Artists confused over art, cultural drive

Artists confused over art, cultural drive

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): This year may be declared the year of arts and
culture but developments are as confusing as ever for the
artistic community.

The latest development was the appointment of businessman
turned bureaucrat Abdul Latief as minister of tourism, arts and
culture.

Poet and sociologist Darmanto Jatman from Semarang, Central
Java, is one of the artists who strongly criticized this.

Darmanto said that since the government declared 1998 Year of
Arts and Culture, "Up to now, we still haven't got a clear idea
about the art and cultural campaign, its concrete programs and
how they will be implemented."

Less than four months later, the government set up a new
Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture to deal with art and
cultural activities closely related to tourism.

Under the auspices of Wiranto Arismunandar, the Ministry of
Education and Culture will continue to nurture and preserve art
and culture.

"The government must precisely elaborate its concept of
tourism, arts and culture to avoid any misunderstanding among
artists and the people of Indonesia in general," Darmanto said.

Darmanto added that in the current economic condition, the
government has no other choice but to exploit the country's art
and cultural potentials to gain valuable foreign exchanges.

Indonesia's natural beauty and diverse art and cultural
heritages have long been recognized as potential means
to lure visitors and to gain abundant revenues for its
development projects.

"It seems to me that the government is too passionate to
promote our arts and culture in lavish touristic packages while
at the same time, sacrificing the real meaning of the arts,"
Darmanto complained.

Composer Harry Roesli said, however, he would not spend his
energy fussing over the latest bureaucratic frenzy.

He said that several artists met Latief in Jakarta recently to
ask for clarification. Although Latief tried his best to explain
his job, many artists remained confused, he said.

"The government and local artists have actually more pressing
issues to worry about than quibbling over the jobs of these two
ministries," said Harry, who received his doctoral degree in
music from the Netherlands.

Crucial

Harry said that so far, the government, and the Ministry of
Education and Culture in particular, did not pay any attention to
the development of arts and culture in the broader sense.

"Facilities and funds are important in supporting art
activities but, there are other problems that should be addressed
immediately," he said.

He identified a basic education of the arts as one of the
crucial problems hindering Indonesian arts and culture.

Harry explained that people's artistic skills and appreciation
must be developed naturally from a young age.

"Families and schools can play significant roles in developing
children's artistic skills. This stage is important because this
is a kind of grooming process to create qualified artists in
various fields in the future," he maintained.

If these young people choose other professions later in life,
at least they are already equipped with adequate knowledge to
appreciate the arts and their culture.

Unfortunately, these two do not provide a conducive atmosphere
for most children.

"Modern families are busy with material things, while art as
applied in the curriculum is really pathetic," Harry explained.

To make things worse, Indonesia has only a few teachers who
have adequate backgrounds in the arts.

In West Java, for instance, there are about 25,000 elementary
schools and high schools. Each school should have at least one
art teacher. This means that the province needs a minimum of
25,000 art teachers, preferably graduates of art or music
institutes.

Harry said that between l982 and l997, the Bandung Teacher's
Training College had only 4,000 graduates from its Department of
Arts and Music; not enough to meet the demand.

"What is happening now is that math or biology teachers are
delivering art subjects. How can they transfer their art
knowledge to our students if they don't master the subject?" said
Harry, who is also a lecturer at the college.

Pessimism over Indonesia's arts and culture fragility is
nothing new to local artists and intellectuals.

Toety Herati Noerhadi, a professor of philosophy at the
University of Indonesia, and a member of the Jakarta Arts
Council's board of directors, said that there was a wide gap
between artists and bureaucrats in viewing the arts and culture.

Bureaucrats, she said, have always linked cultural activities
to a series of festivals and fancy shows.

Toety said culture embraces all aspects of life: the arts,
politics, the economy, science and technology and people's ways
of life and attitudes.

"If the government views culture only in terms of performing
arts, particularly traditional art performances, it is very
artificial and narrow-minded," she said.

Darmanto added that prominent scholar Umar Kayam once argued
that Indonesian arts are manifested in the form of made-to-order
works. This means that many artworks are created based on the
government's orders and they are always associated with some
event.

The most recent example of "made-to-order arts" was a series
of Rama Tambak traditional dance drama performances, special
shows to inspire national leaders to save the country from chaos.

There are many other government-sponsored art projects
including huge sculptures aimed to mesmerize foreign tourists,
Darmanto said.

"I am sure that Indonesian modern theater will not be promoted
because it is not a money spinner," Darmanto added.

Despite this fact, Harry and other artists said they would
give ministers Abdul Latief and Wiranto Arismunandar a chance to
carry out their programs.

"We should not underestimate people's capabilities, let us
just wait and see," he said.

Harry said Bang Ali (former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin) was
a good role model. "He was a marine official who showed a deep
commitment to the development of arts," he said.