Taring Padi, The Art of Dismantling Tyranny

The Art of Dismantling Tyranny
Dina Indrasafitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 08/03/2011 7:00 AM

A Tentacle of Problems: Members of Lafadl, an NGO from Yogyakarta and Taring Padi, an artist community, carry a giant papier-mache sculpture of an octopus through West Siring, Porong, East Java, to mark the fourth anniversary of the mudflow disasterA Tentacle of Problems: Members of Lafadl, an NGO from Yogyakarta and Taring Padi, an artist community, carry a giant papier-mache sculpture of an octopus through West Siring, Porong, East Java, to mark the fourth anniversary of the mudflow disasterOne already familiar with the Taring Padi artists’ collective can usually spot the visual works from the collective at a glance: the bold strokes commonly used in woodcut techniques, the dominant use of red, white and black and gestures such as raised fists depicted alongside confronting messages.

Born in the fresh wake of the 1998 reform movement that toppled former president Soeharto, Taring Padi has been known as an entity producing work imbued in political messages such as demands for laborers’ and farmers’ rights as well as environmental consciousness.

Despite its loose organizational structure, the collective has maintained its existence throughout the years not only through its works of art but also through its activism, by engaging in campaigns and maintaining contact with those they see as victims of injustice.

According to M. Yusuf, one of the collective’s pioneers, Taring Padi was formed in December 1998. A number of youths, including those who were activists during the 1998 reform movement, saw a decrease in artwork depicting social criticism after the downfall of Soeharto.

“Taring Padi was established upon that uneasiness, the idea that Indonesia’s problems were not settled after the reform movement. There remained many problems to be settled, and since we were artists, we voiced those [concerns] through art,” he said last week in Jakarta.

There were nine people, mostly students of the Indonesian Art Institute (ISI) in Yogyakarta, who were involved in establishing Taring Padi.

“At first, Taring Padi was a formal organization. We had a formal structure. But as time passed, that structure failed to provide comfort for the community, so it was disbanded and … up to now, we do not have any chairperson or the like. The membership is voluntary,” Yusuf said.

Taring Padi’s members continue to expand in their variety. The organization has had its share of members ranging from art students, law students and even expatriates.

“Our first work was the ‘Stop Horizontal Conflicts’ poster series in response to the 1999 elections, which were the first multi-party elections. [The elections] carried a very high risk of conflict based on differences,” Yusuf said.

Although at a glimpse, the work of Taring Padi may look as if it was all done by one artist, a closer look reveals various styles and different strokes. Thus, the collectivism is visible through the multiple hands that work together to produce the art.

“Taring Padi’s works are collective works. My own personal artwork, as with the others, can be different from that of Taring Padi’s,” Yusuf said.

He described how the collective’s art was produced: First, the members of the collective conduct a meeting to discuss a main theme and then discuss sub-themes, texts to be displayed in the artwork and finally the techniques to be used in the work: whether it will take the form of woodcut, three-dimensional artwork or paintings.

“Then a working team is formed. [We determine] who will carry out this task and who will be the [project] coordinator,” Yusuf said.

Scrutiny of Taring Padi’s work reveals the sub-themes, squeezed between the dominant images in the art space.

Fitri DK, a member of Taring Padi since 2001, said that at first she merely helped with making the projects through blocking the colors. However, at the same time she was gaining the confidence to contribute her own strokes to the work.

“The process flows by itself … someone who is not particularly skilled in drawing can blend in starting from the discussion phase … that’s when the learning starts. Although there are no particular assignments for each person, [the tasks] come by themselves,” Fitri said.

Over time, the organization became involved in many issues and their activities began to include more than merely producing artwork. Taring Padi was involved in the trauma healing process for children who survived the Merapi eruption last year, and organized a campaign for the mudflow victims in Porong, East Java.

Taring Padi’s work also includes music. The folk music band Dendang Kampungan has released two albums.

The past 13 years hold plenty of memories for Yusuf. The collective has relocated several times since its first location at the former ISI campus in Gampingan before the government took over the property.

It then moved to Sewon, south of Gampingan. The collective moved to Sembungan after the Yogyakarta earthquake in 2006 destroyed its rented space. The collective currently has its own property in Sembungan.

Yusuf’s memories include some bitterness. The collective was once attacked, allegedly by dozens of members of the Gerakan Pemuda Ka’bah [the Ka’bah Youth Movement].

“One of our young friends from Bandung who was staying there had to have an operation [after the attack],” he said.

The faces have also changed over the years, Yusuf added. “One of [the first members of Taring Padi] is a teacher now. Another has gone to Palembang. Several have also gone overseas,” he said.

Nevertheless, regeneration has been ongoing. The organization currently has around 20 members who routinely meet to discuss projects and other issues.

Sergina, a member of Taring Padi since 2009, said that being in the collective benefited her by offering her experiences she might not have gained by merely studying at university.

“I study theology and it is all theory. In practice, I get it all by working with the friends in Taring Padi,” she said.

The collective has had its share of accusations from various parties.

“We have been called communists, a wing of the PRD [the People’s Democratic Party], drug dealers and so on. But if we succumb to those rumors, we will drown. What’s important is that we are sure in our work to help the marginalized and if we are consistent in that, people will know by themselves,” Yusuf said.

A book, entitled “Taring Padi: Seni Membongkar Tirani” (Taring Padi: The Art of Dismantling Tyranny), which contains over 100 visual works from Taring Padi, was recently published. It also includes essays that both applaud and criticizes
the art.

A discussion held last week about the book mentioned several perceived weaknesses of Taring Padi’s artwork, such as the danger of falling into the trap of rhetoric and the visualization of women that was starkly reminiscent of patriarchal ideals.

Politics and rhetoric aside, the Ford Foundation’s Heidi Arbuckle, who was one of the speakers at the discussion, expressed her fascination with the collective, with which she had been involved for years.

“Taring Padi’s strength is in their art … they are jagoan [masters] in making their work,” she said.