Have the courage to create: Sedyawati
Have the courage to create: Sedyawati
By Ati Nurbaiti
JAKARTA (JP): Unique art and culture landed Indonesia and
other oriental cultures on the world map. The study of this art
secured their place in the minds of the world.
"To be able to place accurate value on items acquired from far
away countries, people in the West needed to study all about the
background of the objects," said Edi Sedyawati, the Director
General of Cultural Affairs.
Time sciences, like archeology and anthropology, have broken
down the remote cultures in the East. But the west-east bias
still exists, and artists, says Sedyawati, must be given wider
support to make their mark internationally.
"We must preserve traditional arts because tourists always
look for local specialities when they come here," says Sedyawati,
a former dancer who now also teaches archeology.
"But to view products of our culture as merely exotic is
outdated; we must value the exploration among our artists, who
sometimes also base their works on their local roots."
"Cultural progress," she said earlier, "should aim for the
courage to create, to break from merely following what has been
dictated."
Sedyawati was expressing her views on promoting local arts,
which critics felt would get even less attention with the
installment of the reportedly technocratic Minister of Education
and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro in 1983.
But into his second year, the Minister has been praised for
appointing the right person to the right post.
"When artists talk to Ibu Edi, they know she understands their
language," says musician Franki Raden.
Contemporary arts, he said, has been given more attention than
under previous leaders. "In any project, Sedyawati involves the
professionals, instead of letting government officials tromp over
the show."
A current example is the planned exhibition of contemporary
arts from non-aligned countries, scheduled for March. This was
Sedyawati's initiative, about which she consulted artists before
conveying the idea to Minister Djojonegoro.
"Given our close relations with other members we should also
try to understand each other's soul, through art," Sedyawati
said.
Such a display, she said, would hopefully reflect the
exploration of individual artists from many parts of the southern
hemisphere. "It would reveal how the development of the arts has
so far wrongly stressed experiences in the west, such as the
Renaissance," she said.
Although events in Indonesia have had adequate local coverage,
like at the experimental arts festival Nur Gora Rupa last year in
Surakarta in Central Java, the contemporary arts are still in
need of wider recognition.
She said interest in traditional art has gained less
recognition compared to the high appreciation of various forms of
traditional Indonesian art in other countries. In Japan, for
instance, there is a wayang (leather puppet) association.
So how do we go about promoting both contemporary and
traditional arts to reflect the past and present?
"Constant intervention is needed," Sedyawati believes. "How
are people supposed to appreciate traditional dances when they
are no longer exposed to the plots of the wayang? There is
instant entertainment on television and people prefer the
(Japanese) Doraemon comics."
However there will always be the inevitable conflict between
commercial and cultural orientations, so the "intervention"
includes the continuous reminding of business circles of
everyone's need to know their cultural roots.
Involving the young generation is important in her agenda:
"youngsters are just as alienated here as in other countries like
Japan."
The difference, she said, is that in Japan the government and
a number of financially able groups willingly promote traditional
culture.
Musician Franki Raden points out that one result of the
campaign to explore cultural roots was the recent Music and
Poetry Youth Festival initiated by Sedyawati's office.
"All 23 groups that came out in the semi-finals were very
creative, compared to what most youngsters are exposed to
nowadays in the music industry," said Raden, a jury member of the
Festival.
Limits
But Sedyawati's passion of valuing the creative runs into the
fact that one must know the limits, given recent bans on a number
of performances.
For instance, the works of playwright and essayist Emha Ainun
Nadjib were banned more than once.
A source, who requested anonymity, said Sedyawati tried her
utmost to help persuade the powers that be that Emha's
performance wasn't "dangerous" in any way, but Emha's request for
permission arrived too late.
"Every country requires permission to hold a public event,"
Sedyawati asserted.
"But artists tend to try to arrange permission too late. This
is not respecting the task of the government, who must first
consult the artists."
Bans, she pointed out, are often caused by lack of
communication and mutual respect, rather than the substance of
the event.
The writer Sapardi Djoko Damono, a colleague of Sedyawati at
the Faculty of Letters of the University of Indonesia, lamented
the government's censorship policy.
He pointed out that because of the ethnic, racial and
religious issues which everyone faces in this culturally
heterogeneous country cannot be discussed in public, novel
writing seems to be made in a vacuum. "Indonesians face these
problems every day," said Sapardi.
Sedyawati denies this. The issues are not forbidden as long as
they do not show disrespect for other cultures, she assured.
"Our creativity must not result in putting others down," she
stressed.
In her mission to promote creativity within acceptable norms,
Sedyawati is also challenged by the bureaucracy within her own
Ministry. Her task is often pushed aside by the ministry's pet
project of producing trainable workers through improved
education.
"Culture is often not mentioned but it is everybody's task,"
reminds Sedyawati.
She says she willingly agreed to take up the job, having first
hand experience in a number of fields.
Of course sacrifice comes with the job. "I have no time to
watch all those beautiful performances," says the dance lover
with regret.