Local art friends arranged for us to visit art galleries and private collectora in the Yogyakarta area. We would often share our thoughts and interpretations with each other while appreciating the various art collections. Nevertheless, when we visited Mr Ubrux’s studio, a huge oil painting which depicted a group of “newspaper people” performing the renowned Chinese dragon dance was so stunning that it left us speechless. The art piece was of such magnificence that we just gawked and stared.

Finally, I blurted out in Mandarin, 'Is this your work?', breaking the silence in the studio. Mr Ubrux appeared to be baffled and stared blankly at me, but finally he returned a smile. This was when I realised how silly my question sounded, as Mr. Ubrux was not Chinese. Then it dawned on me that Mr. Ubrux did not speak mandarin; however, I was still surprised that he did not speak the langague as the painting was full of Chinese characters!

The translator kindly stepped in to assist and from him, we began to understand Mr Ubrux's life story. Having an insatiable love for drawing since young, the native Indonesian artist persisted in furthering his art education despite coming from a humble background. His dream to enter the Academy of Fine Arts was shattered several times as the school felt that he looked too immature and young. Nonetheless, after being rejected for the fourth time, he decided to add a dramatic touch by drawing a beard on his face before going for his admission interview. This ingenious beard, together with his innate talent for painting, was what it took for him to be admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts.

With four years of professional training, he was able to master the various techniques of drawing and painting. However, he was not satisfied with the standard drawing techniques. He wanted to achieve a breakthrough and interestingly, despite not being able to read or write Mandarin, he chose to incorporate Chinese culture into his art. His passion for Chinese culture stemmed from media influences, and his genuine desire to learn more about China was apparent. I even glimpsed a book on Mao in his studio.

I had a revelation: this native Indonesian artist who did not understand a single Chinese word was able to painstakingly draw a typical Chinese celebration scene and re-produce Chinese words which were unintelligible to him on to the canvas. Every single Chinese word he wrote on this artwork reflected his passion and determination to express how grand and joyous a Chinese celebration should be like. At that moment, I felt immense pride for China, and was humbled by Mr. Ubrux who moved all of us through his artwork.

Mr. Ubrux’s masterpiece left a deep impression on me. I am truly inspired and determined to share Mr Ubrux's work and dedication to art with everyone. It is inspiring to me that in a small city in Indonesia, an aspiring artistwho is not ethnically Chinese and cannot understand Mandarin has brought to life Chinese traditions and celebrations. Through his art, Chinese people all over the world can appreciate the richness of their culture.

Cheng Yajie
Singapore
15th July 2013

程亚杰

2013年7月初，我有幸随东南亚藏家展开印度尼西亚的艺术之旅，不同以往的体验是：这次艺术之旅中，遇到一个印度尼西亚Yogyakarta(日惹)艺术家：Budi Ubrux 先生，他的作品给我一个惊天震撼。

每每到一个地方，我们都会在当地的艺术友人的安排下，逐一走访当地的美术馆、藏家及艺术家，欣赏当地的艺术收藏和艺术珍品。我们会一边欣赏艺术佳作，一边交换相互的观感和体会。然而，当我们来到日惹的一个艺术家Budi Ubrux先生的工作室时，我被眼前的画作惊呆了：一幅巨大的油画呈现在我们眼前，画中一群“报纸人”舞动着长长的中国龙。那阵势、那拍天倒海的气势让我们每一位观者“目瞪口呆”难以自拔、、、

不知过了多久？我的发问打破了凝固的气氛：“这是你画的吗？”？画家被我突然的发问“惊”着了，无厘头的看着我，愣了一下之后，接着回以“傻傻地”微笑。我这时才发现原来我的冲动，让我冒了一个“傻气”，他怎么会听得懂华语呢？可是，那报纸上明明是华文字啊！这可真让我“丈二和尚，摸不着头脑”了。紧接着，在印尼华人的翻译下，他的故事又再次让我震撼：这个土生土长的“日惹”画家，自幼酷爱绘画艺术，尽管在家境不太宽裕的情况下，仍然坚持作画不止。然而，他最期盼上美术学院的美好愿望，却因他的“面相年少”而一次一次被学院拒绝。经历四次考试之后，他采取了戏剧性的手法，在自己的嘴上画上了胡髭，毕竟是“有料”的画家，这一次巧妙的化妆，让他终于如愿以偿，考入了当地的美术学院。四年的专业学习，让他全面系统地掌握了绘画技巧。然而，他却不安分于绘画艺术中的技术，他要的是与众不同的“创意”。但令人不可思议的是，这个“创意”，竟然是超越本民族文化背景的中国式文化。更有趣的是，他一句华文都不会讲，也根本看不懂中文字。他对中华文化的热爱是来自电视及新闻媒体；在他的画室里，我还惊奇的发现英文版MAO的书籍，由此可见，他对中国文化的热爱程度。边听介绍，边欣赏这巨大的“报纸人”舞龙场面，我被感动了：一个根本不认识华文字的地道“印尼画家”，他是凭着什么动力，去千辛万苦地一个字一个字，照葫芦画瓢式地描绘中文报纸上的文字，他又凭借着何等惊人的毅力去创作一幅表现中国喜庆日子中，舞龙舞狮的盛大场面啊！想着、想着，不知何时？我的眼睛开始湿润了，我为我们中国骄傲，更为这个了不起的画家骄傲。

虽然，我们已经离开这个画家的工作室，然而，他和他作品的形象在我的脑海里，久久不能离去，我暗下决心，要把他的作品和他的精神介绍给我们中国的读者们。让我们中国读者和世界读者知道，在那遥远的地方，有一位不识中文的印尼画家Budi Ubrux先生，在用他手中的画笔，描绘一幅让全世界都看的懂“中国传说”，这是多么美妙、传奇、感人的故事啊。

程亚杰

2013年7月15日于新加坡

程亚杰简介

程亚杰，1958年出生北京。先后毕业于中国天津工艺美校，天津美院，后赴日本，欧洲学习考察。 1991年考入维也纳应用美术学院大师级班。在中国求学其间程亚杰就已显示出扎实的基本功及创作才华。先后多次入选在中国美术馆举办的全国美展及世界性大展。获奖频频。特别是打动美国藏家的《细雨无声》以及在欧美产生巨大影响的幻想油画《银花》.油画《心曲》更是以其优美，抒情的画面引起诗人的共鸣。经历了日本，苏联，欧美各大美术馆的考察学习。在维也纳幻想写实画派创始人胡特(HUTTER)教导下。程亚杰创作的油画《我的宝贝》赢得入选欧洲著名的SHEBA大赛。

来源:天津美术网责任编辑:雅聑

分享到：