Seeking independence in the world of the arts

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): It's quite unpleasant to plan a night out at a wayang kulit (shadow puppet) show featuring a famous puppeteer, only to hear him trying to blend in messages of the country's achievements.

Ditto for pop songs and comedy shows -- messages on "development" just wipe out their potential to bring enjoyment.

Over the last three decades, authorities tightly controlled all aspects of people's lives, including the arts, according to an art observer.

Franki Raden, music composer and avid observer of the performing arts, said government policy on the arts and the appointment of key personnel were always subject to political instead of "professional" considerations.

"The government hardly involved local artistic communities in making policies regarding the arts," Franki said.

Any activity that ignored the harsh fact that politics was pervasive in the arts was doomed to fail, he explained.

Any art form favored by Soeharto, such as wayang kulit or other traditional arts, was fully supported -- but shaped according to his taste.

Traditional arts frequently performed at the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah art complex, developed by Soeharto's late wife Tien Soeharto, were those which received special attention from the former president and, consequently, his subordinates.

"Ironically, thousands of other traditional art performers outside Jakarta have long been abandoned by the authorities and many of them are now living in destitution. I am very concerned," Franki said.

In wayang performances, for example, he said Soeharto would choose a number of puppet masters to deliver various "political messages" to the public, in his effort to shape wayang art in line with his personal and political agenda.

After all these years, it was only last month that the masters, or dalang, voiced complaints in a congress in Semarang, Central Java, about being manipulated by the government. The 150 dalang attending the forum said they were now stigmatized by the public for being the government's propaganda "megaphone".

Other art forms including pop and dangdut (a mix of Indian and Malay music styles) were similarly exploited by the New Order, Franki said.

Pop singers and dangdut artists were used by the country's political parties to attract huge crowds during their election campaigns.

"These kinds of music appeal to many people and are a great potential to transmit political messages to the masses," Franki said. Many performers, he added, believed they could boost their musical and political fortunes by publicly attaching themselves to a party, especially the dominant Golkar grouping.

Symbol

"This was very common. There was nothing wrong with this framework as long as the artists were consistent and ready to face the consequences," Franki said.

Modern and contemporary arts, on the other hand, were almost untouched by the bureaucracy. The inadequate attention and support from the government, however, did not overly hamper the development of contemporary arts.

"If people view pop and dangdut music as well as the traditional arts as having been compromised by government policy, modern and contemporary arts appeared as a symbol of the struggle against the establishment, injustice and hypocrisy," he said.

Indonesian artists have made great efforts to cultivate and revitalize various kinds of modern arts, ranging from music, theater and dance to film and fine arts. Several new theater groups, dance artists and highly talented musicians have made an appearance over the years.

"Between the 1970s and the 1990s, Indonesian performing arts showed a tremendous achievement despite the government's suppressive measures."

One of the most important art institutions established during the New Order period was Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) in 1968. TIM aspires more toward modern arts, creativity and freedom of expression, though it is administered under the Jakarta governor.

Playwrights like W.S. Rendra, Putu Wijaya, Nano Riantiarno, dancers Sardono W. Kusumo, Bagong Kusudiardjo, Gusmiati Suid and Farida Oetoyo, musicians Harry Roesli and Djaduk Ferianto, filmmakers like Eros Jarot, Teguh Karya and Slamet Rahardjo and many groups of the young generation have produced many inspiring artistic creations.

They tried to respond to a situation in which freedom of expression barely existed, Franki said. Their works contributed to aspirations for "reform".

"These artists made themselves consistent critics against the New Order regime. Their works touched social, economic and political subjects in either a straightforward or in a subtle way."

Lack of appreciation toward art works, suspicion and a wide gap between artists and authorities often caused constraints among the two parties. A lot of artistic creations, especially those sharply criticizing the government, were subject to banning.

The New Order recorded a long line of cultural curtailment in music performances, such as the works of Harry Roesli, Iwan Fals and Emha Ainun Nadjib. Bannings were far from rare in the theater community. W.S. Rendra's Bengkel Teater, Nano's Teater Koma and Ratna Sarumpaet's Satu Merah Panggung, were among the groups often prohibited from staging their creations for various social and security grounds -- reasons many would find difficult to comprehend.

Some works of dancer/choreographer Farida Oetoyo and the late Huriah Adam were prohibited by the government for violating Indonesia's "cultural and moral" values.

Franki went on to say the implementation of all planned art schemes would not likely work well unless both parties had a similar a frame of mind regarding the arts.

Under the auspices of Edi Sedyawati, the current director general of culture, contemporary arts began to flourish since the early 1990s, he said.

"The arrival of international art festivals here must be viewed as a great leap in the development of the country's contemporary arts."

Jakarta is to host the second international Indonesian Art Summit from Sept. 19 to Oct. 19. The first summit took place here in 1995.

Musician Harry Roesli once said that the New Order government had never formulated a comprehensive policy to develop and support the development of the arts.

"From downstream to upstream levels, the government's policies appeared so puzzling and inconsistent," he said. The government had always perceived the arts as a separate part of society.

"The arts are rarely included as major subjects in our national curriculum. Students are expected to only master science and knowledge other than arts," he said. "This has resulted in drawbacks in our education system and, of course, in the development of the arts.

"Education in the arts is a very basic issue. There are a lot of other actions that could be taken by the government to nurture artistic creativity in Indonesia," he said.

Franki added that the new government should carry out a flexible approach in supporting the arts and that it should always try to meet the needs of a creative, open, dynamic and culturally diverse society.

"This is a very huge agenda for President B.J. Habibie's Cabinet. But unless this problem is tackled seriously, we will be forever trapped in this situation of uncertain social, political and cultural reform," Franki concluded.