Ruangrupa for unusual, edgy art forms<\/p>\n
John Badalu, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
There is an ongoing art exhibition at Ruangrupa in Tebet, South
\nJakarta, called the Short Message System. Don't get the wrong
\nidea. This is a rare wall painting exhibition where three
\nJakarta-based artists and one from Luxembourg are exploring their
\nideas about urban life.<\/p>\n
Each artist tried to get their message across to the others.
\nAfter 10 days of exchanging ideas, it became one big painting
\nthat covers all four walls in the main room, but it can also be
\nviewed as four individual paintings on their own.<\/p>\n
The painting is quite wacky in the way where some of the
\nartists painted multilevel highways about to be destroyed by a
\nGodzilla-like robot. On another wall, there is a skyscraper with
\na big "massage" sign hanging below it. All artists seem to be
\nconcerned about the future and reflect it in their own
\ninterpretations.<\/p>\n
The Short Message System is the fifth project from this
\nhyperactive bunch of art geeks this year alone, and we are only
\nhalfway through the year.<\/p>\n
The exhibiting artists are Ade Darmawan, Jimi Multhazam,
\nOscart de Firdaus and Tina Gillen.<\/p>\n
Ade is a graduate from the Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI) in
\nYogyakarta who continued his studies in Amsterdam. He is one of
\nthe founders of Ruangrupa. His first exhibition started in 1995
\nin Yogyakarta. Since then, he has had both solo and group
\nexhibitions in Jakarta, Belgium and The Netherlands.<\/p>\n
Jimi has a lot of different art experiences under his belt. He
\nhas spent some years in the glitzy advertising world as a CD
\ncover designer and on the artistic team for the famous Teater
\nKoma. If you happen to be sipping coffee in Cafe Wien, you'll see
\na mural on the wall, which is his creation.<\/p>\n
Oscart is new to the art scene. He is more popular as an
\nartistic director for some TV programs and commercials. Since
\nlast year, after doing some workshops on video art, Oscart has
\nhad four exhibitions.<\/p>\n
Gillen, the artist in residence at Ruangrupa, is enjoying her
\nexperience as an artist. She grew up in Luxembourg but now lives
\nin Belgium. She has exhibited her work throughout Europe since
\n1994. She studied art in, among other places, Vienna, Budapest
\nand Amsterdam.<\/p>\n
Ruangrupa came about from some conversations over beer among
\nsix young people from different backgrounds. These chosen people
\ncontinued their concern about the art environment by exchanging
\ne-mails as they all lived in different towns. They saw a lot of
\nfrustrated young artists trying to express themselves in a
\nprejudiced art environment, especially in Jakarta. In January
\n2000, Ruangrupa was founded. The idea behind it was to provide an
\nintimate and autonomous art environment for artists to live and
\nwork intensively within a period of time.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Ruangrupa is always looking for and exploring new
\nideas in any kind of art form. This objective can be reached by
\nhaving artists in residence. It is becoming a dialog and idea
\nexchange for both local and international artists. They have
\nhosted some workshops on video art, which have involved artists
\nfrom, among other places, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, South
\nAfrica, France, Belgium and India.<\/p>\n
Within two years of its existence, Ruangrupa has successfully
\npositioned itself at a respectable level in the art scene. They
\nhave done collaborations with some important foreign cultural
\ncenters, such as The British Council, The Japan Foundation, The
\nGoethe-Institut and The French Cultural Centre.<\/p>\n
Not that they have to convince the local partners of how
\nprofessional they can be, but Ruangrupa is also one of the
\ninternational partners in the RAIN Artists Initiatives Network.
\nOne of the most respected partners in RAIN is the Rijksakademie
\nvan Beeldende Kunsten Amsterdam in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
Considering Ruangrupa's age -- most of the organizers in
\nRuangrupa are only in their 20s -- it has gone far beyond
\nanyone's expectations. Some of the artists' work has even been
\nexhibited in Gwangju Biennale in Korea early this year.<\/p>\n
Ruangrupa also publishes a monthly journal to update people on
\nwhat their next ideas will be or even just to communicate to the
\ncommunity. Most of the artists' work, despite what form it takes,
\ntalks about urban life, urbanites and repressed situations.<\/p>\n
This does not mean that the works are always tragically grim
\nand dark, but you can always feel an edginess to them. The works
\nmake you question things that you have taken for granted.<\/p>\n
Ruangrupa opens its door to any visual artists, groups or
\nindividuals, Indonesian or foreign, who are willing to work in a
\ncooperation and are enthusiastic about sharing different opinions
\nand exploring and experimenting with the artist's interaction
\nwith Jakarta's urban life.<\/p>\n
Short Message System wall painting exhibition runs until Aug. 15
\nfrom 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Ruangrupa, Jl. Tebet Barat Dalam I No.
\n26, South Jakarta. Tel. 829-4238.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ruangrupa-for-unusual-edgy-art-forms-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}