Karbon
KARBON Vol. 1: THE AESTHETICS VERSUS THE PERIODES
The first edition of Karbon journal is published in 2000 in two languages, Indonesian and English, for 1,000 copies and distributed freely in several art spaces in Indonesia and abroad. The edition discusses about public art and art in public; two different issues that often become a source of confusion in the Indonesian contemporary art criticism.
How does art, with the varied social and temporal contexts, exist within the public space? Ugeng T. Moetidjo, art writer and observer and editor of the Karbon journal, discusses how art interpretations occupy a distinct realm, in which re-interpretations are a necessity.
How should art and architecture exist within the public space. There should be a dialogue between architecture and art, not only due to its similarities, but also because both have the potentials to disrupt the public space itself. Marco Kusumawijaya, an urban critic, delineates his critical views.
Since the time of Persagi until the end of 1940s, art constitutes the public space itself, along with the ideas and street posters. How do Apotik Komik and Taring Padi, as groups with a basis in the public but with opposing ideologies, take a stand in relation with their respective public space in the beginning of the 2000s? FX Harsono, one of the founders of the New Art Movement (Gerakan Seni Rupa Baru) in the 1970s, explains.
The work in the period 1959-1965, no matter how strong the dictums were applied on art as planned its active role is to maintain the objective of power dictatorship, at last in silence it was found out as aesthetic praxis. That there were some justifications on implementation beyond the work of art creation, it was absolutely a political decision in the name of culture and art.
KARBON Vol. 2: URBAN PRINT
Researches of the chemical nature might prove the legitimacy of the year, but they still cannot answer this question: What position do the Two Corn Growers occupy in the art history, here and there? As the auctioneer knocks his hammer, such a question becomes irrelevant. The auctioneer has nothing to do with such problems. Expensive or not expensive, that is the question.
Urban prints are not the cultural products of post-modernism. They exist, irreverent and refreshing, never with the intention to challenge, but are yielding to the desire of the market and the era. They, however, have a massive support, unlike our high modern art. Our modern art actually has the greatest potential to fight against the unsightliness of such a visual taste.
Alexander Sudheim, musician and journalist from Durban, South Africa, lived and worked for a week with ruangrupa for the Urban Print project in Jakarta in 2000. His diary entries offer refreshing glimpses on Jakarta, reminding us of so many things that we have taken for granted, just because we live in their midst.
The making of public art is a highly intricate matter as it has a huge social impact. Andrea Peresthu, an architect, offers a critical review on public art works that might damage the public space itself. He maintains that we will have a clearer understanding about public art if we appreciate it as a social process, instead of a mere product of the narrow individualism of its maker.
The following are various fragments from the series of discussions on urban prints, which ruangrupa has done in collaboration with a number of artists invited for the project of "Cetak Urban" (Urban Prints) in November 2000.
KARBON Vol. 4: PERFORMANCE ART
The inadequate art criticism about performance art allows many performance artists a greater room for acrobats. ruangrupa and Karbon journal invite a number of performance artists to discuss about it. The edition constitutes an initial intense documentation about the contemporary performance art in Indonesia.
"The term ‘performance art’, inevitably, is something that’s imported from the (English-speaking) Western art discourse. It can be taken from there how the words ‘perform’ and ‘performance’ are implemented a bit differently between the Indonesian and the English language, which may not really be a problem in the matter of creation process, but may be so when it comes to encountering perceptions."
Performance art begins from the resistance efforts against the established artistic and aesthetic idioms within the Indonesian art world. Agung Hujatnikajennong records the development from the New Art Movement (Gerakan Seni Rupa Baru) to works of performance art in the early 2ooos, in order to recognize the relation or the discord between meanings and actions.
KARBON Vol. 5: ALTERNATIVE SPACE
The inadequate art infrastructure in Indonesia, from the museums, galleries, up to the art education at the school, has created certain tensions and, whether indirectly or not, triggered the growth of alternative art receptacles. This edition of Karbon journal discusses about these alternative spaces.
Alternative art spaces in urban areas in Indonesia can be seen as continuation of the basic concept of the sanggar system—or the system of communal studios. Most of today’s artists who have initiated such alternative spaces, however, have no physical memories regarding colonialism and revolution; rather, they have direct experiences with the state’s policies that directly affect art; they are the MTV and internet generation, coming from a world in which art and life have merged.
Observing the ideological shift from the sanggar to alternative art spaces, FX Harsono delineates—or traces—the map of Indonesian art communities. As a form of democratization of art values, these alternative spaces must not only be celebrated, but also viewed critically.
Alternative spaces that have been growing since the beginning of the 2000s are local in character, but it is also this very characteristic that helps situate them within the international context: it is the era of grassroot globalization. “Masturbate with your right hand, as you’re an Indonesian artist. Don’t imitate the Western artists, because they use both hands to masturbate.”
KARBON Vol. 6: AUDIENCE
It is often the case that the public merely constitutes passive viewers in the world of contemporary art. This edition looks at the elements that are closely related to the audience; including the event organizer and the management of art spaces as well as gallery owners. We also present the perspective of the audience as they view the art works.
Art and public are invariably in conflict. It is actually not the case of the public’s not being able to appreciate art; rather, it is the art itself that is unable to appreciate daily lives. Ade Darmawan and Ardi Yunanto writes about it from the point of view of ruangrupa, an art organization based in Jakarta whose programs are mostly based on urban issues.
In Indonesia, art education occupies a minute portion in the school’s curriculum. Not every school has some extracurricular activities of visiting galleries or museums. Artist’s talk events are only popular in Yogyakarta in the last one to two years. In short, we can safely say that the world of art in Yogyakarta is not experiencing a crisis of audience; rather, it has always had a crisis of audience.
Dr. Melani W. Setiawan, an art lover, always takes pictures of herself with artists in various art events. The pictures are then sent to the people who are also in them. Hendro Wiyanto, an art curator, writes about Dr Melani, who is more interested in the audience and is always a part of the art audience.
KARBON Vol. 7: TIGABELASAN: Visual culture discussion
Every month on the thirteenth, ruangrupa holds the ‘tigabelasan’ forum, a series of discussions on matters of art and culture, inviting various speakers. This edition constitutes the transcripts of selected discussions.
Tigabelasan invites Antariksa, a researcher from Yogyakarta, to talk about the history of movie theaters. Many interesting facts of the past that are still relevant to the present condition have been revealed in this discussion. You can read here how a culture of spectacle was born in Indonesia, and how this culture progresses to this day.
Inviting Hikmat Darmawan, a comics and film critic, Tigabelasan discusses how the medium of comics has been carrying its ideas since its inception, and how it has developed in Indonesia to this day. Tigabelasan also reviews the creative aspects of the medium, how the medium relates to the industry, and how comics from abroad have strongly influenced Indonesian comic artists.