New Generation of Artist for Cemeti Art House 25th Anniversary

New Generation of Artists, reflecting the work and creative approaches of Ace House Collective group.

By Zulhiczar Arie part of 25th Anniversary` Cemeti Art House for Pseudo Participative Project 2013 published by Cemeti Art House ISBN 978-602-18783-9-2

To decide a research project with many selected objects and problems in art field is sometimes difficult. For me personally, selected object and problem to discuss must have strong orientation and relation to its researcher. Therefore, I hope a researcher was not selecting object of research spontaneously. Everything must be connected to the researcher’s self, so that it has obvious reason why the researcher choices the object as research material.

In conjunction with the discourse above, I try to review my creative process to look chronologically my anxiety so far. So finally, I can take that in this Pseudo Participative project.

The first encounter with fine art When I was in college, I was like a usual student. The term known in college is kupukupu student (kupu-kupu stands for kuliah pulang which means immediately going home after school). I was doing my hobby, skateboarding, seriously. That actually still influences my creative process until now. My craziness to skateboard surely makes me know what is called “Skateboard Graphic”. It is drawing illustration and design in bottom side of the board which becomes my benchmark in an art world, specifically in drawing art. Also from that, I finally try to make drawing similar to that characteristic.

With my interest to that issue, I also try to look other possibilities around. Is there any artist who has the same idea and visual? Oh there is that artist, but the artist is just only observing. I have not been meeting the artist in person. Until in the beginning of 2011, before I graduate from ISI Yogyakarta, I have collective project with Ican Harem (Ican known as Hypster who also chooses skateboard as one of his creation marks) that brings me to meet with friends incorporated in incredible group of young artists named Ace House Collective.

Ace House Collective In a plain view, Ace House Collective is a group of young energetic artists who have very cool style of creation. Their artworks tend to reflect pop and youth culture which like nothing else art style like that. That is my first impression of them. Their art style inspires me and I immediately agree that this is the art style I will choose. Here is some information I quote from their website, . “ACE HOUSE is an art laboratory formed from group of some young artists in 2000’s era, based on same thought and idea in creative process and also same background of artistic pattern. The pattern is consistent to visual popular and consumerism style evolved along with influence of youth culture such as music, poster, cartoon, film, toys, skateboard, bike culture, graffiti and comic. We believe popular culture as a resistance and main source of creative process, and also a response to development of information flow in a discourse of global fine art, where we are born and living inside. The phenomena assure us that art is not limited only to studio place but also its crossing to other academic disciplines.”

The artists incorporated in Ace House group are young artists, class of 2000’s graduated from FSR (Faculty of Fine Art) ISI Yogyakarta, with major of graphic design, painting and visual communication design. They are Diki Leos, Iyok Prayoga, Hendra Hehe, Hendra Blankon, Ahmad Oka, Gintani NA, Uji Hahan, etc. Actually, in the beginning of my first meeting, I am in the position of an admirer, by which I make Ace House friends as my local inspiration in creative process. Surely, It is because that they have been working and consistent to that visual style which makes them as “idols”.

During the year (2011-2012), I am not alone who acclaims Ace House friends as orientation in visual creative process. Fortunately, I meet other friends like Ican Harem (former member of Ace House) and the Ryan Ady, Eki Firmansyah, Galang Rais, Andika Gondrong, Okta Samid, Sofyan Brojol, Dika Ojek etc as my friends class in creative process.

We have, several times, involved in one group of exhibition or making a project for fun.

As time goes by, I have been very intensely working together with friends in Ace House Collective. One of the works is their invitation to me to be video collaborator in parallel project in

Biennale Jogja event XI “Tak ada Rotan Akar Punjabi” (No rattan Punjabi root). From that moment, finally I now fall to fine art world which full of mist and mystery, struggling to look for a bright spot.

Then one time, I had talked to miss Gintani to discuss artist regeneration. My question was “why is it like long interval between artists with Ace House visual style and young artist today?” This interval is between 2000’s year until now entering 2010’s year. That fad question is not answered soon at that time. It may be considered as a joke, but actually the question still resonates and finally I try to express it by this Pseudo Participative project.

Investigation Based on that question, I begin this investigation process. I do not automatically research that object but I rather start to give question relevant to that object. I will share this investigation process to be some stories with different sub-titles, which I hope it could lead this process to kinds of finding and additional challenging question.

History and beginning lectures of fine art major in 2000’s year.

I get this story from the first interview with Uji Hahan and FA Indun in Hahan's studio in Nitiprayan area. I try to start this investigation process by listening their stories in college, which later forms their working and creating style today. The 2000’s year is a transition period of college move, ASRI Gampingan to integrated ISI campus in Sewon. This makes ISI campus quite free to use for student activities. Hahan and Indun told how they were still living in campus, sleeping in studio, working together in campus freely.

Studying and creating artwork are their daily activities. Discussion, chatting and exchanging ideas become something never missed in their daily activity. Until one day, they have made a joint exhibition in their friend house named Billy. From the exhibition, I also get story that, at the beginning, they never think of feedback and target when working in exhibition. The main thing is just working based on their interest, either opinion or visual work. During the college time, style of working together begin to find its form because of similar inspiration, hobby, visual choice and also feeling of living with joint responsibility, which finally can lead them to a kind of work and working style today.

Generation of Juxtapoz and Low-Brow Art Every generation of artist should reflect their era. Every generation of art student should give an ideological view and certain visual style to reflect their generation. That is what I get from two different interviews with senior artists, Agung Kurniawan and one of Ace House members, Gintani NA. From those interviews, I also find two different facts but still related to one similarity. Their inspiration of creative process is Juxtapoz magazine made by an artist, Robert Williams, from San Fransisco city, USA. Not only from that, sources from internet, blog, webzine and some artworks’ cassette cover also become their role models. When talking about Juxtapoz, this topic seems very close to Low-Brow art in 1970’s. Quoted from Rifky Effendy writings in exhibition catalog “Finding Me” in Semarang Contemporary Gallery, he says that: “Lowbrow is also known as pop-surrealism. The term lowbrow art appears in underground art movement, along with underground comic and punk music, in Los Angeles in 1970’s, as counter expression to established culture and hegemonic view. The characteristics are casual, hybrid, satire, often with taste of gloomy humor and banal comments. That is why it is called ‘low art’.

Agung Kurniawan says that Hahan’s generation artists only imitate visual form from artists with Low-Brow art in Juxtapoz magazine, without looking ideologically something inside in Low-Brow art movement. According to Agung Kurniawan, the movement itself is a kind of resistance or antithesis of High Artworks developing in America and Europe. Low-Brow art resists exclusive characteristic of high art which is only for certain circle of market. Painting, statue, installation etc are countered by creating cheap art in the form of illustration, drawing, comic, animation which can be sold cheaply in a community. Here is a quotation from interview with Agung Kurniawan; “While Low-Brow resists all of them, they want to reorganize all system in high fine art.

They try to make their own exhibition, create a kind of their own media, make exhibition in the street, make media, blog, web, etc. That actually has a big power which is very political. They (lowbrow group) resist commercialization of high art by creating artwork (painting etc.) cheaply based on illustration artwork. The illustrative artwork tends to have story. It is called low art because of its dependence characteristic. Many of them have narrative element because of its basic from comic, cartoon, animation etc. This is

actually strong resistance to established concept of high fine art and all of them is summarized into the whole text in Juxtapoz magazine.” “artist comrades of Hahan generation imitate and follow orientation of such creative process. But, they only imitate it visually, do not further understand the ideological context. This lowbrow group in Europe is called Brutal Art or Art Brut. They really do not care for concept of art, which means they even do not need school to be an artist, because they just make any kind of thing freely and it can be an art. Lowbrow art can be called as the most hybrid art because it can confound any kinds of fine art.”

“Characteristic of lowbrow group is actually crafty which means they tend to choose manual skill in creative process. This is also a kind of counter to industrialization of art which prioritizes craftsmen, gallery support, art fair, collector etc. This is opposite to what happens in Indonesia. Because they do not copy lowbrow ideology, artists in Yogyakarta tend to stuck on industrialization of art itself, for example an artist who wants to have solo exhibition must cooperate to craftsmen.”

Agung Kurniawan’s opinion above is not accepted by Gintani NA, as a member of Ace House who several times gives foreword about Ace House. She denies Agung’s opinion.

Low- Brow labelling, which then attaches to Ace House artists, is actually perspective judgment outside Ace House itself. “This is a kind of market labelling to map a kind of visual style we work” said Gintani. “We think we never call ourselves as an Indonesian Low-Brow artists, we are just doing our creative process. If it has visual form and inspiration, that is just our choice, but we do not really agree with that labelling.” That is maybe influenced when during college time and artworks of Ace House artists enter art market, they do not have a kind of term to call what generation they are. The reason from miss Gintani was because we did not have writers at that time. We were busy in creative process without thinking of what kind of artist we were. In-conjunction with this topic, Ace House comrades think that we impossible to do creative process with Low-Brow ideology. Finally, this ideology in Indonesia is only limited to a part of lifestyle, like Punk ideology in Indonesia which is merely a fashion. LowBrow style is like Punk style which is only consumed visually.

The birth of Ace House Collective

In a span of 2002/2003 to 2011, position of Ace House Collective artist, according to Gintani, can be called as unstable. Their way of work, although sometimes, is helping each other, working in a joint project, involving in a joint exhibition, but every individual also has each work career. It is like still looking for an identity where is actually these artists position in creative process. Labelling from outside, which marks them as Indonesian Low Brow artist, finally also makes them to think further to form a collective work called Ace House. The same vision, origin and visual style become their basic to form this group. The longing to work again together, like it was in college, which was concerning solidarity and their denial to certain label also become the main thing to form this group. They try to label their own identity by forming this Ace House Collective.

If asking why Ace House is finally born, that is actually reflective question. It reminds the booming time of fine art in 2007, which has very big impact to us, so that it makes us, today, want to look back our position in fine art world” that is a piece of statement from miss Gintani.

By this group, we can raise everyone inside, so that we hope we could develop and progress together. There is something interesting said by comrade Uma Guma, “a concept to form Ace House itself is like denying modernist ideology which stressing concept of individualism. In the era of completely self-service today, many people have abandoned a form of group. But in fact we rather return to our habitat, to a group that bores us to develop together.”

Working System of Ace House Collective A working system of this group was limited to a kind of working together to make joint exhibition or working together technically like making mural. But in the past Biennal Jogja XI event, this group, fist time, had different working system. I think they accept concept of discourse offered by Jogja Biennale committee, which is then re-responded by Ace House by using their own perspective to create new kind of artwork. Concept of collective collaborative work among artists in Ace House, in fact, can create a kind of artwork, and this still becomes processed material in internal side of Ace house itself. Therefore it hopes this could find the right formula as a kind of artwork from Ace House Collective group. Here is an excerpt of Ace House profile I get from miss Gintani.

“Internally, we build a consciousness of our working process as a space in arena of visual and textual production. By building collective work by means of project and program we

initiate together, we hope it could strengthen everyone in this group. The spirit of this group is encouraged by a wish to achieve more than just an individual achievement.

The final result of creating artwork group has been done by curation and brainstorming process with all members in the form of focus group discussion. The result is then processed and re-shared to be small groups according to each interestedness and specification. Early initiative of forming this group is based on interestedness and intensity to certain theme, narration and aesthetic achievement of visual popular culture (tend to refer to definition in a context of youth culture). A cultural movement, we hold, brings spirit to our position and our creative process style. This consciousness of creative process itself finally unites and underlies us to form Ace House Collective.”

Indeed, a kind of Ace House collective creative process is also different to every personal creative process, and I think that is an interest thing. Imagine that, by means of different opinion and aesthetic from every individual, it can create more different kind of artwork. They explain that artworks created in a scope of Ace House work can smelt personal characteristic of each artist. In the form of Ace House artwork, we cannot detect who is an artist behind the artwork. That means collaborative process in Ace House now can be said quite successful. For example in an artwork, collective work has reduced each artist ego. Each artist in Ace House obviously has personal artwork but when becoming a collective artwork, it becomes different artwork of each artist. In this case, the common ideology is a power from creative process of Ace House group.

New Generation of Artist Back to the discourse that artists reflect their era, this Ace House collective artists are the right reflection to represent 2000’s generation. Inspirations based on technological information, such as internet, cartoon, animation, comic, video game etc, become source of power in their creative process. It is different to 70’s generation by New Fine Art Generation which criticizes elitism of art, 80’s generation by its surrealism and even 90’s generation by its reformation criticism. When asking why this 2000’s generation is lack of social criticism, Gintani answers “Yes because in those years, it already entered post-reformation era. We actually wanted to involve in a movement, but in fact, it had been down at that time. It meant funny if we suddenly made another movement. This 2000’s generation, according to miss Gintani, is also continuously

questioned, even to be called as black sheep because of its lack of criticism. There is finally also who call it celebration generation. Hahan adds that at that time, we were introduced by concept of fun artwork style by Eko Nugroho, “Yes creative process can be done for fun, not always critical”. From this moment, Ace House comrades seems agreeing to the statement, and still believing it until now. At that time, these Ace House comrades also felt an uproar of work in alternative space in Jogja, such as Kedai Kebun, Cemeti, Mes 56, Cemeti Art Foundation (now IVAA) etc. They felt how they developed together in those spaces. As a group of art student in 2000’s, process of study in those spaces became the very valuable lesson.

This class of 2000’s is also like justifying a myth of decadal generation of Jogja artist. An influence of fine art booming in 2007’s year also makes this generation survive until today. When doing investigation, fine art booming at that time actually had many influences to fine art today.

According to Agung Kurniawan, the booming created new generation of collector. Collector perspective in Indonesia also changed along with the development flow of fine art. Many young collectors also had similar perspective (visual inspiration) to contemporary artwork. That was why work of Ace House artists could have a position in art market, but negative impact of the booming, according to Agung Kurniawan, is like having destruction which makes a loss of generation characteristic. All of artworks become homogenous.

That is why, today actually will be waiting years of the delay of new generation artist. I think that “Can my friends class who I have mentioned like Ryan Ady, Galang, Eki, Brojol etc be called as fine art artist in today era? But referring to similar style of creative process to Ace House comrades, “can this be called as new generation? What can be a kind of form, inspiration and criticism expressed in today’s generation? Like Eko Nugroho said, this seems right to call as "Mubal" Generation. http://cemetiarthouse.com/ http://25years.cemetiarthouse.com/program/pseudo-partisipative-project/