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20th Century Indonesian Art Exhibition Development Symposium

(Asia Society AustralAsis Centre Newsletter Autumn 2001 - Canberra, 24 April 2001)

Last year the Asia Society AustralAsia Centre received a grant from the Federal funding body Visions of Australia to develop a 20th century Indonesian art exhibition addressing the influence of western modernism and traditional art in a political and social context. The exhibition will include artworks from both Australia and Indonesia public and private and private collections and tour regional Australia. The idea for the exhibition came from the desire of the Asia Society Austral/Asia Centre to build bridges with Indonesia in a cultural context and to broaden the understanding of the developments in Indonesian society amongst Australians.

...a twentieth century Indonesian art exhibition addressing the influence of western modernism and traditional art in a social and political context.

The first step in this process was bringing together the best international and Australian experts in this field to identify and discuss the major issues. The Indonesian art exhibition symposium was an initiative of the Asia Society AustralAsia Centre organised in partnership with the human Research centre at ANU. The symposium was held on 24th April in Canberra at ANU and opened by Prue Holstein. It was attended by thirty experts in Indonesian politics, culture, history and art from major Australian universities, cultural institutions and galleries including Robyn Maxwell, NGA, James Bennett, MAGNT, Julie Ewington, QAG and John Clark, The University of Sydney. Three keynote speakers from Australia, Canada and Indonesia addressed the symposium.

Keynote Speakers

Jim Supangkat, a renowned Indonesian art critic, curator and artist who lives in Bandung. He is a curator and judge of many contemporary Indonesian art in a global context. He contributed to the Asia Society's Exhibition, traditional / tensions, Contemporary Art in Asia and regularly contributes to the Asia Pacific Triennial in Brisbane. Dr Astri Wright, Associate Professor of Southeast Asian studies at University of Victoria, Canada. Dr Wright's expertise and research explores the relations between the social and the political landscape to Southeast Asia with a focus on Indonesia. Her work has been highly influential in the field of Southeast Asian studies addressing issues of history gender and representation. The author of over eighty academic papers and a number of books including "Revolusi & Evolusi Sudjana Kerton" (1999) and "Soul, Spirit and Mountain: Preoccupations of Contemporary Indonesian Painters" (1994).

Dr Robert Cribb, Associate Professor of History at University of Queensland, is an expert in Southeast Asian Studies with a focus on Indonesia and was recently head of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Denmark.

Robert Cribb set the background for the discussion by raising key issues, which faced Indonesia in the twentieth century. The forging of the concept of nationalism in the context of Dutch colonialism and Japanese rule. The burden of creating a society that embraced unity and diversity. The struggle to achieve independence and unite a country of such diverse ethnic backgrounds and broad geographical spread. The tensions and dissatisfactions within society reflected in the Sukarno and Suharto eras, due to unresolved issues, related to regional and religious identity.

Jim Supangkat explored the issue of modernity and the influence of Western art practice in Indonesia. In Indonesia modern art grew out of Western art practice in Indonesia. In Indonesia modern art grew out of Western art over a long period of time under the colonial period, then after independence modern art became anti Western, an assertion of Indonesian identity.

Astri Wright focused on the themes of identity, struggle, continuity and change in Indonesian art. Her particular focus was on Hendra Gunawan, on of the fathers of Indonesian painting. Famous for his interest in the life of the Indonesian people. His work was banned under the Suharto regime and under the Suharto regime and then was imprisoned for his depiction of social issues.

Discussions in the afternoon were led by Caroline Turner, Deputy Director of the Humanities Research Centre and Jacky Heally, Arts Consultant working with the Asian Society AustralAsia Centre concerning the structure and content of the exhibition and identifying key issues.

For more information about the Asia Society, please phone their Melbourne office in Australia on (03) 9650 0998