Seeking independence in the world of the arts<\/p>\n
By Rita A. Widiadana<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): It's quite unpleasant to plan a night out at a
\nwayang kulit (shadow puppet) show featuring a famous puppeteer,
\nonly to hear him trying to blend in messages of the country's
\nachievements.<\/p>\n
Ditto for pop songs and comedy shows -- messages on
\n\"development\" just wipe out their potential to bring enjoyment.<\/p>\n
Over the last three decades, authorities tightly controlled
\nall aspects of people's lives, including the arts, according to
\nan art observer.<\/p>\n
Franki Raden, music composer and avid observer of the
\nperforming arts, said government policy on the arts and the
\nappointment of key personnel were always subject to political
\ninstead of \"professional\" considerations.<\/p>\n
\"The government hardly involved local artistic communities in
\nmaking policies regarding the arts,\" Franki said.<\/p>\n
Any activity that ignored the harsh fact that politics was
\npervasive in the arts was doomed to fail, he explained.<\/p>\n
Any art form favored by Soeharto, such as wayang kulit or
\nother traditional arts, was fully supported -- but shaped
\naccording to his taste.<\/p>\n
Traditional arts frequently performed at the Taman Mini
\nIndonesia Indah art complex, developed by Soeharto's late wife
\nTien Soeharto, were those which received special attention from
\nthe former president and, consequently, his subordinates.<\/p>\n
\"Ironically, thousands of other traditional art performers
\noutside Jakarta have long been abandoned by the authorities and
\nmany of them are now living in destitution. I am very concerned,\"
\nFranki said.<\/p>\n
In wayang performances, for example, he said Soeharto would
\nchoose a number of puppet masters to deliver various \"political
\nmessages\" to the public, in his effort to shape wayang art in
\nline with his personal and political agenda.<\/p>\n
After all these years, it was only last month that the
\nmasters, or dalang, voiced complaints in a congress in Semarang,
\nCentral Java, about being manipulated by the government. The 150
\ndalang attending the forum said they were now stigmatized by the
\npublic for being the government's propaganda \"megaphone\".<\/p>\n
Other art forms including pop and dangdut (a mix of Indian and
\nMalay music styles) were similarly exploited by the New Order,
\nFranki said.<\/p>\n
Pop singers and dangdut artists were used by the country's
\npolitical parties to attract huge crowds during their election
\ncampaigns.<\/p>\n
\"These kinds of music appeal to many people and are a great
\npotential to transmit political messages to the masses,\" Franki
\nsaid. Many performers, he added, believed they could boost their
\nmusical and political fortunes by publicly attaching themselves
\nto a party, especially the dominant Golkar grouping.<\/p>\n
Symbol<\/p>\n
\"This was very common. There was nothing wrong with this
\nframework as long as the artists were consistent and ready to
\nface the consequences,\" Franki said.<\/p>\n
Modern and contemporary arts, on the other hand, were almost
\nuntouched by the bureaucracy. The inadequate attention and
\nsupport from the government, however, did not overly hamper the
\ndevelopment of contemporary arts.<\/p>\n
\"If people view pop and dangdut music as well as the
\ntraditional arts as having been compromised by government policy,
\nmodern and contemporary arts appeared as a symbol of the struggle
\nagainst the establishment, injustice and hypocrisy,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesian artists have made great efforts to cultivate and
\nrevitalize various kinds of modern arts, ranging from music,
\ntheater and dance to film and fine arts. Several new theater
\ngroups, dance artists and highly talented musicians have made an
\nappearance over the years.<\/p>\n
\"Between the 1970s and the 1990s, Indonesian performing arts
\nshowed a tremendous achievement despite the government's
\nsuppressive measures.\"<\/p>\n
One of the most important art institutions established during
\nthe New Order period was Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) in 1968. TIM
\naspires more toward modern arts, creativity and freedom of
\nexpression, though it is administered under the Jakarta governor.<\/p>\n
Playwrights like W.S. Rendra, Putu Wijaya, Nano Riantiarno,
\ndancers Sardono W. Kusumo, Bagong Kusudiardjo, Gusmiati Suid and
\nFarida Oetoyo, musicians Harry Roesli and Djaduk Ferianto,
\nfilmmakers like Eros Jarot, Teguh Karya and Slamet Rahardjo and
\nmany groups of the young generation have produced many inspiring
\nartistic creations.<\/p>\n
They tried to respond to a situation in which freedom of
\nexpression barely existed, Franki said. Their works contributed
\nto aspirations for \"reform\".<\/p>\n
\"These artists made themselves consistent critics against the
\nNew Order regime. Their works touched social, economic and
\npolitical subjects in either a straightforward or in a subtle
\nway.\"<\/p>\n
Lack of appreciation toward art works, suspicion and a wide
\ngap between artists and authorities often caused constraints
\namong the two parties. A lot of artistic creations, especially
\nthose sharply criticizing the government, were subject to
\nbanning.<\/p>\n
The New Order recorded a long line of cultural curtailment in
\nmusic performances, such as the works of Harry Roesli, Iwan Fals
\nand Emha Ainun Nadjib. Bannings were far from rare in the theater
\ncommunity. W.S. Rendra's Bengkel Teater, Nano's Teater Koma and
\nRatna Sarumpaet's Satu Merah Panggung, were among the groups
\noften prohibited from staging their creations for various social
\nand security grounds -- reasons many would find difficult to
\ncomprehend.<\/p>\n
Some works of dancer\/choreographer Farida Oetoyo and the late
\nHuriah Adam were prohibited by the government for violating
\nIndonesia's \"cultural and moral\" values.<\/p>\n
Franki went on to say the implementation of all planned art
\nschemes would not likely work well unless both parties had a
\nsimilar a frame of mind regarding the arts.<\/p>\n
Under the auspices of Edi Sedyawati, the current director
\ngeneral of culture, contemporary arts began to flourish since the
\nearly 1990s, he said.<\/p>\n
\"The arrival of international art festivals here must be
\nviewed as a great leap in the development of the country's
\ncontemporary arts.\"<\/p>\n
Jakarta is to host the second international Indonesian Art
\nSummit from Sept. 19 to Oct. 19. The first summit took place here
\nin 1995.<\/p>\n
Musician Harry Roesli once said that the New Order government
\nhad never formulated a comprehensive policy to develop and
\nsupport the development of the arts.<\/p>\n
\"From downstream to upstream levels, the government's
\npolicies appeared so puzzling and inconsistent,\" he said.
\nThe government had always perceived the arts as a separate part
\nof society.<\/p>\n
\"The arts are rarely included as major subjects in our
\nnational curriculum. Students are expected to only master science
\nand knowledge other than arts,\" he said. \"This has resulted in
\ndrawbacks in our education system and, of course, in the
\ndevelopment of the arts.<\/p>\n
\"Education in the arts is a very basic issue. There are a lot
\nof other actions that could be taken by the government to nurture
\nartistic creativity in Indonesia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Franki added that the new government should carry out a
\nflexible approach in supporting the arts and that it should
\nalways try to meet the needs of a creative, open, dynamic and
\nculturally diverse society.<\/p>\n
\"This is a very huge agenda for President B.J. Habibie's
\nCabinet. But unless this problem is tackled seriously, we will be
\nforever trapped in this situation of uncertain social, political
\nand cultural reform,\" Franki concluded.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/seeking-independence-in-the-world-of-the-arts-1447893297",
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