Art 1999: Testing the waters of freedom

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.