Discourse attempts to address problems of multiculturalism

JAKARTA (JP): Rarely in the world is there a city that has as diverse a cultural history as Jakarta. In this city recently swept by savage acts of ethnic violence, cultural influences from Hindu, Islamic, Sinic and Western civilizations have settled and blended into the local culture.

Jakarta, then, seems to be the right venue with the right timing for a discourse on multiculturalism to take place, that is if any Jakartan, or local artists, would be interested in the event.

Although more than 140 participants registered for the discourse, the room was hardly filled close to that figure after the opening ceremony. Most of the attendants were expert academicians, though some prominent art figures, like playwright Putu Wijaya and choreographer Linda Hoemar appeared when the topic touched their field of interest.

After the closing ceremony, an official said, "Many attendants select their own topic, so that is why the room seemed to be half full at all times."

The International Discourse on Performing Arts was organized in conjunction with Art Summit Indonesia II, 1998. The discourse was held recently at Hotel Alia, Central Jakarta, with the theme: Contemporary Performing Arts: The Problem of Multiculturalism and Exploration of Local Sources.

The problems of multiculturalism and exploration of local and alternative sources were two topics that were meant to be raised in the discourse. With speakers from various cultural backgrounds and art disciplines, the discourse offered a composed-yet- colorful exchange of views on multiculturalism.

Three genres of performing arts -- music, dance and theater -- were discussed in the dialog; each genre was represented by two expert speakers in the corresponding fields.

The speakers were Alvin Lucier, from America, and Yuji Takahashi, Japan, on music; Sal Murgiyanto, Indonesia, Janet Adshead-Lansdale, England, and Chua Soo Pong, Singapore, on dance; Rustom Barrucha, India, and Saini Kosim and Bakdi Sumanto, both from Indonesia, on theater.

Interestingly, almost none of the speakers was a performing artist. Sal and Rustom are distinguished art critics, Chua is the director of the Chinese Opera Institute and the rest are scholars, academicians and government officials. Nevertheless, from their positions, these experts experienced, and in some cases determined, how cultural interaction modifies the elements of performing arts.

Without being partial to other forms of arts, the Ministry of Education and Culture's Director General of Culture, Edi Sedyawati, remarked in her keynote address on the significance of performing arts in our society.

"Performing arts are bound to be related, in whatever mode, to the structure of institutions within a society," said Edi.

According to Edi, the role of performing arts may range from the descent of supernatural power to the expression of social criticism. In every culture which has a great tradition, the significance and role of performing arts is specific and sometimes incomparable, a fact that many of us tend to neglect.

Rustom Barrucha remembered his experience 20 years ago when viewing Chau, a dance theater originated from Orissa, India, and encountered a group of foreigners busy taking pictures. The intercultural interaction between the "foreigners" and their cameras, with the "indigenous" art event disturbed Rustom.

Art, no longer isolated from foreign eyes, stirred Rustom to questioned the property rights of one's culture.

In the discussion, Rustom questioned the right of a foreign culture to interfere with a native culture. He sees that in some cases such interaction could be disadvantageous. Using the introduction of Kentucky Fried Chicken to India as example, he explained how a global icon was interpreted in different cultures. While it is regarded as "junk food" in one culture, it becomes a prestigious status symbol in India.

"In other words, the cultural signs of this commodity are totally different in Third World economies, thereby challenging one of the most illusory norms of globalization that is capable of leveling differences across borders," Rustom said.

Rustom, however, believed that every culture should open itself in order to find existing commonalities in cultural struggle -- artists social welfare, systematic destruction of cultural basis -- that could create bonds between the cultures of the world. Shared values like these are more cohesive than creating a universal value based on, say, the western culture.

In his observation of Indonesian performing arts, Sal Murgiyanto sees that intra- and interculturalism occur at different levels of intensity: recreational, popular, entertaining, creative, contemporary and experimental.

Exposure to foreign cultures, observed Sal, arouses varying creative reactions from artists.

Sal illustrated the importance of intercultural exposure using the experience of Gilang Ramadhan, a popular percussionist. Having pursued a career as a (modern) drummer in Indonesia, Gilang was, at times, dumbfounded by the excitement of his Western counterpart on studying Indonesian traditional drums.

After learning the forms and tone of various Indonesian drums, Gilang explored ways to adapt the traditional music to Western settings.

From Gilang's experience, Sal noted that, "it is not easy to assess which one is one's own culture and which one is the other (foreign) one."

The original forms of Gilang's compositions can no longer be distinguished in a distinct cultural area. Not only does Gilang draw his references of popular music to his cultural roots, he also considers the importance of jazz, classical and contemporary music for the foundation of a good popular musician.

Jakarta, like many other metropolises in the world, is expected to produce more individuals with pluralistic qualities like Gilang.

Borrowing Saini Kosim's closing statement on his talk on multiculturalism in Indonesian theater, the key to honorable cultural sensitivity may be: "multicultural interrelationships and (persistent) effort". (46)