Ignorance shows through in the burning of Tisna's artwork<\/p>\n
By Amir Sidharta<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Tisna Sanjaya has a unique way of expressing his
\npolitical inspiration. He has created a piece entitled Monumen
\nTiga Puluh Tahun Berpikir dengan Dengkul (Monument of Thirty-two
\nYears of Thinking with Our Elbows).<\/p>\n
The work includes three billboards made of bedeck mats of
\nwoven bamboo with the images of Habibie kissing the hand of the
\nartist, Soeharto kissing the hand of another image of his own
\nself, and Habibie kissing the hand of Soeharto. It also consists
\nof statues of three figures made of woven bamboo strips. The
\ngigantic nude statues are upturned, standing on their heads on
\ntop of a nampan beras, a round receptacle used to sort rice.<\/p>\n
In the first billboard, the artist is wearing the official
\nuniform of the Civil Servants Corps (Korpri). The image seems to
\nrefer to Habibie's great consideration for political emblems like
\nGolkar (the ruling political \"functional group\") and ABRI (the
\nArmed Forces).<\/p>\n
Tisna Sanjaya is a lecturer at Bandung's Institute of
\nTechnology, and due to his position, also categorized as a civil
\nservant. As the institute's 1996 \"model lecturer\" he often wears
\nhis Korpri uniform to express his cynicism in viewing the Korpri
\ninstitution itself.<\/p>\n
The second billboard suggests the New Order's self-adulation,
\nwhile the third shows Habibie's relationship to his predecessor.<\/p>\n
The exhibition of Tisna Sanjaya's work was displayed at the
\nYayasan Pendidikan Kesenian in Bandung.<\/p>\n
A discussion held at the closing of the show on Dec. 10
\nconcluded that Tisna should not only be shown in gallery or
\ngeneral exhibition spaces, but should be exhibited to a larger
\naudience, in a more public space. The participants in the
\ndiscussion decided to parade the first billboard and one
\nsculpture to the Regional Legislative Council (popularly known as
\n\"Gedung Sate\") in Bandung that very evening.<\/p>\n
At first, lacking adequate support, the pieces did fall down
\nas they were blown by the wind. Only after the work was propped
\nup once again and properly supported, did it stand proudly in
\nfront of the building for a few days.<\/p>\n
However, on Dec. 14, the work disappeared, and no one dared to
\nclaim responsibility for the piece. Tisna finally found the
\nremains of the work already burned and lying in the garbage dump
\nof the council complex. A label for the piece, also made of
\nbedek, and part of the rice receptacle were also burned, but
\nother parts of it remained. However, the statue was nowhere to be
\nfound.<\/p>\n
Tisna collected the pieces that were left. He said that he
\nintended to make another work based on the incident. Previously
\nTisna meant to take the work to the Asia-Pacific Triennial in
\nBrisbane, Australia next September.<\/p>\n
Ironically, what happened to Tisna's work indeed reflected the
\nvery ignorance that is the result of 32-years of thinking with
\nour elbows. It also shows an unwillingness to engage in dialog
\nand discussion -- characteristic of the repressive New Order
\nregime -- that has led to a destructive reaction that was also
\nrampant during the New Order era. It is a clear case of cowardly
\nterrorism. On the one hand, it is meant to terrorize the artist
\nand other artists into refraining from presenting their outspoken
\nart in the public realm. On the other, it shows an unwillingness
\nto face the issues.<\/p>\n
Lacking the intelligence to deal with the art work and the
\nartist, the culprit chose the most inane way out, that is to
\ndestroy it.<\/p>\n
What makes it even worse is the fact that the incident
\noccurred in the compound of the legislature, a place where
\npeople's aspirations should actually be voiced, not destroyed.
\nThe incident is so telling of the pathetic state of our
\nlegislative body, which is supposed to consist of advocates of
\ndemocracy.<\/p>\n
Even though perhaps the members of legislature were not
\ndirectly responsible for the act, they should at least have been
\nable to stop it from happening. Until now, there has been no
\nreaction from the legislature. No one has claimed responsibility
\nfor the destruction of the art work. What has happened is no
\ndifferent from the ninja attacks in Banyuwangi, East Java. It has
\nclaimed a victim, the felon is on the loose, but the authorities
\nare either indifferent toward the situation or incapable of
\napprehending him.<\/p>\n
Tisna is reluctant to make a fuss about the incident. \"It
\ndoesn't seem right to make this a public matter, while there are
\nother, more important things,\" he said. \"Human beings are dying
\nof hunger,\" he added.<\/p>\n
However, he expressed interest in developing the work further,
\nto make it more significant. The incident made a significant
\nimpact on Tisna himself. He admitted that artists like himself
\nhave a tendency to create art works as a response or reaction to
\nan incident that has happened or a phenomenon that exists in
\nsociety.<\/p>\n
\"Perhaps we should try to think about how we can take our art
\nanother step forward, to make it more meaningful,\" he said,
\nintrospectively.<\/p>\n
What Tisna will do remains to be seen. Meanwhile, it seems
\nclear that Bandung artists will not be able to rely on the
\ncurrent members of their legislature to guarantee the freedom of
\nexpression that is part of their basic human rights, and that is
\nnecessary for the development of their creativity. For now, they
\nwill need to fight for their own rights.<\/p>\n
The writer is curator at Museum Universitas Pelita Harapan,
\nLippo Karawaci, Tangerang, West Java.<\/p>",
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