Middle class' foundness for art flourishes<\/p>\n
By Franki Raden<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): One of the most interesting phenomena in
\nIndonesia's development is the rise of a class in society
\ncalled as the middle class. Economic growth under the New Order
\nis one explanation for the emergence of this new class. Supported
\nby their strong buying power, the middle class tends to seek new
\nexperiences and sensations in life. They have become a prominent
\npart of the urban community who willingly adopt a new lifestyle
\nimported from western countries.<\/p>\n
The middle and upper classes in Indonesia have developed a
\nunique society of their own. They reside in housing estates or
\napartments with marvelous interiors, drive luxurious cars, work
\nin high-rise buildings, dress up, hang out at pubs and
\ndiscotheques, vacation at expensive hotels, dine at international
\nrestaurants, shop at supermarkets and shopping malls, buy
\nsophisticated audio-visual equipment, join health clubs, play
\ngolf or tennis, obtain credit card memberships and study abroad.<\/p>\n
This emerging class has also shown strong potential as
\nconsumers of popular art products, especially those imported from
\nwestern countries. Their buying power has helped pop performances
\nand Hollywood films find a flourishing market here. The
\nsituation, which favors art products, has also led to the
\nestablishment of new concert halls, ballrooms, cineplexs, laser
\ndisc rental stores and performance promoters.<\/p>\n
More serious<\/p>\n
At the end of the 1980's and early in the 1990's, the middle
\nclass' taste for arts became more serious. In the world of
\nplastic arts, this improvement in taste has led to new collectors
\nfor creations of such painters as the late Hendra and Affandi, or
\nJeihan, Srihadi and Popo Iskandar. The trend is more obvious with
\nthe establishment of art galleries which collect quality art in
\nJakarta. In June last year, an art foundation, Yayasan Seni rupa
\nIndonesia, was established and it immediately organized a
\npainting exhibition featuring minor works by world maestros.<\/p>\n
In the world of theater, the trend is marked with the presence
\nof Teater Koma which, unlike most other theater groups, is
\nprofessionally managed, performs regularly and sells quite
\nexpensive tickets.<\/p>\n
New musical groups such as Twilite Orchestra, the Nusantara
\nChamber Orchestra and the born again Jakarta's Symphony Orchestra
\nalso support the trend. Jazz music has also been well supported
\nby this particular class of society. The four day Jak Jazz
\nfestival last month, with tickets selling for Rp 25,000
\n(US$11.36), was attended by thousands of middle class spectators,
\nmainly aged between 20 and 40 years old. Such support has also
\ncontributed to the establishment of jazz pubs, including Jamz and
\nBlue Note in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The performances by Twilite Orchestra, whose music is more pop
\nthan classical, and whose tickets range from Rp 150,000 to Rp
\n250,000, attracted about 1,000 to 3,000 middle class people. Its
\nlast concert at Puri Agung, Sahid Jaya Hotel in December received
\nheaps of applause from the audience although most of the
\nrepertoire was classical. Twilite often plays at parties, both
\ncorporate and individual, and marriage parties. Even in developed
\ncountries, such a thing rarely occurs since it takes huge funds
\nto ask an orchestra to perform. Twilite Orchestra surely has
\nindirectly benefited from the people's passion for great opera
\nsingers such as Pavarotti, which was shown in the electronic
\nmedia, and for the performances of famous foreign orchestras in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
Based on these facts, it's no wonder that 10,000 Indonesians
\nspent at least Rp 1 million to attend a Michael Jackson concert
\nin Singapore in 1993. Many Indonesians were also willing to spend
\nbetween Rp 250,000 and Rp 1.5 million for a ticket to Pavarotti's
\nconcert, also in Singapore.<\/p>\n
The development of a taste for art of this particular class
\ncan be also seen from the large number of people who attended the
\nSting concert at the Jakarta Convention Center and the six-day
\nperformance of Chick Corea at Jamz in November. The ability of
\nJakarta's Symphony Orchestra and Nusantara Chamber Orchestra to
\ncontinuously feature classical music in performances that cost
\nabout Rp 30,0000 per person is another indication of increased
\ndemand.<\/p>\n
Producers like Aquarius, for example, didn't hesitate to
\nrecord experimental jazz music by the Krakatau group.<\/p>\n
Contemporary arts<\/p>\n
Progressive contemporary arts have also been touched. A
\ncontemporary Indonesian-English music concert, performed by STSI
\nSurakarta of Indonesia and Evelyn Glennie of England at the
\nJakarta Convention Center in June 1993, was crowded by people who
\nbought Rp 250,000 to Rp 2.5 million tickets.<\/p>\n
A taste for contemporary arts has also allowed The Stage, a
\ncafe in the basement of Ratu Plaza in South Jakarta, to be a
\nfixed venue for progressive arts. Among the Indonesian musicians
\nwho performed at the cafe in 1993 were Deddy Satya, Harry Roesli,
\nSlamet Abdul Sjukur and Trisuci Kamal.<\/p>\n
A contemporary music concert, Suita, ran for two days at
\nJakarta's Gedung Kesenian in 1992. Tickets sold for Rp 20,000 an
\nit was considered the very successful in regard to the size of
\nthe audience and production organization. The concert was
\nfeatured in conjunction with Gedung Kesenian's annual
\ninternational arts festival, The Jakarta Performing Arts. An
\ninternational dance festival, called Indonesia's Dance Festival,
\ntakes place every year at Gedung Kesenian and Taman Ismail
\nMarzuki arts center. It is mainly attended by the middle class.
\nThe modern (pop) dance began entertaining the young middle class
\nin the early 1980's. Guruh Soekarnoputra, with his Swara
\nMahardhika, is one of the developing pioneers of this form of
\nart.<\/p>\n
Business<\/p>\n
The middle and upper class' passion for art activities has not
\nescaped the attention of business circles. Beginning last year,
\nthe arts have been used to advertise consumer goods targeted at
\nthe middle class. A big real estate company owned by tycoon
\nCiputra, for example, has made use of art as a selling point for
\nits new housing complex. Its slogan is \"city of arts\".<\/p>\n
Businesses are manipulating art codes into the code for a
\nmiddle class lifestyle. This is something that already exists in
\ntraditional Indonesian society where art is considered a vital
\ntool for the social reproduction process. The difference is
\ntraditional society uses its own products, keeping its cultural
\nlife independent. The products used by Indonesia's new middle
\nclass is imported from the west, so this segment of society is
\ntrapped in a consumptive urban society. And, in turn, this middle
\nclass society has led the working class to adapt a consumptive
\nlifestyle and to depend on western art products. As a result, the
\nhegemony of western culture in Indonesian culture will be
\nstronger.<\/p>\n
If Indonesians, especially the middle class, do not make an
\neffort to balance the situation, Indonesia will become nothing
\nbut a potential market for western cultural products.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/middle-class-foundness-for-art-flourishes-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}