Artists paint the dark side of military
Artists paint the dark side of military
Yusuf Susilo Hartono, Contributor, Jakarta
Artists over the last five years have represented the military
through painting, sculpture, graphic-art and installation but
violence and cruelty has most often been the subject of
discourse.
The latest exhibition to excoriate the military was Five-year
Reform Reflection held in May by the Jakarta Art Council in
Galeri Cipta II, Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM). Displaying works
such as Rahmad Jabrail's DOM (military operation zone),
Arahmaiani's Tetesan Darah 1998 (bloodshed) and Subagio's
Terbelenggu (shackled).
The graphic works of New Fine Art Movement exponent FX
Harsono, exhibited at the Indonesian National Gallery early in
June were similarly scathing, especially the "Rp 100 stamp
series", Republik Indochaos, which depicted security officers
chasing a student protester and armed with clubs, and the
warning: "Violence is no solution".
In July 2002 at Bentara Budaya Jakarta, artist Dadang
Christanto, who is currently teaching in Australia, exhibited two
installations, Cannibalism and They Give Evidence. The
installation's graphic nature and its contempt of the military
provoked outrage among the public. The Nadi Gallery in Jakarta
presented a series of paintings by Heri Dono called "pistols,"
last year.
These artists claim to represent ordinary people. Their manner
may be confrontational but they believe it is a way to stop the
military's violation of human rights. Before the reformasi period
they would rarely have dared to make such statements.
Merwan Yusuf of the Jakarta Art Council says that at the
beginning of the reform movement in 1998, artists portrayed
students as heroes and the military as villains. Later, after
pressuring president Soeharto to resign, the students lost the
respect of artists as they had become internally divided.
Fine art that debases the military has been described by the
historian, Dr. Anhar Gonggong, as a manifestation of the
collective memory of society at large. He says this anti-military
memory has accumulated since the 1970s, when the armed forces
became the New Order's tool against civilians.
The artist, Suhardi (Hardi), was arrested by Jakarta military
authorities in 1978 after displaying his self-portrait Presiden
RI Tahun 2001, Suhardi at TIM. In the picture he was dressed in
the formal style of first president Sukarno, cheekily suggesting
that in 2001 he could be president.
Fortunately, then vice president Adam Malik protested the
arrest, which he said was a violation of human rights, and Hardi
was later released.
But in the 1980s Hardi's paintings were still concerned with
power abuse and he painted the police mercilessly driving away
newspaper vendors in the street.
"Soldiers and policemen must change their behavior to win
public sympathy," said Anhar Gonggong in a recent seminar. He
argued that while no country could be strong without mighty
military forces, the military could never be strong without
public trust.
Indonesian fine art history shows that during the period of
struggle for independence, artists and freedom fighters joined
forces. This was expressed in Hendra Gunawan's oil paintings
Pengantin Revolusi (revolution wedding) and Pengungsian
(evacuation), now in the collection of the Jakarta Fine Art
Museum, and Affandi's Laskar Mengatur Siasat (militia drafting
strategy).
Henk Ngantung also represented the military in a series of
sketches illustrating the Indonesian National Army engaged in a
series of drills in 1947.
Sudjana Kerton illustrated the transfer of power, from the
Dutch to the Republic of Indonesia, in his sketches of the
Linggarjati Round Table Conference in West Java in 1949. And
Sukarno commissioned the artist, Dullah, to paint guerrillas
reporting for duty.
Artists once enjoyed an affable relationship with soldiers.
But it is clear that they now perceive the military in a less
favorable light, and they are not afraid to speak out.
Yusuf Susilo Hartono, Contributor, Jakarta
Artists over the last five years have represented the military
through painting, sculpture, graphic-art and installation but
violence and cruelty has most often been the subject of
discourse.
The latest exhibition to excoriate the military was Five-year
Reform Reflection held in May by the Jakarta Art Council in
Galeri Cipta II, Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM). Displaying works
such as Rahmad Jabrail's DOM (military operation zone),
Arahmaiani's Tetesan Darah 1998 (bloodshed) and Subagio's
Terbelenggu (shackled).
The graphic works of New Fine Art Movement exponent FX
Harsono, exhibited at the Indonesian National Gallery early in
June were similarly scathing, especially the "Rp 100 stamp
series", Republik Indochaos, which depicted security officers
chasing a student protester and armed with clubs, and the
warning: "Violence is no solution".
In July 2002 at Bentara Budaya Jakarta, artist Dadang
Christanto, who is currently teaching in Australia, exhibited two
installations, Cannibalism and They Give Evidence. The
installation's graphic nature and its contempt of the military
provoked outrage among the public. The Nadi Gallery in Jakarta
presented a series of paintings by Heri Dono called "pistols,"
last year.
These artists claim to represent ordinary people. Their manner
may be confrontational but they believe it is a way to stop the
military's violation of human rights. Before the reformasi period
they would rarely have dared to make such statements.
Merwan Yusuf of the Jakarta Art Council says that at the
beginning of the reform movement in 1998, artists portrayed
students as heroes and the military as villains. Later, after
pressuring president Soeharto to resign, the students lost the
respect of artists as they had become internally divided.
Fine art that debases the military has been described by the
historian, Dr. Anhar Gonggong, as a manifestation of the
collective memory of society at large. He says this anti-military
memory has accumulated since the 1970s, when the armed forces
became the New Order's tool against civilians.
The artist, Suhardi (Hardi), was arrested by Jakarta military
authorities in 1978 after displaying his self-portrait Presiden
RI Tahun 2001, Suhardi at TIM. In the picture he was dressed in
the formal style of first president Sukarno, cheekily suggesting
that in 2001 he could be president.
Fortunately, then vice president Adam Malik protested the
arrest, which he said was a violation of human rights, and Hardi
was later released.
But in the 1980s Hardi's paintings were still concerned with
power abuse and he painted the police mercilessly driving away
newspaper vendors in the street.
"Soldiers and policemen must change their behavior to win
public sympathy," said Anhar Gonggong in a recent seminar. He
argued that while no country could be strong without mighty
military forces, the military could never be strong without
public trust.
Indonesian fine art history shows that during the period of
struggle for independence, artists and freedom fighters joined
forces. This was expressed in Hendra Gunawan's oil paintings
Pengantin Revolusi (revolution wedding) and Pengungsian
(evacuation), now in the collection of the Jakarta Fine Art
Museum, and Affandi's Laskar Mengatur Siasat (militia drafting
strategy).
Henk Ngantung also represented the military in a series of
sketches illustrating the Indonesian National Army engaged in a
series of drills in 1947.
Sudjana Kerton illustrated the transfer of power, from the
Dutch to the Republic of Indonesia, in his sketches of the
Linggarjati Round Table Conference in West Java in 1949. And
Sukarno commissioned the artist, Dullah, to paint guerrillas
reporting for duty.
Artists once enjoyed an affable relationship with soldiers.
But it is clear that they now perceive the military in a less
favorable light, and they are not afraid to speak out.