impressed with pictures of Dringu. I thanked him for it. I don’t know why but I’ve always remembered that praise. I remembered my grandfather and my father when he was young. Suddenly, I decided to focus on photography. It meant that I had to leave my position as a lecturer on that campus. It happened so fast that I bid my farewell to the campus in order to become a full-time photographer in 2005. In 2006, a client’s creative team and I won the silver award of “Citra Adi Pariwara,” a prestigious event in the Indonesian advertising. Then, I became involved in the Indonesian democratic event: the first regional direct governor election of DKI Jakarta (Indonesia Capital) in 2006. I was entrusted by one of the two prospective candidates of governors to take portrait for their campaign. Some local and international banks in Indonesia became my clients, and it all started from Dringu: from the camera that my late Mbah lent me, learning
to dare myself, to be free and having the willingness to learn. If he were still alive, I would have told him that he played a role in all of my achievements. Thank you, Mbah. In 2008, I went around the village again and I certainly took pictures of Dringu’s nature. In 2009, I married my wife, Nisa Felicia. Was it because of Dringu? In a way, YES! Hahaha. I met my wife “again” because she was my classmate in 11th grade and also because of photography. She saw me on ~now defunct Friendster.com and she figured out that I was a photographer. She just owned a DSLR. There were questions about it and we talked. Then, we got married in 2009. As years were passing by, we ended up in Albany, New York State and it’s now 2015. It’s not a place that I would imagine to be at in 2004, 2008 or even in 2009. My wife received a scholarship to pursue her PhD at SUNY in Albany. It was an unexpected blessing. This time, Dringu is in my hard-disk that I’ve brought with me from Indonesia. I have intentions to make a book out of it before my hard-disk gets damaged or lost, like multiply.com and Friendster.com. This photo book is to honor Dringu and its villages, the city of Probolinggo, the late Mbah Probolinggo, Mbah Putri, my uncles, aunts, ny brother and my sister, my late father and my mother, Frieda Sutji Juniatun, who has never given up in lending me her hands. I also want to thank my wife, Nisa Felicia Faridz, and her family, my clients in Indonesia, my friends and colleagues. I am truly nobody without all of you. May God bless us all, Amen.
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epilogue penulis: Widarto Adi editor: Broy RB Hendrarto
Desa Kalisalam, Dringu, Probolinggo adalah sebuah kecamatan di mana almarhum Kakek dan Nenek saya tinggal. Kami sekeluarga memanggil beliau Mbah Probolinggo dan Mbah Putri. Nama asli mereka adalah Suwadi Hardjoatmodjo dan Winastie. Dringu adalah tempat yang istimewa bagi saya, karena kami sekeluarga menyempatkan diri untuk mengunjungi Mbah Probolinggo setiap lebaran; untuk merayakan lebaran dan bertemu dengan para oom dan tante, serta para sepupu. Dringu sangat istimewa karena saya senang menjelajahi desa; sebuah memori yg tak ternilai, karena saya besar di kota-kota metropolitan seperti Surabaya, dan Jakarta. Di Dringu, saya menikmati aura desa yang lapang, tenang beserta tersebarnya sawah dan ladang yang berada di mana-mana; seperti yang diceritakan buku pelajaran bahasa Indonesia di Sekolah Dasar. Kecamatan ini terdiri dari 14 Desa. Mbah saya tinggal di desa Kalisalam sejak zaman kolonial Belanda. Dringu, sebagai bagian dari kota Probolinggo, adalah daerah pertanian yang menghasilkan gula. Rel kereta dibuat untuk transportasi antar pertanian. Peninggalannya masih ada sampai sekarang. Sekarang, Dringu terkenal sebagai penghasil bawang merah dan jagung. Di Dringu saya memiliki pengalaman yang pahit. Untuk pertama kalinya, saya dikejar anjing yang kelaparan, hehehe. Sepertinya dia kesal karena terganggu oleh kehadiran saya ketika dia sedang berusaha memakan ekor sapi. Lalu, saya membuat panik semua orang akibat jatuh tertiban motor gede; sepertinya merek Harley Davidson. Itu terjadi ketika saya masih berumur 5 tahun; tepat di jalan di depan halaman rumah Mbah. Akibatnya, pergelangan kaki kiri saya patah. Ternyata sang pengemudi masih berlatih mengendari motor. Semua itu terjadi, karena, saya melangkah keluar dari rumah Mbah dan ingin berkeliling desa, hahaha. Selain grafik designer, saya sendiri saat ini juga seorang fotografer profesional. Mbah Probolinggo sendiri juga seorang fotografer lepas. Beliaulah yang meminjamkan kamera Yashica FX-3 lengkap dengan tas dan lensa 50mm f/1.9 untuk saya pakai demi mempelajari fotografi, karena saya harus menjalani beberapa mata kuliah fotografi di kampus pada tahun 1999.
Profesi Mbah Probolinggo sendiri adalah seorang kepala sekolah. Sebelumnya beliau guru sekolah rakyat, tempat di mana beliau bertemu dengan Mbah Putri, muridnya. Setelah mereka menikah, Mbah Probolinggo mencari penghasilan tambahan menjadi juru foto keliling dengan membuat foto keluarga dan pas foto. Profesi sampingan ini juga diturunkan kepada almarhum Ayah saya. Adik dari Mbah Putri juga kebagian diajari tehnik kamar gelap dan bagaimana cara memotret. Adik dari Mbah Putri, Mbah Suwandhi, menceritakan kepada saya bagaimana Ayah saya berkeliling desa untuk mencari tambahan uang. Di kemudian hari Ayah saya menjadi pegawai Pertamina; begitu juga dengan Mbah Suwandhi. Bagi mereka, fotografi tidak menjadi penghasilan lagi namun menjadi hobi. Cara Mbah Probolinggo mengenali fotografi juga bisa dibilang ajaib. Beliau membantu seorang turis bule yang kehabisan uang. Sang turis itu menjual seluruh perlengkapan fotografinya kepada Mbah, begitulah cerita adik Ayah saya yang kelima, almarhum Lik (Oom) Santoso. Cara Mbah saya mengajarkan saya memotret juga sangat unik. Ia memberi saya kebebasan dalam memotret apa saja yg saya mau. Ketika saya bertanya apakah ini benar atau salah, beliau tetap bilang, “Foto saja, bebas, sesukamu.� Beliau hanya berkata agar semua pengaturan dicatat ketika mengambil foto. Belakangan setelah semua foto dicetak, barulah beliau berkomentar; mulai dari komposisi, pengaturan, ketajaman, asa/iso. Detik itu, saya mengerti bahwa seseorang tidak boleh takut salah dalam mempelajari fotografi. “Just do it,� seperti kata merek sepatu Nike. Ketika kita mengetahui letak kesalahannya, kita akan selalu mengingatnya. Kebebasan yang beliau berikan kepada saya pun ternyata menghilangkan beban dan mitos yang menyatakan bahwa belajar fotografi itu sulit. Hal tersebut hanya menjadi sulit ketika kita menyerah, dan saya tidak mengalami itu karena saya menikmati kebebasan berkreasi, tidak takut salah dan belajar membenarkan kesalahan saya sesudahnya. Foto menjadi hobby saya. Pada tahun 2001, Mbah Probolinggo meninggal karena sakit. Mungkin kedengarannya aneh, tetapi saya tidak merasa sedih. Saya bahagia karena beliau tidak kesakitan lagi. Ilmunya sudah diturunkan kepa134
da saya. Sebagai orang Islam, beliau sudah berstatus Haji; purna sudah tugasnya di dunia. Saya ingat paras mukanya yang tersenyum sebelum dimakamkan. Kata orang, itu pertanda beliau diterima di sisi Tuhan. Saya tidak meneteskan air mata. Saya bersyukur dan merasa bangga. Fotografi sendiri menjadi hobi dan sampingan saya untuk mencari uang karena disiplin ilmu saya adalah graphic design atau desain komunikasi visual. Tahun 2004, kami sekeluarga mengunjungi Dringu untuk berlebaran. Kali ini, saya berbekal kamera DSLR Nikon D70. Saya berkeliling desa dan memotret desa Kalisalam dan desa Randu Putih; semua di Dringu. Pulang ke Jakarta, saya mengunggah foto-foto itu di multiply. com yang kini sudah tidak ada. Profesi utama saya pada tahun 2004 adalah Dosen di almamater saya, yaitu Universitas Tarumanegara di Fakultas Seni Rupa dan Design; tepatnya di jurusan DKV. Fotografi, seperti yang saya utarakan sebelumnya, adalah sampingan. Saya mengerjakan beberapa proyek foto komersil, foto produk, foto interior, makanan; semua itu sampingan. Ketika saya sedang melakukan pemotretan, salah seorang klien saya berkata bahwa dia begitu terkesan dengan foto-foto Dringu saya. Saya mengucapkan terima kasih. Entah kenapa, saya selalu teringat pada pujian itu. Saya teringat Kakek saya dan Ayah saya ketika muda. Tiba-tiba, terlecut di pikiran saya untuk mau fokus di bidang fotografi. Itu berarti saya harus melepaskan jabatan saya sebagai dosen di kampus. Niat itu bergulir begitu cepat. Akhir tahun 2005, saya berpamitan ke kampus untuk menjadi fotografer purna waktu. Pada tahun 2006, saya bersama tim kreatif dari klien memenangkan silver award di Citra Adi Pariwara yang merupakan sebuah ajang prestisius di dunia periklanan Indonesia. Lalu saya juga berpartisipasi di ajang demokrasi di Indonesia, yaitu pemilihan Gubernur DKI Jakarta secara langsung yang pertama di tahun 2006. Saya dipercaya oleh salah satu dari dua calon Gubernur untuk membuat foto profile mereka untuk kampanye. Beberapa bank swasta lokal dan internasional di Indonesia menjadi klien saya. Semuanya berawal dari Dringu, dari kamera pinjaman almarhum Mbah, dari belajar untuk men-
jadi berani, bebas dan mau belajar. Andai Mbah masih hidup, saya ingin berkata kepadanya bahwa beliau memiliki andil dalam semua yang saya raih ini. Terima kasih, Mbah. Tahun 2008, saya berkeliling desa lagi; dan tentu saja kembali memotret alam Dringu. Saya menikah dengan istri saya, Nisa Felicia, pada tahun 2009. Apakah karena Dringu juga? Secara tak langsung YA! Hahaha. Saya bertemu “kembali� dengan istri saya karena dia adalah teman kelas 2 di SMA dan juga karena fotografi. Ia bertemu saya di Friendster. Ia melihat bahwa profesi saya adalah fotografer. Karena dia baru saja memiliki DSLR, pertanyaan dan perbincangan pun bergulir sehingga kami bersatu dalam pernikahan yang suci pada tahun 2009. Tahun demi tahun sudah berlalu dan tak terasa bahwa saya berada di awal 2015; di Albany, negara bagian New York. Ini merupakan sebuah tempat yang tidak terbayangkan pada tahun 2004, 2008 bahkan 2009. Istri saya mendapatkan beasiswa untuk melanjutkan pendidikan S3 di SUNY Albany; sebuah rezeki yang tidak disangka. Dringu, kali ini, berada di dalam hard-disk yang saya bawa dari Indonesia. Saya berniat untuk menjadikannya buku sebelum hard-disk saya rusak atau hilang, seperti multiply.com dan Friendster. Buku foto ini dibuat sebagai bentuk penghormatan kepada Dringu, desa-desa di dalamnya, kota Probolinggo, kepada almarhum Mbah Probolinggo, Mbah Putri, kepada para Paman dan Tante, adik-adik saya, dan kepada almarhum Ayah saya dan juga Ibu saya Frieda Sutji Juniatun beserta adik-adik saya yang selalu pantang menyerah dalam membantu saya. Saya juga mau berterima kasih kepada istri saya Nisa Felicia Faridz beserta keluarga besar, para klien di Indonesia, teman dan kolega. Sungguh saya bukanlah siapa-siapa tanpa kalian semua. Semoga Tuhan memberkati kita semua. Amin!
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PHOTO SPOT
DRINGU, KALISALAM AND RANDU PUTIH, Maps courtesy of www.googlemaps.com
2004 visit
2008 visit
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BENTAR BEACH ~Pantai Bentar photo courtesy of www.googlemaps.com
2004 visit
2008 visit
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“Dokar”
“Truck View”
“untitled”
“Pegadaian”
“untitled”
“Green/Blue against Red”
“untitled”
“broken”
“Noon”
“Electric and Tv”
“Modern”
“white wall and fences”
“becak mini”
“shinta english club”
“dry rack”
“rumah mbah”
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“home”
“green door”
“pink door”
“old colonial train track”
“untitled”
“untitled”
“red onion field”
“it’s a trap!”
“swiping, afternoon”
“karo ibuk/ with mom”
“to the fields”
“to the fields 2”
“kapok tree”
“reminiscing the past”
“reminiscing the past 2”
“high school, corn field and Mbah graveyard at the horizon”
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“view from the field to the main road”
“view from the field to the main road 2”
“the cellular tower”
“untitled”
“watergate”
“untitled”
“untitled”
“untitled”
“rice paddy and corn”
“rice paddy and corn”
“old train track and corn stem”
“corn stem in detail”
“old path”
“kapok tree path”
“noon, going home to rest”
“noon, going home to rest 2”
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“kapok tree path”
“kapok”
“untitled”
“untitled”
“high school”
“green corn field”
“untitled”
“untitled”
“brick house and corn field”
“corn field”
“bucket”
“brick house with bamboo wall home and corn field”
“untitled”
“untitled”
“untitled”
“untitled”
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“corn flower”
“corn flower in detail”
“red onion field 2”
“untitled”
“maize”
“untitled”
“afternoon 2”
“untitled”
“waterway”
“waterway close up”
“bamboo window”
“untitled”
“brick”
“cornerstone”
“woodblock”
“untitled”
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“the ride”
“kalisalam k2 school”
“our neighbour”
“our neighbour’s wife”
“untitled”
“boyhood”
“green becak and pink door”
“untitled”
“untitled”
“pink bike”
“sisters”
“rak di dapur mbah putri /grandma’s kitchen cabinet”
“yellow kettle”
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“path to the port”
“sea tour”
“the port”
“afternoon in the port”
“afternoon leisure”
“untitled”
“boat”
“boatman”
“untitled”
“net and the sea”
“path to mangrove”
“old lady and the sea”
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Widarto Adi Widarto Adi (째1979, Jakarta, Indonesia) makes photos and drawings. Taking daily life as subject matter, Adi wants to amplify the astonishment of the spectator by creating compositions or settings that generate tranquil poetic images that leave traces and balances on the edge of recognition and alienation. His works are based on formal associations which open a unique poetic vein. By applying a poetic and often metaphorical language, he tries to incite the viewer to make new personal associations. Widarto Adi currently lives and works in Albany, New York.
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