Art Summit to focus on social realism

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): On Saturday night, Art Summit Indonesia II; Performing Arts, a one-month international festival of contemporary performing arts, is launched in Jakarta.

The event, which lasts until Oct. 19, is being held at the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center and Gedung Kesenian Jakarta.

A series of high-standard performances in the fields of music, dance and theater will be presented by internationally acclaimed artists from the eight participating countries: Indonesia, United States, Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Finland and Japan. Egyptian representatives canceled at the last moment.

Holding such a festival at this critical time when the majority of Indonesians are starving and the country's political and economic conditions are crumbling might well offend many parties.

Edi Sedyawati, director general of culture at the Ministry of Education and Culture, argued that the festival was not aiming to be a grand extravaganza.

"This second art summit can indeed be considered a first test of its potential to survive as a periodic (three-yearly) international festival held and hosted by Indonesia," said Edi, who is also chairwoman of the event's advisory board, the National Steering Committee.

The first festival, Art Summit Indonesia: Music and Dance, was held in l995 to commemorate Indonesia's 50th anniversary of independence and was considered a success.

"We have been arranging it for the last three years, before the country was hit by serious economic and political upheavals. If we cancel this event, Indonesia's name will be at risk in the international art community," Edi commented.

Sal Murgiyanto, a noted scholar and dance critic, added that this year's Art Summit will be far from glamourous. Instead, it will provide local audiences with alternative and quality art enriched with philosophical ideas and superb techniques.

"The majority of the performances to be staged at the coming event are actually reflections of the current social conditions in Indonesia and other countries," said Murgiyanto, a member of the organizing committee's artistic board.

Citing an example, W.S. Rendra's Bengkel Teater's play Suku Naga (Dragon Tribe) and Teater Mandiri's Ngeh (Understand) will invite the audience to ponder a variety of social issues from different perspectives.

"These theatrical works touch on everything from daily things to sensitive social, economic and political issues many common people are not aware of. The audience will be given an opportunity for self-contemplation," he explained.

In the dance field, Indonesian choreographer Gusmiati Suid presents her newest composition, Api Dalam Sekam (Fire in the Chaffs), to warn people of the hidden threat of the collapse of the country's social order that may possibly endanger their lives and the nation.

Social realism

Germany's Bremer Tanztheater, led by famous choreographer Susanne Linke, will also stage dance compositions rooted in social realism. The birth of Tanztheater, a fusion of dance and theater, was inspired by the country's social and political chaos in the early l960s.

The turmoil inspired young and idealistic choreographers to transmit their social and political thoughts through their works.

Japan's Butoh Dance has similar philosophical ideas. Yukio Waguri, a Butoh dancer, said in his preliminary visit to Jakarta last July that Butoh was created in the early l950s when Japan was also hit by serious social, political and economic upheavals.

Waguri analogized the situation in Japan in the early l950s with the present Indonesia's. "The spirit of Butoh is well suited to the current situation in Indonesia," Waguri said, as quoted by Inami Kazumi, assistant director of the Japan Foundation in Jakarta.

In addition, the Art Summit Indonesia will show how contemporary performing arts have united artists of different cultural, ethnic and racial backgrounds.

According to Murgiyanto, the history of performing arts in the 20th century is a story of artists being inspired by and incorporating the forms of other cultures, processes commonly called interculturalism and intraculturalism.

Interculturalism deals with the process of interaction between one culture and its foreign counterparts while intraculturalism refers to the process of interaction within certain culture.

The collaboration of the Alvin Lucier Ensemble, led by one of the most prominent American contemporary composers, with the Wesleyan Gamelan Ensemble chaired by Indonesian artists Sumarsam and I.M Harjito will be one of the best examples of interculturalism at the coming Art Summit. One of their works, Music for Voices and Gamelan Instruments, (l998), was written especially for the Art Summit in appreciation of its desire to promote experimental music throughout the world.

Japanese contemporary music composer Toshi Tsuchitori of Spiral Arms and some musicians from the Surakarta Arts Institutes will also present joint projects.

Another important intercultural project is being created by Indonesian composer Tony Prabowo and the New Jakarta Ensemble.

In his work, Tony involves local artists from the Yogyakarta Arts Institute and international artists: conductor Josefino Chino Toledo from the Philippines and Canadian violist Stephanie Griffin.

Going global

While Indonesians are busy talking about going global, many of the country's contemporary artists have already set up a strong foothold in the international contemporary performing arts. To name a few: composers Tony Prabowo, Paul Gutama and Franki Raden, dancers/choreographers Sardono W. Kusumo, Sulistyo, Miroto, Linda Hoemar, Gusmiati Suid and Ditta Miranda who works with the Bremer Tanztheater.

Slamet Abdul Sjukur, chairman of the Indonesian Composers' Association, said that they are almost "unknown" in their own countries but are well respected in the international community.

"The Art Summit Indonesia will be a great moment for the local audience to watch performances by their own nation's artists with such high international reputations," commented Slamet, a member of the artistic board.

Despite being less grandiose than the first Art Summit, this year's event will be similar in term of artistic quality.

Saini K.M., chairman of the organizing committee, admitted that many factors, including the political and economic conditions in Indonesia, might have hampered the implementation of this year's art summit.

"But this is the real challenge for us, to prove that art activities still deserve attention despite the distressing situation," Saini explained.

The foreign artists' participation is being supported by foreign cultural centers and the embassies of the participating countries.

"Some of the artists have sought their own sponsors to finance their travel to Indonesia. We are only providing accommodation here. We gratefully appreciate their enthusiasm," added Saini.

The Art Summit Indonesia's Rp 2 billion (US$185,000) to Rp 3 billion budget may be regarded as too much of a money-consuming activity, according to Putu Wijaya.

"The shortage of basic commodities has dismayed society. Spending money on other than basic needs is extravagant," said Putu.

But now, he said, is the right time to prove that the arts is one of the nation's valuable assets. A song, a poem, a novel, a painting, film, theater performance and music recitals are not created just for entertainment although they are entertaining.

The arts are meant to heal troubled souls and to enrich the people's intellectual and emotional lives.

"The arts is a means to build the nation from the inside and the Art Summit Indonesia could provide the ailing Indonesian people with self-enrichment," said Putu.