Art community doubtful of govt's commitment

Art community doubtful of govt's commitment

By Amir Sidharta and Budiman Moerdijat

JAKARTA (JP): The art community and the government have
traditionally been uneasy bedfellows.

Despite periodical government funding of the arts, their
checkered relationship has included the banning of controversial
stage performances and literary works.

Not surprisingly, many artists are skeptical whether this
year's promotion of culture will also extend to freedom of
expression.

Social and cultural affairs observer Mochtar Buchori said the
government's stated commitment to promoting art and culture would
be empty rhetoric if it failed to encourage discussion of the
intrinsic cultural values.

"Culture is not merely a traditional dance or tourist objects
like temples or historical monuments. It must enhance people's
values, something which is decisive in development."

He listed these values as democracy, freedom of expression and
the public's strong confidence in the government's will.

But he said the government had traditionally been hesitant to
back freedom of expression.

He cited as a case in point the banning of a monologue play
about a murdered labor activist in several towns last November.

Marsinah Menggugat (Marsinah Accuses), written and performed
by Ratna Sarumpaet, did go on stage here and in Padang, West
Sumatra, but scheduled performances were called off in Surabaya,
Bandung and Lampung.

Mochtar said the government should make culture the center of
all development activities, instead of part of a year-long
program, if it was really sincere in its promotion.

He said there should be greater freedom for discussion of
development values and the role of culture.

"The values should not have to serve the needs of the
tourists. We don't have to make culture cheap... It is very
precious instead."

Priest, novelist and social worker Y.B. Mangunwijaya also
doubted the government could carry through thorough development
of the arts.

"That's why I am now focusing on preparing the youths to build
a better Indonesia in the future," Mangunwijaya said.

In the past few years he has run a modest, participation-
oriented elementary school in a small village in the southern
part of Yogyakarta. The school faces closure by the government.

The performing arts may be particularly prone to acts of
censorship due to their greater prominence, but fine arts have
also fallen victim.

Among significant incidents during the 30-year rule of the New
Order was the closure of an exhibition, What Identity? --
questioning the avoidance of individualism in Indonesian art --
at Yogyakarta's Seni Sono art gallery in 1978.

The city's police shut it down after two days.

Two years later, artist Hardi was detained for questioning by
the police for several days due to his provocative work,
Presidential Candidate 2001, which was essentially a self-
portrait of the artist in the garb of a highly decorated military
general.

More recently, in 1988 the Yogyakarta police tried to close
Semsar Siahaan's exhibition which had also traveled to Salatiga,
Solo and Bandung.

They charged that he intended to humiliate the authorities by
staging the exhibition in the city. He was detained for
questioning, but was released after he was able to establish that
he had nothing to do with the production of leaflets promoting
the exhibition.

There were also attempts to close down the show in Bandung.
Semsar demanded that the police produce a warrant for the
closure, and the exhibition remained open when they failed to do
so.

Explaining Semsar Siahaan's freedom to continue producing
works of social criticism, Astri Wright writes in Soul, Spirit,
Mountain that "this shows that the guidelines for censorship in
the visual arts are less clearly formulated by the state's
security apparatus than in the case of literature.

It illustrates that contemporary painters can feel relatively
safe as long as their work does not point a finger at any
particular politician, leader or policy".

Wright's perspective is supported by the banning of the
exhibition Visual Art for Marsinah, created by artist Moelyono in
honor of the slain activist, at the Surabaya Art Council in 1993.

Semsar had little faith that this year's designation signaled
a more open attitude of the government toward the arts.

"The announcement was made just after authorities banned Ratna
Sarumpaet's play on Marsinah. It is impossible that it will
signify a greater freedom of expression," he said.

"In my opinion, the designation was only meant for tourism and
tourism-related industries."