#fx harsono

[selfportraitsofcolor]

FX Harsono, b. 1949 Destruction Indonesia (1997) Performance and video documentation [Source], [Source]

Designboom says:

destruction was harsono’s contribution to slot in the box, an exhibition organised by the cemeti gallery. slot in the box called together artists from across indonesia to engage with the new order’s electoral fraud through such diverse forms as installation and performance art...

destruction was performed during the so-called ‘silent week’, a period prior to elections during which public assembly of more than five people was declared illegal; as such, harsono’s performance placed him at personal risk of arrest. 

this performance saw harsono assuming the role of the uncontrollably powerful demon king ravana, prime antagonist of the epic sanskrit poem the ramayana. dressed in a business suit, harsono set fire to three wayang masks on chairs, which represented the only three political parties suharto allowed to contest the elections: his own golkar party, the islamist united development party (PPP), and the democratic party of indonesia (PDI). 

using a chainsaw too powerful for its task, harsono destroyed the burnt chairs, as a metaphor for suharto’s brutal exercise of power over the electoral process. the mangled remains of the chairs and masks serve as an installation alongside a video of the performance; reminders that power should always be kept in check

[sinetheta]

Voice Without Voice / Sign. FX Harsono (胡丰文). Silkscreen on canvas (9 panels), wooden stools and stamps. 1993.

A founding member of of Indonesia’s Gerakan Seni Rupa Baru (New Art Movement), Javanese-Chinese contemporary artist FX Harsono is widely recognized for his performance and installation art as a response to the former dictatorial Suharto regime and subsequent violence against Indonesia’s Chinese minority. Into the 21st century, Harsono’s primary focus has shifted from critique of politics to exploration of identity within the Chinese-Indonesian community.

Voice Without Voice / Sign is a series of signs that spell out "DEMOKRASI" ("Democracy" in Indonesian) with last letter tied with rope. Each letter sign has a stool with a stamp in front of it so that viewers may stamp a “DEMOKRASI” of their own. Harsono conveys frustration over the Indonesian government’s oppression of free speech under the ostensible guise of espoused progressiveness. It has been displayed at the Singapore Art Museum, Fukuoka Art Museum, and the National Art Center in Tokyo. 

Follow sinθ magazine for more daily posts about Sino arts and culture.

[sinetheta]

Gazing on Identity / Menewarang Identitas by FX Harsono (胡丰文). 2016.

A founding member of of Indonesia’s Gerakan Seni Rupa Baru (New Art Movement), Javanese-Chinese contemporary artist FX Harsono is widely recognized for his performance and installation art as a response to the former dictatorial Suharto regime and subsequent violence against Indonesia’s Chinese minority. Into the 21st century, Harsono’s primary focus has shifted from critique of politics to exploration of identity within the Chinese-Indonesian community.

Gazing on Identity is Harsono’s most recent solo exhibition that examines the controversy of Chinese identity documents and the suspicion that surrounds them. The exhibit’s components range from installations of wooden blocks, digital prints, and LED lights to traditional drawings and oil on canvas. These varying mediums are unified under the theme of juxtaposing documented identity with cultural identity.

“For the Chinese, although they were born in Indonesia, they are still considered as migrant. Apart from Indonesian Citizenship certificate, they must also have other documents, where this regulation is not applied to ‘real’ Indonesians. The dichotomy of real-migrant, free-bonded, is presented in this work.” -FX Harsono.

Follow sinθ magazine for more daily posts about Sino arts and culture.

[nininmenulis]

Museum MACAN Hadirkan 10 Perupa di Pameran Dunia dalam Berita

Museum MACAN Hadirkan 10 Perupa di Pameran Dunia dalam Berita

NININMENULIS.COM – Dunia dalam Berita yang dihadirkan Museum MACAN mulai 1 Mei-29 Juli 2019 menampilkan dua generasi perupa yang dapat dikelompokkan berdasarkan keterlibatan mereka dengan media dan informasi, politik, serta cara-cara baru dalam pembuatan visual. ke-10 perupa tersebut yakni Agus Suwage, FX Harsono, Heri Dono, I GAK Murniasih, I Nyoman Masriadi. Krisna Murti, Mella Jaarsma, S.…

View On WordPress

[eileenlm]

FX Harsono, Surviving Memories #1. Oil on canvas, in 2 parts, 2012.

[selfportraitsofcolor]

FX Harsono Open your mouth Indonesia (2002) National Portrait Gallery, Australia

FX Harsono Tubuhku adalah lahan / My body as a field Indonesia (2002) National Portrait Gallery, Australia

[Source]

FX Harsono was born in 1949, just as the independence of the Indonesian nation was being established. He studied painting and during the early part of his career worked as a graphic designer in Jakarta to support his family.

During 1970s he was a founding member of Gerakan Seni Rupa Baru (New Art Movement) and the Desember Hitam (Black December) movement. These were the first iterations of a vibrant contemporary art scene that embraced performance and installation as well as more traditional mediums, and encouraged strident political criticism at a time when expressing dissent became increasingly dangerous.

In the post-Reformasi era, after the fall of the Soeharto government, Harsono’s work has become more self-referential. He has engaged in a social research project, working directly with the Chinese-Indonesian community of his ancestry, documenting their stories on film. In 2010 the Singapore Art Museum held a major retrospective of his works from the 1970s to the present day. Harsono lives and works in Jakarta, travelling widely in Java for his research, and internationally.

[thesludgefeast-blog]

FX Harsono, Writing in the rain, video performance, 2011

[asculptureblog]

Writing in the rain - FX Harsono (2011)