Japanese crafts brings new perspective

Japanese crafts brings new perspective

Yusuf Susilo Hartono, Contributor, Jakarta

There is a prevailing perception in Indonesia that craft is of
a lower status than pure art. As if to turn this perception
around, a number of Japanese artists are exhibiting in Jakarta
some of their contemporary craft works.

The exhibition at the Galeri Nasional seems to encourage us to
reorient ourselves, to set us free from the prevailing perception
of crafts and fine art, a legacy of western thinking that,
unfortunately, is still held by a number of art observers.

Artist Hashimoto Masayuki said the exhibition, held last month
in Malaysia, was not an attempt by the Japanese to mobilize
Malaysian and Indonesian forces against the disadvantageous
definition of art and craft as propounded by western art
thinkers.

The 61 displayed works by 18 artists, who all graduated from
various arts institutes in Japan, are testimony that the old
definitions have already been shattered.

The works, which we generally define as statues, are called by
the craftsmen contemporary works of craft.

A clay work by Makashima Harumi, A Hard Struggle (1999),
resembles a series of steel helmets, which in their silence imply
many stories, depending on your associations.

Leaf Boat by Kofusiwaki Tsusaka (1998) is a black lacquer,
boat-shaped piece. We also have a work by Hashimoto Masayuki,
Orchards: Sunlight Penetrating Fruit, Fruit in Sunlight Filtering
Through Leaves, which is made of metal in the shape of a lemon
containing plenty of holes to let in the sunlight. This is only
one of many pieces he has produced since 1976.

Another craftsman, Fukami Sueharu, has his Transience (1998)
exhibited. Made of egg-blue porcelain, it looks like a sharp and
flexible knife used in the kitchen.

Kano Tomohiro, meanwhile, displays a printed glass work called
Free Form (1999), which looks like a black balloon with two ends
through which to blow up the balloon. Another work of his, which
appears on the catalog cover, implies perfect gracefulness.

Of all the works on display, the item that has received the
most attention is a piece by Takahashi Yoshihiko, an artist who
works with glass.

The great interest in glass works is understandable, since in
Indonesia glass art has not yet been as developed as other fine
art genres. In Japan, in a span of 25 years since a glass art
department was opened for the first time in a Japanese
university, this art genre has gained great popularity.

Takahashi displays his Hollow Group (2000), in which he
presents six works he created with a 130-centimeter-long blowing
pipe and a burning process at temperatures greater than 1000
degrees Celsius.

There are also tapestry works, plaited bamboo craft, printing
on cotton cloth, textiles, porcelain and boxes ornamented with
pearl shards and seashells, mixed with glittering gold and silver
with the uniquely Japanese maki-e technique of workmanship. It is
worthwhile to note that these works are generally liberated from
their utilitarian functions and appear in their personal
language.

To ensure the security of these 61 works, the head of the
Galeri Nasional, Wati Murani, said the Japanese side had insured
them for Rp 75 billion. She added that Rp 5 billion was needed to
organize the exhibition.

Four of the 18 craftsmen taking part in the exhibition --
Nakashime, Kano, Tashima and Hashimoto -- said that in creating
their works they usually adjusted to the character of the
materials they used, and that, unlike other contemporary fine
artists, they don't want to be bothered by ideas related to
social criticism. They simply follow "the way of the materials"
to find their own personal expressions.

In his curatorial note, Kaneko Kenji, the chief curator of the
Crafts Gallery at the Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, said the
presence of Japanese contemporary crafts was closely related to
the Meiji restoration -- a historical period in Japan marking the
beginning of the country's openness toward the outside world
after isolating itself from the rest of the world for centuries.

Activities related to arts and craft in Japan came to a brief
stop during World War II, but were immediately resumed the moment
the war ended.

In 1954 there came a breakthrough, introduced by the Sodeisha
school, a group of ceramicists from Kyoto who produced non-
functional works. Their works successfully brought forth personal
expression, and united craft and pure art.

In later developments, contemporary craft artists have earned
greater appreciation in Japan and from their counterparts in the
West.

In Japan alone, as noted by Asmudjo Irianto of the Bandung
Institute of Technology, who has helped organize this exhibition,
contemporary craftsmen, in several respects, have secured a more
respectable place in society than other contemporary artists.

Hopefully, the fresh wind from this Japanese contemporary
craft exhibition can awaken a new awareness about the Indonesian
art world. In fact, we have a great diversity of traditional
crafts that can be given a new touch with a new concept. Also,
there is an abundance of raw materials that can be tapped for
personal expression.

I-BOX:

Japanese Contemporary Kriya Art is being held at the Galeri
Nasional at Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur No. 14, Gambir, Central
Jakarta (Tel. 34833954), 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., until July 12. Free
of charge.