Young RI cartoonist goes international
Young RI cartoonist goes international
Boudewijn Brands, Contributor/Amsterdam
Within the wide span of the definition of art, one would not immediately think of cartoons as art. Cartoons are often associated with people who are too lazy (or not-yet-educated enough) to read.
Cartoons existed a long time before that electronic visual medium, the television, was introduced. Then, and this could still be the case, cartoons were a means of teaching children in a visual manner, and were often used as aids in teaching reading and writing.
In the contemporary world, cartoons are still popular and also used as political tools. In Indonesia, the traditional wayang (puppet) performance may actually be seen as a form of animation.
Eko Nugroho is a young visual artist from Yogyakarta who explores the borders between cartoons and the graphic arts. Born in 1977 in Yogyakarta, Eko still attends Yogyakarta's Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI).
His involvement in cartoon-drawing may have originated in the need to finance his studies. He is an active member of the Daging Tumbuh (Growing flesh) group, which produces and sells cartoons.
Eko, however, likes to explore other media. For example, he has drawn cartoons and then involved people in his kampong by asking their help to transfer them onto textiles.
And so, kartun-bordir (embroidered cartoons) were created. When he received an invitation to stage his first solo exhibition, Bercerobong at the Cemeti Art House (2002), he developed a cartoon video!
In doing so, his cartoons became 'animated', thus testing another border, this time between cartoons and animation.
The Netherlands has a very active art world. Active not only in the numbers involved, but also in the sense that the Dutch like to engage in exchanges with other countries. Recent research has also shown that a cultural climate that is open to creativity and innovation results in a more creative and productive economy.
The late Prince Claus had a lively interest in the promotion of economic and artistic development. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that he established a fund that also promotes the development of art in 'non-Western' countries.
Dutch institutions like to know what is happening elsewhere, and so the Amsterdams Grafisch Atelier (graphic workshop in Amsterdam) organizes projects that are aimed at forging collaboration with Indonesian artists, among other things. In cooperation with the Cemeti Art House, Eko was invited to spend a three-months residency in the Netherlands. He was asked to work on a technique that is actually quite popular in Yogyakarta: silk-screen printing.
In addition, he was asked to encapsulate his impressions in cartoon form.
The result is a book with 36 cartoons, silk-screen printed in a limited edition of 100. Each book is signed and numbered. These cartoons register some of his impressions and also function as a kind of mirror for the Dutch, showing their tolerance of drugs, love of pets, and the stunning level of bicycle theft.
Eko's work was exhibited in the Netherlands in De Schone Kunsten, a gallery in Haarlem, and can still be viewed in the Bremmer Gallery in Tilburg until July 31. In Indonesia, he currently has a solo exhibition, Welcome back Mayo'nnaise, at the Cemeti Art House in Yogyakarta. Eko also has work on display at the Reformasi exhibition in Singapore.