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Jakarta Post

(Re)Shaping Tradition(s) in the Modern Age

Traditional: Kamoro art works are on display at ber

Katherine Bruhn (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Fri, March 16, 2012

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(Re)Shaping Tradition(s) in the Modern Age

T

span class="inline inline-left">Traditional: Kamoro art works are on display at ber.seni project art gallery in Jakarta. Katherine Bruhn When one first arrives at the location of ber.seni project it seems an unlikely location for an art gallery and coffee shop. But as Rauf Prasodjo, the owner of this new art space says, ber.seni’s location and setting creates a refuge from the skyscrapers, malls and constant traffic jams that so often characterize the thriving city of Jakarta.

Located in Menteng near Taman Proklamasi, ber.seni is nestled within a house built at the emergence of the New Order. Set to open on March 17th with its first exhibition entitled, “Kamoro Art in Dialogue: (re)Shaping Tradition(s) in the Modern Age”, ber.seni hopes to serve as a new spot to not only explore the unique world of contemporary Indonesian art, but also its interaction with the prevalent social issues facing the country today.

Talking with Rauf about his plans and inspirations for this art space, it is surprising to learn about his background and motivations. Currently working for a global environmental think tank, Rauf does not come from an artistic background. But rather has a strong love for the arts and desire to share with friends in Indonesia and abroad more about the diverse world of contemporary arts in Indonesia.

With the help of a group of friends, Rauf started working on this project with the desire to create a space that would not only serve as a new location for the display of Indonesian contemporary art, but also as a location in which to hold discussions focused on the pieces of art displayed and the social issues connected with various exhibitions. In correlation with each show held at ber.seni, public discussions and community activities will utilize the works of art on display as a starting point for discussion and dialogue regarding issues such as Papua, the maintenance of tradition, women, children and political expression in public spaces.

The debut exhibition at ber.seni is a slight departure from most contemporary art exhibitions that one might find in Jakarta’s various galleries. This show, which seeks to create a contrast between traditional and contemporary arts of the region, will feature works by five graduates of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) also in response and juxtaposition to carvings created by members of the Kamoro tribe of Papua New Guinea.

Although the work of the Kamoro people is perhaps not as well known as that of their neighbors the Asmat, it has gained in prominence over the course of the last decade through the support of an American anthropologist, Kal Muller. The work of the Kamoro people has not only been revived, but also brought out of Papua to annual shows in various cities throughout the archipelago. Rauf and the team at ber.seni were eager to display the works of the Kamoro people as part of ber.seni’s opening exhibition, creating a show that would encourage a new perspective on the issues prevalent in Papua today.

Zico Albaiquni, one of the Bandung-based artists featured in the show, described the process that led to the development of his pieces for the ber.seni exhibition. He said that he wanted to better understand the identity of Kamoro today, so he met with a few of his friends from this unique region of Papua who are also students in Bandung.

Through their conversations, Zico came to the realization that the value of a tradition is a value with its own dynamic flows. He said that we must remember that everything is the way it is now because of the way that it was before. Zico asked his friends, “Where is Kamoro?” They responded simply that they themselves are Kamoro. For Zico, this helped to reinforce the idea that the value of a tradition or culture is not necessarily linear or located in a particular place but perhaps must be understood a bit more flexibly.

Ber.seni’s debut exhibition will open on the evening of Saturday March 17th, and serve as the official launch of this new space. Following this opening, ber.seni will hold a public discussion on Sunday March 18th from 3 – 5:30p.m at ber.seni’s location Jalan Proklamasi No. 37, Menteng, Central Jakarta. Muller will provide a presentation about the work of the Kamoro people and his activities in Papua, which will then be followed by a discussion. After the official opening, the art gallery and coffee shop will be open to the public Tuesday through Sunday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.

ber.seni project is located at:


Jl. Proklamasi No. 37, Menteng, Central Jakarta
Kamoro Art in Dialogue: (re)Shaping Tradition(s) in the Modern Age will be held from
March 17 until April 20

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