(JP/Simon Sudarman)

The performing arts in Indonesia have had a history of being commandeered by the authorities and directed to serve the interests of those in power ' contrary to what should be the true nature of the arts ' according to professor Rachmi Diyah Larasati and research she has conducted on the subject.

The dance and theater lecturer, commonly called Diyah, is a 1991 graduate of the Indonesian Arts Institute of Yogyakarta who spends most of her time in the United States, where she earned her doctorate in dance history and theory from the University of California-Riverside in 2006. She is now a professor of dance and theater at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA, under whose university press she this year released her book, The Dance that Makes you Vanish: Cultural Reconstruction in Post-Genocide Indonesia.

Regarding her research on the history of state influence in Indonesian performing arts, she said, 'As a result [of this influence], the arts presented to society are already directed, legitimized and restricted by the power system so that they become mere ceremonial shows. In fact, the arts should look natural without intervention, as they're part of the life of common people.'

Her study of the performing arts in Indonesia during the eras of Sukarno, Soeharto and the present generally indicates that the arts have been used by rulers to create an image to project to the nation and to the international community.

'Under Sukarno, Indonesians were directed toward an independent nation. Under Soeharto, more than just forming an image based on the concept of harmony, the authorities wanted citizens to become obedient, also in creative expression, so that artistic values were tailored to the establishment rather than for the sake of arts,' explained Diyah.

Also a postgraduate lecturer at Yogyakarta's Sanata Dharma University and a contributor to various national and international arts publications, she indicated that this concept of harmony emphasizing civil obedience had prevailed since 1965, having become actualized in people's ways of thinking about and rendering arts.

'I was surprised to notice artists being directed to create works under a new uniform order, thus giving rise to artistic freedom merely satisfying a standardized ideology desired by the ruling system,' said Diyah.

According to her, arts at the grassroots level basically reflect no ulterior interests at all, expressing only the feelings of their performers, who admire and respond to their environments and natures. Sadly, under the period covered by her study, such communal arts were removed and brought into conflict with religion.

'Religion was coopted to fight the local arts because religious people were categorized as non-artists, which actually was not the case,' said Diyah, whose research examined the elimination of local artists and communal arts and dramas from 1965 to 1971 in southern Malang, East Java, and in Bali. Therefore, she maintained that arts in Indonesia had never grown for their own sake but had catered to rulers' interests.

Diyah described communal or traditional arts as capable of making people aware and critical of their environment, their existence and even their social position. 'It was just this aspect that the authorities feared most, prompting them to muzzle the arts and label such shows as threats to the system,' she said.

Although the government is reviving different performing arts to be presented to the public, she asserted these activities serve only as a means of image-making.

'The government attempt to revive the arts today is merely based on aesthetic values rather than the true values of the arts in history. So don't be surprised to find such occasions in an atmosphere of glamour and festivity,' said Diyah.

'Worse still, such values are sometimes invented as new ideals with no historical roots to account for that are purposely promoted in favor of the establishment. These new unhistorical values are created by bureaucratic artists, those enjoying government support. In fact, artists should realize the necessity of being committed to the true history of their arts,' she added.

While the birth of arts should be inseparable from their history, Diyah questioned the independence of most Indonesian artists in their creative processes, because those loyally committed to the true artistic values are now very rarely found.

She also highlighted the classical arts labeled as adiluhung (superb), which had been overly preserved, especially under Soeharto's New Order. These arts also escaped the 1965 eliminations perpetrated by the regime against communal artists.

'The classical arts were considered capable of serving as a language of diplomacy for translating patriotism and communicating the image of national harmony to the international community,' said Diyah.

Usually supported by royal circles, the classical arts, according to Diyah, are abstract and unable to represent the diversity of the vast majority. The world of palaces doesn't belong to the public at large. 'Adiluhung also has a very abstract meaning, which should be critically revised,' she added.

Diyah received her bachelor's degree in anthropology from Gajah Mada University, Yogyakarta. When she comes to Indonesia she splits her time between Yogyakarta, Malang and Madura.

Popular

250 years of American state capitalism

Militarizing civilian space

Govt aims for year-end launch of tax-friendly financial center