The four researchers who contributed to this book agreed that the definition of contemporary art cannot be understood without studying the development of modern art; that contemporary art is essentially a contradiction to modern art. The four researchers realize that any discussion on contemporary art cannot be started with a simple definition of “today’s art” or “art of the same era” or “art that relates to time”. The appearance of contemporary arts in Indonesia was also characterized by a reaction to the depoliticization to the preceding development of art (mid 1960s to early 1970s). This depoliticization occurred due to political changes of 1965 when the military took over power after the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) failed to control the government under Soekarno. The military government under Soeharto banned communism, hunted down all PKI members, and ran a politic of intimidation to eradicate communism. Communism soon became a stigma, and people – including artists – were afraid of engaging in politics. In Yogyakarta, this depoliticization led to shifts in the developments of Realist Tradition. Artists, afraid of being accused of playing politics, consciously entered the world of idealism and took issue with, for instance, the Indonesian identity taking cover under nationalism. In this issue, the socio-political problems that were strongly reflected in the Realist Tradition since Sudjojono, were put aside. In its place, socio-cultural problems began to appear, such as traditionalism.
Media Type: Book
Pages: 200 pages.
Writers: Asmudjo Jono Irianto, Jim Supangkat M. Dwi Marianto, Raihul Fadjri, Rizki A. Zaelani, Sumartono dan YSC
Year: 2001
