Public art to stimulate people's interest

Public art to stimulate people's interest

Boudewijn Brands, Contributor, Jakarta

Most people working in Jakarta spend two or three hours per
day in traffic, and there are many billboards that vie for their
attention.

If you drive yourself, you fight for space on the road and try
not to lose your patience with inconsiderate motorists blocking
an intersection and the lack of traffic police to direct traffic.

In Yogyakarta, there are fewer fast cars because the city's
population is largely made up of students who ride motorcycles.

Electronic billboards are not common in Yogyakarta, and
instead one is more likely to see banners behind which the more
subtle outlines of buildings can be seen.

Stopping at a red light is unavoidable, and at a Yogyakarta
traffic light there may be a surprise: in the middle of the
crossing you'll suddenly notice some chairs with signs painted on
them. "This is unusual," you think, and "what is this?"

The art is on display at several busy spots in Yogyakarta: the
traffic circle in front of Gajah Mada University, at the Tugu
monument north of the railway station, the Wirobrajan crossing
west of the center, Gondomanan east of it and the lesser known
Pingit.

It is a Public Art Project initiated by the pioneer of such
projects in Yogyakarta: Ouda Teda Ena, who was born in 1970.
Getting messages across to other people is his life as he is also
a teacher.

When interviewed, a very surprising picture came out. In fact,
he said, he was unable to read and write when he first started
school. He could draw however.

He soon learned to read and write and ended up studying to be
an English teacher and taught at the Sanata Dharma University in
Yogyakarta.

There he became academic coordinator of the Indonesian
Language and Culture Intensive Course as well as a lecturer. He
is also an editor of the English language magazine Dialogue.

How did this man also become an artist? "I never stopped
drawing. In fact, we had a crazy art teacher in high school who
forced us to paint and to use a lot of different materials. It
was also expensive as he made us bring different materials each
week, including oil and acrylic paints. But the result was that I
started to paint in 1986."

In April 1996, he held a solo exhibition in Museum Vredeburg,
Yogyakarta, where he displayed about 60 works. All this was
outside of the "official" art circuit, and with newly made
friends a group of about 30 people was created under the name
Kelompok Sepi, literally meaning Quiet Group.

This is not a group of quiet people but of "borderline
artists" from the Indonesian Seniman Pinggiran. They do not feel
at home with, as he calls them, the gondrong (people with long
hair and earrings) who visit the Cemeti Arts House or with the
more formal atmosphere at the Bentara Budaya art exhibition
center.

They also feel that the public at large only learns about
exhibitions in galleries through publications. As such there is
no direct contact or feedback from the public.

In 1999, Ouda staged his first outdoor exhibition on the
sidewalks in Yogyakarta and in Joglo Sriwedari, Surakarta. The
theme was violence and men. This was followed by placing
scarecrows at traffic lights in Yogyakarta in June and July 2000
to demonstrate city people's indifference toward each other.

He also made an art project called Interdependence when
teaching and studying in Australia in October 2000.

His current public art project could be interpreted as the
tables and chairs suggesting to people that they take a moment to
rest and reflect on all the hustle and bustle of the traffic.

His purpose is to prompt a reaction, but he also pointed out
that usually, and especially in Yogyakarta, people sit on mats on
the floor. In the olden days it was only the king who sat on a
chair.

Now it is other people "with authority" who for Ouda are a
symbol of the dead, in that they are no longer progressing. But
the chairs also have symbols on them that are visible when
passing. The symbols are a heart (love), an arrow (fast), a
square (blocked) and these are sometimes crossed.

Ouda's final aim is to deconstruct the single interpretation
of anything. An example he gave was: people see someone in a BMW
sedan and assume he is a good and successful man. What about
corrupt people using ill-gotten money to buy such a car?

"Actually," he says with a grim, "this also goes for art
collectors." He is not concerned about popularity as an artist.
"I pay for the work from my salary, the interaction with the
public is direct and I feel that this is my way of contributing
to society".

--Ouda Teda Ena's Public Art Project is on display at
unavoidable traffic spots in Yogyakarta until Aug. 24.