Dwi Marianto goes beyond theories

Dwi Marianto goes beyond theories

Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Today the public has often judged artists graduating from the
reputable Indonesian Institute of Arts of Yogyakarta (ISI
Yogyakarta), particularly fine arts major, as being of a lower
caliber than their predecessors.

The campus seems to have been devoid of the spirit of art, the
element that previously helped make its graduates great artists.

Art critic Martinus Dwi Marianto, who was appointed director
of the institute's post-graduate program in May this year, was
not unaware of the concern that the public has shown about the
institute's graduates.

He was of the opinion that the spirit of art has gone from the
campus particularly because of several reasons. First, he said,
unlike what happened in the campus of the Indonesian Fine Art
Academy (ASRI) before, the academic community of ISI Yogyakarta
is yet to merge with the people in their surroundings.

The next problem is that the institute's organization is too
fat which resulted in the prevailing long-winded bureaucracy in
campus activities and the institute's curriculum as well as
academic policies are disadvantageous to the students.

"What happens now is that the students get only academic
training but hardly any training to bolster their creativity and
sensitize artistic feelings," he lamented. Obviously, he added,
the creativity of the students as artists will be stunted.

It was hightime, he went on to say, that the students of ISI
Yogyakarta must be equally trained academically and creatively.

That's why, he said, in the post-graduate program, the
students were liberated in their way of thinking and are free
from the dichotomy of theory and practice.

"Let the students' ideas flow freely in their creation. They
must be freed from the shackles of theories. They must be allowed
to think like people in meditation. Being and non-being will
merge and be complementary to each other. Finally, this
liberating process will enhance your creativity," said Dwi
Marianto, who is also noted as an art critic in a number of
national media publications.

A graduate of Australia's Wollongong University, he borrowed
the viewpoint of a quantum physicist to explain and treat reality
and view all art phenomena as part of man's daily cultural
expressions

Many artists, he said, were usually unwilling to change their
art approaches for fear that the public would consider them as
being unprincipled or having a weak personality.

"In short, they are afraid to create anything beyond the
existing norms or theories although deep in their hearts they are
fully aware that this approach or method no longer suits their
present taste," Dwi Marianto pointed out.

"There is an artist, for example, that has always used masks
as the subject of his painting. The way he painted when he was an
undergraduate student was hardly different from his method now,
when he is a student in a master's program," he continued

This man, he said, erroneously believes that in this way he
will be considered as a consistent artist.

Then, he went on, there are also some artists that come up
with the same issues despite the variety of the media, therefore
giving the impression that for him time stands still. "Ideology
is found not only in politics but also in arts. When an artist
clings to a particular esthetic ideology, he will view the world
in a repetitive work pattern and the same paradigm," he noted.

To remain creative, however, an artist must avoid having an
established viewpoint. He must, instead, regularly reshape this
viewpoint. He must always look for new things although sometimes
we have to disagree with other people in terms of their viewpoint
or theory.

As a quantum reality, he said, art must be viewed in the
perspective of a wave or its particles simultaneously. Art
representation that emphasizes only the idea or the form is an
incomplete reality.

Dwi Marianto did not only sit still with his ideal roaming
without clear action. He has tried to overcome the stagnant of
the spirit of art in his campus. He invited outside lecturers to
share their experiences -- as fresh artistic touch -- to the
students and introduce something which was beyond the formal
curriculum.

"Recently, we invited Nandini Shinha, an Indian dancer, to
help improve our artistic feelings. In the future we plan to
invite people like her to our campus as guest lecturer. In this
way, our artistic feelings will always be enhanced and the
students will be imbued with the spirit of art," he said.