1993 APT1 Conference : Identity, tradition and change

lecturers resulted in the incompleteness of the information received. Thus, the installation art of Indonesia is difficult to discuss within the context of the devel­ opment of installation art internationally. Installation art in Indonesia developed in a conceptual manner based on the conditions existing in Indonesian art. Within this setting it can be seen that installation artists rejected the domination of modem art processes (even though these were not preceisely the same type of creative processes present in the modem art of the world). Installation art in Indonesia continued to develop not only in terms of its beginnings, but also because installations were seen as being the appropriate language for setting forth existing problems. This is because the metaphores achieved by arranging ordinary objects of daily use were not only able to set forth clearly the problem being dealt with, but also because they com­ municated issues directly to the people. It should be noted that there are a number of tendencies, forms and creative processes involved in installation art in Indonesia at this time. Installation art is used as a language for expressing social problems to and for the public which may not be directly involve in the expres­ sion. This tendency actually involves a fairly large number of variations, among which is the placement of observers as an integral element of the work of art in the hope a response from the viewers will be achieved. The purpose of this creation is to involve a third party in the artwork actively in such a way that there is a physical interaction between the observer and the artwork itself. It is hoped that in this way the problems set forth will not be observed as within a frame at a distance, but will involve the observer as a part of the problem being presented. These kinds of works are usually quite large and are designed so that the observer can enter into them physically in such a way that the observer is influenced psychologicaly. A second tendency is almost the same as the first, except that the objects presented are not limited to the realm of familiar objects of daily use. Video art, sound or music and performances are used as complementary factors in such a way that the work of art is not only multi-media in nature, but also multi-disciplinary. The role of artists from a number of varied disciplines is of importance. These types of artworks are certainly communicative because the work is not presented in a fragmented manner, but as a theatrical whole in which a story is told, albeit not verbally. Com­ munication is built up through the process of story telling in such a way that it is possible to involve the observers or the people in the issue that is being brought to the surface. A third tendency in installation art as a language for the expression of social or political issues involves the direct participation of the public. The artists using this type of approach usually originate from the segment of society which is experiencing the problem being set forth in the art work. For example, workers who are feeling pressure from the industrialists that em­ ploy them, or farmers and other people who are being forced from their land for the construction of a housing comlex or a factory. The people in these communities have a direct role in the creation of this type of art. They create the art themselves or discuss the problem and work with an artist to create it. The resulting art installation is known as participative art. In this type of art, the participation of the public is vital.