RALLY · the Aurasma app and the NGV RALLY resource? No – everything is now on the device. • How large is the Aurasma app and the NGV RALLY resource? The Aurasma app is 13 MB

CONTEMPORARY INDONESIAN ART JOMPET KUSWIDANANTO& EKO NUGROHO

RALLYEducation ResourceThis interactive education resource is directed to the Australian Curriculum: The Arts – Visual Arts. It also supports the Australian Curriculum cross-curricular priority of Asia, Australia’s engagement with Asia and the general capability of intercultural understanding.

Utilising digital content prepared for the exhibition RALLY: Contemporary Indonesian Art – Jompet Kuswidananto and Eko Nugroho held at the National Gallery of Victoria from October 2012 to April 2013, this resource is packed with cultural and political references, absurdist whimsy and street art appeal. The works of art in RALLY are particularly stimulating for school students of all ages who readily engage with the playful nature, layered meaning and magic of the large-scale works.

This resource contains images of selected works of art from the exhibition, commentary, artists’ interviews and contextual videos. The captivating interactive AR (augmented reality) interface allows students to engage with the exhibition via an Android phone with camera, iPhone, Android tablet or iPad2. (Please refer to the next page of instructions for details about how to use the interactive.) Print-friendly PDFs are designed to support contemporary learning and are targeted to the Visual Arts, Years 7–10, with questions and tasks easily adapted for other levels.

About the artistsJompet Kuswidananto and Eko NugrohoJompet Kuswidananto and Eko Nugroho are members of an art community that centres on the vibrant Central Java city of Yogyakarta in Indonesia.

Jompet’s work includes installations of figures and creatures that evoke aspects of Indonesian life whose form is implied through costumes and props, animated with mechanised movement and sound.

Eko works across diverse media, creating paintings, murals and handmade comic books, contemporary interpretations of traditional shadow puppet theatre and, in collaboration with local craftspeople, embroidery. Together Eko and Jompet shine light on the effervescent contemporary Indonesian art scene, presenting a wide-ranging yet precise snapshot of this world.

Related resourcesThe ebook RALLY: Contemporary Indonesian Art – Jompet Kuswidananto and Eko Nugroho on the NGV website contains insights, images and information about the artists and their works.

The following A4 trigger images can be printed and activated via smart phones or tablets to access further information. (Instructions can be found on the dedicated page.)

AcknowledgementsExhibition curator: Kelly GellatlyEducation concept design and author: Jane Strickland, Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Placed Teacher at the National Gallery of VictoriaGraphic design: Dirk HiscockMultimedia design and production: James Boldiston, NetEffective Media GroupConcept design: Martin Stone Education Services AustraliaExhibition manager: Edwina Brennan

These resources were developed by the National Gallery of Victoria with funding and support from The Australian Government Department of Education

© 2013 Education Services Australia Ltd, unless otherwise indicated. This material may be used; reproduced and communicated free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australia and in overseas schools where the Australian curriculum is taught provided all acknowledgements are retained.

Jompet KuswidanantoInstallation view ofThe commoners 2012 (detail),at the NGV

About the RALLY augmented reality resourceThis educational resource uses simple augmented reality (AR) technology to enable students to explore and interact with art works from RALLY: Contemporary Indonesian Art – Jompet Kuswidananto and Eko Nugroho.

By using the trigger images in this guide with the free Aurasma app through a smart phone or tablet, specific digital resources including images, videos, texts and questions become available to enhance appreciation of the work.

In addition to the trigger images and activities, this educational resource contains an outline of the material students may discover while navigating through the interactive. This includes thumbnails of the images, brief descriptions of the works of art and the key text.

Getting started1 Install the free Aurasma app on each device from the

appropriate app store:

a. Android: Google Play https://play.google.com/store/search?q=aurasmab. Apple: iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/aurasma/id432526396?mt=8

2 Launch the Aurasma app and from within it search for NGV RALLY and download it to the device.

3 Print the trigger images from this guide.

4 Launch the Aurasma app and point the camera at the trigger image.

5 You’re good to go! Explore and engage with the multimedia resources.

Viewers download the Aurasma app onto their device and then minimise it but not close it. Then separately open this link in a browser on their device.http://auras.ma/s/qTEll

The technologyThis resource works with both Android and Apple devices.Devices must:1 Have a camera (iPad2 or above).2 For Android: Android OS: 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or above. 3 Apple OS: Apple IOS 5 operating system.

FAQs• Do we need access to the internet once we’ve downloaded

the Aurasma app and the NGV RALLY resource? No – everything is now on the device.

• How large is the Aurasma app and the NGV RALLY resource? The Aurasma app is 13 MB and the NGV RALLY resource is under 10 MB.


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Cultural and historical contextGeographically, Indonesia consists of 17,580 islands and is populated by many ethnic and linguistic groups. Indonesia’s national motto is ‘Unity in Diversity’ or Bhinneka Tunggal Ika.

Jompet Kuswidananto and Eko Nugroho both come from the bustling Javanese city of Yogyakarta. Their work is highly individual yet they both respond to the dramatic and rapid pace of cultural, social and political change that has occurred in their nation since the fall of the Suharto regime in 1998.

Historical backgroundPreviously known as the Dutch East Indies, Indonesia underwent three hundred and fifty years of Dutch colonial rule which ended with invasion and occupation by Japan during the Second World War. Following the Japanese surrender in 1945, Indonesia became formally independent of Dutch rule in 1950. The country was ruled from 1967 by President Suharto.

BeliefsDifferent religious traditions have influenced Indonesia over time, including Hinduism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. Yogyakarta is located near the ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist Borobudur temple. Today most Javanese follow a moderate form of Islam as their religion, while only 5–10 per cent of Javanese follow orthodox Islamic traditions.

As Jompet describes his own view of this complex society:

‘In Java, for example, one can be a Muslim and a Javanese animist at the same time; one can be local and global; modern and traditional. One can exist in a space in-between different things’. (Third Realm, exh. cat., Gervasuti Foundation, 2011:12)

SocietyTraditions that were maintained in Indonesia for centuries have now changed. Great social shifts have occurred throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, resulting in much of the Javanese population moving from traditional farming practices, such as using livestock to plough the rich volcanic rice paddies. Many Javanese have now moved to the densely populated city with its graffiti-lined streets buzzing with 150cc motorbikes, and they find themselves responding to daily life, globalisation and the world economic situation.

Your students may wish to look up online videos of Love Hate Love and other Yogyakarta graffiti online.

People are interconnected with a global world through influences such as TV, street art and Western music. Contemporary Yogyakarta pulsates with internet connections, mobile phone technology and social media reflecting the demographic fact that almost half of Indonesia’s population is under twenty-nine.

Artistic contextYogyakarta is a city alive with contemporary art and hosts the Yogyakarta (Jogja) Biennale. However, artists like Jompet and Eko call upon the traditions of Javanese theatre and performance, batik, embroidery and wayang kulit puppets in their work.

For Jompet the very act of exhibiting his work on the global contemporary art circuit is, at its most fundamental, about a desire to ‘share realities’. As he explains:

I’d like to share my realities of this interconnected world. I’d like to see others’ realities too – the art world is just one of the spaces for this. So long as my works open up a dialogue, share knowledge and exchange ideas on them I think, simply, the work has done its job. It has talked to the audience. It has gained a new value. (Joanna Barrkman, ‘Fibre face’, Art

Monthly Australia, no. 244, 2011:48)

How do you think making art in an Indonesian context and exhibiting it in Australia helps to build connections between the peoples of Asia and Australia?

Yogyakarta street scene, 2012Photograph: Edwina Brennan


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VISUAL ARTS: RESPONDING

First impressions• View the video Artists in action – Eko. What is your immediate

response to this mural?• Imagine this work without the water. How does the water

contribute to the overall visual effect?Consider Eko’s words: ‘We can’t be like UFOs flying about aimlessly; we must connect, we must communicate and have some sort of exchange with the places and people we work with’. (Adeline Ooi & Beverley Young (eds), ‘The Space between Eko and Nugroho’, Daging Tumbuh Studio, 2011:39)

Consider the context• Eko’s art seeks a personal connection. Does this mural

connect with you? If so, how and why? • How does the Waterwall engage visitors to the National

Gallery of Victoria? • Does painting this mural on the Waterwall contribute to a

sense of personal connection?Imagine how, as an artist, you could bring the facade of an iconic public building to life. Select an image of a grand public building from your city, use digital manipulation to alter it. Design an overlay of a painted mural or digital projection that would cover the facade.

TraditionConsider Eko’s Indonesian heritage and how it may have impacted on his work. Follow the link to the Indonesian shadow puppet on the NGV website. Scroll down to locate the work from Java called Pradu Suyndra from the early twentieth century.

Look at the shadow puppet made in the wayang kulit style. The term wayang can refer to the many varieties of Indonesian puppet theatre and playful characters. The philosophical underpinning of wayang theatre reflects a blend of Hindu epics and folk narratives with Buddhist, animist and Islamic beliefs. • Can you see any links between Eko’s work and the shadow

puppets of this tradition? Consider how Eko’s mural is also rather theatrical. You may wish to search online for videos of Indonesian shadow puppetry.

Visual contrastConsider the visual similarities, such as the use of the design principle of contrast.

Look for the idea of contrast in the Waterwall mural and in the shadow puppet.Identify:

• positive and negative shapes• moving water and static painted areas• opacity and transparency• patterned and solid areas


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(above left)Eko NugrohoFlick that chip from your shoulder (Waterwall mural), 2012

(above right)JavaneseRaden Natajana, Wayang kulit puppet (early 20th century)gouache and gold paint on parchment, horn, metal, cotton thread97.0 x 53.0 x 2.5 cmNational Gallery of Victoria, MelbournePurchased, 1972 (AS2-1972)

If you haven’t already looked at Eko’s mural from Hosier Lane, please do so.

Eko has taken his art from the gallery to the street. Hosier Lane is considered one of the best displays of Melbourne’s vibrant street art in the world. The City of Melbourne acknowledges that public spaces provide a gallery and stage for artistic expression and approves permits for street art with the building owner’s permission.

How is painting on the street different from painting on the Gallery itself?

• Think about the lifespan of this Waterwall mural and street art. Should art have a lifespan?

• Find out other art that is also made to be ephemeral, such as the work of Andy Goldsworthy.

• Watch the video Taking it to the streets.• When is painting a wall considered graffiti and when is it art? • Compare these works with other street artists such as Banksy

who use urban settings and buildings as sites for their works of art. For example, the Banksy mural Slave labour, which was controversially taken from its original site, Wood Green, London, in an attempt to sell the work. Compare this with Eko’s mural from Hosier Lane.

• Observe how Eko painted his mural with the help of assistants.• Compare his painting with a brush with other techniques used

by street artists, such as paste-ups, stencils and spray.

LOVE, SHARING AND TOLERANCE

Look closely• Look at the close-up, flower-covered surface in Eko’s

Flower generation #2• What is it made of?• What would it feel like?• What is suggested by the title?• Consider the descriptive wall label from the exhibition:

As the title and materials of this sculpture suggest, the rise of terrorism in Indonesia has made Eko feel nostalgic for the pacifist beliefs and actions of the 1960s ‘flower generation’. By covering a crawling human figure in a ‘costume’ of flowers, as this generation did at music performances and happenings, the artist is trying to suggest an alternative course of action that embraces ‘love, sharing, tolerance, humility, hospitality and sincerity’. (Kelly Gellatly, 2012)

• Eko is trying to suggest an alternative course of action to that of terrorism.

• What design elements and principles are used by Eko to communicate the mood of ‘love, sharing, tolerance, humility, hospitality and sincerity’ to his audience?

• Research the pacifist beliefs and actions of the 1960s flower children in the USA and Australia.

• Consider Australia’s involvement with the Vietnam War. How did the image of the flower emerge as being significant for the peace movement?

• Research the art, music performances and happenings that were an important part of the 1960s counterculture.

• Eko knows there are negative portrayals of Indonesians in the Australian media where Indonesians are, sadly, at times portrayed as fundamentalists and terrorists. Explore the idea of how people are represented in the media. How does his art challenge this view?

• What social or political situation or stereotype would you like to change? Consider how you could make your voice heard by making art.


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(above left)Eko Nugrohopainting Flick that chip from your shoulder (Hosier Lane) (2012)synthetic polymer paint on existing wallinstallation© Eko Nugroho

(above right)Eko NugrohoFlower generation #2 2012 fibreglass, plastic

VISUAL ARTS: MAKINGCreating a hybrid creature

InspirationEko Nugroho collaborated with local craftspeople to create embroideries. View the video Not a cross stitch and consider Eko Nugroho’s statement:

I was interested in embroidery as a fading tradition, slipping away from people’s memory as machinery and synthetic materials became more popular. I’ve always thought of embroidery as a form of drawing using thread on cloth … It was transforming something from the everyday into something extraordinary and unexpected. I like turning things on their heads, breaking preconceptions. (Francesca Gavin, 100 New Artists, Laurence

King, 2011:204)

• Why might embroidery be a good medium for an artist who tours his work around the globe?

Consider the following description of Eko’s work:

In Spitting all invasion, 2012, Eko filled two walls with his painted and embroidered images. Prior to his images being installed a group of volunteers hand painted the stencilled semicircular patterns over two walls in the exhibition space. Both the quirky title and the images encourage the viewer to form open interpretations about the meaning of his complex layering of ideas. The work features strange juxtapositions such as a Paris streetscape and spaceships. Many of the images contain eyes peering out from strange places, such as masks, helmets, buildings or boxes. Eko is interested in how people may conceal their real identity and take on another.

• Why might eyes be an important element in a work like this? Locate the boxed eyes, claw arm, bear arm and superhero belt. Identify who this figure might be.

Contemporary Indonesian society is a complex, hybrid creature renowned for its ability to absorb cultural influences from beyond its borders. In his work I was a politician, 2011, Eko playfully links the ideas of a politician with a spaceman. What may this juxtaposition mean?

ExploreCreate your own hybrid figure based on the exquisite corpse game. The exquisite corpse is a playful and fun drawing game whereby each collaborator adds in their own area of a body to create one overall image of a body. First, the page is folded equally into three.

The aim is to collaboratively create a strange, imaginary body, or corpse, and for each participant to draw their part, but not to see what the person before has drawn.

In a sequence, the first participant draws or collages a head and then folds it, hiding the start of their image from the next participant. The second then draws/collages the body; folds, then the third draws the legs and feet. All is revealed when the whole page is unfolded.What a surprising and wonderful revelation!

This is a fun warm-up activity that may be extended.


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(above left)Eko NugrohoIndonesian 1977–I was a politician 2011from Spitting all invasion 2012rayon thread (machine embroidered) on fabric, wireCollection of the artist, Indonesia© Eko Nugroho

Investigate Extend this task by juxtaposing found images such as comic superheros, children’s toys, celebrities and street art in unexpected ways, and cut identifying features from people in the media. These sources can be cut, pasted and rearranged.

To further investigate the idea of juxtaposition, you may wish to gain inspiration from Eko.

Contrast human and non-human elements; for example, place a rock on the body of a spaceman. Combine human, manufactured and animal forms such as hooded or masked faces, fish scales, factories and aliens.

Play around with scale. Consider creating a tiny or a wall-sized version.

Balance your use of:

• positive and negative space• patterned and solid areas• objects and background spaces• complex and simple areas

PresentYou may wish to make your hybrid creature into:

• a sticker – perhaps using self-adhesive clear film and an opaque marker to display on a window,

• a badge,• a T-shirt, or • a bag that takes your ‘hybrid creature’ to the street to share in

your community.

You may wish to animate your hybrid creature using stop-motion video, or create a product design; for example, create a range of toy hybrid creatures.

The class may develop a blog where each participant can upload photographs of their designs, exquisite corpses and share written reflections about both Eko’s work and their own hybrid creature.

First impressions• What is your first impression of this work?• Unravelling the meaning of the work is rather like a puzzle.

Does anything puzzle you?Let’s unravel what it could mean.It may help to read the exhibition curator’s wall label:

The ‘absent’ figures of The commoners represent the role and place of the common worker – the roadway or construction worker and, equally, the farmer or fisherman – within contemporary Indonesian society. The juxtaposition of soundscapes and technology with the figure of the manual labourer also highlights the very clear differences that continue in Indonesia today: old and new; traditional and modern; us and them; East and West; persevering and flourishing. (Kelly Gellatly, 2012)

Look more closely• In Australia, what workers in the workforce are visible? What

workers or group of workers are invisible or less noticed? Why?Look at both the figures and objects included in this artwork.Some objects are associated with work. Identify these and suggest what work might be associated with each object.Some objects are associated with rallies or protests/marches. Identify these objects.• This work was mechanised and the figures would move

at time intervals, flags would be blown by leaf blowers and audio would play with Indonesian voices coming from the megaphones. How might this noise and movement contribute to the overall impact of the work?


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(above right)Jompet KuswidanantoThe commoners 2012

Jompet’s people do not have faces. Discuss the idea of facelessness and how it contributes to the work.• View the installation. Why might Jompet have used a hovering

roof structure shaped like a traditional Javanese house?Throughout their long history, the Javanese have produced many important buildings, ranging from Hindu monuments, Buddhist stupas, temples, palace complexes and mosques. Research the architecture from Java in Indonesia. Discuss how many cross-cultural and local influences have impacted on the form and function of these buildings.• Why might the commoners be gathering?Rally is a word that suggests several different meanings. Explore how this one word can mean several things. Discuss how an artwork may also have multiple meanings, and how different people may understand the work differently.• How does this exhibition title, RALLY, relate to this work?• How might people’s ability to ‘rally’ together involve the

internet, mobile phone technology and social media? • In the video interview Jompet says the manual labourers

wear T-shirts on their heads to protect them from the sun. Do Australians labourers have an ‘unofficial’ uniform? Do they wear anything similar to protect themselves from the sun?

• Consider the ways Australian workers have been portrayed in the past. Compare the Indonesian workers with those in Tom Roberts’s iconic Australian painting Shearing the rams, 1890. What are the similarities and contrasts?

• Consider the composition of this work. What if you changed a colour, a material or removed an object? Use your hand to mask objects and explore how this changes the work’s impact.

Interpret the work by explaining in your own words what the overall message would be. Edit this to make your interpretation as clear and concise as possible. Share these short interpretations with your classmates, either in person or online.

VISUAL ARTS: MAKING

Gain inspiration• This work hints at the traditional form of Javanese theatre,

moving in procession from town to town. Why are the horses’ bodies absent in this installation? What feeling does this ‘ghosted’ presence leave you with?

• Imagine if you could hear this cortège approaching, what sounds would you hear?

• Research the idea of the ‘readymade’ or found-object sculpture, particularly the work of Marcel Duchamp. How is Jompet’s work similar?

• Consider what the objects in Duchamp’s and Jompet’s work suggest; for example, do they have a ‘visual poetry’? Do the objects attract or repel you, or do they suggest a memory?

• Discuss what materials in Jompet’s work resonate with the Old World and what symbolises the New World.

Explore Create your own site-specific installation inspired by The cortège of the third realm no. 2, 2012. It can be an individual or collaborative project.

SPACE AND INITIAL PLANNING

LocationFind the best available space in your school or a place in the local community to create a site-specific work of art. You may need to consult others and ask permission. Consider the location, taking into account the dimensions and dynamics of this space. Consider for how long you wish to display your work and who would visit or work in this space. Consider the scale of the space. Consider the amount of time you have and the scale of the project.• Draw a diagram of the space and photograph it, record the

measurements and any other considerations. What would you do to project imagery and bring sound into this space?


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(above)Tom RobertsShearing the rams 1890

Logistics• Consider how you could best and most efficiently work into

this space. Is it possible to suspend things from supports or use the wall to attach objects? What would be the safest and most efficient way to do this?

Message• Consider how you could enliven or shape this environment.

What message, thoughts or mood would you like to communicate through your installation?

• Consider your audience, how could you best create something that will inspire, engage, question, puzzle, amuse or influence them?

Aesthetics and materials• Consider the texture of different objects you may wish to

use. For example, Jompet used leather, brightly painted metal, hessian, drums, guitars, cotton, silk, metallic thread, beads, buttons, rope, wood and plastic. How does varying the surface quality of materials impact on the viewer? Notice how Jompet employed found materials such as weathered corrugated iron. Why might he prefer to use this material rather than new metal?

• Decide if you would like to use any second-hand objects in your installation. If so, why? Or why not?

• Jompet uses everyday, readymade objects. Look around you, what could you use to make art? Art materials need not be precious; in fact, the more unusual the better. Perhaps use something old and something new. It may be useful to list what you could use and where to find the objects. Spend time at home or at the house of your grandparents, older friends or an opportunity shop to source interesting, even amusing old objects. Are you able to transport the materials?

Be inspired by the surrealist idea of juxtaposition; for example, consider how Jompet has put together objects that usually don’t fit together, such as horse hair, electrical cord and plastics.Consider how you would ‘compose’ your installation by arranging and linking the objects, allowing for the art elements. It is crucial to consider how you will use colour, line, shape and form. You may wish to think about the use of negative space, balance and repetition.

INVESTIGATE

Practical considerationsIf working collaboratively, assess the skills of your group and

divide the work so that each person is responsible for a fairly allocated section of the artwork. Consider deadlines and make sure there is planned time to construct any required elements.

Under adult supervision, students may wish to direct how lighting is directed on their work to create shadows or highlight desirable aspects.

Use safe practices and materials. Develop a plan for dismantling and packing up the artwork.

PresentConsider using movement, sound or other digital elements to add to the mood of the work. If filming, consider how you could use digital sound and lighting to help construct mood.

You may need to consider who you could invite to visit your installation.• What would you want to call your installation? Why did Jompet

use such a strange title?Arrange a student to photograph, review and promote your installation in the school newsletter, or share on blog spaces, or upload a video based on the installation to YouTube and invite friends to ‘like’ it and share their viewpoints. You may wish to upload your work to online photo-sharing sites and decide together how to tag it so all can access the work.


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RALLY · the Aurasma app and the NGV RALLY resource? No – everything is now on the device. • How large is the Aurasma app and the NGV RALLY resource? The Aurasma app is 13 MB

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