Art 1999: Testing the waters of freedom

By Chandra Johan

JAKARTA (JP): Turmoil and newfound freedom have brought a new era of "punditry" to the Indonesian people, in which everyone is suddenly free to speak their mind.

Amid all the blessings and dreams after the fall of Soeharto and the May 1998 unrest, the country's landscape is still daubed in the darkness of turmoil, clashes, violence, anarchy and crisis. The voice of concern was heard everywhere amid the endless clamor of student demonstrations.

Art, as an expressive cultural activity in the era of punditry, showed its concern in various ways. There were many exhibitions outside art centers -- banks, office buildings, hotels, etc. -- that were unaffected by the heated political situation. There was also the tendency to express "people's feelings" through art, whether with drawings, paintings or installations. Issues of gender, brought to the forefront by revelations of violence against women, also featured prominently.

Contemporary art activities in 1999 showed use of visual art as a medium to reflect social criticism. Political and gender issues were the order of the day in Arahmaiani's Rape 'n Robe, Moelyono's Orde Batu (Stone Order), Heri Dono's Virtual reality, Hendro Suseno's Tumbal (Victim), Liem Keng Sien's Ayam Mati Dalam Lumbung (A Chicken Dies in the Rice Barn), Odji Lirungan's Bullshit, Dan Hisman's Kawat Duri (Barbed wires), Gigih Wiyono's Pacul (Hoe), Okky Arfie Hutabarat & Hafiz's Tubuh (Bodies) and others.

The violence which ultimately resulted in clashes among groups intensified toward the end of the year. Artists reflected in their work the reality of an anxious public, dealing with a crisis of confidence in ineffectual law enforcers and leaders vying for power.

In the middle of the year, the Cemeti Art House in Yogyakarta staged the exhibition Knalpot (Muffler). Involving about 14 contemporary artists, it was held again by Museum Puri Lukisan in Ubud, Bali. The artists, including Hanura Husea, Agung Kurniawan, Heri Dono and Anusapati, showed their individual response to sociopolitical conditions in Indonesia through several media. The Padi Gallery in Bandung staged its Wearable exhibition, featuring foreign artists such as Damon Moon (Australia), Midori Hirota (Japan), Mongkol Pilenbangcang (Thailand) and Choi Jeong Hwa (South Korea), as well as Indonesians Astari Rasjid, Alexander Wuisan and Mella Jaarsma. The presence of foreign artists did not detract from the main theme of Indonesia's social and political conditions.

The response to politics and violence was not only dominated by young artists, but also by more established artists. In August, Dan Hisman held a solo exhibition at the National Gallery in Jakarta. Kawat Duri (Barbed wires) showed a number of paintings and three dimensional works that apparently were inspired by the tragic events of May 1998. Barbed wire in Dan Hisman's eyes is a symbol of fear, nightmares and temptation.

The exhibition was interesting in the context of a thematic solo exhibition. It was followed by Djoko Pekik's thematic exhibition Berburu Celeng (Hunting for Wild Boar), held at the same site through the end of the year.

In many cases, the ongoing political and social problems inspired artists. However, artists do not always respond to the actual condition. The contemporary art exhibition Media Dalam Media: Instalasi Sebagai Media Ekspresi (Media Within media: Installation as a Media of Expression), with Jim Supangkat and Asmujo Irianto as curators, epitomizes this fact. The exhibition of works of 20 artists from Bandung, Yogyakarta and Jakarta was not merely inspired by the ongoing situation, but also focused on the problems of the environment, gender, consumerism and identity. It also put installation art in the Indonesian context.

Many of the works were previously exhibited, with only a few new works from young installation artists, like Bunga Jeruk, Rystio Eko Hartanto, S. Teddy, Yusra Martinus, Mukhsin MD, Koni Herawati and Tita Rubiati. Their installation works generally use natural materials that are close to the life of the common people, like clay, straw, waste paper, stones and rope. The use of these materials signifies the conflict with the West and the search for the indigenous.

Almost simultaneously there was the Bienalle Yogya VI at Taman Budaya Yogyakarta. The exhibition, which mostly involved young artists, attempted to show contemporary visual artworks of Yogyakarta in the 1990s. In their manifestation, the contemporary artists tried to respond to the sociopolitical events and environment, as well as the restlessness in the community. New names emerged, like Nyoman Masriadi with his work Mr. Kapitalis that became the mascot of the exhibition catalog, Diah Yulianti with her painting Roh Bukit Kehilangan Bukit (The Soul of the Mountain Lost the Mountain) and Popok Tri Wahyudi with Rayuan Pulau Kelapa (The Coconut Melody).

The art brims with their views of political problems; the expression in the works is generally related to the repressive political stance of the government, the manipulation of the principles of democracy to build power and the use of force to repress people. The use of such expressions seems to be a stereotype in our contemporary art as it tries to enter international discourse.

From Yogyakarta also emerged the extreme manifestation done by a group of artists who oppose the elitism of culture, including Taring Padi and Apotik Komik. The Taring Padi art community ideologically opposes all forms of activity which deal with the capitalistic brain, oppression, feudalism and taking sides against the common and marginalized people.

In their manifestation they do not care whether their works appear as propaganda, art or even nonart, with an approach to realism which is easily understood by laymen.

Another tendency is the emergence of a group of artists who utilize comic strips as "art comics" to respond to social and political problems. The genre started to appear in the public arena in 1999, mainly in Yogyakarta and Bandung. Yogyakarta named their group Apotik Komik, and Bandung named theirs Molotov Indie Komik and Majik.

The phenomenon shows the fervor of a group of artists in avoiding art elitism and trying to counter hegemony. The groups choose easily understandable language, siding with the common people.

It seems that intellectuals and restless artists would not waste the era of openness and punditry. In 1999 we were presented only with the vomiting of wishes and hopes that were buried deeply during the former regime. In the midst of such stereotypes, some artists did not want to be trapped by the flow of pseudo-reform that became a cliche. They believe in diversity, pluralism and the honesty or inner soul of each artist. Art, in fact, is not a political tool, and art is not capable of changing the situation.

It seems that the Masyarakat Urban (Urban Society) exhibition that will last until the end of January at the Milenium Gallery, South Jakarta, aims to accommodate that diversity. Artists like Teguh Ostentrik, Irawan Karseno, Nasirun, Hanafi, Entang Wiharso, Yulianto Listiono, Jerry T, Firman Lie, for example, do not want their artwork to become a microphone of events.

Amid the tendency to depict turmoil and political themes, the exhibition of sketches of struggle by master Srihadi Sudarsono at Gallery Lontar, East Jakarta, in the middle of this year and Rustamadji's retrospective last September breathed new life into the art scene.

We felt the same when Ibnu Riwanto, Rudi Mantovani and Yusra Martinus exhibited their sculptures in November. Their expression has broken the silence in the world of sculpture, and perhaps will carry its impact into the new millennium.