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Mufty 'Amenk' Priyanka: Combining great music & art
Courtesy of Mutfy PriyankaMusic and art have always collided in all the best ways
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Courtesy of Mutfy Priyanka" border="0" height="348" width="511">Courtesy of Mutfy PriyankaMusic and art have always collided in all the best ways.
From Peter Savilleâs iconic art for Englandâs Factory Records releases in the 1970s to Raymond Pettibonâs eye-popping illustrations for Americaâs legendary indie label SST Recordsâ albums â the combination of great music and great art often achieves legendary status.
Bandung artist Mufty âAmenkâ Priyanka is the kind of local artist who knows this.
Though not exclusively tied to the music underworld, Amenk â the name he chooses to go by â has found his calling through working with bands on their album sleeves and concert posters, forging a real identity for the sounds.
Amenkâs work has graced covers of local bands, including AStoneA (an experimental act which he is also involved in), Neowax, Sarasvati, Seringai, Bottlesmoker and Komunal â among many others.
Amenkâs work is characterized by its minimalist, black-and-white coloring, and its penchant for subversive characters, such as the hijab-wearing rebel girl extending her middle finger, the bomber (graffiti) artists decorating a wall with less-than-praiseful words about the Indonesian government, or the group of hijab-wearing girls all puffing away together.
Often accompanied by handwritten text, thereâs no denying the visual influence of American artists, such as the above-mentioned Pettibon, but also Frank Kozik and Charles Burns, on Amenkâs work.
But most of all, Amenkâs work wants to entertain as well as make people think, all without sounding preachy.
Amenk also cites local artists, such as Andry Moch (a former bandmate and close friend), Jan Mintaraga and Tisna Sanjaya, as influences.
Courtesy of Mutfy Priyanka Music and art have always collided in all the best ways. From Peter Saville's iconic art for England's Factory Records releases in the 1970s to Raymond Pettibon's eye-popping illustrations for America's legendary indie label SST Records' albums ' the combination of great music and great art often achieves legendary status.
Bandung artist Mufty 'Amenk' Priyanka is the kind of local artist who knows this.
Though not exclusively tied to the music underworld, Amenk ' the name he chooses to go by ' has found his calling through working with bands on their album sleeves and concert posters, forging a real identity for the sounds.
Amenk's work has graced covers of local bands, including AStoneA (an experimental act which he is also involved in), Neowax, Sarasvati, Seringai, Bottlesmoker and Komunal ' among many others.
Amenk's work is characterized by its minimalist, black-and-white coloring, and its penchant for subversive characters, such as the hijab-wearing rebel girl extending her middle finger, the bomber (graffiti) artists decorating a wall with less-than-praiseful words about the Indonesian government, or the group of hijab-wearing girls all puffing away together.
Often accompanied by handwritten text, there's no denying the visual influence of American artists, such as the above-mentioned Pettibon, but also Frank Kozik and Charles Burns, on Amenk's work.
But most of all, Amenk's work wants to entertain as well as make people think, all without sounding preachy.
Amenk also cites local artists, such as Andry Moch (a former bandmate and close friend), Jan Mintaraga and Tisna Sanjaya, as influences.
'I am mostly inspired by daily happenings, which revolve around criticism handed out by urban society and the ins-and-outs of its romantic dynamics,' explains Amenk, adding that 'in creating I am extremely flexible, however'.
In fact, Amenk says that he is able to work anywhere, regardless of whether he is out of his own studio.
'There are a couple of incidental conditions that happen when I suddenly decide to pick up the brush and graze the canvas,' the artist says.
'My ideal setting would be a mid-size studio that can house the needed equipment, mixed with a good dose of music.'
Amenk began drawing semiprofessionally (meaning he had begun taking on commissioned work) in 2004 and he quickly referenced underground comics from both home and abroad, as well as concert posters and magazine illustrations from the 1970s and 1980s.
When he discovered how some artists utilized minimal equipment to come up with their work (such as Pettibon), it inspired him.
'When I found out that you didn't need to spend much to draw well, that was a major motivator for me,' he says.
He focused on illustrating rather than painting, which would have forced him to reach deeper into his pocket.
'There was a dream then, that someday I would be able to grow with my own drawings and dedicate myself to a world of subculture and music.'
For Amenk, the reaction he has received from admirers of his work has been a major motivator to grow as an artist.
'They hold a mirror to my work; they respond and come up with a variety of responses, and that is a dynamic I study, in order to push my art. They truly are important and a lifeline to the progression of my art.'
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