Rusli (1916 – 2005)

Rusli lahir di Medan pada tahun 1916, berdarah campuran Minang dari ayah dan Jawa dari ibu. Masa anak-anak tumbuh di Medan, ia bersekolah di HIS Medan. Melanjutkan sekolah MULO di Yogyakarta, lalu masuk di Taman Siswa Yogyakarta. Ia kemudian melanjutkan pendidikan di Fakultas Kala Bhawana Art Departement di Santiniketan University of Rabindaranath Tagore, India. Selama 5 tahun (1932 - 1939) ia belajar seni lukis murni, seni patung dan filasafat seni timur. Sepulang dari India, Rusli menjadi guru gambar di Taman Siswa Yogyakarta (Selama 10 tahun). Rusli menjadi bagian dari "Seniman Masyarakat". Dan sewaktu Sudjojono dan sebagian anggota perkumpulan SIM pindah ke Surakarta, ia bertindak sebagai ketua SIM cabang Yogyakarta antara tahun 1947-1948. Rusli menjadi kepala bagian kesenian di bagian pendidikan Tentara Kementrian Pertahanan Republik Indonesia dan sekitar tahun 1951 Rusli menjadi dosen di Akademi Seni Rupa Indonesia, Yogyakarta.

 

Pada tahun 1953-1956, Rusli mendapat kesempatan melawat ke berbagai negara di Eropa Barat termasuk negeri Belanda atas undangan Sticusa sebuah lembaga kebudayaan Belanda di Indonesia yang kini disebut sebagai Erasmus Huis. Pada tahun 1960, dia dipercaya menjadi wakil ketua International of Plastic Art UNESCO (IAPA) di Indonesia. Kemudian pada tahun 1970, dia terpilih menjadi anggota seumur hidup Akademi Jakarta yang mengemban tugas selaku penasehat Gubernur DKI Jakarta dibidang kesenian atau kebudayaan. Selanjutnya, Rusli juga menerima beberapa penghargaan secara nasional dari pemerintah Indonesia maupun dari universitas di Yogyakarta. Rusli meninggal dunia di Jakarta, 11 Mei 2005.

Rusli was born in Medan in 1916, of mixed Minang descent from his father and Javanese from his mother. He grew up in Medan and attended HIS Medan. He continued his studies at MULO in Yogyakarta, then enrolled at Taman Siswa Yogyakarta. Later, he pursued higher education at the Faculty of Kala Bhawana Art Department at Santiniketan University of Rabindranath Tagore, India. During five years (1932–1939), he studied fine arts, sculpture, and Eastern philosophy of arts. After returning from India, Rusli became an art teacher at Taman Siswa Yogyakarta (for 10 years). Rusli was part of the "Seniman Masyarakat" (Community Artists). When Sudjojono and some members of the SIM association moved to Surakarta, he served as the head of the SIM branch in Yogyakarta from 1947 to 1948. Rusli became the head of the arts division within the education department of the Indonesian Army and, around 1951, he became a lecturer at the Indonesian Academy of Fine Arts in Yogyakarta.

 

Between 1953 and 1956, Rusli had the opportunity to travel to various countries in Western Europe, including the Netherlands, at the invitation of Sticusa, a Dutch cultural institution in Indonesia now called Erasmus Huis. In 1960, he was entrusted as the vice-chairman of the International of Plastic Arts UNESCO (IAPA) in Indonesia. Then, in 1970, he was elected as a lifetime member of the Jakarta Academy, serving as an advisor to the Governor of Jakarta in the fields of arts and culture. Additionally, Rusli received several national awards from the Indonesian government and universities in Yogyakarta. Rusli passed away in Jakarta on May 11, 2005.

Source: IVAA Online Archive