THE SUN IN THE EAST #1

A series of creative journey titled ‘The Sun in The East #1’ had been planned since one year ago. The journey began at November, 17th, 2012 with some point of West Nusa Tenggara such as Sumbawa (Taliwang Region), Lombok island also the indigenous village of Sembalun Bumbung as the target. This journey would be closed by executing fine art workshops, painting, and sketching in Gili Trawangan and Gili Meno island when the night of new year. These activities attached with some local events such as Samawa Cultures Festival 2012 and the West Nusa Tenggara Birthday with involved the artist from Sumbawa and Lombok island.

JA'U TIMU (go to the East), that is the title of fine art and graphic solo exhibition by Abdoel Djalil Pirous. A series of exhibition would be held at the same time of the 80th birthday of the FSRD ITB Professor and would be held at two places at one time, at Selasar Sunaryo Art Space for his painting works, while his graphic works will be exhibited at Soemardja Gallery of FSRD ITB. The issues about the exhibition is quite interesting.

Not only giving the issues, even the National Gallery had been ‘moved’ first to the East side of
Indonesia. The National Gallery give it all his collection to be exhibited at some places, including
Ambon, Balikpapan, Lombok island (NTB). At the end of this year once again the National Gallery would exhibited its collection at Makassar on November, 28th until December, 4th, 2012. The pattern of Indonesian Fine Art institution also invited some local artists. Moreover in global context, ART|JOG|12 has a quite similarity and it has been proven by its theme which is: ‘Looking East – A Gaze upon Indonesian Contemporary Art’.

   

Sembalun Bumbung (indigenous village on the slope of Rinjani Mountain) 

Is there anything in East Side of Indonesia? In construction of mainstream issues the east side of Indonesia has not been noted until this second in the crowd of Indonesian contemporary fine art map which had been dominated by Yogyakarta, Bandung, Jakarta, and Bali. Structure-infrastructure of fine art such as gallery, art school, art market, art media, and collector has not show its synergy strategically and mutually, as it in Java in last ten years. Fine art events also has not been shown as a high level event that can improve the issues. That how the situation of east Indonesian fine art.

 

Sketching on the slope of Rinjani Mountain

Although there are some problems above and the unfinished issues in East Side of Indonesia, there are challenges and a lot of opportunities. Let see some supportive factors -- even Java don’t have these factors -- such as richness of culture and exotic traditions which has not been perfectly exploited as issues in fine art context, also the richness of its nature (mine and forest) that can pull the international consortium capital such as Newmont, Exxon Oil, Freeport, etc, also another geographic potentials like its nature which had been proven be the magnet of international tourist. More of world class tourism destination is in East Side of Indonesia. The region autonomy that had been run for last ten years also gave us some new rich people, and little kings in east side of Indonesia – it just need some little efforts to educate and to make fine art close with this group of people. Some important factors above have firm correlation with economics so its effect would be directly move the creative economic side, which is fine art.

   

Trip to the Bungin Island (Bungin is the world's most densely
populated island)

More surprising, silently some artist which lived outside Java has been travelled to another countries such as China, Japan, also a lot of countries in Europe without needing to be queued in Java, in other side not less that than some foreign artists have direct communication with those artist so they send tons of books to that ‘second class’ artists.

The handover of the painting auction proceeds (Nurul 'Acil' Hayat's artwork)
to Boy Rafli Amar (The Chief of the National Police Headquarters Public
Relations Divisions) in the opening ceremony of Nusa Amorgroup painting
exhibition (Dec, 7, 2012)

The Jago Tarung Yogyakarta firstly realized the potentials of East Side of Indonesia that correlate with of the expansion issues also the market fine art. A series of creative journey titled ‘The Sun in The East #1’ had been planned since one year ago. The journey began at November, 17th, 2012 with some point of West Nusa Tenggara such as Sumbawa (Taliwang Region), Lombok island also the indigenous village of Sembalun Bumbung as the target. This journey would be closed by executing fine art workshops, painting, and sketching in Gili Trawangan and Gili Meno island when the night of new year. These activities attached with some local events such as Samawa Cultures Festival 2012 and the West Nusa Tenggara Birthday with involved the artist from Sumbawa and Lombok island.

'Playing' session on the beach of Gili Trawangan Island

The first activity program is exhibiting in Taliwang Region, attached with Samawa Cultures Festival 2012. The activities are painting together (on the spot) at some exotic places, and would be end with exhibition at Grand Royal Hotel. The most luxurious hotel in West Sumbawa. The exhibition would opened directly by the regent of Taliwang.

  

Nurul 'Acil' Hayat and Moch Basori's activity on the beach
of Gili Meno Island

In internal context, ‘The Sun in the East #1’ journey has mission with re-exploration of tradition ideas activity as the background: both for the ideas, or visual languages in east people for all the time. The essential of ‘East’ had been underlined as identity existed around, ethos and spirit, as the result of firmly and overlapping culture. Normally Indonesian artists re-think their ‘eastern’ and taking advantage from that elements wholly to win the fight of global issues war, as glory as today’s China artists. Honestly, this ideas was so old fashioned if we face it to art critiques and old Indonesian artists, such as Trisno Sumardjo, Sanento Yuliman, Hendra Gunawan, Oesman Effendi, etc which had been warned the identity of Indonesian fine art issue to all of us. Moreover, for S. Sudjojono the issues of Indonesian fine art and east issue is already a nationality issue.

  

In clockwise: Pic 1. Moch Basori give hand to Mr. Heru Basuki Budianto, the owner of
Kontiki Cottage, Gili Meno Island. Pic 2. Nurul 'Acil' Hayat with Mr. Heru. Pic 3. From left: Mr Edi,
Nurul 'Acil' Hayat, Mr. Heru Basuki Budianto, Moch Basori, and Dedi Yuniarto

The creative journey of ‘The Sun in The East #2’ will be held next year with Makassar city (South Sulawesi) as main target, and also some places in Kalimantan. The strategy and concept that will be execute will have some development with evaluate the journeys before.

Di Timur Matahari #1
Promotor: Paox Iben Mudhaffar
Group manajer: Dedi Yuniarto
Artists:
Jago Tarung Yogyakarta: Dedy Sufriadi, Moch Basori, Nurul ‘Acil’ Hayat, Rocka Radipa, Zam Kamil, Topo Ariwibowo.
Kolaborator: Ali Nusantara (Lombok), Anah Amini (Lombok), Indra Wardana (Lombok), Suryanto (Lombok), S. Adi (Lombok), M. Zainudin (Lombok), Sloki (Sumbawa), Gory (Sumbawa).

Taliwang, 17 November 2012


Dedi Yuniarto
(Jago Tarung Yogyakarta)