Reflections on the Human Condition - Api-fellowships.org

ALTERNATIVE SPACES IN INDONESIA
The Indonesian art scene is very unique in the sense that
there are no so-called public museums. The National
Gallery in Jakarta does not have its’ own collection and
curatorial work is virtually non-existent. Considering
such a situation, Agun Hujatnikajennong, an Indonesian
curator, calls the task of alternative spaces a “holy mission”.
As a cultural support, the emerging alternative spaces
in Indonesia are indeed carrying out a “holy mission”,
replacing the role of the government in building a
bridge between contemporary art and its public. It is
obvious that many galleries or cultural centers managed
by the government are now ineffectual or vacuous.
Even the National Gallery of Indonesia, located in
the state of capital, which should be a more representational
institution for the development of “national
art,” has become a luxurious “room for rent”, without
any definite programs.
The definition of alternative space—neither museum
nor commercial gallery—cannot be applied to this
situation. Alternative space here functions as a museum
through exhibitions for the public. In this sense, it is
not the place for avant-garde artists. However, this absence
of an official museum causes a collusive relationship
between alternative spaces and markets. The hierarchical
structure in which official museums and institutions
monopolize the power to determine the rank of artists
and to guarantee the value of art works (and commercial
galleries just follow the criteria) does not exist in
Indonesia. Many independent curators insist on the
value of artists and their works; and the comments and
criticism they produce are reflected upon the art market
directly. Collector’s tastes, occasionally, regulate the
direction of artists and curators.
While there are many alternative spaces in Indonesia,
most of them are concentrated in Bandung and Yogyakarta.
Both cities have a leading art university—
Institut Seni Indonesia, Yogyakarta (ISI) and Institut
Teknologi Bandung (ITB)—each of which produces
many artists every year. “The laboratory of the West”
has been used to characterize the Bandung art scene for
a long time. Bandung traditionally works as a gateway
to import, absorb and develop Western art. Young artists
there deal with new media art such as video installation
and sound art. Due to the number of universities and
colleges, Bundung holds a higher rate of middle class
population which also creates a popular youth culture
interested in pop music, fashion, design and MTV-style
video. Alternative spaces have developed as part of a
bigger cultural movement. Fine art here maintains a
ENGAGING MODERNITY: RELIGION, GENDER, AND ART 121
close relationship with local youth culture. This
cross-over between art and other forms of culture is a
unique characteristic of alternative spaces in Bandung
such as IF, Common Room and By the Way, though it
easily falls into commercialism and consumerism under
the logic of capitalization and urbanization.
Contrary to Bandung, Yogyakarta, the historical center
of Indonesia, focused more on the preservation of
traditional culture such as traditional paintings, fabric,
dance, shadow pictures and court music. These
traditional arts still hold a certain actuality in Indonesia.
Being influenced by such trends, artists in Yogyakarta
have emphasized their cultural roots and have opposed
modernistic methods of art. Their work often takes up
the issue of ethnicity and religion. Besides the center
of traditional art, Yogyakarta became a center for
social realism during the late 1990s when the Suharto
dictatorship finally collapsed. During that time,
Yogyakarta produced very influential and internationally
well-known artists such as Heri Dono, Dadang Christanto
and Nindityo Adipurnomo. Cemati Art House,
an alternative art space located in the tourist area of
Yogyakarta, was the center of these artists’ exhibitions.
Upon the trend of multiculturalism in international
art world in the late 1990’s, foreign curators, especially
from Japan and Australia, invited these artists to big
shows abroad. Following their success in the international
art world, a social realistic approach acquired a high
popularity among local artists, and eventually created a
unique tradition, which is now called “Yogya Style”.
Yogyakarta is also a center of the art market. Collectors
with economic power always look for artworks to sell
in auctions, not to support the culture in general, but
to make profit. While collectors help artists financially,
their economically driven understanding of art seems
to have a negative impact over the entire art scene of
Yogyakarta. By knowing that art can make money,
artists tend to produce the work, which is more
profitable in the market rather than exploring their own
ideas and techniques. It is ironic that market-oriented
artists in Yogyakarta can survive as full-time artists
while those who are more serious about the art and the
meaning of art can barely support themselves by doing
many part-time jobs. Under such circumstances, the
Yogya-Style that once had a strong message regarding a
decomposing society seems to have become a safe mode
for attracting collectors.
However, it is Yogyakarta’s strong tradition that artists
attach importance to regarding the relationship
between art and society. I was impressed with an
exhibition by Popok Tri Wahyudi. During the opening
Ref lections on the Human Condition: Change, Conflict and Modernity
The Work of the 2004/2005 API Fellows