After the installation was recently removed from the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta after less than a year, local residents have criticized the city for allocating Rp 550 million (almost US$40,000) for the project.

Getah Getih was installed in August last year and removed on the night of July 17.

“Of course I’m restless. The amount of money spent and its material value have become the focus of a discussion that is very pragmatic and noneducational […],” he wrote in a post on his Instagram account @jokoawi.

Joko further said that he wished that people could appreciate and enjoy Getah Getih.

 

 

 

 

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Tahun lalu di suatu penghujung pertemuan di Pendopo Balaikota, hati saya tergerak membantu mewujudkan ide pemprof DKI via Pak Gubernur @aniesbaswedan dalam menyongsong ASIAN GAMES 2018 dan HUT RI ke 73, karena kesempatan ini sangat langka bisa bersanding satu aksis dari utara ke selatan dengan tetengger kota seperti Patung Arjuna Wijaya 1987 (Nyoman Nuarta), Monumen Selamat Datang 1961 (Henk Ngantung dan Edhi Sunarso), Patung Jendral Sudirman 2003 (Sunaryo), dan Patung Pemuda Membangun 1971 (Munir Pamuncak), dan ketiga diantaranya adalah Guru-Guru dan Pinisepuh saya. Tanpa bermaksud mengabaikan badan berwenang dalam pengawasan pembangunan kota, dukungan kuratorial dan proses asesmen lainnya project ini tetap berjalan, dengan menjamin tidak akan ada kerusakan dan pencemaran di lokasi apalagi merebut titik orientasi kota. Tiba-tiba karya ini seperti ritual street art memburu waktu dan sembunyi-sembunyi tentunya bertujuan memberikan efek kejutan untuk publik luas. Sama sekali karya ini tidak memiliki kualitas bahan monumen yang abadi seperti laiknya batu atau perunggu, tujuannya berbeda, bersifat festive, momentarily, tetapi mengandung sifat memorial, ya setidaknya di alogaritma yang terekam di gadget anda... Tahun ini tahun ke-16, saya berkarya dengan #bamboo ,sekurang kurangnya pernah menghampiri 6 negara. Satu capaian yang tak terbayarkan adalah karya saya yang pernah menghampiri Jepang akan dipelajari dan mengisi buku kurikulum pendidikan seni SMP dan SMA mulai 2020, saya pun sulit membayangkannya. Terlepas dari Kontroversi keterbelahan saya ingin menyampaikan bahwa seni memiliki fitrah universalitas, keterbukaan persepsi, pengalaman serta lintas dialog, bahwa ada sensasi keindahan lain yang meresahkan itu merupakan bagian sifat seni. Tentunya saya resah bahwa ukuran angka dan sifat materialistis terlalu menjadi hidangan utama agenda kepentingan, ini menjadi sangat pragmatis dan tidak mendidik ke arah kwalitas manusia Indonesia yang lebih baik... Yuk ! kita mampiri galeri dan museum seni dan acara-acara kesenian lainnya. Ini adalah karya saya di generasi ini, mana karyamu?

A post shared by Joko Avianto (@jokoawi) on Jul 20, 2019 at 11:43am PDT

“Aside from the controversy, I want to say that […] there is universality to art, [which is] open to interpretation [and] dialogue based on experience,” he added.

Joko, in explaining how he first received the project from the city administration, said he wanted to help Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan in welcoming the 2018 Asian Games and Indonesia’s 73^rd Independence Day.

He said he was proud he had the opportunity to showcase his artwork in a public place, just like the artists before him.

“This was a rare opportunity to be able to have my artwork stand on the north-south axis where the Arjuna Wijaya Statue was built in 1987 by Nyoman Nuarta, the Selamat Datang Statue in 1961 by Henk Ngantung and Edhi Sunarso, the Jenderal Sudirman Statue in 2003 by Sunaryo and the Pemuda Membangun Statue in 1971 by Munir Pamuncak. They are all my teachers and my seniors,” he said.

In response to the controversy, Anies said he would invite more artists to use public spaces in the city to exhibit their artwork.

Anies even defended the millions of rupiah spent by the city on Getah Getih.

“Bamboo is one of our local products. We chose to use bamboo because the money would go straight to the bamboo farmers and bamboo craftsmen. It was deemed as something nonsensical but in fact it played an important role in supporting our economy,” he said on Sunday.

“In the future, there will be more artwork on display across the Jakarta skyline. The city belongs to everyone.”

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