Indonesian artists teeter on 'reformasi' road

Indonesian artists teeter on 'reformasi' road

Evi Mariani and
M. Taufiqurrahman
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

American writer Kurt Vonnegut Jr. has the most apt expression to
describe the state Indonesian artists are in these days.

"Who is more to be pitied; a writer bound and gagged by
policemen or one living in perfect freedom who has nothing more
to say?"

Seven years after the downfall of the authoritarian regime of
Soeharto, artists here are no longer hassled by the notorious
state police who put a stranglehold on their artistry, but, at
the same time, they are barely producing anything new of
significance.

If anything, the quality of their work pales in comparison
with what emerged under the repression of the New Order regime.

The country's only credible candidate for the Nobel Prize for
literature is still Pramoedya Ananta Toer; no new writers are
prolific enough to challenge his literature, produced while he
was trampled on by the autocratic Soeharto regime.

Loss of role

Artists who made their name at that time by taking on the
authoritarian regime now appear to be at a loss about where their
artistic direction should go.

Stage actor Butet Kertaradjasa, who was famous for making fun
of the strongman and his henchmen through his searing parodies,
now turns up regularly on TV, trying to make himself relevant
with somewhat uninspiring social commentary.

Yogyakarta-based seminal writer Seno Gumira Ajidarma stood out
for writing incendiary condemnations on state-sponsored violence,
alleged to have been committed by the Indonesian Military (TNI)
in particular. However, as the TNI has now adopted a more subtle
approach, his works can at best be seen now as a tale of a bygone
era.

Folk singer Iwan Fals, whose prolific pen has written about
every vice the Soeharto regime ever committed, is more than happy
now to compose simple love songs for teenagers.

This year, Teater Koma's attempt to relive their guerrilla
play Maaf, Maaf, Maaf, which in 1978 became their milestone,
failed to generate the same enthusiasm. Instead, the audience
yawned several times during the three-hour play in which the
actors spoke satirically about dictatorship and military
violence.

Street artists who recited Wiji Thukul's poetry about the
fight of the oppressed could, at one time, make a whole bus
shudder with inspiration. Now, they have to face indifferent bus
passengers who give them Rp 500 coins out of pity.

Although the Indonesian movie industry imploded long before
the downfall of the Soeharto regime, in its current state it has
failed to match the industry's heyday in the 1970s and 1980s, a
period alo considered the regime's heyday.

At the crossroads

Leftist critic Hilmar Farid of the Network of Cultural Works
(JKB) said that artists were at a crossroads of wanting to
discard the past and wanting to create something new, but they
were in the dark over it.

"They are tired of politics but they don't know what they will
speak of for the time being," he told The Jakarta Post.

As a result, some artists have only dipped their toes into
unknown territory. "Some female writers, for instance, write
about sexuality but don't know how to achieve it without touching
on its vulgar aspects," he said.

Art critic Mudji Soetrisno of the Driyakara School of
Philosophy painted a similar picture on the country's art,
although less pessimistic in tone.

"Financially, we are bankrupt so we can't finance the
promotion of art that represents the country," he told the Post.

Mudji has judged a variety of art competitions in the country.

However, he denied suggestions that art had faltered at a time
when freedom was supposed to enable it to bloom.

"There are enclaves in which a group of artists thrive in
their work although they are not covered by the press and elude
the public gaze," he said, adding that Yogyakarta-based painter
Heri Dono for instance, had gained an international reputation
despite being overlooked at home.

State oppression replaced by market forces

Mudji said that after decades of oppression, artists these
days embraced a celebration of life as their artistic theme.
"Most female writers such as Dewi Lestari and Ayu Utami adopt
postmodern themes in their celebration of the body. They just
want to be honest," he said.

When it came to another social critique, artists aimed their
grievance at recurring human rights abuse, Mudji said. "The
artists also become mouthpieces for those who had been
disenfranchised during the Soeharto regime," he said.

Writer Hamsad Rangkuti, who recently won a Khatulistiwa Award
for his collection of short stories, told the Post that art
pieces protesting a particular regime tended to be irrelevant
when the regime toppled.

"But humanity will never lose its relevance. Poverty and
injustice are two things that are still of major concern when
writing," he said.

Hamsad's stories written before and after reformasi are mostly
about the life and drama of poor people, and sometimes about
love.

In consequence, artist like Hamsad was never as outstanding as
those who were more "vocal", like Rendra and Wiji Thukul, who
gained wider popularity when the regime oppressed them.

The govermnent no longer crushes expressions of dissent by
artists.

This ostensible freedom has, instead, caused some artists to
teeter, bowing to market interests to gain popularity.

Hilmar said that if the menace to artistic freedom in the past
was the state, the specter that hangs over artists these days is
the dictates of the market.

"Artists are allowed to be creative within the confines set by
the market; this is very dangerous -- both for the artists and
their audience."