Before ephigy, before war

On this desk today, after the last echoes of the bombs and machine guns from the war fading out decades ago, a disgraceful vision left behind as an undeviating verdict on Seniman [1]. The pioneers have departed now, and the journal has died for no other reasons than surrender itself wholeheartedly to the call of era: 1948 and the colonial aggression. Those who appreciate the so called culture of idealistic aspiration that is being established: a modernity can also be a contextualization of anything that have an authentic genuineness in this land, that is in the midst of their time situation along with the tragedy and heroism which are so perfectly alive, their views upon imagination contain no doubted questions. A situation which is impossible to be sincere has been sent back to us, although we frequently watch the commemorations right before our eyes, on the streets or places of its temples, which by our own applause, is called the art. It is indeed for its certain period, criticism should be so helpless as to reach its lowest state when idiotism becomes truly embarrassing to the human civilization, the culture survival of the fittest valuing what suitable or worthless upon the works. It might be nothing, with no lacking of euphoria, re-reading Dada, curses of Tzara seem to be allowed to strengthen our heart upon our thin imaginations when we stretch our arms to face the beauty of golden age.



editors



Note
[1] the first journal published in early 1947 and only for two years, issued on Indonesian modern art.