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The House of Transformation
Popular artist Butet Kartaredjasa is having a great time at his home in Yogyakarta
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Popular artist Butet Kartaredjasa is having a great time at his home in Yogyakarta.
On the back terrace of his traditional Javanese joglo, the 54 year old was devouring cheese-flavored fried banana and nasi soto (rice served with chicken soup) for his breakfast.
The building's dining room also serves as a living room, where his wife Rullyani Isfihana was busily managing her restaurant, Bu Ageng, located in the Tirtodipuran tourist area. She was being assisted by their daughter Suci 'Uci' Senanti.
'Sorry, our house is messed up as we're preparing to bottle some of our cooking specialties,' said the 55-year-old Rully.
For Butet, the terrace's comfort and his grandchild are two things that make him homesick whenever he travels. 'This terrace is my favorite place. I dine and even have meetings here because it's comfortable and breezy,' said the son of distinguished choreographer, the late Bagong Kussudiardjo.
Butet Kartaredjasa, the leading figure of the Teater Gandrik theater troupe, said he could carry out any activity in any room, believing that man should give meaning to space and dictate its function ' not the other way around.
'I want to make the most of the freedom I have. It's ironic that some modern home owners are willing to be dictated by external factors,' said the star of the television parody Sentilan-Sentilun.
Butet's house ' located in Kembaran village, Bantul regency ' has front walls built from menyan stones, said to only be found in Kalasan, Yogyakarta.
The front porch is adorned with an old G&H Bauche Reims safe and two glass paintings of punakawan shadow puppet clowns together with the Javanese words ' Ojo Nguntal Negoro (never cause losses to the state) and Ajining diri seko lati (language reflects self-esteem).
'Our guests will see that the person who lives here is not an embezzler and that any visitor making an appointment must keep their promise,' Butet explained with a smile.
Located not far from Bagong's dance studio, Butet's house originally sat on 800 square meters of land. He later bought two plots at the back and expanded the total area to 1,800 sq m ' allowing the house to grow significantly while still surrounded by greenery and big trees.
Butet said he decided to buy the plot of the land to save the decades-old ketapang (tropical almond) trees there after his neighbor asked for his help to cut the trees down.
'Rather than felling them, I bought the plot after earning a fortune from a motorcycle commercial,' said the father of three.
Butet claimed to have no knowledge of the architectural style of his house, which was designed by architect and artist Eko Prawoto. The most important thing for him is the comfort it gives and the spacious feel it generates.
Visitors to Butet's residence can easily view all parts of the building thanks to the minimum number of partitions ' a decision he made to avoid the 'mistake' of large modern houses that creates the effect of being narrow due to the presence of many restrictive walls.
'This house has the feel of being spacious. When we open the doors, no walls restrict our view. That's exclusive,' Butet said.
Eko Prawoto said the concept of Butet's house was made in harmony with the surrounding village environment.
The house has big rooms ' open and connected with each other to allow the flow of fresh rural air. A number of paintings and sculptures beautify the interior.
'The broader rooms are meant for the many guests and relatives of Mas Butet, who make frequent visits,' Eko said.
The seven bedrooms in the house are separated by gardens and other rooms.
The largest room belongs to Butet and his wife. A verse written by noted poet Danarto hangs beside the bedroom door. One side of the walls is covered by a climbing plant and has a very big window, measuring 3.5 by 1.5 meters. 'I got the used window from a military hospital in Magelang,' explained Butet.
He is fond of using second-hand materials for his house, such as railway sleepers for the back terrace, old doors and other joglo and pyramidal structures. 'The floors up front came from the morgue of the hospital,' he said.
A certain mystical experience also added some color to the mansion. Before Butet and his family moved into the house back in 2001, a ritual was held to prevent the spirits believed to 'reside' in the used materials from disturbing occupants. In the ritual, with the help of a medium, the spirits were transferred into two birds ' which died after one night and had to be burned.
The other interesting part of Butet's house is the wooden stairway linking the front room with the upper floor where he works and his father's paintings are stored. The stair has become a sort of museum ' depicting his journey as a media contributor in the past.
Pieces of money-orders proving the payment for his published articles are stuck to the hole of each step, made from a mortar for pounding paddy and decorated with gem stones. The banisters of the stair were derived from the frames of plows.
'Going upstairs reminds me of my past career,' said Butet.
As an artist, Butet wishes to further develop his creative ability regardless of his age. He has a craving to be engaged in the art of painting in his later life ' planning to convert his pyramid-shaped storehouse into a special, comfortable painting studio.
He was even musing over the possibility of commercializing his property. 'When my children no longer stay here, I may turn this house into a home-stay facility,' he said.
With such a plan, it seems that Butet's house will keep growing and transforming ' as does the life and interests of this clove cigarette collector.
' Photos by JP/Bambang Muryanto
