Cartoon exhibition sizes up a changing society

Cartoon exhibition sizes up a changing society

By Chris Brummitt

JAKARTA (JP): From their first appearance in the mid 19th
century, cartoons have been a medium for social criticism and
commentary. The time it takes to draw them means they are ideally
suited for capturing the mechanics of a society in rapid change.

Following in this tradition are the cartoonists currently
exhibiting their work at the Japanese Cultural Center, on the 2nd
floor of the Summitmas 1 building, Jl. Sudirman, Central Jakarta.
The Japanese Cultural Center held its third Asian cartoon
exhibition, featuring cartoons from all over Asia, last July. The
works on show this month are 40 or so of the cartoons by
Indonesian artists which, through reasons of space, did not make
it into the earlier exhibition.

The exhibition is called "Indonesia 1999", and the target of
the artists' satire rarely strays from that which is indicated by
the title.

Many of the cartoons document the country facing up to the
much hyped "global era", the attendant absurdities and the
peoples' mixed feelings about the development. How, where and
what people eat are frequently made the subject of the cartoons,
in such a way that symbolic interpretations are inevitable.

One cartoon shows an Indonesian man in a sarong squatting on
the floor of an expensive restaurant, scooping up chicken and
rice with his right hand. The waiter looks on astonished. Another
depicts a skyline of huge buildings topped with advertising
billboards for multinational food companies. Lines of people are
leaving each building and heading for a lone warung (a
traditional streetside eating house).

The confusion of a society in transition -- from an
agricultural based, traditional one to a global, urban one -- is
a recurring theme. A well-dressed mobile phone-toting woman stops
at a "Warteg Spesial", a warung which serves food from Tegal,
Central Java. This cafe is special, however, because it serves
only hamburgers, spaghetti and other non-Indonesian food. This
absurdity is compounded by the 1 percent discount on offer. The
customer asks for the typical Indonesian spicy vegetable dish
pecel, and the woman serving her looks blank and question marks
rise from her head.

Other cartoons are more direct, and their criticism is of a
more political nature. A fat official eats a stick of satay.
Taking the place of the meat, however, are photocopied images
from a Rp 50,000 note, including the face of former president
Soeharto. Drawing, publishing or displaying such a cartoon as
little as one year ago would have been asking for trouble from
the authorities. Its appearance today is proof of the striking
changes which have taken place in Indonesia.

The most detailed work on show is by Nur Andi. A Monopoly
board is depicted being ravaged by hands belonging to the
government, foreign countries and conglomerates. In one corner
there is a single gravestone with the engraving R.I.P Rakyat
(R.I.P the People).

If you are in the area, this exhibition is worth dropping in
on, as almost all of the cartoons are well drawn and well thought
out. One criticism is the absence of biographical details on the
artists; it would not have taken much extra work and would have
given visitors a bit more to chew on.

The exhibition, which is open to the public at no charge, is
open daily in November until 6 p.m., except for Saturdays when it
closes at 1 p.m. and Sundays.