Sad, tragic demise of CP Biennale

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.