In
the beautiful twilight, Ketjil Bergerak,
Tegalgendu Youngsters and USER UGM
spend the day by talking and laughing. Drinking hot tea and eating some snacks
such as nasi kucing, deep fried tofu
and satay in the edge of the city.
Are we only hanging out and chirping nonsense? No. We call it quality time of
hanging out. Instead of spending time with nothing, we gathering and talking
about our project: Mural Tegalgendu. A
beautiful idea by Ketjil Bergerak who involves us to join. People might think
that mural is in line with vandal which ruining the beauty of the city. No, not
that. We are not vandal. We gonna treat the wall as our diary. So, our journey
will be closed by making a diary about
our concern to Kota Gede’s cultural heritage as our focus and Jogja’s
development as our big theme.
Imagine
your shouting voice embroider in the wall. It is not really great wall actually.
Just a space in the edge of main street of Tegalgendu, Kota Gede area. Here, we
engrave our aspiration for our beautiful city about a forgotten culture which
caused by modernity.
Ketoprak
Ongkek. Yes, it is the grandious theme of our journey. It is a forgotten
traditional performing arts since no one play it again. Oh, so sad. How could
we lost a beautiful heritage here. Based on our research, we find that it is an
endemic of Kota Gede. No other place
playing this kind of Ketoprak. But wait..before we go further, do you
understand what is Ketoprak?. Ok, sure. Not all people know it. Ketoprak is a
traditional theater which involves speech, movement and art within. Then, what makes
Ketoprak and Ketoprak Ongkek different?. Sure, let’s peel the core.
First,
the name of Ketoprak Ongkek is unique. Ongkek
is a Javanese word means to move your shoulders up and down. So that it is the
difference with common Ketoprak which no use any special point as like that.
Second, it is Kota Gede’s heritage. It was Kota Gede people who create and play
it. (interview with Bu Giri, maestro of Ketoprak Ongkek). Third, to watch the
show and finish the chapters, we must follow the player to go around the city.
First chapter might be played in a Kampung, next chapter gonna be kampung B and
next in the Kampung C and so on. That’s so near with society. People gathering
together, watching the different show and the most important is to strengthen
the relationship between societies each kampung to other kampung people. Later,
the instruments and costumes are really simple. The common Ketoprak will need
many complex costumes and properties also music instruments. Meanwhile Ketoprak
Ongkek need only long sleeves costumes (they are not allowed to use the open
shoulder clothes as common ketoprak). Furthermore, it is only about 5 instruments
such as saron, demung, kendhang, peking
and kempul meanwhile traditional common Ketoprak might need more than 10
instruments. The story is about the society itself. They are not taking too
much heavy privat-sphere-business such as kingdom or nobleman thingy. It can deliver the material about the problem in the society or even
to inform something to society meanwhile common Ketoprak might play the
kingship business.
After
spend the time in research, we discuss about how to execute the project. It is
gonna be challenging to pour our wild creativity since the research gives us
broader perspectives about Kota Gede’s special performing art. In a cold night,
we slurped our hot tea and talk the further plan. It ends in the concept, job
sharing and blue print of mural sketch which will be shown to the public by our
hand in the wall.
No
more waiting. We need to execute the mural because we are too excited with our
project. In the end of April, we start to pour our cans of paint. Started with
blocking every inch of the wall by fuchsia color and draw the background
picture. We make symbols of geometric measurement as a symbol that what we make
in our live sometimes just stop in the theory. Sometimes, the reality far away
from our great plan. Yeah, thats what we call: life.
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| Blocking the wall |
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| We reveal the diary of Ketoprak Ongkek's reborn in Kampong Tegalgendu, Kota Gede, Yogyakarta |
This is the most complicated part. We took our weapon; hundreds of paper and spray paint. First layer made by blocking with white one to strengthen the second layer. Second layer, we brush with different color. Blue, darker blue, yellow, orange, green, black in the layers till it shaped a figure. Hmmm.. so complicated doesn’t, it? (but its fun. hehe)
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| Preparing the stencil |
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| Measuring the plan |
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| Brush your wild creativity |
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| Keep going, keep steady |
The
last, engrave our words in this wall of aspiration. Jaga Lemahmu, Wangunkan Budayamu. The first line means that land
business is a crucial issue nowadays. Numbers of people increasing every year
because of birth rate or mobility. It means that we need more and more space.
Moreover, Undang Undang Keistimewaan DIY (Yogyakarta’s Provincial Particular Law)
which mentions about people without the leter of ownership will never be able
to claim the land. Again, it means that there will be more and more people lost
their land. Let’s play the logic. When there is no more land, no more local
value able to stand in this dynamic era. That’s why we keep the last line: Wangunkan Budayamu. To keep our culture
since it is our identity. So, Ketoprak Ongkek should be kept since it is local
heritage of Kota Gede people as their identity.
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| Jaga Lemahmu, Wangunkan Budayamu |
 |
| Born |
 |
| The Masterpiece |
Five
weeks of processing our great project is enough to carve incredible experience
and friendship between us. We start in a excitement, we finish it in a joy.
Furthermore, we relieve that we can think critically to respond the society’s
by our unique way.
