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The Indonesian National Gallery is celebrating the country’s National Awakening Day, or “Kebangkitan Nasional,” which arrives every May 20, by holding an exhibition of fine arts titled Manifesto 2010: Percakapan Masa (Mass Dialogue).

The exhibition which opened on Tuesday, features 120 artists from 13 Indonesian provinces, with works covering an array of styles, ranging from video art to sculpture, photography, painting and illustration.

Most of the participants come from the younger generation of Indonesian artists the gallery believes represents a new breed of local talent.

Event curator Rizki A Zaelani said during his opening speech that aside from those younger artists’ works, the National Gallery’s collection of historic masterpieces will also be on display, in the hopes that the combination of the two will serve as inspiration to these fresh talents.

“Those younger artists are invited to view those masterpieces that were created in the past, and take them in as a process of self-reflection,” he explained, adding that currently, there are many influences and outside factors that the new breed of artists has still to grasp.

“The younger generation of artists are now wrestling with a shifting climate and mixture of various identities. It is very much related to what art critic John Burger said regarding aspiring artists: ‘As soon as we are able to see, than we realize that others can also see us.’ ”

This method of visual dialogue between two generations of artists is a novel representation of Kebangkitan Nasional, which transpired when a group of Indonesian students decided to form a nationalist organization called Budi Utomo to revitalize the struggle for freedom during the colonial era.

“This is certainly not about re-imaging the past, but about trying to create a new consciousness about the importance of our future,” Rizki said. “If anything, we encourage the artists to interact with each other and offer a new set of issues to discuss and contemplate.”

Rizki added that he has trust in the new breed of artists, who he said are “more apt to change and new experiences.”

Whether the museum’s masterpieces have influenced the younger artists’ works is left to the viewer to decide. But they are certainly diverse in presentation and style.

FX Harsono’s “Open Your Mouth” is as literal as the title suggests. Four panels in a row depict masculine hands almost ripping a man’s mouth apart. His eyes, nose and nostrils are a blank white, adding a sense of grotesque to the piece.

Suromo’s “Pasar,” or “Market,” is less provocative. As the title suggests, it depicts a crowded traditional Indonesian market. The black-and-white scheme as well as the shading style is reminiscent of Robert Crumb’s illustrations, giving it a pleasant juxtaposition between the familiar and the darkly enticing.

Kartono Yudhokusumo’s “Anggrek” or “Orchid,” is a colorful painting of a variety of flowers and plants with a minimalist but lively style evocative of children’s book illustrator Maurice Sedak, author of “Where the Wild Things Are.”

The wealth of paintings in the exhibition is a sight to behold — if not for their evocative styles, then also for their expansive quality.

“[These pieces] are here to showcase the changes, difference and common quality the present has with the past,” Rizki said.
Manifesto 2010: Percakapan Masa

Through May 31

Galeri Nasional Indonesia

Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur 14

Central Jakarta

Tel. 021 3483 3954