Understanding Gamelan from Contemporary Artists Perspective

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Soloevent.id – As part of the 2018 International Gamelan Festival, five artists performed six of their works at the Saujana Gamelan exhibition. The five artists are Edwin Raharjo, Hajar Satoto, Hanafi, Heri Dono, and Nindityo Adipurnomo.

They exhibit contemporary art with the theme “Serupa Bunyi” which is an art, visual, and silence work combined with gamelan. This exhibition is located in the Central Java Cultural Park Gallery, 10-15 August 2018, and is for public.

 

 

Entering the exhibition hall, visitors will be presented with a unique line of gamelan artwork. One of them is the interactive gamelan “Harmony in Diversity” by Edwin Raharjo. Gamelan can be played with the keyboard interactively.

Edwin also presents installation of wayang kulit with alternating glowing light. Then there is also the “Gamelan Toa” by Nindityo Adipurnomo which features a unique gamelan. Hanafi’s work, “Benih bunyi”, tries to interpret the sound of the gamelan spirit which serves to attract the attention of the audience when performing puppets.

This exhibition has collaboration with the 2018 International Gamelan Festival with the National Gallery of Indonesia. The curator of the National Gallery of Indonesia, Suwarno Wisretotomo, said the five artists were given the freedom to express their ideas about gamelan. “The artists are free to interpret the gamelan in different ways and reflect it through the development of contemporary gamelan works,” he explained when giving a speech.

Not only contemporary art, Saujana Gamelan also exhibited photography works on the diversity of Nusantara gamelan, and exhibits historical objects about gamelan which are collections from various institutions and individuals.