Soemardja Gallery’s Exhibition Recalls “Suyadi: Cats, Songkok, and Pak Raden”
BANDUNG, itb.ac.id — An exhibition with the theme “Suyadi: Cats, Songkok, and Pak Raden” was held at Soemardja Gallery, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), from 3-9 November 2023. This exhibition displays the works of Drs. Suryadi during the distinct periods of his working life.
Drs. Suyadi, famously known as Pak Raden, contributed a lot of his time to the creation of the legendary “Si Unyil”, a famous kids puppet show in Indonesia during the 1980s. In addition to that, his other notable works can be seen in many different kinds of illustrations, animations, stories, as well as teachings.
Pak Raden was also said to be a painter, an illustrator that is known to have a distinct style, showing rigid, vigorous, and spontaneous lines in his artworks. His passion in creating artworks for children led him to the top of his career, publishing children's books, animations, stories, and even becoming a puppeteer himself.
During the exhibition, a lot of archives from his work are displayed in the gallery, from sketches, illustrations in multiple children’s books, to character designs from the classic series “Si Unyil”.
The event was held in Soemardja Gallery to commemorate Drs. Suyadi was one of the most prominent alumni of ITB Visual Arts, graduating in 1952. Drs. Suyadi was a remarkable pupil that gained the favoritism of Lecturer Lucy Leeman-Laoh. After spending some time in France, he decided to join The Audio Visual Development for Education and Culture of the Indonesian Republic while also teaching fine arts in ITB, his alma mater. In 1973, ITB opened a graphic design studio and he was given the opportunity to be the first lecturer to ever give animations lectures in Indonesia.
To this day, there are more than 90 children's books published under his name, both as an illustrator and author.
The following gallery emphasizes the needs of exposing art to children. Hence, the artworks presented are designated to reach childrens point of view.
Besides displaying archives, the general public can take part in different activities around the gallery. The opening act of this exhibition was held on 3 November 2023, showing a “One Line Drawing” Demo show by Andi Yudha as well as storytelling by Aio. Throughout the exhibition, shows like dance recitals, storytellings, and gallery exploration for elementary and kindergarten students in Bandung can be enjoyed by visitors.
Organized by multiple parties, the Archive Body of The DIrectorate-General of Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology lends 35 pieces of archive given by the family of Drs. Suyadi for publication. Following the act, Center for the Development and Protection of Language and Literature, Language Development and Fostering Agency, alongside the Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of Indonesia, gave their trust, opportunity, and support to Cita Cerita Anak Foundation to conduct this exhibition and its activities.
Reporter: M. Naufal Hafizh
Translator: Kezia Hosana S.
Editor: Anggi Nurdiani (Management, 2021)
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