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Keliling-Keliling
Bayu Wirawan to visit Australia
Extraordinary Crazy Jazz Pianist and composer Bayu Wirawan from Purwokerto in Central Java is planning to visit Australia in December this year. At the request of Duncan Coleman from Melaney in Queensland, Bayu has been invited to attend Woodford Festival between Christmas and New Year to collaborate with Australian musicians, to share his wonderful creativity and music and to experience Australian music and culture. For further information contact Duncan Coleman email: alphachannel@serv.net.au
"TAMASYA KEBAYA"
An interactive video-installation in 2 stages by Victoria Cattoni
NTU GALLERY, BUILDING 12, CASUARINA CAMPUS
11-15 November 2002
OPENING Thursday 14 November 6-8pm
STAGE 1 audience participation - interaction
Dates 11-13 November
Times 12-2pm, 4-6pm
STAGE 2 exhibition - video-installation
Dates 14-15 November
Times 1-6pm
Tamasya Kebaya is a video-installation-performance, which involves audience
participation in the first stage of the work. The audience will be invited to
interact during this first stage - trying on the 'kebaya' and commenting on
their experience. The video documentation occurring as a result of this interaction
will be used in stage 2 of the exhibition - in the form of a video-installation.
This first presentation of Cattoni's work in Darwin is the result of an ongoing inter-cultural dialogue between Australia and Indonesia. This particular work deals with the 'kebaya' - an Indonesian blouse for women often made of semi-transparent lace - which is worn in various regions of Indonesia, but most predominantly in Bali as a ceremonial blouse.
The Indonesian title Tamasya Kebaya - refers to this blouse, while 'tamasya' can be translated as referring to something beautiful that can be seen, or a trip for pleasure, recreation and leisure - a 'kebaya' trip.
Victoria Cattoni is currently a Masters candidate in the School of Art and Design at Northern Territory University. She has exhibited extensively in Australia, and more recently in Indonesia, Lithuania and Finland. She has lived in Indonesia since 1998, dividing her time between Australia and Indonesia.
For further information contact:
Northern Territory University
School of Art and Design
Ph: (08) 8946 6212
Fax: (08) 8946 7266
Email: artdesign@ntu.edu.au
GengGong Plays Again!
Finaly our vocalist is back in the Country from Indonesia and we are playing again at CAFE CARNIVALE
SNEAKY INTERLOCKING RHYTMS !
GengnGong are ;
- Sawung Jabo.................Vocal, Metal perc & Gtr.
- Ron Reeves...................Kendang (Sundanese Drums), Flute
- Reza Achman................Drumcussion
- Kim Sanders..................Bulgarian bagpipe, Mey & Ney (All blow
instrument)
- Monica Wullf......................Mask dance
WHEN Every Friday 8.30pm
WHERE Eastside Arts, Paddington Markets Site TIX $15 / $12
BOOKINGS Carnivale info line 9251 0296
or Ticketmaster7 1300 136 166 (booking fees apply)
Ticket available on the door
www.carnivale.com.au
The Patrizia Autore Gallery and Kelompok Senjahari
presents
"THAT SOUND COMES FROM HERE"
A Solo Exhibition by Indonesian artist, S E DEWANTORO.
The recent works of SE Dewantoro in this exhibition have been created over the last year - a time of turbulence in the world in regards to September 11th and those that have occurred in various parts of Indonesia. As a young artist, Dewantoro has taken advantage of the new political freedoms that have come about since reformasi (reformation) creating works that offer a harsh and honest commentary on both political and social injustice. It is ironic that now, in the face of recent events, these very freedoms may soon be lost. His work resonates with a new pertinence - a reminder for our leaders to learn from their mistakes of the past and for us, the viewer, to reflect on the times we live in.
S E Dewantoro is a Javanese artist living in Bali with his Australian wife. He draws on Christian, Hindu and Muslim imagery blurring the lines between the three and reflecting the reality of many Indonesians who live in a heterogeneous society.
"Bali, as far as I can see, until now has only produced two fine artists, Tatang Bsp and S E Dewantoro, who have depicted intensely themes of violence, in particular social and political problems in their work… His works in a strong contrast to other artists on the island who create works that have been beautified and sweetened for the tourist market. Nowadays it is rare to find - an artist who is brave enough to challenge artistic norm and give birth to new styles that are not geared solely toward profit."
" Many of Dewantoro's paintings make use of metaphors for violence. The colors red and black are dominant in his work occasionally accentuated with white and yellow. Figures in his paintings are not given identities and are often painted in red with a strong black background with the color red identified with blood, used as a symbolic representation for violence. Likewise black is used as symbol of obscurity and vagueness, representative of the mysteries of life." (Quoted from Wayan Sunarta, " That Sound Comes From Here - Discourse on violence, latest trends and creative rebellion.")
The Exhibition will open with a performance by Kerensa Johnston "A Clockwork Medea " and "Shakuntala".
The Exhibition will open on 28th November 2002 at the Patrizia Autore Gallery, 129 Fitzroy St, St Kilda, 3182 at 6.30pm and will run until the 15th December 2002.
Contact Details:
Patrizia Autore Gallery
Tel: 9593 8191
Fax:9593 6088
gallery@patriziaautoregallery.net
or
Kerensa
04035 19835
Abolition of visa-free facility in Indonesia
The Directorate General of Immigration has proposed the abolition of the visa-free facility currently extended to the nationals of 48 countries, a move which tourism experts said would hurt the already embattled industry.
According to a draft of the proposal seen by The Jakarta Post on Friday, the facility will only be given to nationals of 14 countries, mostly consisting of the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) member countries, while citizens from 38 other countries, including the U.S., Japan, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Taiwan and South Korea would no longer be entitled to the facility starting next year.
The visa-free facility, first introduced in 1983, was meant to lure more foreign tourists to the country. Under the scheme, foreign tourists visiting the country for a two-month period are not required to possess a visa.
A reason given for the proposal is the the reciprocity issue. Many Indonesian citizens face difficulties in obtaining visas from countries that have been enjoying Indonesia's visa-free facility.
The country's tourism industry deplored the plan to abolish the scheme, arguing it would only serve to further damage a tourism sector struggling to recover from the impact of the late 1990s twin political and economic crises as well as from the effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.
The Red Room (Review)
Presented by: Kerensa Dewantoro
Venue: Royal Exchange, 34 Bolton St, Newcastle
Season: September 19 -21
By Ken Longworth
In a program note, Kerensa Dewantoro, talks about the different responses of Balinese and Western people who have seen The Red Room. In Bali, she says, it has been the physical action that most appealed to the audiences, while in the West it has been the words. Dewantoro, a young Australian actress and dancer married to a Balinese artist, has put together work that tries to straddle cultures.
The Red Room is a story of a young woman raped by a group of men but finds herself blamed by a patriarchal society, including her husband for what happened. Pregnant as the result of the rape, but not wanting the child to remind her of the brutal experience, she decides on an unhappy course of action.
While this is the story, it does not unfold in such a linear way until the last ten minutes of a single actor show lasting almost an hour. The lead up to that shows the woman, as she says, imprisoned in her mind. She's in a cell and the sudden switches from ranting voice and violence and almost motionless calm show her to be indeed a troubled person.
Dewantoro's script incorporates fragments of texts by Euripides (this story of Medea, the woman who slew husbands and sons, provides a prologue), Tennyson, Anais Ninn, TS Elliot, Spike Milligan and the Righteous Brothers among others, but it is Dewantoro's delivery of the words rather than the words themselves that provides the shows power. And while she might have noticed a words versus action divide between the audiences of different cultural backgrounds, the physicality and the language are very much complimentary.
The grace of the mother nursing a baby in her arms, with the black garbed Dewantoro magically transforming a gold scarf into an infant, offers a gentle contrast to the harsh and gutteral 'I divorce you', the words of an unsympathetic spouse, which comes from her mouth moments later.
The Red Room is not an easy show to take in. There is a lot of repetition of words and actions but it prepares the audience for the final sequence. And if the words are an eclectic mix, so too is the music, drawn from Indonesian, Western spiritual and pop song sources.
It won't be to everyone's taste, then, but those who are interested in' different theatre' should find it a fascinating trans-cultural experience.
The Newcastle Herald, Weds 18th September 2002
Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange
18 participants from Indonesia aged between 18 and 25 will live with Australian families and undertake work experience from September 21 - November 22. They will also present some cultural performances. When the Indonesian people return to Indonesia in November they will be accompanied by a group of young Australians who will live and work in Indonesia for two months.
For more information about the program; www.dfat.gov.au/aii
New Cultural Centre In Canberra
The Sultan of Yogyakarta officially opened the cultural centre at the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Canberra on 17 June. The centre is free to the public and is open Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 4.30pm.
Workshops can be arranged for school groups covering a range of activities including silat, batik, gamelan, cooking etc. For further information contact John Davenport on 6250 8628.
Through My Window
Through My Window is a simple and engaging e-mail activity designed to allow students to communicate about their world through words and images. There is now a section for students of other languages than English, including Indonesian.
Students describe what they see through a window in their classroom . The description is then e-mailed to the co-ordinator who will post it on the website.
For more information www.curriculumsupport.nsw.edu.au/learningtechnologies/window/index.htm
Ramayana Exhibition at the Neka Art Museum in Bali
Once a year, if you are lucky, an art museum nearby will come up with a good exhibition, one that fills you with a sense of wonder, excitement, and, simultaneously, satisfies your thirst for both the trivial and the important. In cooperation with the Komaneka Fine Art Gallery, the Neka Art Museum in Ubud organized Ramayana in the Arts of Asia; Bali, India, Thailand and Burma, an exhibition which ran from August 25 to September 11, 2002.
The exhibition featured around 100 paintings from the private collection of the museum's curator Garrett Kam, who for years has traveled extensively across Asia to satisfy his curiosity for the age-old love affair between the Ramayana story and the region's various art-forms. "Limited research time and lack of local language proficiency prevented me from truly getting as deep as I wanted to. War is another major obstacle. In Cambodia, for example, when I visited that country, 90 percent of it's artists had been wiped out by the Khmer Rouge," Garrett said. "In other places, I could get my hand to the local text of Ramayana, but failed to acquire the painting that depicted the text's variation," he added.
In the exhibition, 50 Kamasan style paintings were featured alongside 22 Indian Patachitra (paintings made with mineral and vegetable pigments on cloth thickly primed with tamarind seed glue and powdered seashell) of Orissa, and Madhubani (paintings made on the walls of houses using earth and vegetable pigments, or made with pigments on cloth primed with milk) of Mithila, Bihar. It also exhibited several Shwegyido (decorative cloth applique panels done on velvet with embroidery, colored cords, sequins, beads, glass and rhinestones, figures usually are stuffed with cotton padding for a three-dimensional effect) of Mandalay, Burma. Art enthusiasts also had a chance to view Indian Talapatta and Balinese Prasi, both are etched drawings on dried palm leaves. An avid researcher, Garrett finally presented his findings on Ramayana to the public in 2000, when he published the 292-page book Ramayana in the Arts of Asia, which is the base of the ongoing exhibition.
"Ramayana has traveled to almost every region in Asia, and the story also has undergone several major changes, which resulted in the existence of various interesting variations of the story nowadays," Garrett said, justifying his fascination of Ramayana.
The Ramayana epic originated in India, where the poet Valmiki may have composed it in Sanskrit sometime between 400-200 BC. Valmiki's Ramayana represents a compilation of various oral and literary traditions, including Vedic myths from the 12th century BC. Nearly 25,000 verses are divided into around 700 chapters and grouped into seven books. "This is the kind of art exhibition that any art enthusiast should visit. It is rich, diverse, beautiful, and, most importantly, very informative," Bali's noted painter Nyoman Erawan said.
An Art Ritual Collaboration: Reading from 00.00 hours to 00.00 hours
20 October 2002
Created Haiku on a 21 metre canvas over 24 hour period at Parangkusumo Beach
Bantul. A collaborative ritual art event incorporating literature, painting,
performance art and music orientated to Eastern Spiritualism.
by Fajar Wardini.
Gelar Seni Ritual Kolaborasi: Reading 00.00 to 00.00
Press Release: Fajar Wardini
Kehingar-bingaran modernisasi sudah sangat menyilaukan mata. Sehingga manusia yang tidak memiliki keteguhan jiwa akan terperosok ke dalam jurang kealpaan. Dikarenakan ribuan dajjal modernisasi yang menjelma ke dalam alat-alat teknologi telah memporakkan bangunan budaya timur. Dimana, nilai-nilai adiluhung telah terpelihara di dalam bangunan tersebut. Nilai-nilai yang sanggup mengantarkan kepada peradaban manusia yang berorientasi Jawa.
Realitas tersebut merupakan pijakan pelaksanaan Creating Haiku on Canvas 21 Metres for 24 Hours: "Reading 00.00 to 00.00". Sebuah event seni ritual kolaboratif seni sastra, rupa, performance art dan musik yang berorientasikan tata cara spiritual timur. Event digelar selama 24 jam non-stop: Minggu 20/10 di pantai Parangkusumo Bantul ( jam: 00.00 sampai 00.00 wib).
Peserta kegiatan, antara lain: penyair Sri Wintala Achmad (Yogyakarta), Y. Wibowo (Lampung) dan Didik Yulianto (Jakarta); perupa MN Wibowo (Yogyakarta); dan performance artist Totok Rawijati (Surabaya). Selama event berlangsung, kelima peserta melakukan tapa bisu dan melek. Hal ini dilakukan untuk menangkap sinyal-sinyal waktu yang berubah dari detik ke detik.
Penyair: Sri Wintala Achmad, Y. Wibowo dan Didik Yulianto yang berkalungkan lawe putih dan mengenakan kemben anteng akan menuliskan puisi haiku pada kanvas berbentuk segi tujuh sepanjang 21 meter. Mereka akan diapit sepasang sesaji di kiri-kanannya, dilingkari tujuh rontek yang disematkan di setiap batang tombak berisi bawang lanang. Tubuh mereka membelakangi umbul-umbul merah, kuning, hitam dan putih. Sebaliknya, mereka senantiasa memperhatikan empat jam dinding yang dipasang pada tower bambu gading berbentuk piramid. Dimana perhatian mereka tertuju pada kain biru yang melilit sebatang bambu puncak tower. Spiritual art ini terinspirasi "Laku Bima Suci".
Perupa MN Wibowo menggelar instalasi " Misteri 99". Karya tersebut mengekspresikan rahasia matematik Ilahi yang harus dipahami setiap insan. Karya tersebut akan di-display sepanjang pantai. Dimana ketiga penyair dapat melihat dan menerjemahkan substansinya. Sementara, Totok Rawijati menggelar performance art: "Ritus Kala". Ritus ini diiringi tetabuhan perkusi. Mengelilingi ketiga penyair yang tengah melakukan doa Bima Suci. Sebagai penyelenggara kegiatan: Sanggar Sastra Gunung Gamping, Forum Kebudayaan Rakyat (FKR) dan didukung Komunitas Jamur Kuping, Puser Bumi dan Rudi Winarso, KRT Suryo Puspo Hadinegoro dan Mbah Warsito. Disamping, event ini akan melibatkan seluruh masyarakat peduli seni dan budaya Jawa.
Maksud dan tujuan event Creating Haiku on Canvas 21 Metres dor 24 Hours: "Reading 00.00 to 00.00" sebagai langkah: 1. Merealisasikan media rekreasi meditatif yang mengarah pada dinamisasi proses kreatif. 2. Antisipasi positip terhadap kehingarbingaran modernisasi yang menjebak manusia ke dalam jagad pekat: sedimentasi religius dan degradasi moral. 3. Menawarkan wacana pertunjukan seni kolaborasi alternatif. 4. Turut mengembangan dunia seni dan pariwisata di wilayah Bantul dan Yogyakarta. Fajar Wardini, Sie humas dan publikasi
Bali Mass Gathering: "DOA PERDAMAIAN DUNIA DARI BALI".
The government of Bali, Bali Tourism Authority, Bali Tourism Board and Bali Post Group, held a gathering to minimize the impact of 'tragedi peradaban' (The Kuta Tragedy).
The gathering was held on:
MONDAY, 21 OCTOBER 2002, 5 PM.
VENUE: PUPUTAN MARGARANA SQUARE (IN FRONT OF BAJRASANDHI MONUMENT),
Niti Mandala, Renon, Denpasar.
Yours,
I Gde Pitana, Ph.D
Director, Bali Tourism Authority - Jalan S. Parman, Denpasar.
Ph. (0361) 222-387. Fax. (0361) 226-313
April Lelia - Invitation to Visual Art Exhibition
October 24 - November 7
"Dramatically changing, ongoing. And nobody knows in the sealed room. A room made from itself. Caterpillar, covering itself with things from its own body. Constructing a hiding place for processing.... and when curiosity makes us tear the cocoon open; we find... only death inside."
Borneo Art Gallery, Ubud, Bali - Indonesia
Phone: 0812 365 1760
Opening Show: 07:00pm, Thursday, October 24, 2002. for 2 weeks.
Exciting news for AIA ACT Gamelan Group
The Government of Central Java has recently made a magnificent donation to
The Embassy of Indonesia
here in Canberra. There is a complete gamelan, which will remain at the Embassy,
the ‘old’ one going to
ANU; a complete set of wayang will go to Perth; and there is a miniature model
of Borobudur, as well.
Officials from the Central Javanese Government will be here 18/19 November
to make the presentation
and it is expected there will be a brief ceremony, at which our gamelan group
will play - if you’d like to be
present, contact Bill Rhemrev for
details.
Sourced from Australia Indonesia Association ACT news