Masterpieces of Chinese Brush Painting To Show Up in Indonesia

An Exhibition of Masterpieces of Chinese Brush Painting is scheduled to be held from Sept. 16 to 21 at the National Gallery in Indonesia's capital of Jakarta.

The exhibition was co-organized by the Ministry of Culture of China, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Indonesia and the Chinese Embassy to Indonesia and presented by China Arts and Entertainment Group.

"The exhibition is part of activities to celebrate the 60th anniversary of China-Indonesia diplomatic relation," said Shao Yiwu, a cultural counselor from the Chinese Embassy.

He said that the exhibition would reach the climax stage on Sept. 21 as Indonesian government officials, celebrities and diplomas would come.

"We hope the exhibition would promote the friendship between China and Indonesia and increase the cultural exchange between the two countries," Shao added.

The Exhibition of Masterpieces of Chinese Brush Painting, with a theme of Ink Rhyme of Harmony, would show 50 pieces of brush painting of modern and contemporary Chinese brush painters, including Wu Changshuo, Qi Baishi and Wu Guanzhong.

The sponsors said that these brush paintings had fully annotated the idea of harmony in the Chinese culture, by showing the aesthetic realm of water and ink mutual dyeing, dynamic and static co-existing and the blossoming expressive style of the masters.

Together with Chinese painting exhibition, the Indonesia National Gallery had another exhibition of the masterpieces of Balinese paintings, created by distinguished Balinese painters of Indonesia. The joint exhibition of two different style of paintings is deemed as a major event in the history of China- Indonesia cultural exchange.

Source : news.xinhuanet.com

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The Masterpiece Of Indonesia

Jepara itself is the name of a region in Central Java, Indonesia which is the center of the Jepara craftsmen. Currently, nearly 80 percent of residents of Jepara still pursue carving activities that is believed to have been there since the time of Majapahit (A big Hindu Kingdom in Indonesia) in the 13th century. Jepara carving continues to grow, both in the design, function, and aesthetics.

If you are an art lover and love beauty, the uniqueness of Jepara carving art may be one of your admirations. Jepara carving art is the best in Indonesia and becomes one of the leading export commodities of Indonesia. Jepara carving applied in furniture provides value added so that most Indonesian furniture can compete, and even is more superior than those made by other countries such as Vietnam.

Therefore, to meet the demand for such a large community inside and outside Indonesia, today the craftsmen begin creating three types of quality of Jepara carving art, usually called Class I, II, and III. This is done so that Jepara carving can be more popular in the community and can be purchased by various status of economic level of society. Nevertheless, for high quality carving wood, today the craftsmen of Jepara still use teak wood for the best result.

Among the current competition of export commodities, Jepara carving still exist because of their uniqueness. There is no similarity between the Jepara carving products. Because it is the art of man made or not done with modern machinery, Jepara carving art might be similar but never be same or identical. Thus, owning Jepara carving furniture and handicraft means collecting high value and aesthetic artwork.

source : http://goodnewsfromindonesia.org

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Barong Dance, A Part of Balinese Culture

Theater and dance is an integral part of Balinese culture. Balinese dances are famous all over the world and the Balinese themselves take them very seriously. Birthdays, weddings, and temples festivals are all occasions for dramatic performances and dance is inextricably linked with the Balinese religion. The commercial performances for tourists that are today offered on a daily basis in several places of Bali do, of course, not have the same religious significance and atmosphere of a dance that is performed at a real temple festival.

Barong is probably the most well known dance. It is also another story telling dance, narrating the fight between good and evil. This dance is the classic example of Balinese way of acting out mythology, resulting in myth and history being blended into one reality.

The story goes that Rangda, the mother of Erlangga, the King of Bali in the tenth century, was condemned by Erlangga's father because she practiced black magic. After she became a widow, she summoned all the evil spirits in the jungle, the leaks and the demons, to come after Erlangga. A fight occurred, but she and her black magic troops were too strong that Erlangga had to ask for the help of Barong. Barong came with Erlangga's soldiers, and fight ensued. Rangda casted a spell that made Erlangga soldiers all wanted to kill themselves, pointing their poisoned keris into their own stomachs and chests. Barong casted a spell that turned their body resistant to the sharp keris. At the end, Barong won, and Rangda ran away.

Somebody can die or get seriously injured in a Barong dance. It is said that if Rangda's spell is too strong, a weak soldier may not be able to resist it, even with the help of Barong. He may end up hurting himself with his own keris.

The masks of Barong and Rangda are considered sacred items, and before they are brought out, a priest must be present to offer blessings by sprinkling them with holy water taken from Mount Agung, and offerrings must be presented.

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Regularly scheduled dance performances are available throughout the year.

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The Search For God through Art Group Expression

A cultural event initiated by the Jakarta Art Movement (JAM) conveys themes of spiritualism in an urban community

This February, the Jakarta Art Movement (JAM), an art community initiated by groups of artists and curators in Jakarta, is cooperating with the Indonesian National Gallery to present an art exhibit entitled “The Second God”, which will also feature a seminar and workshop.

The JAM community, which comprises 15 groups and over a hundred individuals, consists of painters, sculptors, architects, illustrators, installation artists, graphic artists, photographers, film makers, video artists, fashion designers, interior designers, and digital graphic artists from Jakarta, Bogor and Tangerang.

Some of the members also work in the formal sector as executives, accountants, secretaries, or in other jobs not directly associated with art. Through group dynamics and interaction with the curators who presented the exhibition topic, they discussed and responded to the topic. The final output was produced by the artist groups, in a wide variety of forms.

The topics in this exhibition depart from issues in urban society - idols in the urban world and the quest for God, categorized into three zones, each packaged in a major theme - “The Second God”; “Art Today”; and “Technology, Human Identity and Spirituality.”

The artists in JAM uphold the credo that art is open and liberating, multidisciplinary, and diverse. Art works should be produced through an aesthetic built from interaction and dynamics within the group. In creating their works, they respond to, and collaborate with, one another.

For example, consider the artist and architect Ario and the Ario group from Tarumanagara University, and their work entitled “Cyborg Worship”. They chose to enter the first category/ zone in the exhibition, dealing with technology. Ario built a female robot using the approach of creating a sculpture, while robot builders in the group from the Tarumanagara University Robot Laboratory helped with the technical aspect.

They comment cynically through this work by creating a mystical altar for worship of machines and robots as a symbol of humankind’s domination of nature – or is it the machines that are dominating both nature and humankind? This is a very elegantly constructed collaboration.

We also see the Ancol Plus group, consisting of Kadi, Arifin, Aung and Sapon, who also chose to place their group’s expression in the technology zone, with the title “Welcome To The Abyss”. They painted - on the floor of the National Gallery – images of cliffs and gullies, full of technological instruments such as computer machinery and complex chips.

These artists are seeking to convey the criticism that humans nowadays no longer believe that anything is created by nature, but rather that everything is created by humans themselves. This work is unique, because the painting is enormous, 13 meters by 8 meters, and when seen from certain angles it appears to be entirely real. In the West, this type of work is referred to as 3D illusionist painting.

Another group, Keiza and Friends, which comprises a fashion designer, a photographer, a video artist, a model, a choreographer and a graphic designer, criticizes human behavior and humanity’s creations in zone B: human identity. They produce clothing designs made from eletronic waste and the trash generated by human consumption, especially plastic and metal, as a special carnival and performance art that raises the issues of humankind and its ambiguity.

In another group we see Tiga De Studio, a collaboration between graphic artist Nanda and Hery, an installation artist, with a work entitled “In God We Trust”. They chose zone C, the search for spirituality in this century. These artists have built giant letters and life-sized dolls, which will be placed in the front courtyard and terrace of the National Gallery.

Meanwhile, the group Tato and Agus present a work entitled “Man and The Racing”, which combines painting, digital photography, video art and sculpture. They believe that humankind has already met its fate of competing with the machines that it has created, and that human civilization is built upon servitude to technology. This work, 12 meters by 5 meters, will be placed in Hall A of the Indonesian National Gallery in the first zone/ category.

This exhibition aims to present new ideas, especially about group expression and the diversity of art. The show is also a cultural statement and reflection on society in Jakarta, with plans to include a seminar featuring experts from diverse fields such as doctors of information technology, experts on art in urban zones, doctors of sociology and philosophy, practitioners of spiritual paths and students of religious practices in urban society.

source: garudamagazine

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Wayang Kulit, the Art from Nusantara

The Indonesian word 'wayang' is derived from a word meaning 'shadow' or 'ghost'. These intricately cut and perforated shadow puppets are made from buffalo hide. 'Kulit' means 'leather' or 'skin'. 'Wayang Kulit' has a documented history of existence of at least 800 years in the Indonesian archipelago.

This was an open air performance under the stars. A temporary bamboo platform had been constructed in the village square. It had a raised stage on which the puppeteer and musicians of the 'Gender Wayang' orchestra sat cross-legged. A fine cotton screen, called 'kelir', separates the dalang from his audience. This screen represents the universe and the light from a bronze oil lamp, called 'blencong' just in front of the dalang throws magical flickering shadows onto it.

There is no hiding the mechanics of the show as in Western theatre since the bamboo platform had no sides. The audience is free to sit either facing the screen, or can watch the dalang at work.

Before a play begins, the dalang undertakes several ceremonial acts and rituals to assure a successful performance. With great reverence, he taps three times on the wooden box containing all his puppets in order to wake them up. Figures of deities representing good and evil (sometimes over one hundred) are ranged in their prescribed place to the left and right hand sides of the screen. When quiescent, the puppets are spiked into the soft flesh of the trunk of a banana tree at the base of the cotton screen. This represents the earth.

The dalang underscores the action and the rhythm of his chanting while sitting cross-legged by tapping loudly with quickening tempo on the wooden puppet box at his back with a little bronze knob held between the toes of one foot. He also uses this device to conduct the small Gender Wayang orchestra of xylophones and gongs sitting behind him, all the time maintaining a number of different body rhythms as he manipulates the puppets.

The dalang is a highly venerated artist with exceptional powers over the elements at his command. He is a complete performer who excels in many things. He displays enormous physical and mental endurance. He is an orator with a prodigious memory who must be able to repeat many lengthy texts word for word but also improvise entire interludes ranging from ribald jokes to philosophical conversations. He is a scholar of literature and yet keeps himself abreast, not only of national events, but of everyday happenings in the district including the latest gossip and scandal. He must know all his figures, about one hundred or more, their nature and symbolic importance, and have such vocal dexterity as to give each its proper tone and pitch at times creating the illusion of conversation. He deftly composes scenes on the fly, all the while paying particular attention to the artistic arrangement of his figures. He poses them in stances appropriate to their character and situation and in keeping their relationship to each other. He has to compose and sing songs as well as direct the orchestra that accompanies him. Besides all this, he is a poet-playwright who shares new wisdom in a way that satisfies public taste.

So what is the effect of all this? When the puppet is pressed up against the cotton sheet, its shadow is sharp and steady. Where it curls away from the screen a little, the shadow rapidly softens. The flickering light from the uncertain oil lamp causes these indistinct portions to quiver and waver. Sometimes puppets are presented to the screen from behind the lamp instead of entering from the wings. When this happens, they seem to magically materialise out of the very air itself as soft indistinct forms darken, gathering form and substance as they near the screen. The effect is ethereal and utterly mesmerizing.

The compelling visual appeal of a Wayang Kulit show might easily be explained by the physical laws and properties of light. The spiritual and metaphysical dimensions of the shadow play are much harder for a Westerner to describe.

The shadow play is magically powerful. At times the dalang appears to be in a trance. It is commonly believed that the audience is protected from evil influences during a Wayang Kulit performance. Its vast repertoire of tales covers all aspects of life. As well as having an educational role in society, its stories provide spiritual guidance for the people. It is as though this translucent screen with its play of light and shadow is the interface between two realms of existence - a small rectangle in the fabric of the world mediated by the dalang from where spirit beings from other planes of existence impart the wisdom of the ages to mankind. Wayang characters provide types to be emulated, giving the young an idea of what qualities to strive for.

The balmy night air was sweet with the scent of clove cigarettes. The audience, from the very young to the very old, including one white man, was held spell bound by the skills of the dalang and the stories he told. Little children, cradled in their parent's arms, stared wide-eyed at the screen, transfixed by its magic. As the night wore on, they valiantly fought a losing battle against the relentlessness of sleep, their heads occasionally jerking, wanting so desperately to stay awake.

Exciting battle scenes are usually staged shortly after midnight. These are truly fantastic to watch and is technically one of the more exacting test's of the dalang's dexterity in manipulating his puppets. Some fight scenes require the physical engagement of characters, up to six at a time, and in others, opponents use a combination of weaponry and magical powers to achieve their ends. These sequences are rich with special effects. Cutouts representing balls of fire, lightening or tempest might be used. With a trick of light and shade and a deft exchange of the puppet, characters were made to transform before a wide-eyed audience into mystical beings, a garuda, a snake. There were moments of enthralling, almost cinematic action, which I thought compared favorably with the most exciting fast-paced fighting sequences from Hong Kong Kung Foo movies that you could imagine. Characters lunged at each other, their staccato jousting movements under scored by the rapid tapping of the brass knob between the dalang's toes. They wrestled back and forth across the screen, or were thrown bodily into the air to spin 360 degrees before being slammed into a dead stop against the screen by another puppet entering the fray from the back. As delicate as they look, the leather puppets are remarkably robust, and during fight scenes, are thrown roughly about the screen. At times the oil lamp is set swaying to heighten the chaos of the battlefield. This was better than television!

At other times the story demanded large formal chunks of dialogue spoken in Kawi, an ancient Javanese tongue derived from Sanskrit which nobody but the dalang understands. Such sequences are characterised by courtly speeches delivered with astonishing vocalisation. The dalang can modulate his voice from strong and powerful delivery to the very softly spoken. Sometimes shadow plays are broadcast on the radio without any imagery. The figures jerk forward ever so slightly when speaking and with restrained refined and measured gestures, use their outstretched hands to accent words. The technique is beautiful to watch. During these lengthy passages in ancient Kawi, the audience stretched weary bodies and moved about. Teenagers stood up and picked their way through the crowd to perhaps buy some roasted peanuts from the vendors gathered around, or a drink, or to chat with their boyfriends and girlfriends.

But it is the clowns such as, Semar, Bagong, Petruk, and in Bali, Togog and Bebrodesan, which are most loved by the audience, educated and illiterate alike, and with whom the Indonesian people most readily identify. They are cohorts allied to either the good or wicked. Since the clowns figures speak the everyday language of the people, they are also used to interpret the events within time-honoured stories told in ancient tongues. Witty, crude and forever trading crass insults and innuendoes, the buffoonery of these characters allows the dalang to launch into marvelous ad lib comic sequences that embellish stories with topical village gossip, political intrigue and scandal which can leave the audience clutching their stomachs in hysterical laughter.

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