THE POWER OF THE SHAPE

A Solo Exhibition of Sculptures by Dolorosa Sinaga

Karya Dolorosa Sinaga

Curated by I Wayan Seriyoga Parta

The sculptures of Dolorosa Sinaga demonstrate the power of shape in representing ideas about the language of the body and facial expression; they take the figures of women as their specific subject matter. The figures in Dolorosa’s works do not appear in a realistic form, but are extracted, so they are figurative, without abandon the character of the human body—no doubt due to the artist’s in-depth understanding of anatomy.

In this solo exhibition at Kendra Gallery in Seminyak, Kuta, Bali, Dolorosa presents a number of sculptures that return to the exploration of motion. Figures of female dancers are juxtaposed with other works dating back to 2000 and forward to her most recent exploration of plastic as a new medium in her artistic process. This exhibition is deliberately not focused on the presentation of any one special exploration—motion, for example—the intention is to show the journey of creative exploration of the person, Dolorosa Sinaga. All of the sculptures in the exhibition  are crafted using bronze.

The explorations of the motion of dancers in this exhibition in fact relates to the search for form that engaged Dolorosa in the 1990s, upon returning from advanced sculpture studies at St. Martin’s School of Art in London. At St. Martin’s, she gained an experience utterly different from the art-making processes she had known back in Indonesia, when she studied sculpture at LPKJ (the Jakarta Art Education Institute, now known as IKJ – the Jakarta Art Institute), the same institute where she has worked as a teacher (dosen) up to now. In her course, she addressed herself to a prolonged period of study, dissecting the structure and anatomy of the human body using paper, corrugated paper, and cardboard. Dolorosa describes her experience as follows:

With paper we grappled with the pose of the figure, investigating and analyzing every detail of movement, from the outside in, from the inside out. We had to know how the positions of the muscles of certain parts of the body change when they make a certain motion. This method of working emphasized four keys to the basic order of work. First, investigation, then analysis, after that, interpretation, and finally, discovering a form of representation through the medium of paper.[1]

It was an uncommon material as a medium for creating sculpture, one that she had to use in the process of some two long years of study. Understandably, this led Dolorosa to a heightened sensitivity to the anatomy of the body, the language of the body, and to the creation of a unique expressive language for her figures.

At this writer’s first meeting with Dolorosa to talk about the exhibition at her studio, she asked: “What do you think would be best for us to present in this exhibition?” I did not answer right away; we continued our discussion, talking about everything from sculpture to socio-political issues. Then the thought occurred to me that, up to now, Doloroso has been very strong in presenting issues of gender in her works. So, I thought, what about inviting her to explore sculptures that do not directly touch on issues of gender. Upon entering the studio, I was perturbed by a small, slender sculpture of a female dancer in motion. At last we got around to talking about this piece. The idea of returning to the exploration in this work came up, and Dolorosa welcomed it enthusiastically.

When she is at work, Dolorosa looks as if she is operating on a body, detaching it from its (realistic) bodily physical structure, using plates of wax that she rips, shakes and pushes into dance moves, so giving birth to dancing figures, such as the sculptures entitled, Balinese  Dancer 2005, Balinese Dancer I – IV (all made in 2009), and Let’s Dance 2009 in this show. Although these works do not have realistic forms, we can see figures of dancing women in them.

In Balinese Dancer III we can see a woman dancing with a fan, with lithe and energetic movements, like the dances of Bali. Dolorosa manages to capture an expression of the motion of the dance in the sculpture, and when it appears it is not a retinal impression that moves us, but something far deeper, which penetrates the spaces of memory and awareness that make up our experience of Balinese dancers/dances.  It is inside of this awareness of ours that the form takes concrete shape, emerging out of memories—already recorded, already saved, now revived.

Dolorosa is highly aware of this; and it is the reason why she chooses not to  present her works in a realistic form. Because the form already exists in the memories/thoughts of all of us, there is no need to show it again as it is. Through her artworks, Dolorosa attempts to call these memories back to the fore, to have us re-enter the deepest niches of our consciousness, much like reopening the pages of the photo album we keep at home. For me, it is in this process of re-imagining that the power of Dolorosa’s sculptures lies, because we do not just see them with our eyes, but with the feelings and memories stored in our minds. She give us a space for resurrecting  our experience.

Space is an important aspect of the art of sculpture; in my opinion Dolorosa is able to unfold a space that is no longer merely physical, but imaginary. We can observe this matter of space in the series of Balinese Dancer sculptures; they are not massive, in the sense of having volume (length, width, height) or what is called “monolithic” in the conventional categories of the art of sculpture. The space in this series of works sculpted from sheets of wax has moved beyond such conventions, but even so we can still experience them as sculptures.

This space, both beyond and within time simultaneously, enters the perceptions and images of the audience. If installation artists develop spatial propositions into concrete experiences (meaning spaces that the audience can directly experience), then Dolorosa opens entry halls to the inner experience of the audience. The experiences are private, but usually contain within them some generally accepted conventions, as shown in the Balinese Dancer work. While it is not realistic in form and has none of the attributes of Balinese dance costumes—with the exception of the fan—the visual signs are there, including the gesture, the movement of the body. These signs are enough to lead us to that domain of conventions. Guided by a bit of a clue from the title of the work, we are drawn to the conclusion that it is a Balinese dancer. It is a kind of deep appreciation of space by Dolorosa Sinaga.

This series of sculptures, formally speaking, could be seen as abstract works, since the point of Dolorosa’s performance is to find the essence, yet she is no formalist. She never stops simply at the exploration of form; the form for her is a medium, in this context, for an expressive language. The figures are not realistic but representative, because when we witness them in and of themselves, they can speak to us about themselves, and we accept in our perceptions that they are dancers. The sculpture is present as a metaphor, a metaphor that is, in this context, not explicit, but more implicit.

Dolorosa’s long and rigorous studies at St. Martin’s did not turn her into a formalist, because when she came back to Indonesia she became active in various social and cultural organizations, and witnessed the reality of her kind (women) in a society that still harbors so many issues. This made Doloroso unable to shut her eyes and ears, her consciousness was touched again, and she molded that into clay.

Using the clay, Dolorosa pressed, massaged, and squeezed to give birth to figures representing the body language, the gestures of women, which powerfully display the meaning of gender equality. Her work from this period shows the character of the clay, giving rise to shapes, using strokes and textures to represent cloth or skin.

The work entitled, You Tell Me 2008 features two figures, male and female, sitting on a pair of chairs that are separate from, but close to one another. The woman sits upright, hands folded in front of her chest, facing forward, with only her face looking to the side towards the man. Meanwhile the man sits, leaning against the chair, with his right leg crossed over his left thigh, his upturned head tilted back, his right hand holding the back of the woman’s chair.

We can instantly grasp what is happening with these two human figures: the man appears, grinning while “seductive,” and the woman, with gestures of self defense, and full of power. A similar situation can be seen in the work entitled, Sia-Sia 2006. Although this time they are seated on one couch, there is still a tangible gap between the two people (male and female) here. The man again appears inept, with head bowed, hand steadied by holding onto the chair. Meanwhile, the woman is holding a flower, her body tilted to the side. Both of these works send the message: woman is no frail creature; she has power, and she has attitude.

But this does not mean Dolorosa thinks that men should always be suspected or seen as “adversaries.” In her other works she displays the closeness of relations between these two beings, filled with love, affection, and compassion. In the work, Dhalailama 2001, Dolorosa shows her appreciation of a figure (leader), a bringer of peace, evoked with streaks of clay.

The work, Me and My Book 2008 consists of a long-legged figure sitting on the floor holding a book, whose facial expression shows she is communicating something, clearly related to the book she is reading. The work is displayed on the floor, so the audience will look at the figure below from a position that complements the gesture of the sculpture in the process of communicating.

In 2008, while she was preparing for her solo exhibition, Dolorosa  got inspired by the plastic she uses to cover her clay models to maintain their moisture, to ensure the clay model in progress does not go dry too quickly. Her sensibility to materials moved her to make shapes with the plastic, which had the power of drapery, to produce sensations based on the texture of the plastic that were different in character from that of the clay.

The work, Tears for the Loved Ones 2008 shows the body of a woman wrapped in plastic, it tells a story of sadness about a person one has loved.  Other works in the plastic series, Rites of The Nite 2008, and Catwalk I and II  2008, emphasize the drapery and texture formed out of layers of plastic on clay that Dolorosa has gradually shaped with the help of resin. Heidi Arbuckle reveals the import of this new medium for Dolorosa as follows:

Plastic made it possible for Dolorosa to experience the pleasure of a new esthetic: the gentle flow of the layers of plastic produced the most intimate and entrancing folds and textures she had ever produced. […] Unlike other materials Dolorosa had worked with, the plastic was not gendered, so it gave Dolorosa a new space for a vocabulary of the feminine that is unburdened by the past.[2]

This analysis throws an interesting light on the movement of Dolorosa’s creative explorations, but in this writer’s opinion, Dolorosa will not be detained for long in showing the “feminist” in her. As stated earlier in this writing, Dolorosa’s  work method involves the discovery of an expressive language, and she will not stop only at the language. As language is a tool for communication, through her expressive language, Dolorosa will continue communicating her ideas and thoughts to us.  I am convinced that,  not too long from now, she will encounter a spirit to give expression to her power to critique other social issues, this time through the intimacy of the medium of plastic.

At one point in our discussions, Dolorosa noted that the process of creation is not just to discover something “new.” The process can go forward as well as deeper inside. One can explore spaces one has traveled before, to re-encounter a “new” spirit with a still deeper  articulation. What she is expressing is interesting for us to consider carefully, as we can see from it Dolorosa’s attitude and view of the process of creativity and artistry; I also think it is highly topical in the context of the issues and evolution of contemporary art.

If we look more carefully we see that in Dolorosa’s creative journey there is always correlation, or a “red thread.” In the sculpture entitled, Moment Tsunami 2006, done two years before entering her plastic period, Dolorosa had made a preliminary exploration using clay. That is, in Moment Tsunami Dolorosa had already begun crafting cloth-like drapery, and it was not inadvertent that two years later, she was impressed by the plastic covering her sculpture model. In fact, the memory of the drapery had registered before, and then the experience was brought to the surface by a stimulus later on.

In the visual form of her artworks, Dolorosa speaks through what I prefer to call shape rather than form. Because form is closer to the basic form of things, and close to formalism, whereas Dolorosa is more oriented towards the body, whose form has been simplified to the point that it does not look realistic, but neither is it abstract. I am inclined to call it shape because the exploration in Dolorosa’s works is more about the shape, of what the body is, and not its form.

The works by Dolorosa in this solo exhibition convey a deep appreciation of the power of shape. Although they are not realistic in form, we are able to sense the movement of bodies dancing—lively, rebellious, shouting, resisting—as well as showing love, compassion and peace. The sculptures of Dolorosa have the capacity to touch our memories and the threshold of our unconscious, to build perceptions and understandings through the power of her figurative shapes.

Bandung,  September 2009

Translated from the Indonesian by Sherry Kasman Entus

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[1] Dolorosa Sinaga, Artist’s Statement in Have You Seen a Sculpture From The Body? Catalogue of the solo exhibition of Dolorosa Sinaga, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, 15 October- 1 November 2008. p. 2.

[2] Heidi Arbuckle, Ibid, p. 42.

SALAH KAPRAH PATEN BUDAYA

Kompas Jumat, 9 Oktober 2009 | 03:44 WIB

Oleh Arif Havas Oegroseno

Tajuk Rencana Kompas (3/10) berjudul ”Batik Milik Dunia” berisi: ”Untuk menghindarkan klaim negara lain terhadap produk budaya nasional, Indonesia perlu segera mematenkannya di lembaga internasional”. Pernyataan ini sangat mengejutkan, paling tidak karena tiga perkara.

Pertama, paten adalah perlindungan hukum untuk teknologi atau proses teknologi, bukan untuk seni budaya seperti batik. Kedua, tak ada lembaga internasional yang menerima pendaftaran cipta atau paten dan menjadi polisi dunia di bidang hak kekayaan intelektual (HKI). Ketiga, media terus saja mengulangi kesalahan pemahaman HKI yang mendasar bahwa seolah-olah seni budaya dapat dipatenkan.

Dalam urusan HKI, ada sejumlah hak yang dilindungi, seperti hak cipta dan paten dengan peruntukan yang berbeda. Hak cipta adalah perlindungan untuk ciptaan di bidang seni budaya dan ilmu pengetahuan, seperti lagu, tari, batik, dan program komputer. Sementara hak paten adalah perlindungan untuk penemuan (invention) di bidang teknologi atau proses teknologi. Ini prinsip hukum di tingkat nasional dan internasional. Paten tidak ada urusannya dengan seni budaya.

Jadi, pernyataan ”perlu mematenkan seni budaya” adalah distorsi stadium tinggi. Penularan distorsi pemahaman oleh media ini menjalar lebih cepat daripada flu burung. Tidak kurang dari Sultan Hamengku Buwono X menyatakan bahwa produk budaya dan seni warisan leluhur idealnya dipatenkan secara internasional (Antara, 25/8/2009) atau Gubernur Banten yang akan mematenkan debus (Antara, 28/8/2009).

Distorsi ini sangat berbahaya karena memberikan pengetahuan yang salah kepada publik secara terus-menerus, akibatnya kita terlihat sebagai bangsa aneh karena di satu sisi marah-marah karena merasa seni budayanya diklaim orang lain, tetapi di sisi lain tak paham hal-hal mendasar tentang hak cipta dan paten.

Salah kaprah lain adalah keinginan gegap gempita untuk mendaftarkan warisan seni budaya untuk memperoleh hak cipta. Para gubernur, wali kota, dan bupati berlomba-lomba membuat pernyataan di media bahwa terdapat sekian ribu seni budaya yang siap didaftarkan untuk mendapat hak cipta. Tampaknya tak disadari bahwa dalam sistem perlindungan hak cipta, pendaftaran tidaklah wajib. Apabila didaftarkan, akan muncul konsekuensi berupa habisnya masa berlaku hak cipta, yakni 50 tahun setelah pencipta meninggal dunia. Jadi, seruan agar tari Pendet didaftarkan adalah berbahaya karena 50 tahun setelah pencipta tari Pendet meninggal dunia, hak ciptanya hilang dan tari Pendet dapat diklaim siapa saja.

Kita harus hati-hati menggunakan kata klaim apabila terkait urusan sebaran budaya. Adanya budaya Indonesia di negara lain tidak berarti negara itu secara langsung melakukan klaim atas budaya Indonesia. Karena apabila ini kerangka berpikir kita, kita harus siap-siap dengan tuduhan bangsa lain bahwa Indonesia juga telah mengklaim budaya orang lain; misalnya bahasa Indonesia yang 30 persen bahasa Arab, 30 persen bahasa Eropa (Inggris, Belanda, dan Portugis) serta 40 persen bahasa Melayu. Bagaimana dengan Ramayana yang oleh UNESCO diproklamasikan sebagai seni budaya tak benda India? Apakah Indonesia telah mengklaim budaya India sebagai budaya kita karena di Jawa Tengah sendratari Ramayana telah menjadi bagian budaya?

Dalam narasi proklamasi UNESCO atas wayang sebagai seni tak benda Indonesia, disebutkan ”Wayang stories borrow characters from Indian epics and heroes from Persian tales”. UNESCO menyatakan kita meminjam budaya orang lain dalam wayang kita. Apakah meminjam sama dengan mengklaim? Rabindranath Tagore dalam Letters from Java justru terharu dan bangga melihat budaya India dilestarikan di Jawa, bukannya menganggap ini sebagai klaim Indonesia, lalu marah dan meneriakkan perang.

Solusinya

Pertama, media sebagai kekuatan sosial politik keempat harus berani belajar untuk menyajikan substansi yang benar tanpa takut kehilangan rating. Kedua, pemerintah daerah perlu memberdayakan aparat mereka agar paham masalah-masalah HKI. Upaya mudah dan murah, kalau mau.

Ketiga, database tentang seni budaya Indonesia dikumpulkan di satu instansi tertentu, lalu disusun dengan klasifikasi kategorisasi sesuai standar Organisasi Kekayaan Intelektual Dunia (WIPO). Keempat, database ini dilindungi instrumen hukum nasional, lalu dijadikan rujukan dalam perjanjian bilateral guna membatalkan pemberian hak cipta yang meniru seni budaya Indonesia.

Kelima, Indonesia bersama negara-negara berkembang terus melanjutkan keberhasilan perundingan di Sidang Majelis Umum WIPO pada 1 Oktober 2009 yang memutuskan bahwa WIPO akan menegosiasikan suatu instrumen hukum internasional yang akan mengatur perlindungan masalah pengetahuan tradisional, ekspresi budaya tradisional, dan sumber genetika.

Mari bekerja keras dengan nasionalisme yang cerdas.

Arif Havas Oegroseno

Alumnus Harvard Law School

di unduh dari: http://cetak.kompas.com/read/xml/2009/10/09/03440240/salah.kaprah.paten.budaya

John Wood: Antara Microsoft dan Ribuan Perpustakaan

Titik cerita, perubahan, dan pilihan hidup itu dimulai dari satu putaran perjalanan liburan ke Himalaya. Sesaat menjadi ”Brahman”, menjauh dari kejaran kerja yang nyaris menyita seluruh waktunya.

Room to Read’s John Wood ‘89 distributing books to eager readers in Nepal

John Wood adalah seorang eksekutif perusahaan komputer terbesar sejagad, Microsoft, yang membawahi pemasaran di kawasan Asia Pasifik. Di Himalaya, 21 hari ia memaksakan diri putus dari matarantai kapital yang menjelujuri perhatiannya tiada henti: tanpa e-mail, dering panggil telepon, pertemuan, dan pulang-pergi kerja.

Bertahun-tahun rutinitas itu dijalankannya: gaya hidup komando seorang prajurit korporat di mana liburan hanya buat orang-orang yang lemah. Dalam falsafah parakomando korporat itu, prajurit kapital sejati adalah mereka yang terus bekerja di akhir pekan, terbang ratusan ribu mil, membangun kerajaan-kerajaan mini demi kebesaran patung raksasa Microsoft.

Tapi kini ia di Himalaya. Yang ia kerjakan adalah berjalan dan terus berjalan menyusur jalanan setapak menuju ketinggian. Dingin. Sepi. Juga buku catatan harian—yang kelak menjadi bahan mentah untuk biografi perjalanannya yang sangat terkenal: Leaving Microsoft to Change the World.

Buku harian itu menjadi semacam pandu rekam setiap langkah kaki yang tertanam di ceruk pasir putih yang dikepit salju. Di buku harian itu pula ia dirasuki suara-suara halus filsuf Soren Kierkegaard: ”Tak ada sesuatu pun yang begitu ditakuti setiap manusia seperti halnya mengetahui seberapa besar dia mampu melakukan dan menjadi.”

Dalam karavan itu ia terus bertanya pada hatinya yang disesap lengang. Dan pasase Dalai Lama di The Art of Happiness yang dikantunginya memberinya secupet rasa damai: “Ketika kita memberikan sesuatu, kita sebenarnya memperoleh sesuatu balasannya: kebahagiaan.

Jika kita harus menggunakan uang kita sekadar untuk membeli barang-barang buat diri kita sendiri, tak akan ada akhirnya. Memperoleh sesuatu tak akan menghasilkan kebahagiaan sejati, sebab kita tak akan pernah memiliki perahu yang paling besar, mobil paling bagus, dan akan terikat pada siklus materialis yang abadi.

Tapi, kalau kita memberikan sesuatu bagi mereka yang kurang beruntung, kita tak akan memperoleh sesuatu sebagai balasan kecuali perasaan hangat dalam hati kita dan pengetahuan yang kita miliki dalam otak kita bahwa kita telah menjadikan dunia sebuah tempat yang lebih baik.”

Keramahan memang diterimanya dari setiap warga yang ditemuinya. Tapi di balik keramahan itu, tersembul ironi. Di sana tertanam angka buta huruf dengan angka yang nyaris absolut. Di sana, di jalur Annapurna, di dukuh Bahudanda yang dilewati Sungai Marsyendi, memang terdapat satu sekolah.

Di pagi itu John diajak berkeliling sekolah berlantai tanah yang terlalu sesak buat 450 anak “belajar” di dalamnya. Dan John masgul di bawah plang dengan cetakan yang sangat meyakinkan: “Perpustakaan Sekolah”. Karena apa yang disebut perpustakaan itu hanyalah sebuah ruang lengang tanpa buku. Ruang yang seperti diciptakan dengan nyala harapan bahwa suatu ketika ada peri yang menitip buku-bukunya buat anak-anak Bahudanda.

Dan momentum saat John pulang itulah meluncur sebaris harapan yang dikatakan sang kepala sekolah yang kelak membalik posisi berdiri John Wood di atas pentas karirnya: “Barangkali, Pak, suatu hari Anda akan kembali dengan buku-buku.”

Dan sepanjang perjalanan, John membayangkan datangnya hari itu: Menaikkan beberapa ratus buku ke punggung yak-yak sewaan dengan barisan panjang.

Tapi setiap pilihan membutuhkan keputusan yang berani; sebagaimana tradisi Microsoft yang dibangun dua doktrin yang mesti diresapi setiap prajurit korporatnya: ”Jadilah besar atau pulanglah” dan ”Tujuan berani akan menarik orang-orang berani”. Dan di antara harapan akan hadirnya buku-buku di sebuah dukuh di balik-balik batu di ketinggian bumi yang jauh dari jangkauan peradaban modern, John Wood mengambil ikrar: Meninggalkan Microsoft yang telah memberinya segala-gala. Gaji yang memberinya angka tabungan yang berlimpah untuk jaminan hari tua, prestise, jaringan pertemanan mahaluas, serta jabatan mentereng sebagai eksekutif—jabatan yang didamba begitu banyak petualang kerja.

John memilih menjadi kurir buku-buku buat anak-anak Nepal—dan juga negeri-negeri yang terpental dari pergaulan dunia karena dikeram kebodohan dan kemiskinan. Atas pilihan itu John tidak hanya melihat tabungannya meluncur ke titik nol, tapi juga kehilangan pacar yang tak memahami jalan pikirannya.

Tak banyak kita temui sosok yang berani seperti John Wood ini. Yang mengikuti keyakinannya yang menyala-nyala bahwa jalan buku adalah serupa lorong harapan yang membuka jalan pembebasan.

Mula-mula diteguhkannya dirinya sendiri: “Saya membangun sekolah dan perpustakaan di komunitas-komunitas miskin di Nepal.” Dia tahu, untuk mengajak orang lain bertindak yang sama, maka ia harus terlihat meyakinkan. Yang diyakinkannya pertama kali adalah orang tuanya dan tetangga-tetangganya di San Fransisco. Gelombang pertama ini berhasil mengumpulkan banyak buku dan menjadi langkah pertama John mewujudkan mimpinya: Memimpin sebarisan yak-yak pengangkut buku ke puncak Himalaya.

Langkah itu membawa John mendirikan lembaga amal yang menaungi dirinya dan barisan panjang yak-yak pengangkut buku. Ia menamai lembaga amal itu dengan ROOM TO READ atau Ruang Baca. Bagi John, salah satu keterampilan yang mutlak dimiliki oleh lembaga amal adalah kemampuan menjual visinya, model bisnisnya, dan program-programnya kepada donatur-donatur potensial.

Yang lebih penting lagi adalah perencanaan keuangan yang terbuka dan jangan sekali-kali membiarkan cash flow negatif. Ketatnya John dalam soal pengurusan kapital ini lantaran doktrin pendidikan yang sudah dijalaninya untuk memelototi model-model cash flow serupa intensitas seorang siswa Rabbini mempelajari Kitab Taurat.

Selain itu, John amat berpantang membangun lembaga amalnya dengan teknik “Tangisan Panjang Sally Stuthers”. Teknik ini—dan biasanya kerap dijual lembaga filantropik—mengeksploitasi dan memperlihatkan foto-foto anak yang dikerubungi malapetaka atau keluarga gizi yang berbaring dalam debu.

Bagi John, teknik ini alih-alih mengangkat harkat kaum miskin, tapi justru merendahkan martabatnya. Room To Read mengambil jalan sebaliknya. Memberi obor harapan dan pendar optimisme dengan menampilkan foto-foto anak dari sebuah pusat kota kecil dengan memakai toga kelulusan yang kedodoran, gambar seorang gadis kecil yang sudah bisa menyunggingkan senyum setelah operasi sumbing, atau potret petani-petani di lahan tandus Honduras yang bangga dengan sumur barunya.

Prinsip itu dipegang kuat oleh John dan tim yang dibangunnya. Di halaman muka situsnya, www.roomtoread.org, memang ditampilkan angka-angka yang menandai ketunaan: “There are over 76 million children of primary-school age who are not enrolled in school. Of the 774 million adults in the world who cannot read or write, 64 % are women. Of the world’s 76 million children out-of-school children of primary age, over 80% live in rural areas”. Namun foto-foto di latar situs itu adalah anak-anak sekolah dasar yang mengepit buku dan memperlihatkan seutas tipis senyumnya.

Room To Read memang membeber data kemiskinan, tapi bukan untuk menjual kemelaratan dan kesengsaraan, melainkan memberi arah bagi pijakan perjuangan “menumpasnya” dengan jalan buku, perpustakaan, dan ketersediaan gedung sekolah bagi anak-anak. Itu semua terwujud berkat hasrat filantropik John yang menggebu disertai keahliannya mengorganisasi sebuah tim yang bukannya anti kapital, tapi bagaimana mengelola cash-flow kapital itu dengan baik dan transparan.

Teknik itu kemudian melahirkan kepercayaan. Hanya kepercayaan yang bisa mendorong donatur-donatur yang menyebar di daratan Amerika, Eropa, bahkan Hongkong itu untuk menitipkan hartanya untuk digunakan sebagaimana mestinya.

John, dititimangsa ini, berhasil membuktikan doktrin yang diyakini oleh setiap prajurit korporat di Microsoft: “”tujuan berani akan menarik orang-orang berani”. Tapi doktrin itu kini bukan untuk kemahamuliaan patung porselen raksasa Microsoft, melainkan untuk warga dunia selatan yang papah.

John kini tak hanya membayangkan memimpin sebarisan yak-yak pengangkut buku ke puncak Himalaya, tapi juga ia berhasil memimpin sebuah tim dan sejumlah besar donatur potensial membangun lilin kecil literasi. Dan pastinya John telah tunaikan janji kepada kepala sekolah Bahudanda. John pulang. Tapi ia tak hanya pulang dengan membawa buku-buku di atas punggung yak-yak, tapi juga ia dan Room To Read hingga 2009—atau sesudah 10 tahun berjuang dari titik nol di ketinggian Himalaya—telah berhasil membangun 8.500 perpustakaan dan ribuan sekolah. Bukan hanya di Nepal, tapi Vietnam, Srilanka, dan Kamboja. (Muhidin M Dahlan)

Tulisan ini disobek dari buku Para Penggila Buku terbitan Indonesia Buku

Sumber: http://indonesiabuku.com/?p=952

Diposting oleh sasa on Jul 10th, 2009 di topik Perpustakaan, Tokoh.