Ruang Rupa exhibition invites unique participation

Ruang Rupa exhibition invites unique participation

Ade Tanesia, Contributor, Yogyakarta

Many exhibitions place visitors in a passive position: they come,
observe and appreciate works of arts on display, and that's it.
But Lekker Eten Zonder Betalen (Nice Eating Without Paying), an
ongoing exhibition organized by Ruang Rupa at Cemeti Art House,
is quite different.

At the exhibition's opening, the visitors were not taken
around the exhibition hall to observe the exhibited works.
Instead, they came as if attending a party.

Upon arrival, the visitors were greeted with a flower bouquet
with an inscription saying, "Have a good time, ladies and
gentlemen. P.S. Nice greeting from me". The organizer, Ruang
Rupa, is a group of Jakarta-based artists.

The hall was decorated with five ice statues and colorful
lighting. A special space was set for the performance, upstairs,
of a Jakarta band. A number of 1980s-style sofas were provided
for the guests, as well as dinner. Beside the dining table,
there was a wash basin and a table where oxygen tubes were
placed.

After eating, the guests could enjoy the music performed
upstairs and then they could dance, with music accompaniment
arranged by a DJ. The longer the visitors had a good time
dancing, the more chaotic the situation became as some of them
began to throw pieces of cake at each another.

Interestingly, a video camera and a Polaroid camera installed
on the wall recorded all these activities. When the party was
over, all that was left were dirty plates on the table and floor,
empty bottles and glasses, food remnants and chairs all over the
place. All of them were left as they were. It's these
"leftovers", along with the documentation that are now being
exhibited.

Naturally, the exhibition raises question, what does it really
offer?

The initial idea for the exhibition came from a different
perspective in viewing the arts. In this perspective, artists are
no longer the center of creation. They only stimulate things to
happen and serve as mediators. Statements that art is noble are
questioned and even discarded. Art cannot be expected to solve
problems but is enough to inspire people.

Through the exhibition, Ruang Rupa created an interaction
between the exhibited works and the viewers, eliminating distance
between the viewers and the viewed, thus no longer presenting the
final product of an artist's creation.

Ruang Rupa chose a "party" with good reason. In local culture,
dining and food have a significant role for people from the
cradle to the grave. Eating together does not simply fill an
empty stomach, but forges solidarity.

Ruang Rupa understands the value of social relationships,
given the fast pace of life in the artists' hometown, Jakarta,
where people have become alienated from each other. In busy
Jakarta, social life can be found at a cafe or restaurant, at
financial expense. Only when they go to a birthday or wedding
party are they free from a "paying" commitment.

With this phenomenon in the background, Ruang Rupa presents an
exhibition without overtly introducing a specific artistic
element. Instead, they have tried to introduce visitors to a
particular social experience.

But Jakarta and Yogyakarta are not just far apart in terms of
distance. In Jakarta people might be thirsty for relationships
but in Yogyakarta, social relationship between people are still
close.

Still, it was interesting to observe how the exhibition
developed, observing how the visitors showed their true colors.
In Yogyakarta, where people prefer to be modest and the very
opposite of arrogant, some took their chance to show their true
colors when the opportunity knocked.

In a way, if one believes there is nothing original or
authentic in artistry, Ruang Rupa has tried to show it at this
particular exhibition. This project, however, reminds one of the
works of German artist Josep Beuys. In his exhibition in Italy,
he invited a number of people to a discussion with him and then
all the dirty glasses, cigarette stubs and pieces of paper
scattered around during the discussion were later exhibited.

Still, social experience like Beuys' discussion with some of
his guests, or the party held by Ruang Rupa, are a creative
process in practicing art.

The distance between a work of art that is considered noble
and the audience was questioned and consequently led to an idea
to create something that would involve the public. In the West,
this idea could be traced back to the Dadaist Movement in the
1950s or the Fluxus Movement in 1960s, in which books on the
history of art were burned.

The same restlessness has remained a trend in international
contemporary fine art today. The artistic ideas and practice that
Ruang Rupa is now offering are inseparable from the constellation
of ideas in international contemporary fine arts.

Lekker Eten Zonder Betalen (Nice Eating Without Paying)
exhibition runs until March 30 at the Cemeti Art House, Jl. DI
Panjaitan 41, Yogyakarta. Tel: 0274 371015, e-mail:
cemetiah@indosat.net.id; or cemetiarthouse.com