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Arahmaiani speaks justice, truth through art
Renowned artist Arahmaiani believes that artists have a "moral responsibility" to speak about political and social issues through their work.
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Nature advocate: Dressed to resemble the Buddhist statues of Borobudur Temple, artist Arahmaiani presents 'Shadow of the Past', a performance art, at Taman Prasasti Museum in Central Jakarta. (A. Kurniawan Ulung/-)
Renowned artist Arahmaiani has no problems speaking her mind through her work.
Few know that the outspoken artist – one of the most seminal and respected contemporary artists in the country – was raised in a pious family. It’s where she first learned about freedom of expression.
Arahmaiani, a pioneer of performance art in Southeast Asia, said she did not dream about becoming an artist. Her childhood dream was to become a prophet.
Her father, a noted cleric in Bandung, West Java, was shocked into speechlessness when she told him of her religious aspirations in the 1960s. She became angry when he told her it was impossible. “That's unfair!” she retorted, asking why all prophets in Islam were men.
Arahmaiani, who turns 58 in May, laughed as she retold the story to The Jakarta Post in Jakarta.
The artist, who was accused of insulting Islam in 1994 for her painting, Lingga-Yoni 1993, recalled how her father patiently answered all the questions she had about Islam until she finally understood that Islam in Indonesia, like all religions, was rahmatan lil alamin (universal blessing).
Arahmaiani’s father is Crescent Star Party (PBB) politician Jusuf Amir Feisal, who was appointed the deputy speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) in 1999, the year after the downfall of then-president Soeharto. Prior to becoming a public official, he was an English language lecturer at Bandung's Indonesia University of Education (UPI).
