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Sharing Art and Shadow

Berbagi Seni dan Bayang-Bayang

Padepokan Lemah Putih (Solo, Indonesia) together with Web Art Garden Indonesia and Open Day of Arts Communication Indonesia is organizing Sharing Art and Shadow in Solo, Central Java, Indonesia.

The Sharing which will take place from 4th to 8th January 2001, in Padepokan Lemah Putih, Mojosongo, Solo and Sukuh Temple, Central Java, Indonesia. The participants will be artists from throughout Indonesia and overseas and from any kind of arts background - Performance and Installation Artists, Visual Artists, Musicians, Movement Artists, Dancers and Actors. Accommodation will be arranged for visitors wishing to attend the event.

Contact:
Sekretariat: Padepokan Lemah Putih
PO Box 301 Solo
Telp/Fax: 62 (0)271 854047
E-mail: amerta@lycos.com

Background

The Next society living system will undeniably direct to wide and global open. The widening of communication functions that is helped by technology progressing until it reaches to every dimension and corner of mankind and life, even passing through the edge of geography and culture that is more and more legitimating that phenomena.

On the other side, the problem of cultural degradation and the decrease in understanding of living environment systems, as one of synergy from each cultural community (society) is often undeniable when the big wave of globalization comes. One side of the degradation happens because of the internal dynamic from the journey of culture itself, the other side which cannot be underestimated is that wave of global influence which has also found and carried new cultural characteristicc which can change cultural orientation and the environmental system of a community which has existed before.

That could be a problem when the meeting of different cultures does not begin from a balanced position, and every culture follower does not try to find interactive solutions, except keeps confronting face to face only. Until one of them is defeated. In reality this will make living systems unstable including giving birth to understanding and meaning of the new environment that could stand back to back with the one that has worked before. On a spiritual level we will be giving birth to a living generation that will find it so hard to track their own cultural roots.

BASIC THOUGHT

Facing the reality of moving into the next era, which points to a global and open living system, basic and cultural attitudes are obviously very needed as major bases for entering the era.

Indonesia is well known as having various cultural backgrounds in each place, which show positive values for the living and environmental systems and which have proved their power to survive the culture transformation attack which has been coming lately. Local culture has the strong potential to be a provision for facing the new era. But, one way with the growing and developing era, will or will not of course happen, cultural transformation one way with the needs. Consequence should be able to provide background the bear of new culture approaching which notice environment and living systems, even start from old culture spirit.

The important duty that is facing our society, especially cultural actors and people concerned with the environment is to strengthen our cultural spirit and interpret it through new approaches, and also to link it with the environment interpreting system that is needed right now. So the existence of the cultural community will mark the development of the environmental system that is created proportionally. This means we need concrete acts to make a movement that is intensively preparing and doing consciously the creation of culture and environment as one unity of life orientation.

so far as this begins from natal history and their own restless Web Art Garden Indonesia (WAGI), Padepokan Lemah Putih (PLP), Open Day of Art Communication (ODAC) and freely have done activities that linked with the above assumptions.

Padepokan Lemah Putih (PLP)

Padepokan Lemah Putih Mojosongo Solo was established and run by Suprapto Suryadarmo in 1986, a person of Javanese cultural background who was developing the 'move technique'. Then it was named Joged Amerta, an art expression that points to inner act matter with the land of human unity, nature and god. The next development was a lot of participants from inside and outside the country learning in Padepokan Lemah Putih.

This learning system that points to dialog finally born a lot of 'move' teachers, that then developed new learning in their circulation. From that beggining then appeared Move Art Learning Centers in many countries. Such as; Move in to Live, Walk in to Live, Live Moves (England); Healing Theatre, Gang Art (Germany); Movement Theatre Research (France); Art Movement Healing (Italy); Quiver (Australia); Theatre in Action (Swiss); Art Space Movement (Bolivia); Art Healing Movement (United State); Movement Nature (Philippines); Studio Taksu, Gerak Mantra (Indonesia).

The learning system is cooked as well as possible so that the pupils directly feel culture touching life, atmosphere and the original nature from their area/place/country. Some places in Indonesia then became the place of learning process. Programs like that give the opportunity to meet some individuals from various cultural backgrounds, and to share cultural perspectives conscious of local environments.

Web Art Garden Indonesia (WAGI)

From the perspective of a network, WAGI is part of Web Art Garden (WAG) International (every 2 years the group changes the facilitator, at present, the facilitator is from England), but as WAG agreed on the organisation's approach, this network's function is more involved in communication, arranging and information between the members. More precisely WAG only tries to facilitate the emergence of sharing ideas about environment and culture in each country.

So WAGI by the Nyiur Melambai foundation in Solo has been working since January 1999 at a routine of activities that have the purpose of forming cultural environments that are according to the living needs in Indonesia. By 'Art Garden for Food Crisis' they made performing art while sharing productive plant seed (vegetable) from kampong (village) to kampong as a one way to campaign about how important it is to use even one tiny piece of land to productive plants. Environmental understanding for this movement is not only revocation to living environment only but also the cultural environment.

From WAGI stimulation, numbers of workers and other art communities have also had the chance to make activities (according to World Environment Day, 5 June 1999) with revocation of living environment arrangement & culture. In Ujung Pandang, Asia Ramli Prapanca created an activity called "Sea Ceremony" together with the art community in his place. Also Tisna Sanjaya (Bandung) and I Nyoman Tusan (Tejakula-Bali) created a poster campaign with a content of living environment and cultural messages. Nyiur Melambai foundation together with Padepokan Lemah Putih beside doing poster campaign, also did a ceremony "Tumbuh & Rahayu". That is, the planting of a guarding tree (Bodi dan Mojo) in the yard of Sukuh Temple along with a religious ceremony involving the Hindu society of Kemuning village and members of Solo art community.

Open Day of Arts Communication

Local temporary performing art (festival), either national or international, are always in high position. This means this model is often getting extraordinary facilitation. In other words artist along go with the group and the shape tends to birocrative exclusivity. These events are always in the elite art center circle. What about them that placing themselves on the portion 'walker art' that having process discipline, approaching and different point of view facing performing art form?

In fact, the walking artist doesn't get the opportunity and space to express self esteem. On the other side they don't have to guard productivity which causes their quality to go down, even stagnate. One performing art work stimulus is the existence of space to perform/presentation. On behalf of that what is needed are places where the walking artists get space to encourage each other to increasing power.

Beside that, the meeting of walking artists from various backgrounds has a function as a place to dialog that has solving problem perspective with high intensity. What we have to do is only find the concrete solution for creating walking art places in towns and provinces. Like Open Day of Art Communication that is held on every odd month since October 1997 in Solo. Places like this on other perspective can create understanding in seeing performing art as "station". With the meaning the important thing is not the target of performance but more concentration on strong personality development, flexibly taking active part in culture and art. On the other side able to see art and culture clearly as changing matter to develop. Start from time travel of the mind to developing process in 1999 work and mind mechanism actually are forced to stop, to reinstall all capability for year 2000. Fertility Environment of Art, an alternative to see ourselves, how able to install power of capability to communicate with nature culture environment in human culture, as also human culture in nature culture.

NAME OF ACTIVITY Sharing Art and Shadow THEME OF ACTIVITY Theme of this activity becomes the major idea - cultural & environment. The festival that is held twice at different times and places on two themes with the existence of local culture and environment society.

"Art & Shadow" -Solo, Central Java

This theme has chosen the basis in the strong influence from Javanese society on philosophy values in leather puppet plays. In that performance there are important things that are not able to be separated one from the other, these are blencong, kelir, dalang, and puppets. Those elements are shaping one moment linked as like a moment in life. Blencong (light) gives shadow reflection of puppets that are moved by the dalang that manggon (sits) in front of kelir (screen). From the dalang expert playing the puppets will be mirrored any kind of life vision.

Shadow on kelir (vision of life) begins from blencong (fire of life) and the dalang expert shows the sense of life (puppet) by proportional sitting position (manggon).

PURPOSES OF ACTIVITY 1. Purpose is to meet all society potency that has a chance to interact concretely inter-culturally by various disciplines, both from inside or outside the country that has self creative and sensitivity to create nature and life harmony in attitude, behavior and creative work. 2. On the next rank, this activity has the purpose of stimulating the appearance of positive values from every inter-cultural interaction both through this activity and the developing in the middle of society, until formed culture community has environmental consciousness.

DETAIL OF ACTIVITY

This event is formulated as a concrete meeting inter society potency forum that placing culture and environment as interaction basic matter. Simple but intensive, program stands for 5 eventsd that are a one years linked program. Each event owns its own theme and focuses on some thing, which by that participants direct their focus and creativity. It is formulated for each event stands for discussion, collaboration, performance, workshop, and open day.

The schedules are:
January, 4th - 8th 2001
Sukuh Temple, Surakarta Art Park & Padepokan Lemah Putih Solo, Central Java.
COMMITTEE

Steering Committee
Suprapto Suryodarmo
(Mojosongo Seminar, Solo)

Andi Ummu Tunru
(Batara Gowa Foundation, Makassar)

Ery Mehfri
(Nan Jombang Foundation, Padang)

I Nyoman Tusan
(Tejakukus Foundation)

Deddy Luthan
(Deddy Dance Company, Jakarta)

Palimbong
(Toraja Art Council, Toraja)

Organizing Committee (OC)
Nina Martini S
(Padepokan Lemah Putih, Solo)

Wiwik Widaryanti
(Web Art Garden Indonesia, Solo)

Djarot Budi Darsono
(Open Day of Art Communication, Solo)

Sosiawan Leak
(Yayasan Nyiur Melambai, Solo)

Iswanto G. Hartono
(Rong, Jakarta)

Dian Indarwati
(Padepokan Lemah Putih, Solo)

Contact:
Nina Martini S
Padepokan Lemah Putih
PO Box 301 Solo Indonesia
Telp./Fax. : 00 62 271 854047
E-mail: amerta@lycos.com