Experimentalism thrives in local modern art
Experimentalism thrives in local modern art
By Franki Raden
JAKARTA (JP): A surge of creativity heightened the spirit of experimentalism here in the 1990s, particularly last year.
No longer satisfied with painting and sculpture to convey their social, political and artistic aspirations, artists turned to new forms, continuing the Indonesian New Fine Arts movement which began in the 1970s.
One visible result is in installation arts. This is where display spaces are no longer limited to the function of exhibiting paintings and sculpture.
Artists now consider indoor and outdoor spaces inseparable from the objects they intend to display; the spaces become part of their works.
Interestingly, this form not only enables artists to transmit unlimited social and political messages, but also provides an opportunity to use technology.
A notable example is the installation work by Putut H. Pramana, Suatmaji, B.J. Riyanto and Yongki Suwarno, entitled Ekstase Spiritual (Spiritual Ecstasy).
This was a fine combination of graphics, interior design and audiovisuals. It was on display in the Nur Gora Rupa experimental arts exhibition held last April in Surakarta, Central Java.
A traditional Sundanese love tune, the asmarandana, played throughout a video on national development. However, the lyrics featured maling-maling (thieves) and were poetically presented through graphics and light.
Another intriguing technological installation at the event was by Heri Dono. He scattered gamelan instruments of various tones. The instruments automatically began to play at certain times in a corner of the display room.
Bonyong and his colleagues' experiment with bamboo in the open space was completely wild.
The same festival show cased a number of performing arts, such as the Hening Swastiastu by composer Joseph Praba.
Praba illustrated violence in human life through a very expressive, shocking display of lights, color, poetry and silence. He read a poem on violence which was followed by an oval-shaped flash of blood-red light on the floor of the theater. Then he let the audience wait in suspenseful silence for eight minutes.
Artist Agus Joly also presented the ritual dimension of arts and life during seven days in the open air in Surakarta.
The composer Sutanto, dancer Laksmi and myself worked on erotic associations in cinematic style. Here a beautiful woman, a wild-looking man and a female blind masseur featured in what we called Si Mbok (The Mother).
Then there was some happening art by Dadang Christanto, who vividly depicted the issue of power and Western culture; a model of a Western man was denied his right to speak at an informal discussion.
Yasudah, another composer, presented "environmental music". Dozens of cyclists loaded with various instruments traveled from the center of Surakarta to the Taman Budaya (Cultural Center) where the festival was held.
Experiments also flourished at other festivals. The October Forum at the Bandung Institute of Technology, the Rupa-rupa Seni Rupa in Yogyakarta and the Didi-Sena International Mime Festival all had representations.
Other events were the Senimania Republika and the Indonesian Dance Festival. Both were held in Jakarta.
More displays were those by FX Harsono at Jakarta's Ministry of Education and Culture, the poet Didik Suardi at Surakarta's Cultural Center, Rahmayani at Studio Oncor in Jakarta and the Sketsa jazz musicians at the Jakarta Art Center or Taman Ismail Marzuki.
The musicians Harry Roesli and Heri Dim performed in Bandung, and Andar Manik, Margie Suwanda dan I Wayan Sadra in Surakarta.
Rahmayani's work, entitled Religion, Sex and Coca Cola, caused some furor. She provocatively questioned the role of both religious and secular tokens, like the Koran, the famed soft drink and condoms, in life.
This potential artist and vocalist presented an equally interesting visual piece in the Sketsa jazz group, probably the most attractive art event last year.
It was the first instance where Indonesian jazz musicians succeeded in presenting an experiment which surpassed musical borders.
In his Bandung performance called Overdosis (Overdose), Harry Roesli also used such a medium. The event highlighted the regeneration of Indonesian contemporary musicians through his DKSB workshop.
Overdosis combined works of the young composers Haviel, Erick, Dodi and Dudi and Roesli himself, with visuals by Heri Dim. Last October, Dim presented an interesting performing art at the opening of his painting display in Bandung.
Installation art
Harsono's display was the first in which all works were installation art. He conveyed his long-time concern over injustice in strong visual representations.
One of his works was entitled Voice from the Throne/Power and Oppression. It revealed the dramatic value of power and exploitation through symbols of bloodspots, wood and a chair.
Following the same theme, in the Indonesian Dance Festival Sardono W. Kusumo presented an appealing multi-media performance entitled Detik-Detik Tempo. It ran for four and a half hours.
Sena Utoyo used similar media in his Se Tong Se Tenggak at the Didi-Sena International Mime Festival.
How Kusumo and Utoyo developed experiments they began with artists from the Jakarta Arts Institute in 1976 is interesting.
They started with a complex performance called Yellow Submarine in the 1970s. It involved noted figures like government critic Ali Sadikin, writers Umar Kayam and Danarto, dancer Farida Feisol and the late directors Wahyu Sihombing and Djayakusuma.
Putu Wijaya's readings of his short stories entitled Blok at the Jakarta Arts Center last month is also notable. With the support of Harry Roesli's music, Putu manipulated the shadows on a giant screen to accentuate the visual and theatrical elements of his absurd and dramatic stories.