Pictorialism, part of Indonesia's photographic history
By Amir Sidharta
JAKARTA (JP): Merely five years after its discovery by Daguerre in 1839, photography was introduced to Indonesia by Adolf Schaeffer, who was assigned to document archaeology in the Netherlands Indies.
Since then, many photographers have worked in Indonesia. Among the most famous was perhaps the firm founded by W.B. Woodbury and John Page upon their arrival in Batavia (old Jakarta) in 1856 and remained in business until the beginning of the next century.
Other photographers included Van Kinsbergen, Kleingrothe, and Kurkdjian. The only known Indonesian photographer during this period was Kasian Ciphas. But even in the 20th century, photography seemed to remain dominated by non-Indonesians, including C.B. Nieuwenhuis, Thilly Weissenborn, Tassilo Adam and other foreign names.
At least that is what we understand from the books on the history of photography in Indonesia. The most comprehensive book on this matter, Towards Independence, A Century of Indonesia Photographed, leaves out the Indonesians, with the exception of Ciphas.
Even Yudhi Soerjoatmodjo' article, Beyond Pictorialism, Photography in Modern Indonesia, which is published in the book, seems reluctant to mention any Indonesian other than Ciphas. To Soerjoatmodjo, modern Indonesian photographers failed "to move beyond formal documentary and pictorialism".
The books even fail to mention the brothers Mendur who documented the proclamation of Indonesian Independence. Instead, they glorify the images created by Henri Cartier-Bresson, co- founder of the photography bureau Magnum.
Meanwhile, Indonesia also had photographers who were actually Bresson's contemporaries. While Bresson was born in Chanteloupe, France, in 1908, Ong Kian Bie was actually born a year earlier in Malang, East Java.
At the age of 15, Ong was taught photography by two of his uncles, both of whom were photographers. Later, he apprenticed with one of the uncles who owned photo studios in Madiun and Malang. When this uncle died, Ong took over his business and started his own: Foto Studio Malang.
"My father," says daughter Ai Ling Tan-Ong, "always strives for good service, high quality and punctuality. A golden rule of the studio is that no negatives can be bought, a rule very common in Europe, but unusual perhaps in Indonesia. The reason for this rule is that my father wants to assure a client that his photograph will be handled with care, printed carefully on paper specially suited for the purpose and be given special treatment."
To be sure, Ong was not as fortunate as Bresson in gaining an international reputation. However, Ong Kian Bie's photographs did gain national recognition, as they regularly appeared in the Dutch language D'Orient and the Malay language Sin Po magazines published in the Netherlands Indies before World War II.
Even though many were familiar with the images, not many people knew of Ong Kian Bie, since his images merely included the emblem "Studio Malang" without any mention of his own name.
The majority of Ong's works are the photographic counterpart of what is known as Mooi Indik or Beautiful Indies in the realm of painting. His images project the pictorial beauty of the Indonesian natural landscape and its inhabitants. Admittedly, like other Indonesian photographers, Ong's work can also be considered not much more than merely formal documentary and pictorialism.
In his article Beyond Pictorialism, Yudhi Soerjoatmodjo accused the tukang potret (photographers) who were fluent in the language of photography of ignoring the message in favor of pictorialism and commercial acceptance." Dreams may have indeed "turned to yellow dust in the images produced by the tukang potret, while millennia of empires are remembered only in beautiful and formal pictures", as he said in his conclusion.
However, perhaps the curator of the Antara Gallery of Photography should accept the pictorialists such as Ong Kian Bie as part of the history of Indonesian photography. In fact we should ask why they have been excluded from that history so far.
The opening of the exhibit of Ong Kian Bie's works at the Erasmus House last Thursday, was a reunion for many former residents of Malang now living in Jakarta. Ong's photographs, which were printed from their original negatives and presented beautifully, primarily catered to their nostalgic longings for the town in which they grew up. They also provided younger descendants of Malang a means to learn about their roots.
At the very least, the photographs can be seen as documents of history. Many would not hesitate to classify them as works of art.
Some of Ong's photographs documented the urban development of Malang since the 1920s. Maybe we should question if beyond the pictorialism that Ong projected, there actually was a message that he intended to convey. Perhaps this message could not be conveyed through a single image, but rather can only be comprehended through a series of photographs taken throughout a progression of time.
Until recently, at least, Ong Kian Bie still printed his own photographs. This shows his great dedication to photography. As a result, his images did not turn yellow, much less into yellow dust. During his recent visit to Europe, Ong met a group of people who were at one time his baby models, most of whom now have become grandparents themselves.
"They proudly showed him their own baby pictures taken in my father's studio years and years ago. What was remarkable about those pictures was that thanks to the good quality they were still in good condition and looked clear and bright, as if untouched by time," said Ai Ling Tan-Ong.
Today, at the age of 89, Ong Kian Bie is still very fit and appears to be at least twenty years younger than his age. And, like Bresson, he is still taking photographs. Two images from Ong's recent trip to Europe appear in the exhibition. His love and dedication to photography certainly deserves commendation.
Many would even agree that his name should be included in the history of photography in Indonesia, even though the scholars label him a mere pictorialist.