Sad, tragic demise of CP Biennale

The CP (Open) Biennale, an invention of well-known curator Jim Supangkat and businessman Tjianan Djie, was one that put Indonesia on the map, according to the New York Times 3 years ago. But the undertaking that was based on great idealism regrettably only made it to the 2nd time.

Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta

The second CP Biennale opened in festive mood on Sept. 5, bringing to life the beautiful old Bank Indonesia building in Kota. Lanterns in the open yard's huge trees and video images, made by BI's deputy director Maman Somantri lighted up the night, while the music of a youthful band seemed to signify a hopeful future for the arts.

But misinterpretation and intimidation struck just as the exhibition flowed into its (almost successful) end. Following the blow-up by infotainment reporters of a work by artist Agus Suwage and photographer Davy Linggar, FPI had demanded the taking down of the work and a group of 250 people came to protest the work they considered to be a blemish of religious principles.

The work in question, titled Pinkswing Park, consisted of a becak re-made as a swing in pink color and placed in front of a wall-photo featuring nude female figures in the park with their vital parts covered, and a picture of a male and female nude, also with covered vital parts. Nudes were actually featured in other works (and with uncovered vital parts at that), but this specific work featured sinetron (TV soup opera) celebrities Anjasmara and Isabel Yahya. The nude images were a trick of advanced technology, but infotainment presentation was that of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

The Bank Indonesia and the CP management including the chief curator Jim Supangkat, complied with FPI demand, not by taking down the work, but by making an extra wall that made the work unavailable to the gaze of the public. Many participating artists of the biennale then covered their works with white cloth in solidarity with Agus Suwage and Davy Linggar, some even withdrawing their works altogether. In various statements they expressed profound disappointment particularly with the curator whom they held responsible for not defending the cause of artistic creation. In defense, both Jim Supangkat, the CP's standing curator, and Tjianan Djie, CP Foundation's director said in a phone interview that they their decision had to be seen in light of their responsibility to protect the works of local and international artists and the beautiful building of Bank Indonesia from eventual destructive acts of the demonstrators.

What shocked the art world even more was, however, was Supangkat's statement before the press that this would be the last CP Biennale. Was he giving up because of the intimidation of FPI (who had demanded the bringing down of the work, not the closing of the biennale) or was it his disappointment with the artists' response to his decision, or was there something else?

According to Supangkat, the decision was an accumulation of various facts, the awareness of which was provoked by an infotainment that was going out of hand. Anjasmara and Isabel had not been photographed nude, their nudity was achieved through a photographic technique. It was in fact to show off technical advancement. Perhaps we are not yet ready for a biennale of this caliber, he said hinting at failing public appreciation, the confusing of art with religion, and the lacking government support/intervention.

While some artists have expressed understanding for the CP considerations, others find the closing off of the work before the biennale's end against the law, a form of shackling of the citizen's rights to express themselves. Art, they say is a medium for personal expression.

It's not the first time that artists have been forced to succumb to misinterpretations. One remembers the closing of the film Buruan Cium Gue, the threat of closing Komunitas Utan Kayu, the protests to the cover design of the novel Supernova, and Dewa and Iwan Fals' tapes, the Inul issue, the destruction of Ahmadiah, and many more.

Urban/Culture was the theme of the second CP Biennale which aimed at showing realities of the Indonesian urban scene- basically different from global urban centers in spite of physical similarities. What irony for its organizers to be trapped in the midst of such featured situation! Nevertheless, while many concerned with art and culture in the country regret the acts of intolerance and the demise of CP Biennale, others are convinced that CP Foundation and Supangkat who launched the term "Art with an Accent", will continue pursuing to find ways for bringing locally colored cultural legacies in contemporary art.