Children's painting exhibition reveals lack of creativity

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.