Heri's art to be shown in Japan<\/p>\n
By Ahmad Solikhan<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): The becak, a three-wheeled pedicab, is a
\npollution-free and traditional means of transportation. If you
\never ride a becak, you may feel your spirits soar.<\/p>\n
For artist Heri Dono, a becak can be transformed into a
\nmultidimensional artwork.<\/p>\n
Heri, one of the country's most prominent contemporary
\nartists, has turned a brand new pedicab into an installation art
\npiece called The Golden Carriage.<\/p>\n
This piece will be displayed for three months at the Kirishima
\nOpen-Air Museum in Kagoshima, Japan, starting mid-April 2001. The
\nexhibition will feature sculptures and installation pieces by 70
\nartists from Asian, European and American countries.<\/p>\n
Some of the participants displaying their installation works
\nare Richard Long and Yoko Ono, the widow of John Lennon. Those
\nexhibiting their sculptures will include Isamu Noochi and Niki de
\nShint\/Phaue and many others.<\/p>\n
The theme of the exhibition, organized in conjunction with the
\nopening of the museum, is titled, The atmosphere of materialism
\nin the life of the community in relation to its culture and
\nnature.<\/p>\n
To prepare for this prestigious exhibition, Heri has created a
\nnumber of art pieces using various media, including fiberglass,
\npedicabs, unbleached cotton fabric, rattan, bamboo, etc.<\/p>\n
It took the artist around three months to complete his tasks.
\nOne of his stunning installation pieces is a pedicab, which he
\ndescribes as a \"golden carriage\", with an armless driver made of
\nfiberglass. The statue of the driver is wrapped in cotton like a
\nrobot or a mummy. His face bears a taut expression and a blank
\ngaze in his eyes expressing his agony and never-ending suffering.<\/p>\n
A device producing a heartbeat sound is placed on the chest
\nand connected to a speaker placed inside the body of the statue.
\nThe two wings of the golden carriage flap following the rhythm of
\nthe heartbeat, mechanically controlled by an electronic device.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a sculpture of a dog's head is found on the
\npassenger seat of the pedicab, its eyes open wide and its muzzle
\nproducing a barking sound, positioned in readiness to pounce upon
\nanything standing in the way so as to ensure that the carriage
\ncan gather speed.<\/p>\n
\"I worked on this carriage installation for 3 weeks with the
\nhelp of three persons. The idea came to me about 6 years ago,\"
\nsaid Heri, who has set as his target participating in 12 overseas
\nexhibitions every year.<\/p>\n
Winner of the Unesco Prize 2000, Heri would like to get across
\nthrough this installation work a message that pedicabs survive
\ndespite the existence of more modern means of transportation.<\/p>\n
What is really happening now is that many people are dreaming
\nof creating a pollution-free and environmentally friendly means
\nof transportation. From Heri's point of view, a becak driver has
\na greater moral worth than those driving high-tech but polluting
\ncars.<\/p>\n
It is indeed interesting to talk about the use of a pedicab as
\na medium of installation art. In this piece, where the dog is the
\npassenger in the pedicab, Heri does not mean to place an animal
\non the same level as a human being. He wants to emphasize that
\nearning a living as a pedicab driver is not a mean job,
\nespecially when employment opportunities are scarce.<\/p>\n
\"Every time I ride in a pedicab, I feel as if I were
\nspiritually flying,\" said Heri, who also won the Prince Claus
\nAward in 1998.<\/p>\n
He said that the upcoming exhibition of sculptures and
\ninstallation pieces was being held at the request of Prof. Akita
\nTatehata and Prof. Fumio Nanjo, both Japanese art curators.<\/p>\n
\"I'm the only Indonesian asked to participate in such a
\nhighly acclaimed international art exhibition,\" said Heri, who is
\na graduate of the Indonesian Institute of Arts in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Heri's installation piece is interesting as it shows that
\nthere is an artist who cares about the use of traditional means
\nof transportation and boldly proclaims so in other countries. Art
\nlovers will be surprised to find out that The Golden Carriage is
\npulled by a human being rather than horses. And the irony bites
\nhome when one realizes that the passenger is but a dog. It may be
\nHeri's intention to satirize the current situation, in which
\neverything is topsy-turvy and upside-down.<\/p>\n
This work lays bare Heri's open and free expression through
\nhis installation art pieces in order to improve his bargaining
\nposition. As the young art critic Adi Wicaksana put it in his
\npaper titled Fine Art like Fried Items, Speculators and the Merit
\nof Sly Tricks on the occasion of Widodo's 8th solo painting
\nexhibition from Feb. 4 through Feb. 24, 2001 in Yogyakarta, many
\nartists, for a variety of reasons, tend to acquiesce in the
\nwishes of art dealers. This, he said, would indirectly kill the
\nidea which the artist was seeking to express. However, he went
\non, there were also artists trying to shape the taste of the
\nmarket using their own references and employing sophisticated
\ntactics and tricks, usually underlaid by principles that could
\nnot be bought, just as in the case of Heri Dono.<\/p>\n
In the case of The Golden Carriage, art aficionados are free
\nto interpret and constructively criticize the work. As long as
\nthe artist does not cling to commercialization of his work and
\nsteadfastly and purely expresses his ideas through his work,
\nIndonesia's art development will surely become a point of
\nreference for foreign fine artists.<\/p>",
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