A

span class="inline inline-left">A Sleeping Child (Luz Series) by Eddie Prabandono. JP/Munarsih SahanaEntering its fourth year, Art Jog 2011 at Taman Budaya Yogyakarta (TBY) is offering more diverse and higher quality art this year.

Featuring 251 paintings, sculptures, installations and videos from 165 artists, the exhibits were selected from 3,500 submissions by 1,770 hopefuls.

Due to the limited space, not all the works could be displayed, but a complete selection is available in the catalogue.

A greater emphasis this year was placed on three dimensional works, with artistic director Bambang Toko Witjaksono challenged to “reshape” the TBY building inside and out.

For example, he provided over 20 tons of clay for Eddi Prabandono’s giant sculpture, which was placed in a big hole especially made in front of TBY.

Compared to last year’s event, which was dominated by entries from Yogyakarta and Bandung, the artists this year hail from a wider range of cities including Medan, Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali and smaller towns such as Ngawi, Boyolali and Mojokerto, as well as one artist from Singapore.

In addition to submitted works, Art Jog 2011 also features commissioned art by Eddi Prabandono
and Krisna Murti. Eddi created his fifth Series of Luz, a sculpture of a giant sleeping child placed in a big hole in front of the building. Luz is Eddi’s five-year-old daughter who lives in Japan.

An innovation this year is the showcasing of the works of seven prominent Indonesian artists who have never been exhibited in the country before, under a special presentation program.

The works of Ay Tjoe Christine, I Nyoman Masriadi, Budi Kustarto, Rudi Mantofani, Jumaldi Alfi, Tisna Sanjaya and Handiwirman Saputra were all on display.

Also being exhibited are project presentations that feature portions of long-term art projects still in progress, including several video projects such as the Mas Toni Blank Show, containing numerous interviews by X-Code Films and photography essays on Ketoprak Tobong (traditional Javanese drama) by Budi N.D. Dharmawan.

Krisna Murti, an Indonesian video art pioneer, was commissioned to make a video about endangered diversity.

Pluralism is symbolized by Muslim women dressed in different veils and outfits.

The women stand in a row and are given a series of identical commands, but each responds differently. Krisna installed four projectors and a makeshift pool so the images of the women are reflected in the water.

Krisna wants to leave it to the spectators to interpret the video. He said he was intrigued by the similarities in the way the women wore their head scarves but that there were differences that often led to conflict.

As an artist, Krisna said he was not obliged to give solutions to questions he raised through his art.

Another interesting video exhibition was the series by Anggun Priambodo, Aku Seperti Burung Terbang Bebas (I am like a free bird flying) and Belajar Miring (Learning to Lean Walk), in which the model in the video learns how to stand up by leaning his body, a method that leads to funny and fascinating movements.

One of the installation works incorporating mixed media was The Jester Court created by prominent artist Heri Dono.

The work resembles a courtroom with a robotic model of a funny looking old man seated at a microphone made of a used flashlight.

Two long-nosed faces opposite the old man are meant to be the accused or the plaintiffs. Behind them are ten small, makeshift drums with lights and sticks inside, representing a courtroom gallery.

As usual, Heri Dono designed his installation to be interactive. By pushing a knob on the wall next to the exhibit, the sticks in the drums make music and the robotic old man and the two faces move. Unfortunately, many visitors were not aware of the knob.

Yudhi Sulistyo was another artist offering new concepts at Art Jog 2011. Last year, he created an airplane exhibit and this year he created a military jeep out of cardboard, PVC, synthetic rubber and other materials, calling the detailed, 200x190x360-centimeter installation Just a Toy.

Adi Gunawan stayed true to his series of fiberglass sculptures of fat pigs. Anak Emas (Golden Boy) depicted a sow surrounded by her piglets. One piglet is seated on her back while carrying another one with golden skin.

Adi said this work portrayed the reality of families in which there was often a “golden boy” — a favorite child. Such favoritism is also common in political and bureaucratic systems.

A number of artists used digital printing for their paintings, including works by Ashley Bickerton, who integrated acrylic and digital print on canvas for his paintings Gold Hirst Family and Gold Scooter.

Last Sup(p)er Women by A. Taufik B. Ramadhan. JP/Munarsih SahanaBy not imposing a theme on this year’s exhibition, a wider variety of techniques and concepts were presented, according to Aminudin T. H. Siregar, the event’s curator for the previous three years.

“Art Jog itself is the theme,” Siregar said, adding that themes have inevitably limited artists’ aesthetic explorations.

Heri Pemad, the founder of Art Jog, is working to make the event as prestigious as other international exhibitions.

Lorenzo Rudolf, former director of Art Basel, and several prominent art collectors from Singapore were invited to share their experience in managing world-class art fairs.

Rudolf said he was impressed by the vibrant progress of visual art in Indonesia — especially Yogyakarta. He suggested that Art Jog should not copy any other art fairs, but develop gradually and keep promoting nationally and internationally by inviting influential figures from the global art scene.

Art Jogja 2011 runs from July 16-29 at Taman Budaya Yogyakarta, Jl. Sri Wedani 1, Yogyakarta Open every day: 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.