Wardiman opens Art Summit Indonesia<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Art Summit Indonesia 1995 opened at Taman Ismail
\nMarzuki (TIM) in Central Jakarta yesterday in what is billed as
\none of the largest performing art festivals ever held in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
The event, opened by Minister of Education and Culture
\nWardiman Djojonegoro, features 15 world-renowned participants
\nfrom nine countries: Nucleodanza of Argentina, Urban Sax of
\nFrance, Weimarer Tanztheater and Banjar Gruppe Berlin of Germany,
\nGhana Dance Ensemble of Ghana, Chandralekha of India, Slamet
\nAbdul Syukur, Sardono W.Kusumo, Rahayu Supanggah and Bagong
\nKussudiardja of Indonesia, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Sankai
\nJuku, Kazuo Ohno of Japan, Richard Alston Dance Company of the
\nUnited Kingdom and the Paul Dresher Ensemble of the U.S.. They
\nwill perform either in TIM's three theaters or in Gedung Kesenian
\nJakarta, both in Central Jakarta. Each group is allocated two
\nevenings of performances.<\/p>\n
The event is organized by the Directorate General of Culture
\nof the Ministry of Education and Culture as part of the
\ngovernment's ongoing commemoration of Indonesia's 50th
\nAnniversary of Independence.<\/p>\n
Urban Sax<\/p>\n
The festival's opening yesterday morning, joined in by 329
\nperformers, was nicely marked by a spectacular show by France's
\nUrban Sax.<\/p>\n
Some 50 members of the group, 48 of whom play the saxophone,
\npresented a first taste of contemporary music, which also
\ncombined the arts of theater and dance, to the guests which
\nincluded government senior officers, ambassadors, artists and
\njournalists under a perfect lighting system.<\/p>\n
Clad in silver colored costumes resembling toxic waste
\nprotection apparel, the group presented sounds and images which,
\naccording to the group's director and founder Gilbert Artmann,
\ncan be freely interpreted by spectators.<\/p>\n
"In a television interview, a child who has just watched our
\nshow said that it was a music played by surgeons," Artmann told
\nThe Jakarta Post after yesterday morning's show.<\/p>\n
The performance was not only musical entertainment but also
\nvisual enjoyment. The set included a saxophonist suspended from
\nthe ceiling of Graha Bhakti theater by a rope. Somehow he looked
\nlike he was swimming. Plastic balloons adorning the theater made
\nit resemble a big aquarium. Later, the atmosphere turned into
\nthat of a Paris' sewer with sounds suggesting water running in
\npipes filling the air.<\/p>\n
Artmann said that his music was inspired by the architecture
\nof urban spaces. It is the architecture which usually controls
\nthe kind of music that the group will perform. Therefore,
\nobserving the venue of a performance is important, he added.<\/p>\n
Urban Sax's distinct costumes are not just any costumes,
\nArtmann said.<\/p>\n
"They are also very useful because inside the costumes,
\nmembers of the group put many kinds of items which are important
\nto support their performances, such as bottles of water to
\nproduce the aquatic sound or the small lamps to decorate their
\ngarments too."<\/p>\n
"It is useful but not really practical, and in Jakarta, it's
\nhot," commented Artmann.<\/p>\n
Indonesian musician Ireng Maulana said he gave the thumbs up
\nto the group's unique performance.<\/p>\n
"It is not only the performance, their music is perfect too
\nand very unified, although one person blows only one note, the
\ntonality of the blow is excellent," he said.<\/p>\n
Urban Sax will give another show tonight at 8 p.m. at TIM.
\n(als)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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