Interchange and debate color RI art scene in 1995<\/p>\n
By Margaret Agusta<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): This past year was a period of flux, conflict
\nand contrast in Indonesia's art sector, with increasing political
\nawareness and greater interchange with the outside world being
\nthe only constants.<\/p>\n
The first major exhibition of the year, a show of 43 paintings
\nby Yos Suprapto at Taman Ismail Marzuki art center from Jan. 9 to
\n15, continued 1994's tendency to establish links between
\nIndonesia's art circles and those of other nations.<\/p>\n
Although born in Indonesia and educated at the ASRI art
\nacademy in Yogyakarta in the early 1970s, Yos Suprapto has lived
\nin Australia, where he has established himself as a successful
\nartist and musician, for the last 18 years.<\/p>\n
His exhibition in Jakarta in January 1995 was his first in
\nIndonesia since his student days with artists Semsar Siaahan,
\nF.X. Harsono and Hardi in Central Java.<\/p>\n
Like other artists, curators and critics, such as F.X.
\nHarsono, Heri Dono, Edi Hara, Sulebar and Jim Supangkat, who
\ncontinue to live and work in Indonesia, Yos Suprapto is
\ninterested in \" ... introducing a new way of looking at the
\nproblem of art in the Indonesian art scene\".<\/p>\n
F.X. Harsono and Jim Supangkat, who took part in international
\nart fora in Japan and Australia this year, have been very
\noutspoken concerning the role art plays in Indonesia and its
\nrightful place in the global art scene.<\/p>\n
F.X. Harsono, who concentrates on installation art for his
\ncreative expression, feels that the voice of the grassroots
\nsegment of society can be amplified and conveyed most readily
\nthrough the medium of visual art. Like Yos Suprapto, Djoko Pekik,
\nSemsar Siaahan, and to some extent Heri Dono, Edi Hara and Dede
\nEri Supria, F.X. Harsono addresses Indonesia's socio-political
\nproblems of corruption, the gap between the rich and the poor,
\nthe exploitation of workers and the destruction of the
\nenvironment.<\/p>\n
Yos Suprapto, who presented one installation and two
\nperformance pieces along with his paintings in his Jakarta show,
\nbelieves that socio-political messages conveyed with imagination
\nand creativity have long been missing from the Indonesia art
\nscene, or at least pushed to the fringes through suppression.<\/p>\n
\"We can't just see fine arts as an entertainment industry,\" he
\nwrote in the catalog for his January exhibition. Yos Suprapto
\nbelieves the development of Indonesian art and imagination has
\nbeen hindered because of the socio-political trauma induced by
\nthe abortive communist coup of 1965 and its immediate aftermath.<\/p>\n
He said in an interview with Sarah Murray for The Jakarta Post
\nthat this trauma has yet to be confronted and processed through
\ncreative artwork in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
He also bemoaned the fact that \"The main aspirations of
\nIndonesian modern art from Sudjojono and Affandi's era have been
\nforgotten.\"<\/p>\n
Both Sudjojono and Affandi advocated focusing on the plight of
\nthe grassroots level of society for inspiration for their free
\nand expressive artwork. And like Djoko Pekik, they came under
\nheavy fire in the wake of the upheaval of 1965 and 1966 for their
\nalleged \"leftist\" leanings and the social themes they insisted on
\nconveying through their paintings.<\/p>\n
Only in the last two or three years have people begun to take
\na well deserved closer look at the work of Djoko Pekik. Most
\nnotably, the Norwegian-American art historian Astri Wright had
\nthe professional insight to discuss the impact of Indonesia's
\npolitical history on its artists, in particular Djoko Pekik, and
\ntheir art in her book Soul, Spirit and Mountain: Preoccupations
\nof Contemporary Indonesian Painters, published in 1994 and
\navailable throughout this past year in Jakarta bookstores.<\/p>\n
Astri Wright, like Jim Supangkat and F.X. Harsono, has
\nactively striven to draw greater attention to and achieve long
\ndeserved recognition in international fora for Indonesia's modern
\nand contemporary art.<\/p>\n
This has not been an easy task, as could be seen by the
\noutright rejection by American art galleries and museums of the
\nexhibition of modern Indonesian art prepared for the 1991
\nIndonesian Art and Culture Festival in the United States. Up to
\nnow it remains difficult to get the international \"mainstream\"
\nart institutions to recognize modern and contemporary Indonesian
\nart as other than mimicry of existing western styles and \"isms\".<\/p>\n
In 1995, F.X Harsono joined exhibitions and discussions abroad
\nin Australia and Japan in an effort to expose his work and the
\nwork of other contemporary Indonesian artists in international
\nfora with the hope of making the world pay attention to what is
\ngoing on in the art of Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
Throughout 1995, curator and critic Jim Supangkat also made an
\neffort to make the voice of Indonesia's artists heard
\ninternationally. He and several artists, critics and curators
\nfrom Third World countries brought up the problem of the
\ndomination of Euro-American art theory, in particular avant
\ngardism, universalism and post modernism, in international fora.<\/p>\n
He believes that the art history scenario of the mainstream
\nfalls far short of reflecting what has actually been going on in
\nart globally. He says that the socio-political development of
\ncountries throughout the world must be taken into consideration
\nin any evaluation or analysis of art being produced. Jim
\nSupangkat and an increasing number of artists and art lovers
\nthroughout the world are becoming ever more critical of the
\nstatus quo and are demanding that attention be paid to the
\n\"marginalized\" art being created in places other than the United
\nStates and European countries.<\/p>\n
Foreign artists<\/p>\n
Ironically, a similar debate continues in Indonesia itself,
\neven as its galleries are opening up to more exhibitions of art
\nby foreign artists and as foreign embassies and cultural centers,
\nmost notably those of the United States, Australia and Japan, are
\nactively promoting art from their countries in Indonesia. Thus
\nthe international \"mainstream\" of art is gaining greater access
\nthan ever before to the attention of local art collectors and
\nartists.<\/p>\n
Among the exhibitions of the works of foreign artists held in
\nIndonesia in 1995 were the Jan. 24 to Feb. 1 show of \"mood
\npaintings\" by Yuri Gorbachev of Russia at the Koi Gallery near
\nBlok M; the exhibition of contemporary art by artists from Non-
\nAligned Movement member countries at Wisma Seni Rupa in Gambir,
\nCentral Jakarta, in April, a by-invitation-only showing of modern
\nart from the United States, including works by Jasper Johns and
\nAndy Warhol, at the American ambassador's residence shortly
\nbefore outgoing ambassador John Barry and his wife left Indonesia
\nin July; the Classroom Connection 2 show featuring 49 works by
\nstudents from 12 schools in Victoria, Australia, at the STEKPI
\ncampus in Kalibata, South Jakarta, in June; the July 24 to Aug.
\n17 show of works by artists from the Helpmann Academy in
\nAustralia at Dimata Gallery in Yogyakarta; a joint exhibition by
\nfive Dutch artists and five Indonesian artists sponsored by the
\nAmsterdam-based Gate Foundation and the Cemeti Art Foundation of
\nYogyakarta at the Wisma Seni Rupa in Gambir, Central Jakarta, in
\nAugust; the display of works by Dutch graphic artists at the
\nErasmus Huis cultural center on Jl. Rasuna Said in September, and
\nthe exhibition of lithographs by Canadian artist Ken Pattern,
\nalso at Erasmus Huis, toward the end of the year.<\/p>\n
Exhibitions by works of Indonesian artists who have lived and
\nworked abroad, such as Teguh Ostenrik and Kartika Affandi Koberl,
\nalso colored this year of art with a colorful, expressive view of
\nlife and art.<\/p>\n
But perhaps the only large-scale exhibition of Indonesian art
\nto be shown abroad this year was a collection of children's art
\ncalled The Giant Who Swallowed the Moon: Indonesian Children's
\nArt from Java and Bali. The show was presented in museums and
\ngalleries throughout the United States up to the end of 1995.
\nIronically, the idea for the exhibition did not originate with an
\nIndonesian art institution. It was the brainchild of curator and
\ncritic Joseph Fisher of the United States.<\/p>\n
The other sporadic showings of Indonesian art abroad this year
\nwere also mostly organized or sponsored by foreign art
\ninstitutions, or initiated by individual Indonesian artists who
\nwanted to expose their work internationally through the
\nsponsorship of foreign art bodies.<\/p>\n
One of the most important impacts of the greater influx of
\ninternational art into Indonesia this year, continuing a trend
\nstarting in 1993 and growing throughout 1994, is that local
\nartists are enjoying greater first-hand access to art from around
\nthe world. Unlike the Indonesian artists working up through the
\n1980s, who were able to see art from abroad only in books and
\nmagazines, or in films, or by actually traveling overseas, the
\nartists of 1995 have been able to look at original works of
\nforeign art and to gain a greater understanding of the trends and
\ntechniques artists could only read about previously. Hopefully
\nthis will do something to demystify the origins and actual
\nsignificance of the various \"isms\" that have come to dominate a
\ngreat deal of the work of Indonesian artists over the years.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the situation in Indonesia continued to mirror
\nthe overall condition of the international art scene in 1995.
\nThis could be seen clearly in the various \"theme exhibitions\"
\nsponsored by Jakarta's galleries, in which the Euro-American
\n\"mainstream\" art theories reflected in realism, impressionism and
\nexpressionism and others, including post modernism, continued to
\ndominate the Indonesian art scene.<\/p>\n
One example of this type of show was the Golden Balinese
\nBarong painting exhibition held at Santi Gallery in September.
\nThe gallery managed to bring together attractive and interesting
\npaintings of the Balinese mythical creature \"barong\" by 17
\nIndonesian artists, including the highly respected Popo Iskandar,
\nAffandi and Srihadi. Another theme exhibition was seen at the
\nWisma Seni Rupa in Gambir in September. This exhibition,
\nRealistic Image of Indonesia, was sponsored by the Bimantara
\nFoundation and curated by Jim Supangkat. It featured the works of
\npainters Dedi Eri Supria, Ivan Sugito and Lucia Hartini, all of
\nwhich paint in styles reminiscent of either photo realism or
\nsurrealism. Other theme exhibitions in 1995 either focused on
\nwomen, flowers or animals, with the artwork displayed usually
\nconveniently classified under one \"ism\" or another.<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>\n
Most of these shows featured the works of artists who are
\neither based in Jakarta, or who frequently visit the capital,
\nreflecting the fact that whether intentional or not, there is a
\ntendency to overlook the work of artists, particularly those
\nwhose works are not readily classifiable within the context of
\ninternational \"mainstream\" theory, or who live and work in the
\nprovinces, too far from the political and economic center of the
\nnation.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, 1995 saw a slight -- albeit vital -- tendency on
\nthe part of the more far-sighted galleries in Jakarta, Yogyakarta
\nand Bali to take a closer look at the works of younger, less
\nestablished contemporary artists, who are working with
\nunconventional materials, or in undefinable styles.<\/p>\n
This forward looking and egalitarian approach to the
\ndisplaying of art deserves praise and support, as in the long run
\nit will bring to the public view works of art that are of more
\nthan esthetic significance. Works of art that reflect more than
\njust the taste and thinking of Indonesia's elite.<\/p>\n
Although it may well be that works of art by contemporary
\nartists, many of them taking forms other than the most acceptable
\nform of paintings of pleasing subjects like landscapes, figures
\nand still lifes, may not sell well, it would truly be a shame if
\nsculptures, ceramic works, drawings and installations, or
\npaintings with heavy socio-political content continued to be
\noverlooked, or shunned, because they do not fit into the current
\ngallery-museum scheme of things.<\/p>\n
For that reason, a rare exhibition of the sculptures of noted
\nBalinese artist Nyoman Nuarta from Nov. 28 to Dec. 7 at the Wisma
\nSeni Rupa in Gambir was exciting and refreshing.<\/p>\n
And even more notable were the efforts of institutions outside
\nof art circles to bring attention to forms of art other than
\npainting in 1995. Among these exhibitions were the September
\nshowing of ceramic sculptures featuring the traditional hairstyle
\ncalled ukelan by F. Widayanto at the Regent Hotel on Jl. Rasuna
\nSaid; the exhibition of unusually innovative and highly
\nattractive ceramic works by the senior painter Widayat at Bentara
\nBudaya, also in September, and the October exhibition, also at
\nBentara Budaya, of the drawings of six artists, all graduates of
\nthe Bandung Institute of Technology. All of the exhibitions were
\nsponsored by the Post.<\/p>",
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