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.