Cartoons: An arena to freely make fun of life's quirky situations

Irawaty Wardany ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Fri, 07/04/2008 11:07 AM  |  Bali

A man is shown in a cartoon surfing on a dollar bill, riding a high wave that threatens to crush a large number of people below. It clearly reflects the current condition in Indonesia in which a small number of greedy capitalists have taken control of the economy and now endanger the lives of millions of the country's lower income citizens.

The cartoon, drawn by G.M. Sudarta, one of the country's most celebrated cartoonists, is one of dozens of cartoons currently on display in an international cartoon exhibition at Denpasar's Werddhi Budaya Art Center. The exhibit forms part of the month-long Bali Art Festival.

The exhibit features the works of 30 cartoonists from as far afield as Australia, Turkey, Russia, Poland and Ukraine.

Another cartoon depicts a man so engrossed with flirting with a gorgeous girl in a bikini, he doesn't notice when he steps onto the face of another man lying down.

This cartoon has always managed to elicit smiles, faint or otherwise, from spectators.

Rizal Adi, one of the participating cartoonists, said the ability to make fun of every situation, including the most serious of situations, was the primary advantage of cartoons.

"To be a cartoonist, one doesn't have to undergo special education, because natural talent and passion are enough. That's another advantage of cartoons," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Rizal worked as an administrative staffer at one of the island's hotels before stumbling upon Bog Bog, a Denpasar-based cartoon magazine. The magazine was co-founded by Kadek Jango Paramartha, Putu Ebo and I.B. Surya Darma, all veteran Bali cartoonists.

"I saw this cartoon magazine, Bog Bog, when I was hanging out in a mall," he recalled.

"I sent an application letter to the magazine to be a contributor at first. Drawing cartoons has been a passion of mine since high school," he said.

He later went on to become a regular contributor to the magazine, with his works had triggering warm responses from readers.

Rizal quit his hotel job five years ago and joined the magazine's editorial board. The magazine received an award for being the only cartoon magazine in Indonesia in 2003 from the Indonesian Record Museum (MURI).

"I have never regretted my decision to pursue my career in cartoons because apparently this is a field that just keeps growing," he said.

In addition to working at the magazine, Rizal has also participated in several international exhibitions.

"There is nothing more fun than making a living through your hobby," he said.

He added cartoons were the only arena in which he could freely make fun of life's quirky situations.

"Even social and political critics can be packaged in a funny way," he said.

"The most important thing is this is the most effective medium to deliver a message to readers."

He was not exaggerating. Almost all the visitors to the exhibition, locals and foreigners alike, left with a wide grin on their faces.

"That is the other fun side of being a cartoonist: we can make people laugh or at least smile," he said.

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