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the uninvited guest...
Halloween? A performing artist? A Jakarta Jin or simply Odji in his pajamas? Just after a 'performance' on top of (or disrupting, or commenting on via performance) the JIPAAF performance in which, among others, Arahmaiani (see photo below) was participating.odji

Artist Reacts to the Jakarta Anti Art Performance Festival

(2-4 March 2000 at Galeri Lontar - Jl. Utan Kayu 68 H, Jakarta Timur, Tel 021 8573388 Fax 8573387 e-mail aldero@cbn.net.id)

The text below was faxed to javafred 14 April 2000. Hand written in the margin: “Dear Gary, Please find attached my statement at JIPAAF, Tks & Rgds, Odji 14/04/00.”

Translation into English from Indonesian 

1st Visit – 2 March 2000
JIPAAF – Jakarta International Performance Anti Art Festival

  1. Art too known

  2. Very professional in handling/receiving donations

  3. A need to get sympathy

  4. Dependent

  5. Ready in voicing the donator’s wish

  6. Protesting on Human Rights, Manipulation, Politics, Gender, Leftism etc., depending on situation even if it means to discredit the government

  7. Brave in displaying the newest movement – the modern movement (daring)

  8. Anytime ready as long as there are funds

  1. NATO = No Action Talk Only – everywhere like a leak in the bucket

  2. Creative as weird as it can be – the weirder the better

  3. Half NGO, half activist

  4. Ready to be treated as marginal

  5. As parasite until the end (life depends on donations, for example from institutes), and they label themselves as alternative contemporary artists or whatever they call it

  6. Have load of concepts and statements

  7. Pretending to be heroes

  8. Pretending to be against the government

  9. Pretending to be controversial or leftist, but in actual fact in need of funds

Odji

yani

Arahmaiani, an internationally known Indonesian performing artist on her cell phone at the Lontar Gallery during JIPAAF.

 

2nd Visit – 4 March 2000
Title: Letters on Tree

  • Wishing you well dear friends, hoping that you are well and enjoyed my visit just now.

  •  I think in this era we are allowed to express what we like or what we do not like as what democracy wind blows us, and we are obliged to be ready to be different.

  • Why am I in Utan Kayu, I believe Utan Kayu would need to really see what are the reflections from what have been displayed or performed here, and I am optimist with Utan Kayu’s existence, although they live by donated funds.

  • Why do I visit here? Because I want to prevent more artists who would victimize themselves and become losers and yet they still call themselves “true artists”. It is now rare to hear of any guidance towards cultured society.

  • It is very saddening to see professional artists, professional galleries, who live and create works of art from donations.

  • I am sad to see artists’ performances who are so average; it is preferable to take into account the theater play by Putu Wijaya “NGEH” or Miroto dance, etc.

  • Everywhere there is a crisis; funds ought to be in the form of rice for the people who starve rather than being used for the “Half Monkey Half Man Mask”.

  • A note for [about] Utan Kayu: there are many potential artists who live on “salary”, who are not true artists who ought to have their freedom and independence. So this type of a place is a place which keeps/looks after the artists by an institution – how sad.

  • Art creativity becomes impotent/dead whenever the artists lose their freedom or independence – what a shame.

  • It is something you are not proud of if an artist who admits being “kept”, it would be a “death ceremonial for creativity and self integrity”.

  • It is also inappropriate to declare the purity of art when it is actually empty and something you are not proud of.

  • There are plenty of these marginal artists who make the loudest noises about politics, country, manipulation, and pretend to be against the government, pretend to be heroes, too modern to be in Indonesia etc. ...while we all know it, behind it all the intention was money – receiving funds out of pity from the donator.

  • Plenty of opportunist artists who call themselves gallery curators, art critics, observers, those who appreciate, artists etc., causing the existing chaotic arts to become even more obscure.

  • While we are at the beginning of 2000, at the start of democracy, we ought to be ready with something ‘clear’, and professional. Leave all the old mentality of begging which already damaged the nation’s morale.

  • To rebuild and lead the culture – I am concerned with the art works which have recently been shown.

  • To end this message, I apologize for my being blatant, but let’s fight together in our own area and engage in self-introspection a little bit.

Keep the fighting spirt!

-- Anonymous