Jakarta - For some Indonesians, former president Suharto was a brutal dictator who ruled with an iron fist for over three decades. For others, he was a benevolent leader during whose time life was safer, cheaper and happier.
Artist Stefan Buana tries to portray both sides of Suharto in portraits currently on display at a Jakarta gallery. Some of his stylized images show the former president smiling rather benignly while others are more critical.
One of the paintings, "Peci Putih" or "White Cap", has several staples scattered across a white canvas representing both Suharto`s face and a pattern of strewn bodies while another shows the former ruler`s face locked in an enigmatic smile.
"I see Pak Harto in both black and white. The staples symbolize the killings and his cap is a symbol of his authority and power," Buana, an artist from Indonesia`s cultural heart, Yogyakarta, told Reuters, referring to Suharto by a commonly used version of his name.
"I admired him for what he did for infrastructure and security. But I didn`t like the killings during his time."
Suharto, who died in February, rose to power after he led the military in 1965 against what was officially called an attempted communist coup. Up to 500,000 people were killed in an anti-communist purge in the months that followed.
Over the next three decades, Suharto`s armed forces committed numerous human rights abuses, killing student activists, criminals and opponents of the regime in the rebellious provinces of Aceh and Papua, as well as in East Timor, which Indonesia invaded in 1975.
He was forced to step down in 1998 as the Asian financial crisis sparked economic and social chaos, leading to calls for greater democracy.
Critics say Suharto and his family amassed as much as $45 billion in kickbacks or deals where political influence was key to who won a contract. Transparency International put Suharto`s assets at $15-$35 billion, or as much as 1.3 percent of GDP.
His family have denied any wrongdoing and Suharto had always maintained his innocence.
Buana, an artist with geckos tattooed on his arms, finds much of his inspiration from political themes and says his paintings are aimed at portraying his personal feelings about Suharto, the country`s longest ruling leader.
"Why Suharto? The former dictator ... remains a strong image of power and authority -- a short cut in expressive social terms," Michael Vatikiotis, an expert on Indonesian affairs, wrote in the exhibition`s catalogue.
"Perhaps also a latent expression of freedom, because the image of Suharto is so recognizable and, now at least, is free to air, like Warhol`s image of Mao," said the author of "Indonesian Politics Under Suharto".
During Suharto`s days, artists in Indonesia were controlled and any political art, especially if it was critical of the former president, was censored.
But in the past decade since Suharto was overthrown after days of violent student protest, Indonesian art has flourished both domestically and globally.
Contemporary Indonesian art is a big draw in international auctions by Christie`s and Sothebys, with works by some well-known painters such as Nyoman Masriadi fetching hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"Certainly this fascination with political leaders is a by-product of the politicized period of student activism that the contemporary artists of Yogyakarta experienced in the 1980s and 90s," says Vatikiotis.
"Perhaps also, in this new era of genuine democracy, they miss having someone to pillory." By Sugita Katyal
Source: http://uk.reuters.com (July 18, 2008)