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In her journal released in 1966, American philosopher Susanne K. Langer argued that every culture develops some kind of art as surely as it develops language. She disagreed with the ancient notion that sees art as a luxury product of civilisation. She believed that art is the epitome of human life and the truest record of insight and feeling.

To put it simply, an art belonging to a group of people reflects the culture and way of life of said group. In this article, we would like to share the stories of an urban art that we often encounter without even realising it: truck paintings.

Truck paintings are often done on the tailgate of a truck, though there are many that are done on the entire body. Truck paintings are a unique form of entertainment we see whenever we travel on the highway, especially the Pantura highway. Their suggestive texts and colourful illustrations made them memorable in the minds of Indonesians of all ages and social classes. In fact, seeing and marvelling at these paintings have become part of the experience of travelling on Pantura highway.

Truck paintings can be categorised as an urban art, or works of art that are displayed at untouched public spaces, criticising the conditions of a society and operate as means of communication. Thus, the expressions showcased attempt to capture issues that often take place among urbanites, such as social, economic and cultural issues.

According to Nicholas Wila Adi in his piece for Jurnal Seni Nasional CIKINI, truck paintings communicate “a picture of a hard life that is dominated by men of low education, burdened by economic pressures, views women as sex objects, et cetera.”

In the same journal, the popular themes for truck paintings in the past decade were listed. Throughout the period 2009-2015, popular themes included women and sex, power and men, animals as symbolism and moral messages as advices. However, from 2015 to 2019, the preference shifted. Since 2015, moral messages as advices, satires or prayers, cartoon/manga/superhero characters and names of places or truck communities have become more popular.

Certainly, the popular themes of truck paintings are influenced by the artists behind the paintings.

One of the artists TFR interviewed, Topik (@airbrush33), has been working as a truck painter for 20 years. He was initially a tattoo artist, but quit the profession due to religious reasons after he began reciting the Holy Qur’an. He then started working as a car and truck painter using the airbrush and hand drawing methods. Unfortunately, his earnings have been significantly declining due to the COVID-19 pandemic: “Usually I receive truck painting orders every month, but there is none at all now.”

According to Topik, when it comes to commissioning a truck painting work, it all depends on the salesperson that the client contacted, “Here we have a salesperson for every painting service, so our earnings depend on which salesperson was approached by the customers.”

Commenting on the stigma of indecency often associated with truck paintings, Topik said that many indecent paintings were requested by the truck drivers themselves. “Probably adjusted to their own stories. I usually only do the painting, and my friend is the one who does the texts. Usually on the hood or the door. The most popular phrase is ‘pulang malu, nggak pulang rindu’ (‘embarrassed to go home, but not going home means longing’),“ the Surabaya-based painter told TFR.

Agustian (@agustian_airbrush), a truck painter who resides in Tasikmalaya, said that while many of his paintings followed his customers’ instructions, some of them were products of his own expressions. However, Agustian admitted that he does not like it when he has to sketch from scratch, “I don’t like it because it is such a hassle. I would rather have customers who come equipped with their own references or examples.”

According to Agustian, the decency (or indecency) of a truck painting depends on the person who commissions it. In his opinion, truck paintings don’t always have to contain social criticism or pornography. “Recently I had a customer who wanted a painting of his own kid, I don’t know why he wanted his family picture,” he continued. At first, this customer wanted a painting of Nyi Roro Kidul, but changed his mind because he got scared.

“Many people say that painting anything mystical feels different, you get goose bumps. Totally different to when we paint images of religious figures, that I like,” he said.

Interestingly, Agustian mentioned that truck painters already have their own communities. In fact, this community-centric culture amongst truck painters is a new trend that marks a new era in the world of truck painting in Indonesia.

Throughout the period 2015-2019, the art of truck painting grew in terms of shape visualisation, scope of painting media, production phases and techniques. Such new developments were influenced by the emergence of new truck communities in many areas of Java beginning in 2015. According to data from 2019, there were at least 12 truck communities across Pantura and the southern coast of Java.

These truck communities play a vital role in dictating the final visual direction of truck paintings. Within these communities, all kinds of vehicle modifications are carried out, shifting the focus of truck paintings to the entire body of the truck, not only on the tailgate. This trend then gave birth to various truck festivals in different parts of Indonesia – such as the Jogjakarta Truck Festival – that serve as platforms to showcase truck creations and modifications.

The speedy developments of technology also determine the development of truck painting visualisation. Truck drivers are now familiar with the internet. Besides facilitating the formation of communities, advancements in technology also allow truck drivers to easily view, access and download images that they like or even create their own design that fits their liking.

As such, painters also need to adapt to the new technology, as is the case with Agustian who is used to draft design on his phone – excluding fully realistic designs that require manual sketching. These artists have started to upload pictures of their creations on social media, making it easy for prospective customers to access their art and contact them online.

However, if we don’t draw a line, these technological advancements may threaten the livelihood of truck painters in our nation. Advancements in the field of digital printing, for example, have made it possible to produce visuals in a shorter time and at a lower price. Thus, digital printing became popular amongst truck communities across Java. Not to mention, this method makes it possible to design the entire body of a truck, not only the tailgate.

With the arrival of these new technologies that have high penetration rate, the existence of truck painters and artists does not seem as vital as before. This may prompt a lot of them to quit the profession.

This is unfortunate, given that truck paintings are part of our cultural expressions that are rich with urban culture values that we should be proud of. The admirers are still aplenty, from the lower to the upper class, young and old, men and women. This is proven by the large amount of social media accounts that specialise in appreciating and displaying various truck paintings found on the road.

One thing for sure, these truck paintings – with their suggestive images and texts – have become part of our common experience as Indonesians, especially those of us who reside in Java. These artists and painters can survive as long as we continue to appreciate their creations and existence. At the end of the day, no technology can ever fill our needs for works of art that are dripping in experience, emotions and human struggles.

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