No quick fix for ailing art world

Margaret Agusta, Contributor, Jakarta

More questions than answers remain in the wake of an intense discussion about art in Indonesia at the National Gallery on Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur, Central Jakarta.

The recent seminar, held in conjunction with the CP Open Biennale 2003, was presented to examine the position of art in Indonesia in the larger context of international art forums through historical analysis, commentary on the reading of visual texts, and a look at the practices and politics of the local art world.

The discussion focused on Indonesian art and what still needs to be done to bring it into a position to make its presence felt and to make it more competitive in the international context.

"Our artists get caught up in the world market through international shows and really aren't ready to compete," said Enin Suprianto, one of the moderators for the program.

Similarly, Soewarno Wisetrotomo, one of the speakers in the forum, commented, "Our artists come up against a brick wall when facing the various art institutions that exist."

Rizki A. Zaelani, a curator of the current exhibition and a speaker at the seminar, lamented, "We are still seen as being behind the times." He attributed this partially to the impact of technological changes and to the history of the local and world art movements as a whole.

"But the real problem is Indonesia itself," Rizki said. He added that the country's image in international circles was often unclear and inaccurate. "Indonesia has so many different ethnic groups. We are more than just Java and Bali. Unfortunately, the perception of Indonesia as a whole is still vague."

According to Rizki, Indonesian art is currently perceived as being merely "an interpretation of international art". He expressed the need to explore the matter of "pure and original art forms" in order to determine what they are and "to look at the core issue of development".

Soewarno opined that developing an organized historical view of the development of art here would be vital to any efforts to strengthen Indonesia's position in the international art forums. "We must have a concrete framework for our efforts, Soewarno said. "We need to be able to see, analyze and to use the connections between events in order to identify what has truly happened both in formal and informal channels. Without a histiography, our perspective becomes too narrow. The approach being taken by CP Foundation, which puts the visual text of art within its larger historical, social and cultural context is important in relation to this."

Anusapati, an artist who also presented a paper at this gathering of artists and intellectuals, felt that the involvement of Indonesian artists in international forums made the search for a national identity increasingly pivotal in the development of Indonesian art.

"The issue of identity becomes so much more crucial in an artist's experience abroad. An awareness of the need to seek sources of inspiration within one's own culture emerges with this experience of difference within a foreign socio-cultural context. Even so, there will always be global issues, such as human rights and the environment, which are the common ground we find within contemporary art. Yet the localness must remain as a frame of reference."

Tantang, another speaker, emphasized this localness, or local cultural content, as the "context in which the visual text of a work of art must be read".

In the ensuing discussions, Harsono, who was attending the seminar and spoke from the floor during an open discussion session, cited the impact of the political traumas inflicted on the art community by Indonesia's previous political regimes. He also decried an "educational system that teaches outside of a historical context". Harsono said he felt the need to "note down these problems in relation to our identity".

Utok, another participant, asked the panel of discussants, whether or not "this questioning is going anywhere in relation to the situation of the artists".

Utok agreed with Soewarno that efforts should be concentrated on developing a "histiography that can aid us is finding and defining a national identity". He also said he felt as Harsono did that these efforts must be supported by the analysis and identification of the realities facing Indonesia and its artists.

As Tantang underlined, "There is too much mythology about art and our own history in art ... too much mythology."

The overall consensus seemed to be that much remained to be done, and that it would be difficult to follow-up any discussion of problems with concrete action without a solid understanding of the situation of art in Indonesia based in historical fact presented within the context of current situations.

For that reason, seminar participants concluded that the development of a strong historical record of facts, as well as increased emphasis on art education in schools and for the public would be essential.