Present Encounters : Papers from the conference of the Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, 1996

1 . As a brief example of the breadth and d iversity of the popular culture issue, I quote the following from Mike Featherstone ( Consumer Culture and Postmodernism, Sage, London, 1 991 , p. 1 38) commenting on the number of papers submitted at a Popular Culture Association meeti ng in New Orleans ( 1 988). ' I n the 250 page plus pages of the programme one finds papers on 'The Hardboiled Crime Novel', 'College Basketball', 'Madness in Literature and Poetry', 'Hairweaving: an Example of Material Culture' , 'Writing Television History', 'Arth urian Legends', 'Women in Ministry' , 'Gravestones as I ndicators of Social Trends', 'Andrew Lloyd Weber and Postmodernism', 'How Deep is Deep Ecology', 'Sex in Rogers & Hammerstein', and in a session on Psychology and Culture two papers coupled together entitled 'Fraud and Nietzsche: Death, Desire, and Myth of the Origin of Culture', and 'Jung at Heart, Sinatra and His Music 1 939-1 954'. 2. Tilman Osterworld, Pop Art, Benedikt Taschen GmbH, Kain, 1 991 , p.6. 3. In h is latest study on the middle class in Indonesia, Richard Robison tries to formulate a broad plan to demonstrate/explain the i nterna l structure of this middle class. This phenomenon is not exclusive to I ndonesia, but can be appl ied to the whole of Asia. See Richard Robison & David S. G. Goodman ( eds), The New Rich in Asia: Mobile Phone, McDona/ds and Middle Class Revolution, Routledge, London, 1 996. 4. There is an interesting example which can be used to i llustrate this point. Every 4th July Americans celebrate their I ndependence Day with pizzazz. I n Jakarta some cafes hold 4th July events for their customers - Jakarta teenagers and 'yuppies' - who may come wearing anything which is particularly American ( mostly the American flag). These events are successful and the cafes are ful l of middle class I ndonesians celebrating American I ndependence Day with American accessories. About one month later, on 1 7th August, I ndonesia celebrates its own Independence Day. The city of Jakarta is covered in coloured lights. But none of the cafes celebrate as they do for 4th July or Valenti ne's Day, especially in having their customers wear the nation's flag as a fashion statement. To wear the flag would be considered a serious offence and insulting to the nation. In this case, maybe we can extend the d iscussion on the relation of popular culture and the operation of state political power, especially within a society/country where political power can obviously seen in daily life. 5. John Fiske, Reading The Popular, Unwyn Hyman, London , 1 989, p.2. 6. Edward S. Herman, & Noam Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. Vintage, 1 994, pp. 3-31 , especially the discussion of 'Propaganda Model' which explains several processes of filtering in the mass med ia. 7. Umberto Eco, 'Towards a Semiolog ical Guerrilla Warfare', in Travels in Hyperreality, Trans. W. Weaver, Picador, 1 986, pp. 1 38-1 41 . 8. James B. Lee, 'Yi-Bui: The aesthetics of cultural complicity and subversion', Art Asia Pacific, vol. 2, no. 2, 1 995, p. 59. 9. I have borrowed this term from Umberto Eco, 'Casablanca : Cult Movies and l ntertextual Col lage', in Travels in Hyperreality, Trans. W. Weaver, Picador, 1 986, p. 1 97. 1 0. A local music form specific to I ndonesia, characterised by the rhythm of continuous beat of a d rum betraying I ndian, Arab and Malay musical elements. 1 1 . William H. Frederick, 'Rhoma l rama and the Dangdut Style: Aspects of Contemporary I ndonesian Culture', Indonesia, no. 34, October 1 982. As far as I am aware, this is the best study on the sociological aspect of the dangdut music phenomena in I ndonesia. 1 2. Joseph Fischer, 'The Traditional Sources of I ndonesian Modern Art', in Joseph Fischer ( ed. ), Modern I ndonesia Art: Three Generations of Tradition and Change 1 945-1 990, Berkeley, Cal . , 1 990, pp. 1 4-41 . 1 36