IKJ students depict paradoxes of urban life

IKJ students depict paradoxes of urban life

A. Junaidi
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Five pretty models wearing glamorous gowns pranced along the
verandah in front of Galeri Cipta II as a prelude to the opening
of the "Seni Rupa dalam Masyarakat Urban" (Fine Arts in Urban
Community) exhibition at the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center.

All of the models and the 10 designers of the dozens of glitzy
creations on display were students of the Fine Arts Department of
the Jakarta Arts Institute (IKJ).

The elegant outfits were inspired by Indonesian ethnic
traditions as well as Japanese, Spanish and Middle Eastern
designs, with most of them following the current trend of
exposing the belly button.

As the fashion parade proceeded, visitors might have wondered
what it had to do with the "urban community".

After all, urban life has a lot more to do with the trials and
tribulations of the man in the street than it does with high
fashion.

The nuances of urban life did not seem to be immediately
reflected in the titles of the designs either: "the Japanese
Beauty", "Middle East Beauty", "Ethnic Beauty" and "Hedonism".

Although former IKJ rector Toeti Heraty Nurhadi was delighted
with the efforts of the bright young designers, she questioned
their relevance to urban realities.

"I could be wrong, I wonder what all this glamor has to do
with urban realities. But let's wait and see inside," said Toeti,
who is a professor of philosophy.

However, even before the ribbon was cut to open the show and
let people enter the exhibition space, the dresses presented by
the last of the 10 designers provided the answer to Toeti's
question.

Student fashion designer Ira Agustin evoked public concern
through her line of five dresses titled "AIDS Campaign", which
employed specific style lines, asymmetry, and startling blends of
colors.

Her lovely dresses were dyed in such a way as to remind the
spectators of the physical deterioration experienced by people
living with AIDS. Pretty pink dresses had large dye splotches of
sickly blue or purple, reminiscent of the lesions and bruises
produced by the deadly syndrome, which haunts so many in
Indonesian urban environments.

"I'm speechless. I'm proud of the students," Toeti said after
observing Ira's "AIDS" fashions and art pieces commenting on AIDS
and other issues.

She was surprised and delighted upon seeing dozens of
artworks, including paintings, graphics, fashion and textile
designs, ceramics and posters that described the various facets
of urban life.

Some student-designed posters campaigned for the use of
condoms, which is believed to be one of the effective ways of
preventing the spread of HIV.

Urban life, including life in Jakarta, has always been
paradoxical: glamour and poverty; love and cruelty; angels and
demons.

There is a popular phrase among Jakartans that describes the
urban reality: Kejamnya Ibu Tiri Tak Sekejam Ibukota (The
cruelest stepmother is not as crueler as the capital city).

Luxury, scarcity, sincerity and hypocrisy characterize the
sketch of the Jakarta urban community presented by the students
in their exhibition.

Art critic Mamannoor said in his commentary on the exhibition
that Jakarta was a place of angels and demons, a unity of irony,
paradox, ambivalence and hypocrisy.

Mamannoor said that the IKJ students had an opportunity to
learn from the paradox of Jakarta and express this in their art.

The paradox can been seen in the students' work, including a
painting by Guntur titled "Mungkinkah" (Is it possible?) which
portrays a poor couple standing beneath a skyscraper that looms
over them.

Another "benchmark" of the city is depicted by Ade Rusman
through a graphic design titled 7 a.m. at Taman Lawang, which
portrays a transvestite waiting in a corner of the park, a
popular place for hanging out or picking up prostitutes.

The students' art portrays desperate pedicab drivers, people
evicted from Jakarta's riverbank slums and the victims of
violence by the city administration's public order officers.

in box
Seni Rupa dalam Masyarakat Urban exhibition Oct. 6 to Oct. 9.
Galeri Cipta II
Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts Center
Jl. Cikini 73
Central Jakarta.