JP/18/Yogya

JP/18/Yogya

Struggle and Creation: Young artists in Yogyakarta

Christina Schott
Contributor/Yogyakarta

Behind the market of Yogyakarta's tourist area of
Prawirotaman, where the garbage collectors pick up the trash in
the morning and the rickshaw drivers take a nap in the afternoon,
there is a roofed-over parking lot for motorcycles. It is this
paved space that every night changes its face and becomes one of
the city's latest and trendiest venues for young people and
artists: Parkir Space.

Two young photographers, students of the Indonesian Institute
of Arts (ISI) in Yogyakarta, had the idea of opening a cafe in
the parking lot and thus not only fill the gaping holes in their
pockets, but also provide a meeting place for young artists: Each
month someone new presents his work on the small surrounding
porch, while the landlords mix drinks at a food stall in the
middle. At weekends, local bands perform their music or films are
screened that usually do not reach Indonesian cinemas.

"Parkir Space is a great place to have an exhibition,
as there is not only the usual crowd meeting in the evenings, but
the people going to the market every day can also view it", says
Arya Pandjalu. The 28-year-old artist exhibited his latest mixed
media works at the parking lot cafe last August. All of them
dealt with problems concerning the environment and consumerism.

Faked Fashion, for example, is an installation made up of
little puppets in cans, symbolizing the blind acceptance of the
masses of every passing trend. In No Space Any More (so I go home
and make art), Arya has put a stuffed squirrel in a desk on an
artificial meadow.

"Sometimes I feel constricted. So I like to try and explore
new, alternative art spaces. Galleries are not really important.
The most important thing is to not follow the mainstream", he
said.

Like hundreds of prospective artists, Arya came as a highly
idealistic young man to Yogyakarta to study at the renowned ISI, which is
said to be the largest art institute in Indonesia. He did not
want to apply at the School of Art and Design at the Institute of
Technology in his hometown, Bandung (ITB).

"I decided to come to Yogyakarta because of its special
atmosphere. My father studied here with Sudjojono (the father of
social realism painting in Indonesia) and the traditions from
that time still live on. Bandung is too exclusive", he says.

Once Indonesia's capital during the war of independence,
Yogyakarta nowadays is one of Indonesia's top ten cities. But in
terms of art, the sultanate city is definitely number one.

According to The Jakarta Post, there were 650 outstanding
artists living in the city in 2002, 400 of them painters -- not
to mention innumerable beginners and fine art students who have
yet to earn a name for themselves.

But the city in Central Java is not only crowded with artists:
with dozens of universities it is also Indonesia's city of
students and, due to its variety of monuments and traditions, a
popular tourist destination as well. Here, young people from all
over the archipelago -- from Aceh to Papua -- encounter
influences from other nationalities. At the end of the 1990s,
when the reformat spirit swept over Indonesia after 33 years of
dictatorship, this diversity came to the reflected in the
development of contemporary art with a great variety of
contrasting aesthetics and styles -- even among artists belonging
to the same group.

The tradition of socialist realism from the days of Sudjojono
and PERSAGI (Indonesian Painters Association) were revived in the
days of reform euphoria: Social, political and economic issues
such as abuses of power and corruption became once again a major
source of inspiration for art. The students of ISI (formerly
ASRI: Indonesian Academy of Fine Arts), played a major role in
this development.

"One could identify the defining characteristic of this
generation as the will to oppose as expressed in the common
struggle of a global generation that has common convictions,
common thinking, common ideals", curator Rizki A. Zaelani writes
in Outlet -- maybe the only comprehensive book on Yogyakarta's
contemporary art scene in the English language (Outlet.
Yogyakarta and the recent Art Scene, Cemeti Art Foundation,
Yogyakarta 2001).

Globalization slips in from everywhere, via tourism, the media
and international exhibitions. Often there are no clear
distinction anymore as to what is Indonesian and what is not.
Cultural or ethnic identity is no longer as important to the
artists. What is important is the content of their work: the
fight against authoritarian domination of any kind, sympathy with
those who cannot defend themselves, and the search for individual
expression and a position in the social-ecological environment.

Yet, Yogyakarta still keeps up its attachment to mystical
Javanese traditions.

"The ability of Yogyakartan artists to absorb new ideas so
easily while retaining their original culture can perhaps be
attributed to the flexibility of the Javanese culture. In the
midst of traditional Yogyakartan life, competition among artists
is strong and new practitioners and different styles emerge
constantly, ready to sweep aside those considered outdated,"
wrote art critic Raihul Fadjri in Outlet.

It is this multicultural atmosphere that explains the
phenomenon of Yogyakarta. So does Diah Yulianti, who came from
South Kalimantan in 1992. The 31-year-old painter lives with her
husband and little daughter in the artist colony of Nitiprayan.

She integrates a lot of her own cultural and spiritual
background into her paintings -- as well as the female aspect.

Many of her pictures show fairy-like female figures with
blowing hair, floating in the air with a yearning for
understanding: like in her painting Go Up To The Sky, where a
woman points from afar to a blue mountain, which seems to await
being climbed over by a ladder. Despite her attachment to her on
part of the country, Diah wants to stay in Yogyakarta even though
she has already finished her studies there.

"The atmosphere here is unique. First, I am really interested
in kejawen (Javanese mysticism). Every day I learn a new secret.
Second, as a woman I can act much more independently here than in
Kalimantan with its restricted gender rules. And then I can meet
people from everywhere in the world. They keep coming because
Yogyakarta still keeps its culture", she says.

Most artists living in the Central Javanese city are convinced
that it would be impossible to find the same atmosphere of
experimental creativity anywhere else in Indonesia. Some of the
country's most prominent artists from other cities -- like
Arahmaiani or Agus Suwage - even moved to Yogyakarta some years
ago. Discussing contemporary art in Yogyakarta, therefore, is
almost automatically considered synonymous with discussing
contemporary art in Indonesia.

A key role in this development is played by the Cemeti Art
House. Founded more than 15 years ago as an alternative gallery
that dared to present the experimental works of young, unknown
artists, it has become very significant in its influence not only
on contemporary art in Yogyakarta, but also nationwide. Due to
its professional management and excellent international
contacts, an exhibition at the Cemeti gallery can mean an entrance
ticket to the art world outside of Indonesia. And this,
definitely, is the principal aim of most of the art students in
Yogyakarta: anyone returning from a trip abroad is welcomed like
a conquering hero.

"I really wanted to travel -- to get a wider view and new
experiences. Once I had traveled, I became calmer", says ISI
student Januri, who was invited to Liechtenstein in 2003.

Unlike most of his colleagues, the 27-seven-year-old painter
was not primarily interested in getting access to a gallery in
the first place but rather preferred to rely on his own
initiative. He participated in a number of competitions and
artist exchanges, even via the Internet. In August of this year,
he -- together with his group, Gelaran Budaya -- hosted the
Malaysian artist group Matahati after the Indonesians had been to
Kuala Lumpur.

"I try to see the competition in Yogyakarta as a positive
factor that motivates us to be productive and to find new ways of
dealing with things, Januri says.

Indeed, the competition between hundreds of artists to get
themselves recognized in one of the few renowned galleries,
besides Cemeti, in town, such as the Kedai Kebun Gallery, Bentara
Budaya Yogyakarta, the Yogyakarta French Cultural Center and the
Vredenburg Museum, is definitely not for the fainthearted.

"The rivalry is crazy as the whole art scene in Indonesia is
chaotic. Even information about awards or contests often does not
reach most of the students as it is only given to a certain
circle", says Surya Wirawan, who studied painting at ISI. "The
renowned galleries are also not open to everyone. Who is
successful or not mainly depends on contacts with the right
persons. Corruption, collusion and nepotism are no strangers to
the art scene, either."

The mostly very subjective selection of artists to exhibit at
Cemeti often provokes jealousy - among those not chosen, of
course. On the other hand, it was the Cemeti Gallery that
inspired the launching of many other alternative and experimental
art spaces both in and outside the city.

"The artists just need to be more daring and be self-
motivated! Instead of waiting to get an invitation from a
gallery, they should themselves actively create events", says
Diah, who has always worked independently.

A really large venue that fostered self-motivation, was the
former campus of ISI (which was then still named ASRI) in
Gampingan area in the city center. The members of the young
artists group, Taring Padi, worked and lived in the deserted
buildings after the academy moved to the village of Sewon.
Following the start of the reform, the Gampingan Campus changed
in 1998 into a place for exhibitions, performances and concerts
from "underground" artists from all over Indonesia.

In 2002, the city administration forced the young crowd to
leave the place. This, however, did not stop the group from
continuing their activities on the left side of the socio-
political spectrum -- like conducting advocacy for farmers and
workers through a woodcut poster campaign, the rejection of
capitalism and the military, and the challenging of corrupt
rulers.

What still seemed revolutionary in 1998, however, has now
become the trend among many younger ISI students: socially
engaged art is as popular again in Yogyakarta as it was at the
time of the Independence War. Now, however, it is presented
through techniques like graffiti, stencils and mural paintings.

Museums in Indonesia are rare, and are even more rarely
visited. Government institutions, meanwhile, do not play a role
in building a discourse in contemporary art, which is still
considered exotic. Since there is practically no infrastructure
for art and almost no scholarships or any other support from
officialdom, it is still a very risky choice for a young person
to become an artist.

"The Yogyakartan art world is a world of its own and might be
regarded as quite separate from Indonesian society in general.
The acceptance of contemporary art by the Yogyakartan people,
moreover, is extremely limited, and most still regard it as an
oddity that is hard to understand", explains curator Asmudjo Jono
Irianto in Outlet.

Often not understood by their families, as well, art students
have to rely mainly on their own resources. Most of them live in
very simple boarding houses with not much more than a mattress
lying on the floor, and spend the little money they earn on rice
and their artistic materials.

Due to the lack of support in education, as well, most artists
join groups and organizations based on the motto, "together we
are strong". Januri, for example, joined Gelaran Budaya to get
better contacts and responses from a discussion forum. Arya
Pandjalu worked first with Taring Padi, then with Apotik Komik, a
group that made itself a name through its comic-style and the
murals it has painted all over the city, before finally joining
Grafis Minggiran.

"The tradition of sanggar (community studios) in Yogyakarta is
very old. One is not strong enough alone", Januri explained. "At
the university, I learned only the theory. It was with other
people that I later learned the practical aspect."

Many organizations disappear after a few years due to the
changing priorities of their members. Already in existence for 30
years, and therefore unusual among its kind, is the Sanggar
Dewata Indonesia, a community of ISI students hailing from Bali.
Like many other non-Javanese, they tended to congregate with
people from the same ethnic background.

"It was this community that strengthened my self-confidence at
the beginning. I am never as productive alone as when I'm working
together with others. Besides, the older members gave me the
necessary introductions into the art world that I never got at
university. The most precious thing is the network they provide",
Sanggar member I Made Aswino Aji explained.

The drawback of these kinds of groups is usually the members
of a particular group are all tarred with the same brush.

"I never joined any community as I did not want to be labeled
one or the other way", Diah Yulianti says. "I did not struggle to
gain my independence just to become restricted again in a certain
kind of political or social context. Not to mention the fact that
I am a woman: there are so few female artists that I always find
myself being judged differently solely on account of my gender."

Although the number of young female artists is rising, there are
still a lot of social restrictions that keep girls away from the
art academies. At ISI, there are only a handful of girls applying
each year -- they usually face problems with the predominantly
Muslim population regarding their socializing with a crowd of
guys decked out in punk or rasta fashion,s drinking alcohol and
smoking cigarettes, as well as other things.

Over the last few years, however, the rebel ISI students have
become trendsetters for other students and young people in
Yogyakarta, popularizing underground fashions and music imported from
the West, as well as tattooing and piercing -- under the New
Order these were considered to be the mark of criminals. Besides
being seen as cool, the young artists' style is often intended to
express their concern for minorities and subcultures in
Indonesian society.

One who continually focuses through his work on the losers in
this society is Surya Wirawan. The art of the 30-year-old East
Java artist show features very detailed paintings and graphic
prints of their suffering. In many of these pictures, he uses
phrases to underline his impressions, which has been a common
approach among Indonesian artists since the 1980s.

"My pictures are not pleasant and thus don't attract people. I
will probably never be able to feed a family with them. But
before I let my art undergo commercialization, I would rather
look for a job in a factory to earn a living", says the painter,
who lives with his new bride in the artist colony of Sembungan.

Nevertheless, Yogyakarta is still a far cheaper place to live
than the bigger cities like Jakarta, Bandung or Denpasar: Rp 2000
(about 20 U.S. cents) a day us enough to buy rice and tempe
(fermented soya cake). But even artists from the younger
generation who have already made names for themselves -- like S.
Teddy D. or Toni Volunteero -- still struggle with a standard of
living that is a far cry from their contemporaries enjoy in more
developed countries. Many artists thus start adapting to what the
commercial art and tourist market wants, or look for totally
different work, for example, working in a restaurant.

"To live as a non-commercial artist is still very hard", says
Ali Umar.

The 37-year-old sculptor has to support his wife and daughter,
which is not always easy relying on the sale of his surreal
wooden figures. To survive, he has had to compromise and produce
craftwork that has better prospects in a tourist city.

"In Indonesia's art world, it is the law of the jungle that
reigns", says Umar.

What brings the money in are works that deal with ethnical and
traditional issues. "Alternative art works rarely sell as the
alternative art in Yogyakarta abounds with social criticism, and
its relationship with those holding power is distant. Bureaucrats
and businesspeople seldom visit alternative art exhibitions. For
this reason, the boom in Indonesian paintings has not really
touched the world of contemporary art," writes curator Sumartono
in Outlet.

I Made Aswino Aji is among the luckier ones as he has the
option of taking over his father's gallery in Ubud.

"But this is only a business that I need to survive. There is no
way that I will let my art be defined by the market!" he says.
Actually, it is hard to imagine his latest mixed media work in a
gallery in a Bali tourist center: it is a collage of drawings and
photos showing banners of from an anti-Communist campaign
recently launched in Yogyakarta. "My work does not necessarily
have to be political -- I just like to express what I feel at the
moment. And this campaign makes me really afraid: the Indonesian
Communist Party has been out of action for decades. So, who are
these banners and threats aimed at?"

Although maybe not satisfying mass tastes, Aji's work got a
lot of response when it was shown at a Sanggar Dewata exhibition
at this year's Nitiprayan Festival during the first weekend of
September. The paddy fields of Nitiprayan village were crowded
with literally thousands of people. Artists, farmers, students
and tourists watched traditional shadow puppet plays and
contemporary theater shows, Javanese Gamelan performances, and
art exhibitions. Local ambience mixed with international flair,
old cultural rituals were staged check-by-jowl with the latest
contemporary art experiments. And, against all odds, it worked!

Given this very special atmosphere, there is no doubt that
young artists will keep coming to Yogyakarta.