Artists confront modern-day leviathan: Television<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
One need look no further than the OK. Video Sub\/Version Video
\nFestival at the National Gallery to learn that the most
\nterrifying leviathan in modern life is television.<\/p>\n
In the two-week festival, Indonesian artists and their
\ncounterparts from countries that include the United States,
\nAustralia, Japan, Russia and Belgium are showcasing their work,
\nwhich shows how television has shaped the universe of the masses,
\nmanipulated their conscience and subjugated them in the face of
\nglobal capitalism.<\/p>\n
While delineating the immense magnetism of the culture of
\ntelevision, the artists also deliver a coded message that is
\naimed at dismantling the subterfuge, deception and banality of
\nwhat is beamed from the magic tube.<\/p>\n
In so doing, the artists resort to the very methods that are
\nconsidered subversive in the profit-seeking corporate world:
\nvideo piracy and other copyright-infringing activities, while
\ngiving encouragement to involvement in such practices by
\nspectators.<\/p>\n
\"Subversive works have cleared the way for postmodernity to
\nflourish, which, in turn, will subsequently multiply these
\nsubversive works. Paint a Mao (Ze Dong) picture, add a Coca-Cola
\nlogo -- done,\" said Ronny Agustinus, a founding member of
\nRuangrupa, a festival organizer.<\/p>\n
The approach has gained currency among artists taking part in
\nthe video festival.<\/p>\n
For instance, in Bataille, a video work by Belgian artist
\nNicolas Provost, fragments from the film Rashomon by Japanese
\ndirector Akira Kurosawa are subject to a mirror effect.<\/p>\n
Named after French postmodern thinker George Bataille, the
\nwork carries a scene in which two samurais clench each other,
\nlater turning into a monster-like figure where horror and pain
\nevoke beauty and joy.<\/p>\n
Manifestoon, by American artist Jesse Drew, genially portrays
\nsymbolism for the stranglehold of Hollywood films through the
\nmedium of Tinseltown's most well-known export, cartoon character
\nMickey Mouse.<\/p>\n
The classic image of Mickey running over the globe has a new
\nmeaning in the current era, in which Mickey's parent company
\nDisney controls one of the largest media conglomerations in the
\nworld.<\/p>\n
The closing scene, in which a bearded Karl Marx takes the
\nplace of the cartoon character in saying \"That's all, folks!\",
\ngives rise to a sense of powerlessness among the populace
\n(represented by the leftist thinker) against the onslaught of the
\nmedia.<\/p>\n
If the two works are a harmless parody of media domination,
\nAppetite for Dysfunction, an installation work by Australian
\nartists collectively known as the Kingpins, reveals the more
\ndestructive aspects of the culture of spectacle.<\/p>\n
The work, whose title is a pun on Los Angeles-based band Guns
\n`n Roses' 1987 album Appetite for Destruction, put on display six
\ntelevision sets framed by the tongue logo of British band the
\nRolling Stones, continuously running recorded videos of an
\nAustralian commercial for burger restaurant McDonald's, a
\nwrestling contest, Rock `n Roll talent scouting contests and an
\nambush at a Korean Starbucks.<\/p>\n
The work, however, is ambiguous on whether the artists are
\nmaking a mockery of what is being beamed from the screen or of
\nthe spectators who are glued to the TV.<\/p>\n
If foreign participants in the competition have a penchant for
\nlaunching an attack on big corporations, Indonesian artists are
\nmore interested in peeling back the layers of deception and false
\nmessages delivered by local television programs.<\/p>\n
In similar vein to the Kingpins, the work of artist Eko
\nNugroho, Maling (Thief), speaks volumes about the fact that TV
\nhas become an integral part of people's lives.<\/p>\n
In his work, Nugroho uses a television set that constantly
\nbeams a collage of footage taken from homegrown TV programs, from
\na campy, ghost-hunting show, uninspired reality shows and gory
\nimages from a crime scene -- all staples of TV programing these
\ndays.<\/p>\n
To end the scene, Nugroho displays a mock ad of canned fruit
\nwith the label Maling.<\/p>\n
It is up to the audience to decide who is the real thief in
\nquestion -- TV programs that pry into the audience's private
\nlives or the products in commercials that constantly harangue us
\nto buy them?<\/p>\n
In Iqra (Arabic for \"read\"), artist Ari Satria Darma, attempts
\nto regain viewers' lost consciousness, which has been bombarded
\nby words and letters from all types of advertisements, by slowly
\nerasing letters that make up the logos of well-known products,
\nleaving their frames empty.<\/p>\n
\"Is it because we are a consumption-driven society that we
\nperceive the frames as empty?\" Ari asked rhetorically.<\/p>\n
in box:<\/p>\n
OK.Video Sub\/Version video festival runs through July 31.
\nOpen daily, Monday to Friday 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m and 6:30 p.m. to
\n9 p.m.
\nSaturdays and Sundays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m to 11 p.m.
\nNational Gallery
\nJl. Medan Merdeka Timur 14.
\nCentral Jakarta<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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