Children's painting exhibition reveals lack of creativity

By Yenni Kwok

JAKARTA (JP): Behind the bright colors and happy, smiling faces it is that clear Indonesian children lack the creativity and boldness to try something different ... at least compared to their Japanese counterparts.

Or that is the general impression after strolling through the 200 works in the Indonesian-Japanese Children's Painting Exhibition, at The Japan Foundation until March 12.

The Japan Foundation, the Jakarta Japan Club and the Republic of Indonesia Teachers Association have collaborated to organize this exhibition, which showcases works from first-year elementary school to third-year junior high school students.

The exhibition is set in two rooms, one for Jakarta Japanese School students and the other, bigger, one for pupils at Jakarta's Indonesian schools. The difference between the two groups is marked.

At first glance the most striking difference is in their color choices. The 70 Japanese "artists" mostly use subtle, soft colors, while bright and bold colors are dominant in the 130 Indonesian paintings.

However, the differences are much more than canvas deep.

One can easily see themes repeated in the Indonesian paintings. Indonesians and Japanese stand hand-in-hand waving their national flags; the Indonesians are usually dressed in Javanese or Balinese traditional costumes; the Japanese are wearing kimonos; giant Buddha statues, Japanese temples and Mount Fuji are recurring Japanese symbols, while the Borobudur temple and Monas are representations of Indonesia.

Housewife Naoko Matsumoto said after viewing the exhibition: "The Japanese look like Chinese. The kimonos they painted are not Japanese kimonos. Maybe they don't really understand Japanese [culture]."

Most paintings seem to originate from teachers' assignments. It is very possible that many of the students were told by their teacher: "All right, children ... I want you to draw something about Indonesian-Japanese friendship!"

Friendship is a noble idea, of course. However, friendship for most children is something pure and genuine, and does not usually carry any cultural baggage.

So, why weren't the children given the freedom to explore their own childish dreams? The doodles of the Japanese first- graders might be less realistic than the Indonesians' horizon-and-paddy-field drawings but at least they reflect the children's own fantasies.

We can even pick out the children's popular culture. Traditional Japanese comic characters are still popular among the Japanese children. Starry-eyed, skinny females, which were drawn and woven into puzzles, are still clearly their idols.

Kie Matsunami tries to explain her world with a montage of magazine pictures. Cut-outs of a bottle of CK1 perfume, a dog, watches, nail polish bottles, a stereo, colorful sneakers and a CD-player dynamically surround her painted name.

Surely MTV's all-influencing music and fashion would have made some sort of impact on Indonesian children, especially those living in Jakarta. It is hard to believe that they do not share similar interests in popular culture with Japanese children of the same age. Yet it is hard to trace any individualism in the Indonesian children's works.

True, the Japanese children's works also come from in-class assignments. However their teachers were obviously much more creative in assigning topics to their students. They really challenged the children's creativity.

For example, the sixth graders at the Jakarta Japanese School had to draw what they thought they would be like 20 years from now. Fujino Shinpei imagines that the grown-up Shinpei will be sporting glasses and a beard. Not only that, he also imagines that he will own a Japanese noodle shop. He even has written his future life story out.

Other interesting ideas come out in the crumpled rice-paper creations, also made by the sixth graders. The students had to make the rice paper look crumpled and old, and then write old- fashioned Japanese calligraphy on it.

Hizume Taku's "ancient document" contains directions to hidden treasure. He even provides a translation, written in modern Japanese writing.

Don't get all of this wrong. The Indonesian artists are not losing out completely. Indeed some of them possess admirable painting techniques.

The Japanese junior high school students have painted water- color self-portraits. Their paintings are typical of what one might expect from a 14 or 15-year-old student. But they are no comparison with the self-portrait of Karlina, a second-year student at St. Theresia High School. Hers is an oil painting of a sweet, doe-eyed girl, wearing a pink-and-white floral dress.

Gadis Saras Muda, a second-year student at SMPN 115, chose to draw Balinese girls in crayons. She demonstrated her considerable ability to conjure up lively shades of color and strong texture.

The exhibition organizers also held a contest for the Indonesian participants. With all the colorful Indonesian- Japanese friendship paintings, it is no surprise the jury settled on a painting on a different subject as the winner.

The prize went to Shinta Mayang Purnama, a student at SMPN 77, whose Balinese Barong Dance is a batik-style painting in purple and blue with a golden lining.