Video Art Festival, the first of its kind<\/p>\n
John Badalu, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
This week, Galeri Nasional in Central Jakarta will not be the
\nsame place as you may have imagined before, at least from the
\npublic perspective.<\/p>\n
Expect a room full of TV screens or walls reflecting huge
\nimages, like walking through a TV shop with loads of displays, as
\nthe Jakarta Video Art Festival goes on air. The main exhibition
\nhall is divided into four different rooms with themed video art
\non politics, mass culture, private\/public space and
\nbody\/identity.<\/p>\n
Ruangrupa, the organizer of the Jakarta Video Art Festival, is
\nan artists' initiative that focuses on the integration of fine
\narts, the urban community and contemporary culture. Unlike other
\nart organizations, Ruangrupa builds and provides space in areas
\nwhere video artists were usually not allowed to show their work.<\/p>\n
Over many years, the television culture of Indonesia has
\nbecome strong, but unlike Western artists who countered the
\nexistence of TV, Indonesian artists simply took TV for granted as
\na new medium.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the time, we are connected to moving images on a
\ndaily basis, so this is why we want to give a different
\nperspective through this video art festival. It's a different
\nviewpoint, and we hope the public will have a different
\nperception after attending and watching all the videos in the
\nfestival.<\/p>\n
\"Organizing an event that can be justified conceptually and
\ntechnically is not an easy task. This festival involves a lot of
\nexisting elements, but we needed to do extra work to meet all the
\ndifferent visions from artists, academics, government
\ninstitutions, the organizer, and public and private
\ninstitutions,\" said Ade Darmawan, director of Ruangrupa.<\/p>\n
There are about 60 video art pieces from 15 countries in the
\nfestival played, continuously in a looping cycle. Some
\ninternational arts organizations have also joined the force with
\ntheir own presentations. Among the participants are PULSE from
\nSouth Africa, Videotage from Hong Kong and Videoart Centre from
\nJapan.<\/p>\n
All will present video art from all over the world, each with
\ntheir own, unique characteristics. PULSE, for instance, does not
\nlimit themselves to the video art medium, but also utilizes other
\nmediums and techniques to provide audiences with a broad spectrum
\nof contemporary culture. Videotage (Video and Montage) is more
\nspecifically focused in developing video and new media, while
\nVideoart Centre is dedicated to the development of video art and
\ntemporal genres.<\/p>\n
Curated by Ade Darmawan, Indra Ameng, Hafiz and Farah Wardani,
\nmost of the entries were selected from media art festivals and
\ndatabase archives from several different countries. There are
\neven a few reels of research videos.<\/p>\n
The concept behind the festival is seen through the expression
\nof language and in the depiction of contemporary issues.<\/p>\n
For instance, take a look at Krisna Murti's video Beach Time.
\nThe video captures women in their jilbab, or Islamic headscarves,
\nenjoying swimming in the sea. For some people, seeing jilbab-clad
\nwomen going for a swim is an unusual image, and this video might
\nprovoke some reactions from the audience.<\/p>\n
\"We went for a road show early this year to Bandung, Malang,
\nPurwokerto and Yogyakarta as a sort of a warm-up to the
\nfestival,\" said Indra Ameng.<\/p>\n
\"We held some presentations and discussions to measure the
\nenthusiasm for the festival, and we tried to find some video art
\npieces that we had never seen. The result was quite overwhelming.
\nFor instance, we got this video called Dangdut Koplo from Martin
\nKristanto, that we find very interesting. It's about the dangdut
\nphenomenon and exploring what goes on backstage.\"<\/p>\n
Dangdut is a popular musical genre mixing Arabic and Indian
\ninfluences, while koplo is an illegal drug.<\/p>\n
Apart from the main exhibition and presentations from several
\nvideo art organizations, there are workshops, a discussion on
\nvideo art and contemporary culture, talks by the artists and a
\nseparate section on music videos. Ruangrupa is planning to
\nrelease a compilation of the video art after the festival and
\ntouring to a few other cities in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Hopefully, this festival can be a platform for promoting
\nIndonesian artists abroad and a medium of cultural exchange.
\nSadly, though, the government does not see this event as an asset
\n-- no funding whatsoever were contributed by any government
\ninstitutes.<\/p>\n
I-BOX:<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Video Art Festival will run from July 7 to July 20
\nat Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur 14, Jakarta
\nPusat.<\/p>\n
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 1 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. and 6:30
\np.m.- 9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
\n- 10 p.m.<\/p>\n
For more information, contact Ruangrupa, Jl. Tebet Barat Dalam
\nI, No. 26, Jakarta 12810, Tel\/Fax (021) 829 4238. Email:
\nruangrupa@cbn.net.id. Website: www.ruangrupa.org<\/p>",
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