Jogja Gallery, nestled into the northeast courtyard of Yogyakarta palace's alun-alun lor alongside a jointly owned restaurant purportedly serving 'royal food' and a crafts store, is currently hosting the second of a series of performance art exhibitions showcasing works by emerging Asian performance artists (ages 19-33). The first of these events was held in Japan in December 2008.
I attended the opening of this exhibition on the rainy afternoon of 28 February, which featured videos by artists from India, Korea etc along with performances by emerging Indonesian performance artists from Yogya, Bandung and elsewhere. It was a slightly chaotic event, thronged by amateur and professional photographers and videographers (including, I admit, yours truly- how could I resist taking a video of this?). The audience, mostly made up of Indonesian students and young artists and budayawan in their 20s and 30s, entered more-or-less readily into the spirit of play, and showed a ready familiarity with performance art as a genre. (For a good review of a recent performance art festival in Yogya see http://www.realtimearts.net/article/issue73/8110).
It was hard to grasp the point of some of the pieces. In one room, there was an installation with children's clothes arranged into a pattern, an Arabic text carved on a transluscent heart-shaped piece of crystal, a mega-mendung like hanging cloud. A half-naked male performer garbed in paper bills from around the world roamed the gallery blindly until he collapsed in a chair. A shaman-like drummer persuaded some young men to climb a scaffold, handed them glasses of water, and then madly pushed the scaffolding around the gallery- to their terror and (later) amusement. The trappings of a room were arranged on a wall and a video camera set so that a black-dressed performer appeared to be climbing this wall.
The two most interesting pieces both thematised Islamic issues and questions. Both were by performers originally from Bandung (though one has been living in Yogya for the last years.) Sorry I didn't get the names.
In one, a woman dressed in bright sneakers, leggings and an Arabic scarf executed senam exercises with a video backdrop of a group of men doing the same exercises, with bright 1980s pop music. Cahya, a young woman who works for the American Corner library at UGM and coordinates American cultural activities for the US Embassy, told me that the woman was doing the mandatory senam exercises required at all schools and government offices on Fridays during the 1980s and 1990s under the Soeharto regime. As the video rolled however, it turned out that this was laskar jihad (an Islamic fringe group which is seen as a terrorist organisation by a number of countries, including the US) doing exercises to prepare for jihad action. The artists/performer said that she had been intending to show a video of 1980s/90s official senam but accidentally ran across this video while searching for material on youtube and decided to use it instead. She executed the motions over and over, and invited audience members to join her, standing in back of her, imitating her imitating jihadis. The loud musical track played over and over again (ironic? defiant? naive?), and became a kind of soundtrack for the entire event.
The other performance of interest was by a young man dressed in a skeleton t-shirt, with a chef's apron and a heavy-metal motif bandana wrapped around his head and a short beard (of the sort sported often by Islamists here). This took place on the gallery's upper gallery - the only performance there - against a backdrop that read (ironically) 'please don't touch the artwork.'
He stood behind a counter with a gas stove, rice cooker, cooking pots, knives and the raw materials for a meal. First he put together out of raw vegetables and (I think) toothpicks the simulacra of a machine gun - without seeming to express much emotion. He then walked calmly to the edge of the stairs with the 'gun' in hand and shouted out 'Allahu Akbar!' Everyone in the gallery froze.
The performer then returned to his counter and prepared a traditional meal - fragrant rice (nasi gurih), fried salted fish, stewed vegetables, sliced raw cucumbers - and invited an audience member to make sambal (hot sauce) with him. He joked and talked affably with the audience. He asked people to try his cooking, asking if the food was salty enough, for example, and commenting about how people have different tastes. As each dish was done, he put the food onto two large platters covered by banana leaves. When he had finished cooking, he calmly brought the platters down the stairs and put them on the gallery floor.
He then roamed the gallery, and the reception room outside, and invited people who 'had yet to eat' (belum makan) to eat his food. He told audience members to introduce themselves to each other, and spoke in an affable manner about the philosophy of food, and the significance of eating together. Senior Indonesian performance/video artists Arahmaiani (Mbak Yani), who was one of the diners, answered back and they had a brief dialogue on the matter. The diners enthusiastically finished both platters within a few minutes - eating with their fingers. The performer then scraped the remnants into a single plate and forced himself to eat everything that was left over - mostly sambal hot sauce - taking small sipsfrom a glass of water. He then washed his fingers with the rest of the water, and with a nod indicated that the performance was over - to the applause of the audience and diners.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Malam Seni & Musik Rohani Budya Wacana
Last night (27 February) I watched the annual show of Budya Wacana, a Christian faith school which my daughter is attending while we are living in Yogyakarta. The show, which lasted some 3 hours, took place at the Concert Hall of Taman Budaya Yogyakarta, Yogya's major indoor theatre, with a proscenium stage and a raked auditorium that seats 1000.
The school children and teachers had been working on the show since December. More than 200 performers took to the stage in an elaborate parade of costumes. A camera on a crane recorded the event and projected feed onto three screens above and to the sides of the stage.
There were several choirs singing (mostly) Christian songs. Girl models from TK to SMA strutted their stuff in fanciful costumes made to resemble high fashion. A number of girl groups sang to recorded backup music. There were speeches from students in Indonesian, Javanese, English and Mandarin. A group of violin students played (en masse) numbers from Suzuki Book 1 (Lightly Row, Twinkle etc). There was also a number in which 2 teachers in ethnic costume (Minang and Javanese) sung a pop duet with a group of 6 or 8 dancers dressed in ethnic costumes from all over the archipelago. There was some attempt to incorporate Balinese and Acehnese dance moves into the choreography of this.
Several dance, theatre and film pieces dealt with the earthquake of 2006. For example, in one piece 8 dancers manipulated two large pieces of cloth to sign at the shaking ground, as groups of distraught children roamed the stage. Raw footage showed houses destroyed. Another piece - a monodrama - had a teacher talking to her colleagues about how to reconstruct the primary school after its destruction.
The mayor spoke briefly too. He joked that the head of the foundation must be a big fan of Kentucky Fried Chicken as KFC (actually standing for Knowledge, Faith, Character) is the school's motto. He also said that though the children at Budya Wacana might look different (there is a high concentration of Chinese Indonesians at the school, and also a healthy proportion of mixed raced kids, and expat kids from Korea, China etc), when you take off their multi-coloured clothes, they all have the same beating heart underneath. I found metaphor to be strange, even shocking, but the audience did not react at all.
The highlight for most was probably the appearance of Dirly, winner of the Indonesian Idol contest. Featured on the cover, he sang some songs at the very end of the programme. You could also get your photo taken with Dirly for Rp. 100,000.
The event was nominally a charity benefit for the school -- tickets cost Rp20,000 to more than Rp 200,000 -- but the huge expenses involved in producing the show meant that there was probably little profit.
What it did do was show off the range of talents of Budya Wacana kids (some of the singers and a hip-hop dancer were actually very good, and Hannah was a bit jealous of the keyboard player who is in her class), and also expressed the school ethos to parents and backers. (Chinese-Indonesian schools have been holding events like this for many decades - some of the most important dramatic scripts published in colonial Indonesia are incidental products of this.)
Though a Christian school, there was a studied attempt at ecumenism, with no mention of Jesus or the Holy Spirit etc.
It was in fact a presentation of bland, generic Westernized modern culture - with only hints of ethnic accents in some Chinese dramatic numbers (with projected Indonesian subtitles) and recorded gamelan music to back a Javanese speech. Indeed, the school prides itself on preparing children to face 'the challenges of globalization' by providing a layar (sail, kite) in the form of education (particularly in ICT, English and Mandarin lessons) which will allow students to move far away and see the world from a distance. At what cost, I wonder.
The school children and teachers had been working on the show since December. More than 200 performers took to the stage in an elaborate parade of costumes. A camera on a crane recorded the event and projected feed onto three screens above and to the sides of the stage.
There were several choirs singing (mostly) Christian songs. Girl models from TK to SMA strutted their stuff in fanciful costumes made to resemble high fashion. A number of girl groups sang to recorded backup music. There were speeches from students in Indonesian, Javanese, English and Mandarin. A group of violin students played (en masse) numbers from Suzuki Book 1 (Lightly Row, Twinkle etc). There was also a number in which 2 teachers in ethnic costume (Minang and Javanese) sung a pop duet with a group of 6 or 8 dancers dressed in ethnic costumes from all over the archipelago. There was some attempt to incorporate Balinese and Acehnese dance moves into the choreography of this.
Several dance, theatre and film pieces dealt with the earthquake of 2006. For example, in one piece 8 dancers manipulated two large pieces of cloth to sign at the shaking ground, as groups of distraught children roamed the stage. Raw footage showed houses destroyed. Another piece - a monodrama - had a teacher talking to her colleagues about how to reconstruct the primary school after its destruction.
The mayor spoke briefly too. He joked that the head of the foundation must be a big fan of Kentucky Fried Chicken as KFC (actually standing for Knowledge, Faith, Character) is the school's motto. He also said that though the children at Budya Wacana might look different (there is a high concentration of Chinese Indonesians at the school, and also a healthy proportion of mixed raced kids, and expat kids from Korea, China etc), when you take off their multi-coloured clothes, they all have the same beating heart underneath. I found metaphor to be strange, even shocking, but the audience did not react at all.
The highlight for most was probably the appearance of Dirly, winner of the Indonesian Idol contest. Featured on the cover, he sang some songs at the very end of the programme. You could also get your photo taken with Dirly for Rp. 100,000.
The event was nominally a charity benefit for the school -- tickets cost Rp20,000 to more than Rp 200,000 -- but the huge expenses involved in producing the show meant that there was probably little profit.
What it did do was show off the range of talents of Budya Wacana kids (some of the singers and a hip-hop dancer were actually very good, and Hannah was a bit jealous of the keyboard player who is in her class), and also expressed the school ethos to parents and backers. (Chinese-Indonesian schools have been holding events like this for many decades - some of the most important dramatic scripts published in colonial Indonesia are incidental products of this.)
Though a Christian school, there was a studied attempt at ecumenism, with no mention of Jesus or the Holy Spirit etc.
It was in fact a presentation of bland, generic Westernized modern culture - with only hints of ethnic accents in some Chinese dramatic numbers (with projected Indonesian subtitles) and recorded gamelan music to back a Javanese speech. Indeed, the school prides itself on preparing children to face 'the challenges of globalization' by providing a layar (sail, kite) in the form of education (particularly in ICT, English and Mandarin lessons) which will allow students to move far away and see the world from a distance. At what cost, I wonder.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Karya-Karya Arahmaiani
Last night I attended a talk by Bandung-born artist Arahamaiani at Bentara Budaya, a small gallery attached to the Yogyakarta branch of the Kompas newspaper office. There were perhaps 50 people in attendance in all - including someone I knew via London's Kalimantan Creations - and the question-and-answer session was lively and well-informed. I had met Mbak Yani, as she is called here, at the PSi conference in Singapore (she gets around) and was looking forward to hearing more about her work.
Yani handed out a text she wrote outlining the political philosophy behind her work and spoke (also using a prepared text) about 3 projects that have been occupying her in recent years.
The first are a series of graphic images using familiar American cartoon figures like Tom and Jerry and Mickey Mouse for political humour. One image, for example, shows Mickey Mouse falling from a Wall Street skyscraper in an attempt to grasp a box with a $ on it.
A second project is a series of community-based performances called bendera (flag) in which key words (kata kunci) of significance to local communities are inscribed on flags in the font of multinational corporations and waved about in public spaces with important resonances. This work started with one flag of Yani's design, with the Arabic-derived Indonesian work akal - meaning 'sense' or 'cunning.' Working with community groups in Australia, Europe and Asia she has created dozens of flags. Spaces include Sydney's Hyde Park and a park next to Borobudur.
A third current project is related to the Lapindo disaster. Yani and a friend-collaborator pose in front of a backdrop showing a town overflowing with mud - in the style of a movie poster. Yani is dressed in traditional Javanese garb with a kebaya and traditional head covering and her friend is dressed in the Middle-Eastern garb of a traditional Islamic leader. Posing with them in a series of photographs are a number of visitors of different ethnicities. The attitudes shown are light, even flippant, a contrast with the sobering realities of the mud flow.
The question and answer session allowed Yani to expand on her motives for creating this work. She views her projects as work in progress - and if the aesthetic results are not always pleasing, she says that work that is instantly beautiful is forgery, and that all art needs to undergo a process of growth and development before achieving fixed form. She sees herself as a learner always, not a maestro.
Meaning is also not to be fixed. She does not propose an answer to what should be done about Lapindo, but rather asks questions - for example about the possible complicity of Islamic conservatives in ignoring (or even causing) this pressing ecological issue.
Yani is highly critical of corporate culture (that is part of the reason she 'steals' cartoon icons), and sees art as a way of making relations with people and forging communities. She claims not to be interested in selling art work but in developing alternate channels for the social -and says that in the globalized world artists must necessarily ask uncomfortable questions about the purpose of making art.
Yani handed out a text she wrote outlining the political philosophy behind her work and spoke (also using a prepared text) about 3 projects that have been occupying her in recent years.
The first are a series of graphic images using familiar American cartoon figures like Tom and Jerry and Mickey Mouse for political humour. One image, for example, shows Mickey Mouse falling from a Wall Street skyscraper in an attempt to grasp a box with a $ on it.
A second project is a series of community-based performances called bendera (flag) in which key words (kata kunci) of significance to local communities are inscribed on flags in the font of multinational corporations and waved about in public spaces with important resonances. This work started with one flag of Yani's design, with the Arabic-derived Indonesian work akal - meaning 'sense' or 'cunning.' Working with community groups in Australia, Europe and Asia she has created dozens of flags. Spaces include Sydney's Hyde Park and a park next to Borobudur.
A third current project is related to the Lapindo disaster. Yani and a friend-collaborator pose in front of a backdrop showing a town overflowing with mud - in the style of a movie poster. Yani is dressed in traditional Javanese garb with a kebaya and traditional head covering and her friend is dressed in the Middle-Eastern garb of a traditional Islamic leader. Posing with them in a series of photographs are a number of visitors of different ethnicities. The attitudes shown are light, even flippant, a contrast with the sobering realities of the mud flow.
The question and answer session allowed Yani to expand on her motives for creating this work. She views her projects as work in progress - and if the aesthetic results are not always pleasing, she says that work that is instantly beautiful is forgery, and that all art needs to undergo a process of growth and development before achieving fixed form. She sees herself as a learner always, not a maestro.
Meaning is also not to be fixed. She does not propose an answer to what should be done about Lapindo, but rather asks questions - for example about the possible complicity of Islamic conservatives in ignoring (or even causing) this pressing ecological issue.
Yani is highly critical of corporate culture (that is part of the reason she 'steals' cartoon icons), and sees art as a way of making relations with people and forging communities. She claims not to be interested in selling art work but in developing alternate channels for the social -and says that in the globalized world artists must necessarily ask uncomfortable questions about the purpose of making art.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
An Anniversary Party at Rarasati
+at+Rarasati+21Feb09.JPG)
Last night (21/2/09) I attended an anniversary party at Rarasati, a catering venue located in Mantrijeron, Yogyakarta. I didn't realise it would be a birthday party - I only knew from Facebook that Sampak Gusuran, an ethnic ensemble from Pati would be playing.
As it turned out, it was the anniversary of a Dutch couple celebrating 30 years of residence/continued visits to Indonesia - a couple we knew from Holland. We had actually visited their house some 10 years ago, and share a research interest in the field of Indonesian history. From an initial awkward welcome, we were embraced and became part of the party.
The venue Rarasati, which has a beautifully carved pendopo, is little known (our taxi driver had a very hard time finding it), but its owner Sugeng is an interior designer and businessman who is well-linked into the neo-traditional and modern performing arts scene here. He tells us Rarasati is often used for theatre and music rehearsals - and he happily provides this free of charge, even serving drinks. Among the guests were Mella, the owner of the Cemethi art gallery and a little person who is a member of Didik Nini Thowok's dance troupe. (I saw him perform at the Chinese New Year ketoprak show.)
There were the normal speeches, kaki-lima type food such as empal and soto and nasi liwet, and lots of beer and drinking.
The entertainments were divided into four sections. A solo guitar player/singer played some folksy songs. A mime in classic white face did a sketch with a friend wearing a plastic bag over his head. This was called Dunia Plastik, and featured a number of plastic bags - offered as presents to the sponsors, played with like a balloon, challenging the mime in various ways. The space was not well lit, and I found it hard to follow the plot, if there was one, but thought the miming was pretty good.
As it turned out, it was the anniversary of a Dutch couple celebrating 30 years of residence/continued visits to Indonesia - a couple we knew from Holland. We had actually visited their house some 10 years ago, and share a research interest in the field of Indonesian history. From an initial awkward welcome, we were embraced and became part of the party.
The venue Rarasati, which has a beautifully carved pendopo, is little known (our taxi driver had a very hard time finding it), but its owner Sugeng is an interior designer and businessman who is well-linked into the neo-traditional and modern performing arts scene here. He tells us Rarasati is often used for theatre and music rehearsals - and he happily provides this free of charge, even serving drinks. Among the guests were Mella, the owner of the Cemethi art gallery and a little person who is a member of Didik Nini Thowok's dance troupe. (I saw him perform at the Chinese New Year ketoprak show.)
There were the normal speeches, kaki-lima type food such as empal and soto and nasi liwet, and lots of beer and drinking.
The entertainments were divided into four sections. A solo guitar player/singer played some folksy songs. A mime in classic white face did a sketch with a friend wearing a plastic bag over his head. This was called Dunia Plastik, and featured a number of plastic bags - offered as presents to the sponsors, played with like a balloon, challenging the mime in various ways. The space was not well lit, and I found it hard to follow the plot, if there was one, but thought the miming was pretty good.
Then there was an open mike, in which a number of musicians and singers 'nyumbang suara' to the event.
Finally Sampak GusUran (http://www.youtube.com/user/SampakGusUran) offered a set of 5 songs. The group's leader offered an introduction in Indonesian about how the group plays both big venues such as TIM and also worked at the local (desa) level promoting good causes. He believes that good art will be recognised and appreciated wherever it is performed. Their base in Pati - a pesisir area far from the major cultural centres such as Jakarta and Yogyakarta - is no impediment in today's globalized world.
The group of perhaps 15 or 20 performers combined guitars and drum kit with saron and terbang, various styles of singing and chanting. It was a good neo-ethnic show, slick and entertaining and high volume. (My wife commented that the neighbours must be very tolerant to allow for these sorts of events.)
There were fewer than 50 people in the audience at this time - and I felt very privileged to have been present at this private concert.
NB After writing this blog entry, I received an apologetic email from Sampak GusUran leader Anis Sholeh Ba'asyin via facebook. He had read this blog and apologised for the quality of the sound system, not greeting me on my arrival etc. He was lead to believe that the performance would be a much bigger affair than it turned out to be - that is why he advertised it via facebook. I was pleased to have a personal connection, and explained that the event was a special treat for me....
Finally Sampak GusUran (http://www.youtube.com/user/SampakGusUran) offered a set of 5 songs. The group's leader offered an introduction in Indonesian about how the group plays both big venues such as TIM and also worked at the local (desa) level promoting good causes. He believes that good art will be recognised and appreciated wherever it is performed. Their base in Pati - a pesisir area far from the major cultural centres such as Jakarta and Yogyakarta - is no impediment in today's globalized world.
The group of perhaps 15 or 20 performers combined guitars and drum kit with saron and terbang, various styles of singing and chanting. It was a good neo-ethnic show, slick and entertaining and high volume. (My wife commented that the neighbours must be very tolerant to allow for these sorts of events.)
There were fewer than 50 people in the audience at this time - and I felt very privileged to have been present at this private concert.
NB After writing this blog entry, I received an apologetic email from Sampak GusUran leader Anis Sholeh Ba'asyin via facebook. He had read this blog and apologised for the quality of the sound system, not greeting me on my arrival etc. He was lead to believe that the performance would be a much bigger affair than it turned out to be - that is why he advertised it via facebook. I was pleased to have a personal connection, and explained that the event was a special treat for me....
Friday, February 20, 2009
Pelantikan Pengurus Pepadi Yogyakarta
Last night, the new board of the city of Yogyakarta's dalang union (Pepadi) were officially appointed - celebrated by a wayang performance at the mayor's house (rumah dinas) in Timoho. I was invited to participate in this mutli-dalang event (15 puppeteers!) at the invitation of Ki Ledjar Subroto and his grandson Nanang. Nanang has been rising in the Pepadi hierarchy, and plays a central role in the educational outreach activities.
The lakon performed was Babad Alas Wanamarta, based loosely on a script written in 2006 for another occasion by the drummer/director of the show. Three different playing areas were used - screens on left and right and a central area (pictured above) for wayang golek puppets and some of the wayang kancil figures (animated by Ledjar himself). 1, 2 or sometimes 3 puppeteers performed in each scene. Some of the scenes kept close to script - though with frequent breakouts for improvisation - while others, including the whole of pathet manyura (performed by Catur) and my own scene were entirely improvised.
My scene called for me to play Bima (Jayasena) meeting protesting forest animals before he deforested Wanamarta. This allowed for environmental messages to be conveyed - and also was an opportunity to flatter the walikota, who is well liked here for his penghijauan (greening) programme, involving planting trees, plants etc. My partner in this scene was Ki Ledjar himself - along with one of Ki Ledjar's students. I found it so hard to get in a word edgewise that in rehearsals I hauled out Petruk to speak on Bima's behalf. While some of the puppeteers and audience found my Cirebon Javanese accent and vocabulary hilarious, I received a nice message from Ria (an UGM-educated puppeteer who runs a modern puppet company called Papermoon) and also kind remarks from Catur and others after the show.
The highlight for many was the Limbukan, in which the walikota Herry Zudianto played Limbuk and another local politico, the Kepala Dinas Kimpraswil Kota Yogya Eko Suryo played Cangik. This allowed the mayor to reiterate a message he gave in his opening speech - that wayang needs to be protected and fostered in this age of modernization and globalization, AND that wayang needs to adapt to the time, primarily through working together with educational bodies.
The show ended around 2.30 am - Catur, who took on the role of pathet manyura joked (through one of the punakawan) that as he got manyura he could take as long as he wanted in finishing the lakon. There was little audience in the end - the location of the rumah dinas in Timoho, far from the city centre, meant that few incidental spectators (such as tukang becak) were attending.
One of the most interesting features of the event was the combination of professionals, dedicated amateurs and wayang novice such as the mayor (who could bearly hold Limbuk to the screen and had little clue about her voice). This is an increasing feature of arts here in Yogya -inclusive projects that reach out to the public - and worth following.
A small article titled 'Pelantikan Pepadi Komda Kota Yogya: Dalang dari London Ikut Mainkan Wayang' about the event appeared in the local paper Kedaulatan Rakyat today (20 February) with a pictur of one of the wayang golek scenes. It is nice to get recognition - even if I still feel like a bit of a trained monkey when I perform in central Java (in contrast to Cirebon, where my performances are generally appreicated for what they are).
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Seni Kampus
Yesterday I attended an academic conference at Universitas Sanata Dharma, my sponsor here in Yogyakarta, the second meeting of an emerging research network called Reading Asia, Forginging Identities in Literature (RAFIL). A full review of the conference is not strictly necessary here - though I must say it was a pleasure to hear and talk with keynote speakers Melani Budianta from Universitas Indonesia and the Australian translator of Indonesian literature Harry Aveling (Latrobe) and other participants.
What I would like to briefly discuss is the 'cultural night' that capped the day. This was another affair with kaki lima food carts (actually mock-kaki lima - they all belonged to a caterer, with some proferring non-Javanese food like beef stroganoff) and local talent. Most of the evening was the campus keroncong ensemble - flute plus strings - accompanying amateur student singers and some more polished singers. There were also two dancers - a Balinese student who performed a solo legong and the SMA daughter of one of the conference participants, a lecturer in English, who performed a tari merak.
The keroncong ensemble was made up entirely of university staff - and while Sanata Dharma does not have a music department, they were fairly polished and professional both in appearance (black t-shirts with musical notes on them plus black jackets) and sound. A tight ensemble, polished and precise. I was told they often perform on local tv and venues like Taman Budaya Yogyakarta. Some of the singers (who performed both Javanese and Indonesian language keroncong) were VERY amateur (one had to restart a piece as the pitch was too high for her) but the musicians were not to be perturbed.
The Balinese dancer was also very competent. A Balinese lecturer told me that Sanata Dharma has just started up a Balinese dance club that meets every Friday and Saturday. The guru is from ISI Yogyakarta. Members of the club are both Balinese and non-Balinese. Men are learning baris and women are learning panyembrana. I was encouraged to join.
I am not sure what precisely the conference participants got from the shows. Some of the foreign conference presenters showed great interest in the Balinese dance/dancer particularly. She came out after her dance to allow people to take pictures together with her. An Iranian English lecturer and her husband, a nuclear physicist (!), seemed very enthusiastic indeed.
Preliminary impressions indicate that there is a lot of this sort of artistic activity going on in university campuses around Yogya. People I spoke to said it was a good social experience for students and also a way to promote the university. Something to think about.
What I would like to briefly discuss is the 'cultural night' that capped the day. This was another affair with kaki lima food carts (actually mock-kaki lima - they all belonged to a caterer, with some proferring non-Javanese food like beef stroganoff) and local talent. Most of the evening was the campus keroncong ensemble - flute plus strings - accompanying amateur student singers and some more polished singers. There were also two dancers - a Balinese student who performed a solo legong and the SMA daughter of one of the conference participants, a lecturer in English, who performed a tari merak.
The keroncong ensemble was made up entirely of university staff - and while Sanata Dharma does not have a music department, they were fairly polished and professional both in appearance (black t-shirts with musical notes on them plus black jackets) and sound. A tight ensemble, polished and precise. I was told they often perform on local tv and venues like Taman Budaya Yogyakarta. Some of the singers (who performed both Javanese and Indonesian language keroncong) were VERY amateur (one had to restart a piece as the pitch was too high for her) but the musicians were not to be perturbed.
The Balinese dancer was also very competent. A Balinese lecturer told me that Sanata Dharma has just started up a Balinese dance club that meets every Friday and Saturday. The guru is from ISI Yogyakarta. Members of the club are both Balinese and non-Balinese. Men are learning baris and women are learning panyembrana. I was encouraged to join.
I am not sure what precisely the conference participants got from the shows. Some of the foreign conference presenters showed great interest in the Balinese dance/dancer particularly. She came out after her dance to allow people to take pictures together with her. An Iranian English lecturer and her husband, a nuclear physicist (!), seemed very enthusiastic indeed.
Preliminary impressions indicate that there is a lot of this sort of artistic activity going on in university campuses around Yogya. People I spoke to said it was a good social experience for students and also a way to promote the university. Something to think about.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Wayang Kancil and Ki Ledjar Subroto
Over the last 12 days since arriving in Yogyakarta, I have seen a fair bit of Ki Ledjar Subroto an his nephew Nanang.
Ledjar during this time has been working on a new variant of wayang kancil, the form of wayang he is most associated with. Ledjar started performing wayang kancil in 1980, with figures from the standard wayang set supplemented by a few of his own design. Over the years he has gradually modified these figures, adding movable limbs and body parts and shaping them into a cohesive ensemble. Sets of Ledjar's wayang kancil have been purchased by puppeteers, collectors and museums around the world.
Ledjar recognises that he is not the first dalang to turn to kancil for inspiration. An early performer cum writer Raden Mas Sayid also performed wayang kancil starting in 1943. In his encyclopaedic book on wayang on Bauwarna Wayang, RM Sayid credits a Chinese-Indonesian named Bo Liem as being the creator of this form in 1925.
But in an interview with Koran Tempo (Heru CN, 'Ki Ledjar Subroto Memperkenalkan Wayang Kancil', Koran Tempo 11 February 2009: B4), Ledjar insists that he is not simply a 'penerus' [continuation] of Raden Mas Sayid but 'benar-benar mulai dari nol saat membuat wayang kancil' [genuinely started from a clean slate when making wayang kancil]. There is precious little information about Bo Liem available - and while RM Sayid was a well known cultural figure, there is likewise little documentation of his wayang kancil work - aside from a small b&w picture in Bauwarna Wayang.
Privately he expressed disappointed that in a number of museums displaying his wayang kancil puppets he is not credited - and that Bo Liem is noted instead as the form's creator. He told me that some of the people responsible for attributing wayang kancil to Bo Liem are his friends from Senawangi - people he knows personally, and ought to know better.
This disappointment coming from lack of recognition and perhaps also a concern for legacy as an independent artist, is perhaps why he has been working so hard on making a very distinct and new form of wayang kancil. The figures have animal head and extremities but are dressed in human costume. As such they resemble Wayang Rajakaya, a new wayang form created by a young Solo puppeteer named Herlambang Bayu Aji and his German musician collaborator. (In a brief documentary about Wayang Rajakaya, Bayu Aji admits that he was influenced by Ledjar's wayang kancil - so the influence is not simply one way.)
Ledjar will be performing with these new figures for the first time in a scene in Babad Alas Wanamarta - a multi-dalang spectacular at the Rumah Dinas Walikota Yogyakarta on Thursday night (19 February). I have been enjoying being a participant in this scene - taking on the role of Bima (and also using Petruk - which allows me to get in a word or two against the ever-talkative kancil). The new clothed figures (model 2009) has been an opportunity for lots of humour, as well as statements about relations between humans and the natural world and the costs of so-called progress.
Ledjar has created at least some of these new figures by drawing directly on to hide. You can imagine my surprise when he hopped on to the back of a motorcycle last night with the whole set of figures (plus more wayang!) bundled into a doubled over piece of cardboard and bound by twine - in the midst of a light sprinkling of rain. Ledjar might stake a claim to be an independent artist but he also treats his wayang in a traditional fashion - as tools of the trade to be used, not displayed and fetishized.
Ledjar during this time has been working on a new variant of wayang kancil, the form of wayang he is most associated with. Ledjar started performing wayang kancil in 1980, with figures from the standard wayang set supplemented by a few of his own design. Over the years he has gradually modified these figures, adding movable limbs and body parts and shaping them into a cohesive ensemble. Sets of Ledjar's wayang kancil have been purchased by puppeteers, collectors and museums around the world.
Ledjar recognises that he is not the first dalang to turn to kancil for inspiration. An early performer cum writer Raden Mas Sayid also performed wayang kancil starting in 1943. In his encyclopaedic book on wayang on Bauwarna Wayang, RM Sayid credits a Chinese-Indonesian named Bo Liem as being the creator of this form in 1925.
But in an interview with Koran Tempo (Heru CN, 'Ki Ledjar Subroto Memperkenalkan Wayang Kancil', Koran Tempo 11 February 2009: B4), Ledjar insists that he is not simply a 'penerus' [continuation] of Raden Mas Sayid but 'benar-benar mulai dari nol saat membuat wayang kancil' [genuinely started from a clean slate when making wayang kancil]. There is precious little information about Bo Liem available - and while RM Sayid was a well known cultural figure, there is likewise little documentation of his wayang kancil work - aside from a small b&w picture in Bauwarna Wayang.
Privately he expressed disappointed that in a number of museums displaying his wayang kancil puppets he is not credited - and that Bo Liem is noted instead as the form's creator. He told me that some of the people responsible for attributing wayang kancil to Bo Liem are his friends from Senawangi - people he knows personally, and ought to know better.
This disappointment coming from lack of recognition and perhaps also a concern for legacy as an independent artist, is perhaps why he has been working so hard on making a very distinct and new form of wayang kancil. The figures have animal head and extremities but are dressed in human costume. As such they resemble Wayang Rajakaya, a new wayang form created by a young Solo puppeteer named Herlambang Bayu Aji and his German musician collaborator. (In a brief documentary about Wayang Rajakaya, Bayu Aji admits that he was influenced by Ledjar's wayang kancil - so the influence is not simply one way.)
Ledjar will be performing with these new figures for the first time in a scene in Babad Alas Wanamarta - a multi-dalang spectacular at the Rumah Dinas Walikota Yogyakarta on Thursday night (19 February). I have been enjoying being a participant in this scene - taking on the role of Bima (and also using Petruk - which allows me to get in a word or two against the ever-talkative kancil). The new clothed figures (model 2009) has been an opportunity for lots of humour, as well as statements about relations between humans and the natural world and the costs of so-called progress.
Ledjar has created at least some of these new figures by drawing directly on to hide. You can imagine my surprise when he hopped on to the back of a motorcycle last night with the whole set of figures (plus more wayang!) bundled into a doubled over piece of cardboard and bound by twine - in the midst of a light sprinkling of rain. Ledjar might stake a claim to be an independent artist but he also treats his wayang in a traditional fashion - as tools of the trade to be used, not displayed and fetishized.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
