Social and cultural concerns dominate arts

Social and cultural concerns dominate arts

JAKARTA (JP): The development of fine arts in a country is
always reflected in its culture, traditions and social and
political conditions.

This assertion appears to be borne out if we consider the
majority of art works presented at the Sixth Indonesian Art
Awards Competition. The event is held by the Indonesian Fine Arts
Foundation (YSRI) in collaboration with the Philip Morris Group
of Companies.

Just over 100 works were selected as finalists in the
competition, and are on display until Oct. 20 at the National
Gallery in Central Jakarta.

Most of the displayed items express social, cultural and
political concerns of the current situation in Indonesia.

Chairwoman of YSRI Susrinah Sanyoto said the country's
turmoils, which began two years ago, have heavily influenced the
creative process of most local artists.

"The themes of this year's competition doesn't shift from the
l998 (competition) -- violence, power struggles, commotion, pain
and disappointment," explained Susrinah.

The current situation has had consequences for the continuity
of various art festivals and activities, including the Indonesian
Arts Awards Competition, which has been held since l993.

"I was rather pessimistic when I realized that the situation
in the country was getting worse all the time. I was afraid
nobody would enter the competition," she acknowledged.

Despite the ongoing crisis, the committee registered more than
900 entries, a slight drop from last year's participants.

After several months of selection and evaluation processes,
the jury members -- prominent art figures such as Mamannoor,
Soedarso Sp, Jean Coetau, Bambang Sugiharto, Soen Roedjito,
Merwan Yusuf and Hendro Wiyanto -- decided to select the best
five works to be sent early next month to the ASEAN Arts Awards
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The jury's coordinator, Mamannoor, said the best works of the
contest were illustrated in a "modern" yet popular way and showed
the strength, both cultural and political, of ordinary people in
Java.

Both the iconography and composition are inspired by the
culture of the lower strata of Javanese society and show complex
layering of local and outside influences: traditional Javanese,
Moslem, Christian and modern Indonesia.

The theme of power conflicts is expressed in a dualistic way,
which is reminiscent of Javanese tradition. The combination of
popular inspiration and a modern thematic approach is further
enhanced by an original multimedia technique.

Several works bluntly express the people's anger and
distress, albeit often in a humorous and satirical way. The
overall atmosphere is dark and painful to contemplate. Some works
are eclectic: the style is local, but the message is conveyed in
an alien artistic language.

The general trend is pessimistic, as artists try to formulate
a new artistic language that can express the critical state of
their society and in particular the deterioration of the prestige
and authority of the political elite.

Almost all the works are loaded with pessimism, which is
perhaps the reason behind the absence of color variations. A wide
range of styles is covered: naive popular, hyperrealist,
conceptual, informal, as well as caricatures.

The thematic aspect tends to be prominent, while technique and
form are given relatively little attention; there are only a few
abstract works.

The above descriptions are clearly reflected in the best five
works. One of these Ristyo Eko Hartanto's Permainan untuk Rakyat
Indonesia, (Games for the Indonesian people).

The painting by a graduate from the School of Fine Arts at the
Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) portrays people from
diverse religious, ethnic and professional backgrounds,
characteristics which shaped the country's political elite.

Dipo Andy Muttaqien from the Yogyakarta Arts Institute
presents an impressive work titled Kaligrafi Kekuasaan, (The
Calligraphy of Power).

He exploits a great variety of popular media and techniques,
such advertising, poster styles, letters and graffiti.

The numbers 66 and 98 symbolize the New Order regime's time in
power from l966 to l998. The period ended when former president
Soeharto, the icon of the regime, was forced to step down.

Galam Zulkifli's Day After expresses the manipulation of
people's voices for elite political purposes.

In his work, Galam presents photographs of the elite
politicians with bald heads, such as Abdurrahman Wahid, popularly
known as Gus Dur, Amien Rais, Megawati Soekarnoputri, President
B.J. Habibie and former president Sukarno.

Arin Dwihartanto's Disputing Ego expresses people's anxiety as
a human being, who in certain circumstances can easily be
transformed from a holy person into a one with monster-like
features.

Hadi Soesanto from the Yogyakarta Arts Institute presents a
mixed-media work titled Waiting (forever?) depicting an old
Javanese woman with a hollow expression, who appears to wondering
when the chaotic, violent and uncertain conditions will end.

In a dark and gloomy atmosphere, the old woman represents the
general feeling and minds of the majority of the people.

Another member of the judging panel, Soedarso Sp, mentioned
that the winners mostly hailed from two of Indonesia's most well
known art centers: Yogyakarta and Bandung, West Java.

It is hoped that in coming years, talented artists from other
provinces will be able to also achieve the same level of
excellence.

"The competition may reflect the current development of arts
in Indonesia's regions, which is probably discouraging if the
winners are only those coming from well-known art centers,"
Soedarso Sp said.

Many observers express cynicism that the awards are only given
to art students or artists from certain cities.

Soedarso said that the competition, regardless of its
shortcomings, could certainly enhance the development of the arts
among local artists and in particular for the younger generation.
(raw)