"Neo-Nation"-Biennale Jogja IX-2007 a Showcase, Cultural Investment, and Politics of Identity

Abstract

Can an art event--say a performing art (a musical concert or a play production, for instance), an exhibition of visual art or multimedia art -- disrupt thoughts or ideologies, faith, solidarity, citizenship, nationality, or nationalism? Before trying to answer it maybe one needs to question the reasonability of the question or whether it makes sense or not. Isn't it but a frivolous question? But for now let's suppose the question is serious and let's try to answer it quite elaborately. What has happened to a number of art programs in Indonesia (in various other countries in the world as well, I think) shows that art events (and works) -- the visual arts included -- have the potency to be regarded as ”shocking” or at least ”disturbing” beliefs, ideologies, power, faith, and even nationalism. At times they are suspected to be ”dangerous” activities. When events and works of the arts are regarded as potential for upsetting comfort and even for being a threat, such an outlook presumably has its source in the paranoia haunting a certain group in the community -- or maybe elements of the power elite as well -- so that anything and anyone, including an artwork and an artist, can make them feel threatened. But a community that is both mentally and physically sane, and fostering open-mindedness and clear-headedness, accepts anything and anyone anywhere as part of the reflection of a given situation and zeitgeist. With such an attitude, in the face of art events and works of the arts, one will be motivated to improve his/her own sensitivity and sensibility and to put them on test. The Biennale Jogja (BJ) has become quite an established art event in Indonesia. The ninth BJ took place in 2007, lasting from 27 December 2007 through the 27th of January 2008. The BJ IX-2007 had the heading ”NEO-NATION” as coined by a curatorial team consisting of Eko Prawoto, Kuss Indarto, Sujud Dartanto and Suwarno Wisetrotomo. This title met with various responses and high enthusiasm from different circles; it was appreciated as offering an actual and well-contextualized grand topic in the circumstances then current. BJ is a regular event potential to provide a forum and medium of cultural presentation through the visual arts. A city should have been proud to house an event like BJ and taken part in encouraging its citizens to be part of the celebration. An art biennale does not only deal with ”works of art” exclusively; it can also concern with all aspects of political, social-economic and cultural life. BJ also has the potential of making history, in the sense that it potentially provides the ”glue” to the puzzle pieces of ”scattered” events. This way, the Biennale Jogja is a kind of ”showcase,” a forum by which to see ”most recent issues”-- at least within the last two years -- which influence the complexity of mindset and life including the arts, particularly the visual arts in this case. The Biennale provided an effective and attractive showcase for discourse, creativity, and critical dialogs on art. In the last analysis BJ IX was a project that had the nature of a cultural event. At this point the Biennale can be regarded as a ”cultural investment” that has the consequence of, and quality as, a statement in the framework of ”politics of identity.” The theme of NEO NATION has a strong dimension of ”politics of identity”; here the intention is to display the pioneering role of Yogyakarta as a cultural center of Indonesia, while shaping the notion of a new NATION. In particular, BJ IX was motivated by the question of ”How do we experience Indonesian-ness today?” Of course, ”experiencing Indonesian-ness” today doesn't exclusively concern younger people but also individuals undergoing (and entrapped in) shuttling mobility to and fro Indonesian territory. As the curatorial frame highlights, ”Experiencing Indonesian-ness in a new outlook and mindset” is an actual and significant point that has triggered the introduction of ”NEO NATION” as the title of BJ IX-2007. The new outlook and mindset is closely related to the problematic shifts in the socio-cultural setting we Indonesians are in these days. ”NEO NATION” is, in our opinion, a global theme connected to the shifts in the awareness of nationality and nationhood. A new NATION is growing as an individual and personal experience of the new generation of humankind all over the world. An art event like a biennale can hopefully provide a learning forum and a medium for enlightening anyone in this regard.