Neo-Iconography and artists' creative freedom<\/p>\n
By Putu Wirata<\/p>\n
DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Last September, residents of Lodtunduh
\nvillage in Ubud protested a performance by Made Wianta, who put
\non a happening art piece titled Jalan (The Road).<\/p>\n
At first, the residents were angered by the closure of the
\nroad connecting Lodtunduh village and Pengosekan village. The
\nperformance took place in the middle of the road, which is the
\nshortest route between the two villages.<\/p>\n
Later, a member of Bali's provincial legislative assembly from
\nthe Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan)
\nfaction, lent fresh weight to the protest, saying the performance
\ndisrespected the symbols of the Hindu religion.<\/p>\n
According to some people who witnessed the performance,
\nincluding art critic Jean Couteau, the scenes from Jalan included
\nsymbols such as corpse-like objects with all the accompanying
\nofferings, which were meant to portray the traffic problems in
\nBali -- a symbol of the messy mentality in Indonesia's
\nsociopolitical life.<\/p>\n
There was also a big truck carrying a huge cement mixer, meant
\nto depict the utter confusion in an environment populated by man.<\/p>\n
Performance artists such as Nanoq da Kansas, who organized the
\nBali Eksperimen Teater (Bali Theatrical Experiment) in Negara,
\nWest Bali, could not understand why there were allegations that
\nHinduism had been slighted in the performance of Jalan.<\/p>\n
An expert on the Cak dance and the chairman of the Indonesian
\nArts Institute in Denpasar, Wayan Dibia, said there was no
\nindication that Hinduism was insulted in Made Wianta's
\nperformance. To back his argument, he cited the scenes in the
\nCalonarang performance that depict the bathing of a corpse,
\ncomplete with all the offerings, up to the time when it is buried
\nin the grave.<\/p>\n
There are other examples. Nyoman Erawan -- a painter,
\ninstallation artist and performance artist who uses ritual in his
\nperformances -- has performed such works as Ruwatan, Ritus Seni
\nNyoman Erawan (1998), Pralayamatra (1998), Kremasi Waktu (1999)
\nand Nyurya Sewana Bumi (1999-2000). In these performances,
\nErawan, in the real sense of the word, uses Hindu rites, complete
\nwith offerings, groups of singers chanting sacred songs and
\npriests leading the rites. As the priest conducts the rites in
\none corner, Nyoman Erawan's contemporary creativity proceeds
\nunhampered in the other.<\/p>\n
So why did the residents of Lodtunduh village lodge a protest
\nagainst Made Wianta's performance on Jalan. I failed to see any
\nexample of Hinduism being slighted during Made Wianta's
\nperformance.<\/p>\n
However, other artists may find themselves in Wianta's
\nposition if, in their "creative freedom", they unconsciously
\ncause discomfort to others, who obviously enjoy the right to live
\nin peace and comfort.<\/p>\n
In his performance in Lodtunduh, Made Wianta was a newcomer
\nwhile the road connecting Lodtunduh and Pengosekan villages,
\nwhich was used as the venue for the performance, lies within the
\nterritory (wewengkon in the local language) shared by the two
\nvillages.<\/p>\n
As this is the shortest route between the villages and because
\nthey were the "hosts", the community would never accept the
\nclosure of the road because it was done without their consent and
\ncaused trouble to them.<\/p>\n
The reason why some residents considered Made Wianta's
\nperformance an act of "slighting" religion is that
\ncrystallization in the Balinese community has escalated, a result
\nof events in the New Order era.<\/p>\n
The New Order regime courted large investments for Bali, a
\nphenomenon that caused a change in the use of the Balinese
\nsociocultural spatial layout because of the rapid increase in
\nmigrants, among other reasons.<\/p>\n
This rapid change was a shock to the middle-class and the
\npolitical and sociocultural elite in Bali, as suddenly they found
\nthemselves, a minority in the territorial and cultural
\nconstellation of Indonesia, a small and worried minority group.<\/p>\n
Therefore, to strengthen their existence and self-confidence,
\nthey hold on fast to the traditional values inherited by their
\npredecessors, and then spell out these values in very popular
\ndiscourses in Bali: cultural tourism, cultural purification and
\nconservation, customary villages, a safe and unique Bali; an all-
\nbeautiful and all-noble portrayal of one's self, which on the
\nother hand will only deepen one's worries, consternation and
\nsuspicion.<\/p>\n
One form of this consternation manifests itself in anger and
\nprotest when the symbols of Balinese culture and the Hindu
\nreligion are used by people in nonritual contexts, such as in
\nMade Wianta's performance of Jalan. Another example which may be
\nreferred to is the video clip of the rock group Saigon Kick,
\nwhich showed a group of Pura Uluwatu, an occasion bringing about
\nunusually strong protests.<\/p>\n
Then there was a golf ball given as a canang mesesari
\n(offering) in an advertisement for Nirwana Bali Resort Tanah Lot,
\nan incident which has led to a case being brought to the court of
\nlaw.<\/p>\n
Whether these examples disparage the symbols of Hinduism needs
\nto be proven legally, a process which will be very complicated
\nbecause to find out whether something is disparaged or not, there
\nis an "evil intention" which needs to be proven.<\/p>\n
However, from the point of view of the people, what matters is
\ntheir emotions, which are certainly highly subjective. Also
\nincluded in the definition of "emotion" is a cognitive
\nperception, something determined by how a social and cultural
\ngroup undergoes the process of change.<\/p>\n
If we trace the history of Bali, during the reign of King
\nUdayana in the 10th century, disputing sects were syncretized
\ninto Tri Murti and known as Siwa Sidhanta,
\nor today what is known as Hinduism. In culture, there is a
\nprocess of assimilation among various cultural elements, so
\nBalinese art and culture has been formed through influence from
\nChina, Islam, Europe and so forth. Therefore, it is a construct
\nthat forms a culture undergoing reform.<\/p>\n
During the New Order period -- when exactly is not known --
\nwhen the discourse on cultural diversity only echoed emptily,
\nwhile the ruler was undertaking unification on a large scale,
\nculture resulting from syncretism and assimilation began to be
\nquestioned by the contemporary generation.<\/p>\n
More than just queries, there are now claims that these
\nsymbols "belong to Hinduism" or "belong to Bali", and when people
\nor groups considered non-Hindu or non-Balinese use these symbols,
\nthey will be accused of disparaging religion. This is the face of
\nthe cultural crystallization and resistance now taking place in
\nBali.<\/p>\n
It will manifest itself if triggered by conflict -- as was the
\ncase involving Made Wianta and the residents of Lodtunduh or the
\ngolf ball canang mesesari -- but it will remain hidden if the
\nutilization of Balinese and Hindu icons remain within the
\nframework of the traditionalists.<\/p>\n
Nyoman Erawan's art rites are a good example in this respect.
\nSo Made Wianta has become a problem because he is considered to
\nhave used Hindu symbols within a "modernist universal" frame.
\nCanang mesesari of a golf ball has been reported to the police
\nand the video of Saigon Kick has been protested because they are
\nconsidered to have been created by people who are
\n"noncontextual".<\/p>\n
Taking into account the phenomena, events and creativity of
\nfine arts or performance arts receiving a negative reaction from
\na group of Balinese people, we may say that it is now time to
\nreflect upon what the Balinese people and community will be like
\nin the future.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Hindu Association (PHDI) -- the council for
\nHindus in Indonesia -- is therefore encouraged to issue a bhisama
\n(a sort of religious guidance) on what is sacred and cannot be
\nused in a non-Hindu context, and what is sacred but can be used
\nin that context.<\/p>\n
The guidance will also give information about who will be
\nallowed to make use of these sacred objects and for what
\npurposes, and so forth.<\/p>\n
This is indeed a complicated job, especially if the past is
\ntaken into account, when the symbols of the Balinese Hindus were
\nused to esthetically complement the architecture of hotels, for
\nexample; or the future, when the democratic civil society now
\nbeing fostered will require creative freedom. On the one hand,
\nthe pendulum swings toward primordialism and narrowing cultural
\ncrystallization, with traditional conservatives acting as the
\nguardians. On the other side, the pendulum swings the other way,
\ntrying to break through the traditional-modern boundary in the
\nname of creative freedom. At this juncture, PDHI Bali is assigned
\nquite a heavy task!<\/p>",
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