Seeking independence in the world of the arts

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.