► Monica Swinn: Looking at your work awakes in my mind, beyond your personnal and
strong expression, the memories of mandalas. Could we assume that your artwork
is a kind of meditation?
► Rtistjono: Yes. I fell upon literature about mandalas once when I was doing
research for a large piece I was working on at the time and was very intrigued by their history and use in tibetan culture. I had never
before seen my art as a form of meditation but the more I thought about the
idea the more it made sense. Drawing has always been a very cathartic activity
for me and I use it as a means to relax my mind, as well as to reflect on the events taking
place in my life. I can recall many times when I will be in the middle of
filling a large area with an intricatedly detailed pattern and look up to see
hours have passed without any conscious realization. I think that no matter
what it is, when some finds their true passion and learns to express it in a meaningful that is
way unique to themselves, it will always achieve this meditative quality. It is
during these times that we feel most connected to our surroundings and submit
our sense of self to a higher power.
► Monica Swinn: What do you think about digital art? Why do you obviously prefer your
traditional technique?
► Rtistjono: I personally don’t choose to make digital art very often. Throughout school I did most of my
artwork digitally because I liked the amount of control it gave me over the
final image, but looking back I now realize it was keeping me from realizing my
true expression. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t discredit artists who prefer to work digitally, it takes a large amount of
skill and knowledge to be able to produce some of the amazing digital work that
I have seen, but for me having so much control kept me from making the mistakes
that needed to in order to grow.
I also didn’t like having to print out my work after I had completed it. I think of it like
trying to pull a fish out of the water to admire its beauty. The vibrantly
colored, luminous images that I saw in great clarity on the computer screen
became drab and dull when I took them out of their intended environment.
Working with ink has proven to be a great medium for my style of work. It gives
me the flexibility of being expressive, while still allowing me to incorporate
the right details and patterns I like in my work.
► Monica Swinn: Apart from Art, what are you interested in? Other pleasures, other
passions?… Things you love?… Stuff you hate?
► Rtistjono: When I’m not working I enjoy spending time with my family, particulalry learning what
it means to be a father to my 4-month old daughter. There aren’t many things I hate, I try to find pleasure in every aspect of the things I do.
When I come acrross a situation or concept that bring about feelings of hate, I
try to instead transform my initial reaction to an oppurtunity to learn
something new, and grow as an artist and adult.
► Monica Swinn: You are still very young (born in 1988), you must have a lot of projects, hopes, dreams ? What do you wish the most for yourself ? And for the World?
► Rtistjono: I wish to become successful enough to be able to give back to my family and everyone who has
helped me along the way, to let them know how important it was that they
believed in me. I wish to be able to say that I stayed true to myself and followed the dreams that I had as a child and made them come true. And mostly I
wish to share the passion that I have towards my craft with others in my time
and future generations, in a hope that it will inspire those that feel as if they
know their purpose, yet are having trouble getting motivated or letting fear
paralyze them from moving forward.
► Monica Swinn: Anything else you would say to end that interview?
► Rtistjono: I’d like to thank you for taking an interest in my work and I hope that our paths
cross again in the future!
Thanks, Rtistjono
– THE END –
