A Slice: Indonesian Contemporary Art
20 Apr 2008 02:35
iCAN co-organized exhibition | 26 Apr-25 May 2008 | Soka Art Center, Beijing | Artists: Samsul Arifin, Alfi Jumaldi, Beatrix Hendriani Kaswara, Dikdik Sayahdikumullah, J. Ariadhitya Pramuhendra, Kokok P. Sancoko, Putu Sutawijaya, Ristyo Eko Hartanto, Terra Bajraghosa, Ugo Untoro, Wedhar Riyadi, Wiyoga Muhardanto | See the Artworks...
One of the most powerful dictators in Asia is Suharto (1921–2008), the former president of the Republic of Indonesia, passed away a moment ago. He was in the political command of Indonesia for 32 years but stepped down from the reign of power in 1998 after overwhelming socio-political unrest following the economic crisis in South-East Asia. The socio-political and cultural life in Indonesia played against enermous changes. The most obvious one was the transformation in governmental system entering into a new stage: democracy. Consequently, apprehensive resistances went on openly in all social segments during its process as in art activities, unexceptionally visual arts. However, the ongoing process cannot be detached from the freedoms of information and expression as parts of democratization process.
It is not intended to say that the development of Indonesian contemporary visual arts is the subordination of socio-political issues. In fact, the narrative is to point out that such development is a part of socio-political dynamics in the society in all ways since 1970s. Nonetheless, its dynamics are often secluded from its exclusively-inclined territory as they are in a sub-culture terrain with alternative perspectives or values applied by the followers to challenge against such established value system ruled in visual arts and real-politics domains. As a result, Indonesian contemporary visual arts appear to be the meeting point of different sub-cultures: youth, urban life style, intellectual activism, and artists.
The creative experiments from the mid of 1980s can be taken into account as initial signals bringing the practices of Indonesian contemporary visual arts to reach recent position with varied growing branches until today. The outcomes were very visible in the mid of 1990s. There are certain occasions signifying contemporary visual arts as an entity of complete artistic practices in terms of ideas, methods, medium, structures, and contents.
In the early of 1990s for instance, Heri Dono launched surprisingly a colossal performance arts “Kuda Binal” in Yogyakarta in 1992. He combined performance arts with performance and traditional music performed publicly. In 1994, FX Harsono held his solo exhibition “Suara” at National Gallery, Jakarta. It was to show a number of installation clearly referring and connecting to the socio-political concerns in Indonesia particularly ones on violence and human rights issues faced by farmers sacrificing their land and lives for governmental development projects. The similar subject inspired Dadang Christanto in his works of installation and performance “For Those Who Have Been Killed” in 1993 and “1001 Manusia Tanah” in 1996 displayed in public at Marina Beach, Jakarta. In addition, we are supposed to recall a terrifying installation work in the form of large grave dug out by Semsar Siahaan in the floor of an old building at TIM complex, Jakarta, in the Ninth Jakarta Visual Arts Bienniale (1993 – 1994).
The event with Jim Supangkat as the curator can be the landmark on how visual arts practices from the mid of 1980s in Indonesia officially penetrated in contemporary visual arts discourse relating to post-modernism generally discussed by intellectuals and artists of the time. At the same time, the discourse developed with the ideas of post-modernism and post-colonialism in Asia Pacific. In such discursive and social spheres, a number of Indonesian artists stand in remarkable position in varied visual arts activities in South-East Asia, Japan, and Australia in the end of 1990s.
At the same time, the socio-political condition in Indonesia tended to critical circumstance. In 1997, with people’s disatisfaction, the government carried out a general election resulting in a predictable termination: Golkar, the party of the ruling government won it significantly. Therefore, it was no doubt Suharto elected as the seventh president. This time, his seemingly-endless power ended in short time. Within several months after the inaguration, he stepped down from his position provoked by a series of social restlessness and massive demonstrations by university students and youth.
***
The critical phase took place before the general election in 1997. The distraught and discontent atmosphere engulfed many artists and were articulated specifically in their works. In those days prior to the election, Cemeti Gallery held an exhibition “Slot in the Box”. The works shown mostly entailing the spirit and aspiration of the artists reacting against the socio-political condition. Here, FX Harsono performed a performance “Victim / Destruction I”.
The atmosphere persisted in some following years. The air of worry, strain, passion, and optimism welcoming the turning of socio-political system manifested in the works of artists of the time. In 1999, Cemeti Art Foundation organized and held an exhibition “AWAS! Recent Art from Indonesia”. It was initially taken place in Yogyakarta but then exhibited circularly in several cities in other countries (Australia, Japan, Netherlands, and Germany) for almost three years. The exhibition and all the works performed are the clearest and most complete evidence of the inner circle of contemporary visual arts in Indonesia of the times.
Moreover, the performed works become the turning point on the change of attitude and perspective of many artists toward the socio-political situation in Indonesia in relation to the function of their works in the times after the Reformation (socio-political revolution in Indonesia between 1997 – 1998). The exhibition also generated new-born artists who were never engaged themselves in the activities of art-politics in 1980s. In short, the social political transformation infiltrating in daily lives was not responded in euforia by those artists who initially produced and distributed the resistance symbols in public. There were even more artists who comprehended the progress in critical but skeptical and apathetic ways. As such, they were stimulated to formulate their attitude especially for the younger ones.
One of the most substantial intention to formulate the attitude was by making a group of artists performing separately the thought and genre contrasting to the dominant social political representation by the end of 1990s. From the inclination of the works and the discourses among the group members, it can be seen that they offered new orientation to achieve, new reference to take, and develop for their options. The group “Taring Padi” for instance, obviously made an option in political activism. “Kelompok Seni Rupa Jendela” decided examining the formal aspects in visual arts. “Apotik Komik” preferred locating the orientation in any activity involving public without political radicalism and highlighted the works in comics and street visual arts. The same path was taken by “Daging Tumbuh”.
There are two important remarks on those groups. First, the groups were not artist organization with definite political affiliation with, let’s say, political party as the common phenomenon in 1960s in Indonesia. Therefore −except for “Taring Padi” declared boldly the relation between radical political ideology they obeyed with their art works− these groups did not adopt certain political ideology bringing them into real-politics activities. In fact, such attitude had grown in a number of artists of the previous generation questioning their functions and options in social political change in 1997 – 1998. Second, these artist groups were more likely to communication forums and public activities for the members. Therefore, each member kept on working individually and developed personal preference although they inclined to similar art tendency among them.
As an individual artist, Eko Nugroho was the member of “Daging Tumbuh” actively showed his works in diverse visual arts events in Indonesia and other countries. Meanwhile, almost all of the members of “Kelompok Jendela”; Handiwirman Saputra, Jumaldi Alfi, Rudi Mantofani, Yunizar, and Yusra Martunus work attentively and show their works until today. The visual approach of these two different groups have left remarkable traces in recent Indonesian contemporary visual arts.
The works of Eko Nugroho (as well as many activities and works of “Apotik Komik” and “Daging Tumbuh”) displayed vividly on how they openly borrowed visual language and comical strategy. On the other hand, they also removed the meeting point of visual arts and public by bringing them into the streets; filling in the city corners with murals as frequent joint-works with other communities. The open attitude they demonstrated in adopting visual culture from the lively visual of mass culture until street arts had initiated such opening door for the younger generation as Terra Bajraghosa and Wedhar Riyadi. The latter artists mingled with some active communities reviving sub-culture music of hip hop and underground rock. Their elements would seemingly take their works in a uncommon direction as the older generation focusing in comics, animation, and street arts.
A new orientation can also be seen in the works of Angki Purbandono. Even though he is active in MES56 which is a communication forum for young artists with various interests in new media; digital visual arts, photography, films, and web arts, he is outstanding for his works challenging the re-definitions of photography and digital technology. He made photos with a scanner not camera. He created new objects with the used material and brought them into new meanings, changed them from the previous functions, and then recorded them by a scanner. In addition, he precisely presented his works by attaching the photo with customer world: backlit-ad-box.
Meanwhile, the works of Kelompok Jendela sharply criticized in their early emergence in 1997 for not performing any aesthetic sensibility −either craftmanship in paintings or sculptures− had eventually inspired artists of the generation to be daring in defining what to do and accomplish through paintings and sculptures. Almost all of the members have recently shown mature accomplishment with their own styles reversing thoroughly from their initial works: giving an idea about craftmanship with material, structures, and visual manipulation. Jumaldi Alfi, who focuses in paintings has made a long step to process various visual elements obscuring the limitation between form abstraction and realism. He totally fills up his canvases with abstract and expressive elements as well as inserts them with spreading words or sentences. Here and there, he processes the shapes of stones, stairs, flowers, human faces, and such in realistic ways. Lately, he entices all his ideas in paintings by presenting his illusionic works in the work series of “Color Guide Series”.
Rudi Mantofani, a partner of Alfi from Kelompok Jendela, has taken a different path. Being educated in sculpture, he shows strong tendency to persuade the structures commonly-known objects to be distorted, embedded with different figures and symbols −altering them into new structural entities with new meanings. He repeatedly takes them into his paintings. Purposely, he also makes use the landscape paintings for the made-up objects he creates. As such, he modifies the genre of landscape painting: no longer positioning them as natural beauty image but an environment reinforcing the existence of his objects.
Such similar approach is also adopted by a young artist, Samsul Arifin. Yet, the appealing point is that he focuses on structures and objects seen to deliver simple and direct messages. As in the works of “Kelompok Jendela”, particular structures and settings consciously taken as strategies to enrich the ambiguity in meanings or obscure them at all, so in his works, pencils and dolls for example, are direct messengers, practically with no allusive pretension.
The explanation above does mean as a pressure to say that the development in Yogyakarta comprises patterns stimulated by artist groups. It has been said before that those groups did not uphold specific ideology in common. They deserve to be seen as sociologic mark illustrating the connection between visual arts reformation with sub-culture dynamics among the youth in larger visual arts communities.
Apart from that, there are many young artists taking their own paths instead of the existing ones. Ugo Untoro and S. Teddy D, are the two examples of artists who never had any intention from the very beginning to refer to certain genres, moreover social political themes. Both of them move freely and work with unlimited visual idioms and personal themes prioritizing simple visual images. In many works of drawings and paintings, they act upon the same attitude: taking simple visual expression with simple techniques whereas in the works of installation/objects, they move in and out freely in varied visual idioms and material choices. Even if they adopt social issues into their works, the expression put forward the personal perspectives, getting away from stereotypes and offensive statements.
Putu Sutawijaya, a Balinese artist, attempts to have his own corridor. When most Balinese artist of the previous generation have a tendency to illustrate the ‘identity’ of Bali into their works −by choosing related subject matters or visual elements− he intentionally avoids such ground. He inclines to give strong points on the contours to display the shifting figures into canvasses although he has to admit that his ideas on those figures resulted from his close observation and research about movements and gestures of Balinese dancers.
***
It is worthy of note that the development of Indonesian contemporary visual arts in the decade of 90s until today is the presence of a number of female artists. For sure, they have been existed from the early establishment of Indonesian modern visual arts in the first phase of the twentienth century. However, their presence seem to be obscured among the majority of male artists. The situation changed in 1990s since these female artists −directly or indirectly, consciously or unconsciously− alluded to female sensibility and perspective applied on their works. The issue of body in personal and social grounds of their works had suggested gender issue exposition in broader definition. In fact, it is new and specific development in Indonesian contemporary visual arts.
In the end of 1980s, Arahmaiani from Bandung, had worked on site-specific installation and performance whereas in Yogyakarta, Lucia Hartini, likely inclined to show her self-portraits in various threatening or dominating natural setting. Entering the period of 1990s, Tita Rubi performed herself. She initially worked on installation and performance. In her sophisticated works, she intensely displayed and questioned the subjects of body with its complexities.
Although it has not been such raising tide, the presence of those female artists is the evidence for assorted dimension to the scene of contemporary visual arts today and in the future.
***
The dynamics of contemporary visual arts manifested in distinct pattern in Bandung with very smaller artist communities and not as active or eventful as ones in Yogyakarta. It links up with dissimilar socio-historical aspects between these two cities. Moreover, it is associated with the teaching system and visual arts education applied in different approaches between the two most important campus grounds in Indonesia: ISI (Indonesia Institute of the Arts) in Yogyakarta and FSRD–ITB (Fine Art and Design Department – Bandung Institute of Technology) in Bandung.
In the end of 1980s and 1990s –regarded as the stages of the establishment of Indonesian contemporary visual arts practices– the young artists of Bandung and Yogyakarta regularly got together and collaborated in various alternative visual arts activities. A large numbers of events and exhibitions at Cemeti Gallery clearly suggested how they processed. It is very interesting to see referring to the common conversation that these two cities are such two contrasted poles in the mapping of Indonesian modern visual arts. I have a propensity to say that the meeting was incited similar sub-cultures of the two. To some extent, the intensive discussions of the young artists from the two poles signifies the end of such burdening historical discourses shadowing their steps so far.
The visual arts activities in Bandung seemed to be disorganized for almost a decade after the Reformation (in the post of 1997 – 1998). Actually, there are some artists who previously lived and studied in Bandung but active and take a role after settling in Yogyakarta as Arahmaiani, Agus Suwage, and Tita Rubi. From the generation of 1980s, we had Tisna Sanjaya with his performance, installation, and graphic-print arts growing up wildly. Another is Asmudjo Irianto, who enlarged and combined the elements of contemporary visual arts and design arts into his ceramic-based works. From the 1990s, there are Dikdik Sayahdikumullah, Christine Aytjoe, and RE Hartanto. Dikdik, a lecturer of the FSRD–ITB was celebrated after demonstrating such sensible works pushing realism into more complex direction visually and conceptually. Additionally, it has been noted that there are very few works of its alumni pertaining mimetic approach as in realism.
Christine Aytjoe, who studied in graphic-print had performed her capacity in processing lines in her etching works. She then transfered her sensibility in line-making into her paintings. Furthermore, she managed to transform the character of lines while working with different media and material as shown in her paintings. She kept working. In some different events, she made new experiments in the digital prints with streaks of lines and palette into her works.
RE Hartanto was an artist of a kind. He who was previously made busy with a series of cultural activities along with his partners at Common Room, showed his tendency in drawing and photography. Last time, he worked thoughtfully upon his painting series “Post-North-korean Nuclear Testing”. The idea was originated from the uproaring discussions in mass media on nuclear test commanded by the government of North Korea by the end of 2006. The controversy and critiques in mass media exemplified such dreadful story in history can be continuously implied in the formulation of global awareness on a subject. Furthermore, global mass media circulated widely any news not in the form of critical understanding of a happening but ones spreading out terror, massive paranoia. In brief, it was the essence of his painting objects.
This time, RE Hartanto chose a realistic imaging style on purpose. He worked as a creative designer in advertising. He selected the models, set the costumes, and fixed the poses as well as expression of the models with a photographer handling photo sessions in tableaux vivants. Then, he transformed the outcome into canvasses. Another related artist is Dikdik Sayahdikumullah. The realism he applied on was the logic consequence rather than genre and technique preferences. He raised a question on reality or perception on it by looking for a moment in which the visual facts changing or turning to be “new” in parallel with the shift of position and situation when we see an object. In a year, he worked considerately on taking pictures on varied street situations from such situation illustrating “dissimilar” streets and cities. They are the points of his painting objects. Alternatively, he seems to underline that his paintings are the copies or reproductions of photo reproductions. He often displayed empty white field on the canvasses duplicating one as in a piece of photo.
The subject of perception, reality, and optical facts brought up by Dikdik were challenged in separate dimension in the works of Beatrix Hendriani Kaswara, J. Ariaditya Paramuhendra, and Wiyoga Muhardanto with some of FSRD–ITB alumni. They are small parts of the latest generation in contemporary visual arts world in Bandung. The presence of their works attracted people to see as deemed to infuse into fresh blood in accelerating visual arts activities in Bandung which was relatively slow moving in the last decade.
Certainly, no matter in Bandung, Yogyakarta, or other locations −Indonesian contemporary visual arts will be keeping up refreshed. The socio-political and cultural subjects in Indonesia are still confronting with many problems −the weakness in governmental affairs, corruption, deprived law-enforcement, and re-definition processes on national identities in the most complex multi-ethnic-and-multi-culture country in South-East Asia region− will endlessly materialize new strained social situations. Meanwhile, the practices of visual arts may get entrapped in such establishment as the worst result of commodification visual arts works in the markets conquered by art dealers as well as auction houses these days. However, in conjuction with this matter −as proven in the last three decades in the passages and development of Indonesian contemporary visual arts− the creativity of young artists and innovative values will build up manifested in large numbers of types and youth sub-culture groups gradually come into surface as a contestacy toward existing establishment and impasse.
*) The original title of this introduction essay was “Fresh: A Slice of Contemporary Art from Indonesia”
© 2008 Enin Supriyanto | goodbyenin@gmail.com
One of the most powerful dictators in Asia is Suharto (1921–2008), the former president of the Republic of Indonesia, passed away a moment ago. He was in the political command of Indonesia for 32 years but stepped down from the reign of power in 1998 after overwhelming socio-political unrest following the economic crisis in South-East Asia. The socio-political and cultural life in Indonesia played against enermous changes. The most obvious one was the transformation in governmental system entering into a new stage: democracy. Consequently, apprehensive resistances went on openly in all social segments during its process as in art activities, unexceptionally visual arts. However, the ongoing process cannot be detached from the freedoms of information and expression as parts of democratization process.
It is not intended to say that the development of Indonesian contemporary visual arts is the subordination of socio-political issues. In fact, the narrative is to point out that such development is a part of socio-political dynamics in the society in all ways since 1970s. Nonetheless, its dynamics are often secluded from its exclusively-inclined territory as they are in a sub-culture terrain with alternative perspectives or values applied by the followers to challenge against such established value system ruled in visual arts and real-politics domains. As a result, Indonesian contemporary visual arts appear to be the meeting point of different sub-cultures: youth, urban life style, intellectual activism, and artists.
The creative experiments from the mid of 1980s can be taken into account as initial signals bringing the practices of Indonesian contemporary visual arts to reach recent position with varied growing branches until today. The outcomes were very visible in the mid of 1990s. There are certain occasions signifying contemporary visual arts as an entity of complete artistic practices in terms of ideas, methods, medium, structures, and contents.
In the early of 1990s for instance, Heri Dono launched surprisingly a colossal performance arts “Kuda Binal” in Yogyakarta in 1992. He combined performance arts with performance and traditional music performed publicly. In 1994, FX Harsono held his solo exhibition “Suara” at National Gallery, Jakarta. It was to show a number of installation clearly referring and connecting to the socio-political concerns in Indonesia particularly ones on violence and human rights issues faced by farmers sacrificing their land and lives for governmental development projects. The similar subject inspired Dadang Christanto in his works of installation and performance “For Those Who Have Been Killed” in 1993 and “1001 Manusia Tanah” in 1996 displayed in public at Marina Beach, Jakarta. In addition, we are supposed to recall a terrifying installation work in the form of large grave dug out by Semsar Siahaan in the floor of an old building at TIM complex, Jakarta, in the Ninth Jakarta Visual Arts Bienniale (1993 – 1994).
The event with Jim Supangkat as the curator can be the landmark on how visual arts practices from the mid of 1980s in Indonesia officially penetrated in contemporary visual arts discourse relating to post-modernism generally discussed by intellectuals and artists of the time. At the same time, the discourse developed with the ideas of post-modernism and post-colonialism in Asia Pacific. In such discursive and social spheres, a number of Indonesian artists stand in remarkable position in varied visual arts activities in South-East Asia, Japan, and Australia in the end of 1990s.
At the same time, the socio-political condition in Indonesia tended to critical circumstance. In 1997, with people’s disatisfaction, the government carried out a general election resulting in a predictable termination: Golkar, the party of the ruling government won it significantly. Therefore, it was no doubt Suharto elected as the seventh president. This time, his seemingly-endless power ended in short time. Within several months after the inaguration, he stepped down from his position provoked by a series of social restlessness and massive demonstrations by university students and youth.
***
The critical phase took place before the general election in 1997. The distraught and discontent atmosphere engulfed many artists and were articulated specifically in their works. In those days prior to the election, Cemeti Gallery held an exhibition “Slot in the Box”. The works shown mostly entailing the spirit and aspiration of the artists reacting against the socio-political condition. Here, FX Harsono performed a performance “Victim / Destruction I”.
The atmosphere persisted in some following years. The air of worry, strain, passion, and optimism welcoming the turning of socio-political system manifested in the works of artists of the time. In 1999, Cemeti Art Foundation organized and held an exhibition “AWAS! Recent Art from Indonesia”. It was initially taken place in Yogyakarta but then exhibited circularly in several cities in other countries (Australia, Japan, Netherlands, and Germany) for almost three years. The exhibition and all the works performed are the clearest and most complete evidence of the inner circle of contemporary visual arts in Indonesia of the times.
Moreover, the performed works become the turning point on the change of attitude and perspective of many artists toward the socio-political situation in Indonesia in relation to the function of their works in the times after the Reformation (socio-political revolution in Indonesia between 1997 – 1998). The exhibition also generated new-born artists who were never engaged themselves in the activities of art-politics in 1980s. In short, the social political transformation infiltrating in daily lives was not responded in euforia by those artists who initially produced and distributed the resistance symbols in public. There were even more artists who comprehended the progress in critical but skeptical and apathetic ways. As such, they were stimulated to formulate their attitude especially for the younger ones.
One of the most substantial intention to formulate the attitude was by making a group of artists performing separately the thought and genre contrasting to the dominant social political representation by the end of 1990s. From the inclination of the works and the discourses among the group members, it can be seen that they offered new orientation to achieve, new reference to take, and develop for their options. The group “Taring Padi” for instance, obviously made an option in political activism. “Kelompok Seni Rupa Jendela” decided examining the formal aspects in visual arts. “Apotik Komik” preferred locating the orientation in any activity involving public without political radicalism and highlighted the works in comics and street visual arts. The same path was taken by “Daging Tumbuh”.
There are two important remarks on those groups. First, the groups were not artist organization with definite political affiliation with, let’s say, political party as the common phenomenon in 1960s in Indonesia. Therefore −except for “Taring Padi” declared boldly the relation between radical political ideology they obeyed with their art works− these groups did not adopt certain political ideology bringing them into real-politics activities. In fact, such attitude had grown in a number of artists of the previous generation questioning their functions and options in social political change in 1997 – 1998. Second, these artist groups were more likely to communication forums and public activities for the members. Therefore, each member kept on working individually and developed personal preference although they inclined to similar art tendency among them.
As an individual artist, Eko Nugroho was the member of “Daging Tumbuh” actively showed his works in diverse visual arts events in Indonesia and other countries. Meanwhile, almost all of the members of “Kelompok Jendela”; Handiwirman Saputra, Jumaldi Alfi, Rudi Mantofani, Yunizar, and Yusra Martunus work attentively and show their works until today. The visual approach of these two different groups have left remarkable traces in recent Indonesian contemporary visual arts.
The works of Eko Nugroho (as well as many activities and works of “Apotik Komik” and “Daging Tumbuh”) displayed vividly on how they openly borrowed visual language and comical strategy. On the other hand, they also removed the meeting point of visual arts and public by bringing them into the streets; filling in the city corners with murals as frequent joint-works with other communities. The open attitude they demonstrated in adopting visual culture from the lively visual of mass culture until street arts had initiated such opening door for the younger generation as Terra Bajraghosa and Wedhar Riyadi. The latter artists mingled with some active communities reviving sub-culture music of hip hop and underground rock. Their elements would seemingly take their works in a uncommon direction as the older generation focusing in comics, animation, and street arts.
A new orientation can also be seen in the works of Angki Purbandono. Even though he is active in MES56 which is a communication forum for young artists with various interests in new media; digital visual arts, photography, films, and web arts, he is outstanding for his works challenging the re-definitions of photography and digital technology. He made photos with a scanner not camera. He created new objects with the used material and brought them into new meanings, changed them from the previous functions, and then recorded them by a scanner. In addition, he precisely presented his works by attaching the photo with customer world: backlit-ad-box.
Meanwhile, the works of Kelompok Jendela sharply criticized in their early emergence in 1997 for not performing any aesthetic sensibility −either craftmanship in paintings or sculptures− had eventually inspired artists of the generation to be daring in defining what to do and accomplish through paintings and sculptures. Almost all of the members have recently shown mature accomplishment with their own styles reversing thoroughly from their initial works: giving an idea about craftmanship with material, structures, and visual manipulation. Jumaldi Alfi, who focuses in paintings has made a long step to process various visual elements obscuring the limitation between form abstraction and realism. He totally fills up his canvases with abstract and expressive elements as well as inserts them with spreading words or sentences. Here and there, he processes the shapes of stones, stairs, flowers, human faces, and such in realistic ways. Lately, he entices all his ideas in paintings by presenting his illusionic works in the work series of “Color Guide Series”.
Rudi Mantofani, a partner of Alfi from Kelompok Jendela, has taken a different path. Being educated in sculpture, he shows strong tendency to persuade the structures commonly-known objects to be distorted, embedded with different figures and symbols −altering them into new structural entities with new meanings. He repeatedly takes them into his paintings. Purposely, he also makes use the landscape paintings for the made-up objects he creates. As such, he modifies the genre of landscape painting: no longer positioning them as natural beauty image but an environment reinforcing the existence of his objects.
Such similar approach is also adopted by a young artist, Samsul Arifin. Yet, the appealing point is that he focuses on structures and objects seen to deliver simple and direct messages. As in the works of “Kelompok Jendela”, particular structures and settings consciously taken as strategies to enrich the ambiguity in meanings or obscure them at all, so in his works, pencils and dolls for example, are direct messengers, practically with no allusive pretension.
The explanation above does mean as a pressure to say that the development in Yogyakarta comprises patterns stimulated by artist groups. It has been said before that those groups did not uphold specific ideology in common. They deserve to be seen as sociologic mark illustrating the connection between visual arts reformation with sub-culture dynamics among the youth in larger visual arts communities.
Apart from that, there are many young artists taking their own paths instead of the existing ones. Ugo Untoro and S. Teddy D, are the two examples of artists who never had any intention from the very beginning to refer to certain genres, moreover social political themes. Both of them move freely and work with unlimited visual idioms and personal themes prioritizing simple visual images. In many works of drawings and paintings, they act upon the same attitude: taking simple visual expression with simple techniques whereas in the works of installation/objects, they move in and out freely in varied visual idioms and material choices. Even if they adopt social issues into their works, the expression put forward the personal perspectives, getting away from stereotypes and offensive statements.
Putu Sutawijaya, a Balinese artist, attempts to have his own corridor. When most Balinese artist of the previous generation have a tendency to illustrate the ‘identity’ of Bali into their works −by choosing related subject matters or visual elements− he intentionally avoids such ground. He inclines to give strong points on the contours to display the shifting figures into canvasses although he has to admit that his ideas on those figures resulted from his close observation and research about movements and gestures of Balinese dancers.
***
It is worthy of note that the development of Indonesian contemporary visual arts in the decade of 90s until today is the presence of a number of female artists. For sure, they have been existed from the early establishment of Indonesian modern visual arts in the first phase of the twentienth century. However, their presence seem to be obscured among the majority of male artists. The situation changed in 1990s since these female artists −directly or indirectly, consciously or unconsciously− alluded to female sensibility and perspective applied on their works. The issue of body in personal and social grounds of their works had suggested gender issue exposition in broader definition. In fact, it is new and specific development in Indonesian contemporary visual arts.
In the end of 1980s, Arahmaiani from Bandung, had worked on site-specific installation and performance whereas in Yogyakarta, Lucia Hartini, likely inclined to show her self-portraits in various threatening or dominating natural setting. Entering the period of 1990s, Tita Rubi performed herself. She initially worked on installation and performance. In her sophisticated works, she intensely displayed and questioned the subjects of body with its complexities.
Although it has not been such raising tide, the presence of those female artists is the evidence for assorted dimension to the scene of contemporary visual arts today and in the future.
***
The dynamics of contemporary visual arts manifested in distinct pattern in Bandung with very smaller artist communities and not as active or eventful as ones in Yogyakarta. It links up with dissimilar socio-historical aspects between these two cities. Moreover, it is associated with the teaching system and visual arts education applied in different approaches between the two most important campus grounds in Indonesia: ISI (Indonesia Institute of the Arts) in Yogyakarta and FSRD–ITB (Fine Art and Design Department – Bandung Institute of Technology) in Bandung.
In the end of 1980s and 1990s –regarded as the stages of the establishment of Indonesian contemporary visual arts practices– the young artists of Bandung and Yogyakarta regularly got together and collaborated in various alternative visual arts activities. A large numbers of events and exhibitions at Cemeti Gallery clearly suggested how they processed. It is very interesting to see referring to the common conversation that these two cities are such two contrasted poles in the mapping of Indonesian modern visual arts. I have a propensity to say that the meeting was incited similar sub-cultures of the two. To some extent, the intensive discussions of the young artists from the two poles signifies the end of such burdening historical discourses shadowing their steps so far.
The visual arts activities in Bandung seemed to be disorganized for almost a decade after the Reformation (in the post of 1997 – 1998). Actually, there are some artists who previously lived and studied in Bandung but active and take a role after settling in Yogyakarta as Arahmaiani, Agus Suwage, and Tita Rubi. From the generation of 1980s, we had Tisna Sanjaya with his performance, installation, and graphic-print arts growing up wildly. Another is Asmudjo Irianto, who enlarged and combined the elements of contemporary visual arts and design arts into his ceramic-based works. From the 1990s, there are Dikdik Sayahdikumullah, Christine Aytjoe, and RE Hartanto. Dikdik, a lecturer of the FSRD–ITB was celebrated after demonstrating such sensible works pushing realism into more complex direction visually and conceptually. Additionally, it has been noted that there are very few works of its alumni pertaining mimetic approach as in realism.
Christine Aytjoe, who studied in graphic-print had performed her capacity in processing lines in her etching works. She then transfered her sensibility in line-making into her paintings. Furthermore, she managed to transform the character of lines while working with different media and material as shown in her paintings. She kept working. In some different events, she made new experiments in the digital prints with streaks of lines and palette into her works.
RE Hartanto was an artist of a kind. He who was previously made busy with a series of cultural activities along with his partners at Common Room, showed his tendency in drawing and photography. Last time, he worked thoughtfully upon his painting series “Post-North-korean Nuclear Testing”. The idea was originated from the uproaring discussions in mass media on nuclear test commanded by the government of North Korea by the end of 2006. The controversy and critiques in mass media exemplified such dreadful story in history can be continuously implied in the formulation of global awareness on a subject. Furthermore, global mass media circulated widely any news not in the form of critical understanding of a happening but ones spreading out terror, massive paranoia. In brief, it was the essence of his painting objects.
This time, RE Hartanto chose a realistic imaging style on purpose. He worked as a creative designer in advertising. He selected the models, set the costumes, and fixed the poses as well as expression of the models with a photographer handling photo sessions in tableaux vivants. Then, he transformed the outcome into canvasses. Another related artist is Dikdik Sayahdikumullah. The realism he applied on was the logic consequence rather than genre and technique preferences. He raised a question on reality or perception on it by looking for a moment in which the visual facts changing or turning to be “new” in parallel with the shift of position and situation when we see an object. In a year, he worked considerately on taking pictures on varied street situations from such situation illustrating “dissimilar” streets and cities. They are the points of his painting objects. Alternatively, he seems to underline that his paintings are the copies or reproductions of photo reproductions. He often displayed empty white field on the canvasses duplicating one as in a piece of photo.
The subject of perception, reality, and optical facts brought up by Dikdik were challenged in separate dimension in the works of Beatrix Hendriani Kaswara, J. Ariaditya Paramuhendra, and Wiyoga Muhardanto with some of FSRD–ITB alumni. They are small parts of the latest generation in contemporary visual arts world in Bandung. The presence of their works attracted people to see as deemed to infuse into fresh blood in accelerating visual arts activities in Bandung which was relatively slow moving in the last decade.
Certainly, no matter in Bandung, Yogyakarta, or other locations −Indonesian contemporary visual arts will be keeping up refreshed. The socio-political and cultural subjects in Indonesia are still confronting with many problems −the weakness in governmental affairs, corruption, deprived law-enforcement, and re-definition processes on national identities in the most complex multi-ethnic-and-multi-culture country in South-East Asia region− will endlessly materialize new strained social situations. Meanwhile, the practices of visual arts may get entrapped in such establishment as the worst result of commodification visual arts works in the markets conquered by art dealers as well as auction houses these days. However, in conjuction with this matter −as proven in the last three decades in the passages and development of Indonesian contemporary visual arts− the creativity of young artists and innovative values will build up manifested in large numbers of types and youth sub-culture groups gradually come into surface as a contestacy toward existing establishment and impasse.
*) The original title of this introduction essay was “Fresh: A Slice of Contemporary Art from Indonesia”
© 2008 Enin Supriyanto | goodbyenin@gmail.com
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