This writing is the contribution to ICCB2019 in the catalog.

Functional Dissonance 1

Curatorial Process as a “Co-curator” of ICCB

I got the invitation of Indonesia Contemporary Ceramic Biennale from Arief Yudi in Gimhae when we had the exhibition in March 2018. I had sympathy, so I was very interested in helping my friends in Jatiwangi rather than curating ceramic exhibitions, so I did accept their invitation. The soil and pottery as materials are not unique in modern and contemporary art. However, summoning Korea’s traditional pottery techniques to contemporary Indonesia is very meaningful and also a new challenge because it is the first attempt. We all know that anthropologically and historically, the pottery spread through China, Korea, and Japan to Britain and other countries in Europe. My question is, did Korea’s pottery technique spread to Southeast Asia, but it seems that it has not yet to do. I tried to understand the subject faithfully, and I decided to find artists suitable for the situation. The most important thing in selecting artists was to introduce Korean ceramics skills to Indonesia for the first time, so I researched to find ceramic artists who could fulfill their purpose faithfully. And I tried to find the right person who could adapt well to reality and blend in well with the people in Jatiwangi rather than creating good artworks; I hoped that someone who values relationships with people could do it together. My role as a co-curator in this biennale was to recommend Korean artists.

Indonesia Contemporary Ceramic Biennale in 2019 held in Jatiwangi; the Majelangka Regency of West Java in Indonesia was unique and different from the other biennales I experienced. However, I did not try to understand the differences or/and correct the wrong part by looking at their progress. And I wanted to accept it as it is. So, I just took a step back and waited for them. I even didn’t know what they were trying to do precisely until the exhibition opening. I think the reason why I can accept the differences and respect their ways is that I’ve already done a lot together in the past time, and I’ve been close with them as a friend. On the other hand, it was not easy to explain this situation to Korean artists because they had different experiences. The artists I recommended were left entirely to the JaF team. And also, about who and what kind of work the artists were going to do in Jatiwangi was also left entirely to the artists and JaF. In the same situation, the attitudes and reactions of all four artists were different. It is doubtful whether this diversity can be absorbed and settled here. This loosely connected relationship and process were no different from the way of Jatiwangi art Factory, and I couldn’t let go of their grip. Is it because I can understand them as a friend? I shouldn’t have to get my greed, and I’m a guest, and I wasn’t in a position to assess the situation there. There was no co-curator, Sunyoung, and she only existed as a friend in that relationship between JaF and Korean artists. I learned to be humble and be patience from all the processes. After all the process, I could realize who will be able to keep continuing this project and working together in the future. And there was respect and dialogue with each other beyond the realization. This part has an essential influence on my selection of artists. This is something that can only be seen through experience. Artists should be respected, but I don’t think all artists can be appreciated. And the artist will surely have to think carefully about what he or she should do through art. And no matter how well an artist wraps it with words and writing, the artist’s mind does work will be reflected after all. Through all the project processes, I thought maybe there won’t be many artists in the future who can do projects with me.

ICCB Functions as “Site-specific” and “Public” Art Project through Links with the Surrounding Regions

Starting with the ICCB, I was able to begin full-fledged research into what changes were made to the region and the people here. A minimal change is that many people gathered here had the opportunity to join forces and began to think together about how to use the opportunity. It is also an opportunity to think about how art functions. As a curator, I don’t want to make a significant effort at temporary art events, and I don’t want to make a considerable effort for transient art events. In a more meaningful way, I could think about how the Indonesian Contemporary Ceramic Biennale at Jatiwangi could have an impact on the region and society. I decided to find a way to establish a school that way. In reality, there are a lot of things that need to be prepared and considered first to build a ceramic technical school here. I am now facing with these four questions and looking for answers to these four questions; I hope ICCB can move forward with the solutions. 1) What should not be missed in the process of urbanization is to find and preserve the identity of Jatiwangi, not the “Westernization.” 2) I wonder if government support is possible at the readjustment level so that small-scale villages can preserve, and the villagers can make work without difficulty living normally and live well in pleasant surroundings. Wouldn’t it be possible to solve some environmental problems, the gap between the rich and the poor, and the social class? What would be the most desirable change in appearance if Jatiwangi, Majelangka Regency of West Java in Indonesia has changed? I hope we can try to shift our perspective more broadly. 3) What should this school look like, and what role should it play in Jatiwangi? 4) What should be prepared before the establishment of this school?

With the emergence of neo-liberalism in the 20th century, attempted to open the markets of modern ethnic countries and minimize each state interference had continued. And the slogan of the former American President Ronald Reagan’s administration “globalization” had served as an opportunity to spread neo-liberalism. Breaking boundaries between countries, opening up labor markets as well as free trade and open economies are the resulting in capital liberalization. Neoliberalism in that respect has an economic concept. In a society as a whole, problems of capitalism, which presupposes the polarization of wealth and poverty, destruction of the environment, and the issues of migrants, all of which are considered to be buying and selling with money, have caused us to face a current chaotic situation. The side effects of neo-liberalism are linked to all the cases, including the art scene as well. I wish we could all think about how works of art now. And before proceeding with what, we will all have to think carefully about what role the ICCB should play in the region and society as an art project.

Research and archiving are some of the processes that must exist in the preservation of what has been in the past for our present future, setting its object and value, and re-interpreting it in time. We already know the importance of working together in every field. However, the results of the urban renewal project, which linked to government policy – aimed at reviving the outdated and sluggish urban economy – still show more negative reviews than positive. One of the reasons is that traditional-speech traditions are more like ‘identity,’ or ‘locality’ – re-interpreting into an aesthetic form that threatens a central symbol system may be a breakthrough that has found in a way that leads to sensibility and draws people’s attention, but it also results in poor context. On the other hand, I think it is necessary to take time and thoroughly discuss what to do with tradition and how to re-interpret it in aesthetic form. It should precede by validating the logic of a persuasive reinterpretation on the premise that the present can be a history and tradition of the future. I believe that a fundamental change in the traditional aesthetic judgment system should make in a way that continues the alternative culture of breaking away from obsolescence without being impregnated with tradition. Of course, if you take the subversive power of art that will shake the system as an experimental field and share the same lines with interaction _ the ‘visuality of the same time’ and the ‘critic language’ _ the potential for cultural expansion based on identity can progress gradually through aesthetic and humanities practices, constantly questioning the current inertial and biased critical language and visual language.

Obviously, we live in a world full of information with the development of digital media and technology, but people are increasingly losing their sense of absolute truth. I think the absolute truth is ‘A above B’ rather than ‘A’ or ‘B.’ It would not be something that can be interpreted and defined at will by a saying in Korea “e-hyeon-ryeong-bi-hyeon-ryeong” which means it is an earring if it hung on the ear and the nose ring if it hung on the nose, different people call it different things. (It is also the same meaning of a proverb “It differs with the circumstances.”) But the world is increasingly missing the “absolute truth,” embracing relativism, pluralism, and individualism.

I wish we could think on the premise that there is an absolute truth that is beyond our grasp and that we should live with diversity. If we can stand at the heart of Asia, not the West, again, and read the whole landscape of the world, in that sense, what shape are we now facing? As science and technology advances, new media has emerged as a role of personal and cultural communication, and the number of users is increasing. In the realm of art, the new media still seems to have a positive influence. Behind the scenes, the negative aspects of capitalism indeed coexist. In sociological terms, the fundamental cause of social change lies in the development of information and communication. So much, so that social change is affected by information and communication. They will also have to think about ways to use new media positively, not for urbanization, regional group selfishness, and the creation of interest groups. Equal regional development should be made to enhance regionality so that the entire landscape, not individualism and urbanization, can be expanded. Hopefully, the media will not remain itself without essence.

The reason this place Jatiwangi is unique is that there is still a lot of potential for positive change. It believed that more effort and education from both the younger and older generation need on the minds that the younger generation used to say they want to be “cool” and what the cool means and where it should be oriented. I sincerely hope that people in Indonesia will not follow the wrong precedent of other Asian countries that have developed a little faster.

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[1] 《Functional Dissonance》 was the title of a project planned and conducted by [Project 7 1/2] in 2015 by Mullae-dong 3-ga in a steelworks complex.