‘Man of Steel’

For decades, Sumarsono, 72, has dealt with used iron and steel. He dealt with these hard and heavy materials and turned them into beautiful artworks. Some of his artworks are brought to several countries.

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Sumarsono, a sculptor who specializes in creating installation art using repurposed scrap metal, stands next a rack filled with a variety of found materials on Saturday (2/11/2019) at his workshop in Malang, East Java.

The workshop owned by Sumarsono, who is familiarly called Ono Gaf or Ono, on Jl. Halmahera, the Comboran Market area, in Malang, East Java, is like a warehouse filled with scraps of metal. But if you look closer, some of the iron piles have been assembled into various forms, such as birds or robots. There are also iron parts that are arranged into an abstract artwork. Some of them have been completed, some are only half done.

That afternoon on Saturday (2/11/2019), Ono was resting at his workshop. Rust, thick oil and a smell of scrap metal stick to his arms and clothes. Spots of blood were seen on his fingers from scratches when he was working. Understandably, there was almost no soft material, all hard and heavy. Those materials must be "conquered" by welding and grinding.

Of course this is not light work. Ono must use his mind and energy to turn the iron and steel into beautiful works. However, the hard work also builds his body. Now, at the age of 72, Ono is still capable of lifting tens of kilograms of iron and steel.

There is no special iron or steel wreckage used by Ono. He can use any scrap metal and steel, ranging from vehicle parts, agricultural equipment to household equipment. He obtained the piles from the scrap metal market in Malang, Pasuruan, Blitar and even Bali. Currently, he has a supply of 6 tons of used iron and steel waiting to be turned into works of art.

Some of his works are also installed outside the country, such as in Australia, England, Germany and South Africa.

Ono\'s works are displayed in a number of places. One of them is a turtle weighing 10 tons and measuring 3 meters high, which is now installed at a restaurant in Batu. The sculpture takes five months to complete. Some of his works are also installed outside the country, such as in Australia, England, Germany and South Africa.

"A lot. In total, there are hundreds that I have produced. There are about 25 units of art overseas, such as in South Africa, Britain and Germany. In Malang, there are several doctors who have collected my work," said the “Man of Steel" who also claimed his work was spread in a number of countries.

This eccentric artist also made a statue of an emu that resembles an ostrich in Perth, Australia, in 2014. To make the statue, he collaborated with artists from Australia and New Zealand. The concept of the work was made by Ono, while the two artists who partnered with him supplied the raw material.

In mid 2019, Ono collaborated with an English artist, Michelle Laing, 34, in Malang. The result is a pair of contemporary human and bird made of scrap metal. Unfortunately, one of these works was stolen.

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Sumarsono

"The 2-m tall statue was stolen by people a few months ago. It happened in this workshop. Maybe the perpetrators were some people who understand art," said the old man with long hair.

Currently, Ono is busy making a series of abstract artworks. There was a curator who offered him an exhibition at the National Gallery. At present, he has collected around 50 artworks, which he placed at home and at the workshop.

The time it takes for Ono to create an artwork is uncertain. There are statues that are finished in a matter of hours, but some are more than one year.

"I have no deadline. I want to have freedom and to be creative," said the man who had held a solo exhibition at the American Consulate General in Surabaya in 1975 and 1976.

Thinking of iron

Ono claimed to have taught himself to make sculptures, sketches and drawings by himself since he was a teenager. He did not know where the passion for art came from because his father, Abdul Gafur, was a tailor, while his mother, Sri Bana, worked on embroidery.

The neighborhood where Ono lived when he was a child in the Kidul Pasar (Malang) area was close to a market for scrap metal and scrap steel. No wonder he is familiar with such items.

When I saw scrap iron and steel, it’s as if I talk to them.

While he was still in primary school, Ono began to learn how to make agriculture tools, from sickles, knives and hoes from a blacksmith who was also a neighbor. He also learned how to weld metal in a neighboring repair shop specializing on European cars.

"Since childhood, I helped both of them. I have many influences.”

Ono sharpened his creativity by making objects from nails that he put on rail track and were crushed by the train wheels. There was no special form he wanted to make.

"I am free to express myself, so the shape is still abstract. Then, I assembled the flat nails after heating them in flame," he said.

Over time, he became more and more skilled. He is able to transform the wreckage of iron into things that appear to be alive even though they are in abstract form. He then told me how to work.

KOMPAS / DEFRI WERDIONO

Sumarsono

"When I saw scrap iron and steel, it’s as if I talk to them. The character and shape of the iron or steel must match my imagination because I see they live twice. First, this iron was part of a vehicle that could run [alive], then it got damaged [dead]. Now, I build the iron into a form of art [to be alive again]," he said.

As he gets older, Ono still has the determination to continue working. For him, there is no age limit to work.

Sumarsono,

Born: Malang, Jan 1, 1947

Wife: Tristia Ningsih

Children: Muhammad Firdaus, Mega Cahaya, Fanda Monika