Artists work together on city mural project
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
The heat of the midday sun was overwhelming, even for Yogyakarta, but San Francisco-based artist Megan Wilson hardly seemed to notice. With no hat to protect her from the sun she crouched at the base of the two-metre-high wall, painting it with brightly colored cartoon-like flowers.
She had already painted the asphalt and the flowers melted playfully across the road like a dropped ice-cream cone or childhood memories exposed: after-school-TV, the pattern on Grandmother's dress, the sun coming up over picture-book hills. Everlastingly happy. The 35-meter long wall on Jl.Ireda, near the renowned public entertainment center Purawisata is quite a sizable canvas, but Wilson she said she was going to decorate the sidewalk next.
Wilson is one of six artists from San Francisco California taking part in an exchange program jointly initiated by Indonesian Apotik Komik and American Clarion Alley Mural Project (CAMP).
The project is called City Mural 2003: Sama-Sama/You Are Welcome and will run between July and October 2003.
The six American artists arrived in Yogyakarta in July to paint murals, with the assistance of local artists. In September, Apotik Komik's four artists will fly to San Francisco to paint murals there.
The artists are: Carolyn Castano, Carolyn Ryder Cooley, Alicia McCarthy, Aaron Noble, Andrew J. Schoultz and Megan Wilson from CAMP, and Samuel Indratma, Arie Dyanto, Arya Panjalu, and Nano Warsono from Apotik Komik.
The American artists worked site specifically. Some stuck to tradition and painted on walls, like Carolyn Castano who worked close by Megan's site on Jl. Ireda, but Carolyn Ryder Cooley was inspired by an old electricity box in Kotabaru. She painted the box with birds to resemble a giant bird-cage. Both Castano and Cooley have finished their murals.
"I decided to paint birds because there are birds everywhere here and I wanted to make it (her mural) sympathetic to the environment and thus become part of it," said Cooley who is also a musician.
Andrew J Schoultz, who is well known for the social and political commentary of his art, chose a wall outside Tugu Train Station on Jl. Suryonegaran. Aaron Noble found a wall outside the old Permata Theater on Jl. Kusumanegara.
"I chose the theater because it reminds me of the theater that my family runs back home. We have a long history in the business," said Noble, adding that he would paint a comical superhero on the wall located in the west-wing of the theater.
Noble said that painting the superhero there wasn't really symbolic but Megan Wilson hoped her mural would convey a message: "I want to say that we can work together as good friends and together we can create a peaceful world to live in. I do hope this exchange will in some way help people from two different cultures understand each other better," she said.
According to Samuel Indratma of Apotik Komik, the project was designed to create a cross cultural dialog and to promote a public awareness of contemporary art.
"The Sept. 11, 2001 tragedy and the Bali bombings in October 2002 made it critical for understanding and dialog to exist between our countries," Samuel said.
Sama-Sama/You Are Welcome, grew out of the recognition of this need and the hope that a creative response could heal the deep cultural divides caused by recent world events, Samuel said.
A program of supporting activities was arranged to coincide with the public mural works. The activities include a collaborative exhibition, artists' talks and an evening of film and video presentation.
Samuel said that all the artists participating in the project had similar aesthetic concerns and methodologies. The artists individually and collectively made work in response to the social and political conditions of their environments. They were influenced by graffiti, advertising and design.
Sama-Sama/You Are Welcome has provided the opportunity for artists to connect on a personal level and with the public. The experimental exchange will hopefully generate understanding between America and Indonesia. Step by step, brushstroke by brushstroke, the artists seemed to say that no wall was too high.
As Megan Wilson painted her mural school-children huddled behind her, encouraged her, and rested their hands on her shoulders. They were just happy to watch her adorning the previously blank wall with flowers. They welcomed her to their city, and she provided them with a free show. That's the beauty of public art.