International artistic collaboration bears fascinating fruit
By: Duro Jovocic
Art does not exist in a vacuum. It needs to be seen, experienced, and responded to by the public. It provides a voice to the happenings of one’s environment—’real’ or imagined. It is a vehicle through which to distil our interior world. Sometimes art shocks and surprises; other times it perplexes and subdues. In the case of Michelangelo’s ‘David’, it provides a sense of something that is indeed bigger than us, provoking wonderment as to what the human hand is capable of.
Art also provides a bridge of understanding and discussion. This is especially apparent in exhibition organised by the Faculty of Recorded Media Arts (FSMR) at the Indonesia Institute of the Arts Yogyakarta (ISI Yogyakarta) Jalan Menuju Media Kreatif (Road to Creative Media).
To encourage diversity and a cross-pollination of ideas and creativity, the FSMA has been holding an annual exhibition, since 2009, with artworks ranging from photography to documentary and feature films. It is heartening to see both students and lecturers among participants, representing countries such as Romania, Australia, Malaysia, the USA, and naturally Indonesia.
The indomitable Louise Bourgeois sagely suggests that “art is a way of recognising oneself”. This exhibition offers an essential platform for cultural and social commentary that reflects the issues and causes that resonate with contemporary artists and will, in turn, encourage audiences to engage with art in ways that will stay with them long after the exhibition ends. The theme, ResonARTion: Resonance of Art and Collaboration, is explained best in the FSMR statement: “Through collaboration, this exhibition aims to demonstrate how different ideas, techniques, and perspectives can converge to produce a powerful visual harmony while simultaneously encouraging public appreciation for the creative process that involves many individuals.”
Photography comes in many forms, and is at times manipulated to stir emotions, to push and pull us in various directions. In the early 20th century, the images taken by Lewis Hine of child labour practices in New England (USA) helped to expose the horrors of children working punishing hours, some younger than five years old. This saw a law banning child labour enacted in 1938, named the Fair Labor Standards Act. The power of such images, exhibited here in the form of documentary image, demonstrates photography’s ability to expose exploitation, and its emotive potential for societal change.
Photography still has this power though its meaning and intent has greatly expanded in line with technological innovation since its inception. One evocative image from the exhibition, by Muhammad Faiz Bolkiah, is a case in point. Simply titled Dago, Bandung, it captures the moment of a cyclist enjoying the infinite splendour of the mountains and skyscape— while, ironically, also taking a photo. The work gives pause to experience the beauty that surrounds us.
The beguiling artwork by Mohd Firdaus Mohd Herrow, named Solitude at Sea, depicts a man with a long spear-like stick (for fishing?) in a small boat, standing and looking out at the expansive sea. It begs the question: Are you fishing for sustenance? Is it a pastime? Does the glimpse of a closed basket in the boat contain the fruits of your bounty? Presented in black and white, the starkness of the figure and the little boat is juxtaposed with the beauty of the gently rippled waters. Of his practice, Herrow says: “I believe a photograph should speak for itself, it must carry a voice, a message, and a soul. My main influence lies in the power of an image to stand on its own, beyond aesthetics. I’m drawn to works that provoke emotion and thought, where composition and light serve a purpose greater than beauty. For me, photography is not about perfection, but about presence, the ability of an image to resonate without words.”
Bryan Arnold, an Australian Artist, is represented with the piece Five Faces of Java. In exhibiting five images, side by side, the dynamic energy between them creates intrigue, and leaves it to the viewer to develop their own interpretation of how this speaks to Indonesia’s multifaceted society. The seemingly disparate assortment of images—a figure wearing patterned cloth covering most of their face; a Buddhist sculpture in a double Lotus position; a headshot of man in a collared shirt; a partial image of a smiling lady in a headdress; a graffiti-scrawled wall—offers a snapshot of Arnold’s experiences on the Indonesian island of Java and speaks to the island’s heterogeneity.
The exhibition’s inclusion of animation, and of short and feature films, indicates a level of confidence and skill demonstrative of Indonesia’s burgeoning strength and multiplicity in this format. In 1955, President Soekarno sent the artist Dukut Hendronoto to the United States to learn about animation at Disney Studios. So ostensibly enamoured was Soekarno, he even visited Disneyland, and was greeted by Walt Disney himself, the following year.
One filmic highlight of the exhibition is Hendri Sulistyo’s Film Tumbas, in which one of the central characters, a young boy weary of practising Javanese, sets off on an adventure after his mother asks him to buy salt. It is a modest but endearing short film about meeting eccentric locals, and the boy’s lack of assurance in using his native language.
Another highlight is The Cell by M Rizky Kadafi. With a soundtrack of frenetic trance music, the abstract black-and-white imagery includes a circular shape morphing in size and pattern in sync with the music, as though they are somehow one. It makes for mesmerising and somewhat cryptic viewing.
Preeminent Indonesian artist Heri Dono posits that “art is not only for exploring beauty but to give new consciousness to people”. This exhibition, by being inclusive of works from artists around the globe, allows viewers to weave through the visual milieu and appreciate the distinct ways art can unfurl—and potentially provides as Dono describes, a ‘new consciousness’.
