Education Resource Kit

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This Education Resource Kit is published by Museum of Modern
and Contemporary Art in Nusantara ( Museum MACAN ).
Text copyright of Museum Museum of Modern andContemporary Art in Nusantara ( Museum MACAN ) 2017.
Content:
Museum MACAN – Department of Education and Public Program
Mia Maria, Head of Education and Public Program
Ade Rivky Hanif, School Relation Officer
Renjana Widyakirana, Education and Public Program Officer
Research Team:
Mia Maria, Head of Education and Public Program
Ade Rivky Hanif, School Relation Officer
Ady Nugeraha, Assistant Curator
Asri Winata, Assistant Curator
Editor:Jane Somerville
Annayu Maharani
Translator:
Susan Kumaat
Layout and Design:
Enarldo T. Girardi
Astari Wisesa
Reviewer:
Aaron Seeto
Nina Hidayat
Martha W. Soemantri
Paulus PatrianYuhaslinda

Museum MACANAKR Tower, 5th Floor
Jalan Panjang No. 5
Kebon Jeruk
Jakarta Barat 11530, Indonesia+62 21 2212 1888
www.museummacan.org

Education in the Museum
This Education Resource Kit is produced by Museum MACAN for teachers andeducators. The activities are based on the artworks on view in our first exhibition:
Art Turns. World Turns.
Bringing art into schools is a core mission of Museum MACAN. This kit contains
information about the artworks and the artists, and provides different approaches
for exploring the artworks in relation to various subjects including social studies,
language, math, and science. Intended for primary and secondary students, this kit
can also be used as a reference for higher education and the general public.
To further support teachers, Museum MACAN has created the Educators Forum,a platform for discussion and networking for teachers. Information about thisand other activities can be found on the Education page of our website.
Teachers can bring their class to Museum MACAN and have guided toursof the exhibition by our education team. Classes are also invited to the Children’s
Art Space, which offers playful approaches to engage with, and learn about art.
Coinciding with Art Turns. Worlds Turns. is a commissioned artwork
by Indonesian artist, Entang Wiharso, created especially for hands-on learning.
For more information about our Educators Forum, class tours, and the Children’s
Art Space see our website www.museummacan.org and social media, or email yourquestions to education@museummacan.org.

Museum MACAN – Department of Education and Public Program
Mia Maria, Head of Education and Public Program
Ade Rivky Hanif, School Relation Officer
Renjana Widyakirana, Education and Public Program Officer@museummacan

MuseumMACAN@MuseumMACAN

Greetings from the Director
This Education Resource Kit has been produced in conjunction with the Museum’s
inaugural exhibition Art Turns. World Turns. Exploring the Collection of the Museumof Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara presented at Museum MACAN
from 4 November 2017 to 18 March 2018.
Co-curated by Charles Esche and Agung Hujatnika, it features 90 artworks from theMuseum’s collection, the exhibition showcases artworks by Indonesian and international
artists, spanning a period of 178 years. You will find a careful selection of artworks thattells a story of Indonesian and international modern and contemporary art. It includes
works by artists from the 19th Century to the present day, and ranges across Asia, Europe
and North America. Art Turns. World Turns. presents a historical narrative that explores
the resonances between Indonesia and the world and offers a reading of Indonesian art
history in dialogue with global art history.
This kit has been prepared by the Education department of the Museum and is targetedto school audiences from grade 1 to 12. It offers a way for teachers to use the art on viewto explore areas identified within Indonesia’s education syllabus and can be integrated
into curriculum areas such as Social Studies, Science and Language.
To enhance your experience of the exhibition, we encourage you to use this resourcewith your students before and after visiting Museum MACAN. Education is a core
mission of Museum MACAN. We offer variety of programs catering to the different
needs of our visitors, these programs relate to the art on view and change regularly.
We are committed to making art accessible to the wider public, especially young people
and children. Partnering with local schools, we provide educational resource materials
for teachers to help engage their students with art beyond the walls of our museum.
We are also committed to help develop a healthy art ecology and landscape for art inIndonesia through internship opportunities and other education and training for young
professionals that supports the development of artistic, curatorial, and professional
museum practices in Indonesia.
For more information about the Museum’s Education Program, please visit our website,or contact our Education Department.

Aaron Seeto,
Director of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara

Art Turns. World Turns.
The exhibition Art Turns. World Turns. marks the inauguration of Museum MACAN
in November 2017. Co-curated by Charles Esche and Agung Hujatnika, the exhibition
weaves together 90 artworks by Indonesian and international modern and contemporary
artists in historical narratives. Art Turns. World Turns. offers a reading of Indonesian art
history in dialogue with the rest of the world. The exhibition places Museum MACAN’s
Indonesian collection as the backbone of the narrative. Divided into four linear
sections, connections are made between the art of each period and social and politicaldevelopments in Indonesia. Within each section, different artistic styles and ambitions
are identified, and relationships are drawn to events in the world at large.
From the ninety artworks being exhibited, we selected six artworks to be highlighted
in this Education Resource Kit, which represent four sections of the exhibition:
LAND, HOME, PEOPLE
Raden Saleh’s Javanese Mail Station (1879) marks the beginning of modern art
in Nusantara.
INDEPENDENCE AND AFTER
The period of national awakening and Indonesian revolution for independence
as seen through two works; S. Sudjojono’s Pertemuan di Tjikampek jg Bersejarah(Historic Meeting in Tjikampek) (1964) and Dullah’s Bung Karno di Tengah
Perang Revolusi (Bung Karno amidst the Revolutionary War) (1966).
STRUGGLES AROUND FORM AND CONTENT
An era of transformation in Indonesian Art, which sees artists experimenting
with forms and exploring ideas unique to Indonesia, exemplified by Lelehan Emas
Pada Relief Gunungan (Drips of Gold upon the Relief of a Mountain) (1973) byAhmad Sadali.
GLOBAL SOUP
Contemporary artworks from around the world is represented by artwork ASEAN+3(2016–17), an installation by Yukinori Yanagi commissioned by Museum MACAN.
Complementing the artwork displays, a timeline of Indonesian art exhibitions will
be presented. This is a pioneering initiative to map the development of curating andexhibition making in Indonesia in the past century.
Beside these artworks in the exhibition, we also present an artwork by Jeff Koons:
Hulk (Wheelbarrow) (2004–13), located in Museum MACAN public area.

Land,
Home,

PeopleLand, Home, People

RADEN SALEH
Javanese Mail Station(Kantor Pos Jawa) (1879)

7

Oil on canvas
51 x 72.5 cm

About the Artwork
Javanese Mail Station depicts a landscape along the De Groote Postweg (The Great Post Road), a historicalroad that stretched across Java from Anyer in the West to Panarukan in the East.
Stretching approximately one thousand kilometers, De Groote Postweg was an important piece ofinfrastructure during the Dutch colonial era as food, mail and military supplies were transported along it.
The road was built during rule of Herman Willem Daendels, the Governor General of Dutch East Indies,
who was in power between 1808 and 1811.
Dutch occupation in Nusantara dates from the mid-16th century. It built gradually through the archipelago
due to the spice trade. As the Dutch began to monopolize the supply and trade of spices through the 18 th
and 19 th centuries, their economic and political control over the area increased. Dutch occupation ended
with Indonesian Independence in 1945.
In this painting, Raden Saleh portrays a lush forest environment surrounding the road with the mailstation buildings on the side. Coming along the road is a convoy of two carts accompanied by horse riders
carrying Dutch flags.
This painting was completed just a year before the artist’s death in 1880.

Land, Home, People

8

Meet the Artist
RADEN SALEH
1811–1880. Born in Semarang, Central Java.
The paintings of Raden Saleh (Raden Saleh Sjarif Boestaman) mark the beginning of modern
art in Nusantara. Raden Saleh’s introduction to art occurred when he met and was trained by Antoine
Auguste Payen, a Belgian landscape painter who worked as an official painter for the Dutch Colonial
government in Java between 1817 and 1826.
In 1829 Raden Saleh was sent to Europe to continue his art training and he remained there for over two
decades predominantly living in The Hague, Netherlands. During this time, Raden Saleh exhibited his
paintings in major cities across Europe and also travelled to Germany, France, and North Africa. His
artistic ability combined with his social skills enabled the artist to develop important networks within
European high society and he was commissioned to paint the officials and royal families. In 1851, theDutch government appointed Raden Saleh ‘Royal Painter’, an exclusive role painting portraits of the royalfamily. In 1852, he returned to Java where he continued to paint important works documenting life in
Nusantara. He stayed for a short time in Buitenzorg, now known as Bogor, West Java, and traveled acrossJava working as a painting conservator for the Dutch. In 1859, Raden Saleh settled in Cikini, Batavia(Jakarta), where he built a mansion, which still stands as an iconic piece of heritage architecture today.
Raden Saleh traveled to Europe in 1875 returning to Java in 1879. He died in Bogor the following year.

Fun Fact
Raden Saleh’s mansion in Cikini, Central
Jakarta, also included a private zoo.
The mansion is now Cikini Hospitalwhile the zoo was relocated to Ragunan,
South Jakarta, in 1964, and is now
called Ragunan Zoo.

Vocabulary
Landscape (noun)
A picture representing a viewof natural inland scenery.
Commission (noun)
Hiring and payment of an artist
for the creation of an artworkon behalf of private individuals,
government or businesses.
Iconic (adjective)
Widely known and acknowledged
especially for distinctive excellence.

Social Studies
History of Mail in Indonesia
The first mail station (or post office) was built
in Batavia (Jakarta) in August 1746, to ensuresmooth delivery of documents needed for trading,in particular letters sent to and received from The
Netherlands. Then, the mail was delivered in paper
form and physically sent across land and sea.
Another historic method of long distancecommunication is the telegraph, which is when
information is transmitted over a wire through aseries of electrical current pulses, usually in theform of Morse code. The basic components include
a source of direct current, a length of wire or cable,
and a current-indicating device such as a relay,buzzer, or light bulb. The term comes from theGreek words “tele”, meaning “at a distance”, and“graphien”, meaning “to write.”
In 1875, the postal services merged with thetelegraph services under the name “POSTENTELEGRADFIENST”.

G R A DE 1- 6
• What are the methods used to deliver messages today?
• Let’s write a letter to your cousin or distant relative. How will you send it to them - email or post?
G R A DE 7-12
• Find out more about Morse Code and how it works.
Write a message to your friends using Morse Code.

Geography
The Great Postal Road, now known as Jalur Pantura (Jalur Pantai Utara - North Coast Road) is still an
important route for traffic and trade in Java. The current road extends through five provinces: Banten, DKI
Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, and East Java.
G R A DE 1-3• Follow the maze to explore the Great Post Road

Jakarta
Anyer

Bogor

Semarang
CirebonSurabaya
Panarukan

G R A DE 4- 6
• Create a collage. Collage is technique of art making by sticking various different materials such as
photographs and pieces of paper or fabric onto a flat surface. Create a landscape using collage.
Cut out pictures of trees, hills, bushes, huts, horses, sky, sun, clouds, roads etc., and present it toyour class.
G R A DE 7-12
• Research the Great Post Road and the important cities that it connects. Create a map using collage
and drawings based on your findings.

Language
Find definitions for these words and try to use them in sentences:
1. Raden
2. Colonial
3. Dutch Indies
4. Commission

Similar Artworks in Our Collection

R ADEN SA L EH

WALT ER SPIESIndische Landschaap (Indies Landscape) (1853)

Sawahlandschaft mit Gunung Agung

Oil on canvas(View across the Sawahs to Gunung Agung) (1939)

58 x 47 cm

Oil on board
62 x 91 cm

Take a look at the other landscape paintings above in Museum MACAN’s collection.
What do these paintings have in common? What are the differences?

Independence
and
After

Independence and After

S. SUDJOJONOPertemuan di Tjikampek jg Bersedjarah(Historic Meeting in Tjikampek) (1964)

12

Oil on canvas
153.5 x 106 cm© S. Sudjojono Center

About the Artwork
The subject of this painting is the Indonesian National Revolution, a period of armed conflict (1945-49)
between the newly independent Indonesia and the Dutch who were attempting to seize back control. In
Pertemuan di Tijkampek jg Bersejarah, S. Sudjojono brings the focus to the people and the situation behindthe-scenes during Indonesia’s fight for independence. The three people portrayed in this painting are theartist’s friends (Chaerul Saleh, Wikana, and Anak Marhaen Hanafi) and members of Menteng 31, a radical
youth group who were involved in kidnapping Soekarno and Mohammad Hatta and persuading them todeclare Indonesian independence.
The painting depicts a meeting, which happened in a rice barn in Cikampek, Karawang district, in West Java,
which was turned into a militia quarter by the Angkatan Pemuda Indonesia (Indonesian Youth Generation),a militia group established through initiatives of Menteng 31.
Sudjojono made two other paintings depicting events in this rice barn. Pertemuan di Tjikampek jg Bersejarah,
Ngaso, (1964), is in Museum MACAN’s collection and the other Markas Laskar di Bekas Gudang Beras
Tjikampek (1964) is in the Presidential Palace collection.
Sudjojono sketched the scenes during the revolution era and turned them into paintings in 1964 almost
two decades later. He gave this painting to A.M. Hanafi (one of the figures in the painting) when he wasappointed to the role of Indonesian Ambassador to Cuba.

Independence and After

13

Meet the Artist
S. SUDJOJONO
1913 – 1986. Born in Kisaran, Indonesia.
Sindudarsono Sudjojono is regarded as a pioneer in Indonesian modern painting and he is an
important figure in Indonesian art history. His work presented an antithesis to the dominant Indonesianart style, which depicted beautiful landscapes, scenery and exotic figures. Sudjojono and his colleagues
coined the term Mooi Indie, (meaning ‘Beautiful Indonesia’) to describe that painting genre and to critique
the European colonial vision of Indonesia it presented. Adhering to Realism ideology, Sudjojono believedthat art should reflect the reality of the social conditions in Indonesia and so should address the fight fornationalism.
Another term associated with Sudjojono is Jiwa Ketok, which means ‘visible soul’ in Javanese language. In
his 1946 essay “Kesenian, Seniman, dan Masyarakat” (Art, Artist, and Society) Sudjojono stated that thesoul of the artist must be reflected in their artwork. So through their artwork the artist’s principles andvalues are also on display.
In 1938 Sudjojono co-founded the Persatuan Ahli-Ahli Gambar Indonesia (Persagi) or the Union of Indonesian
Painters, and was instrumental in mentoring cultural institutions such as POETRA and Keimin Bunka
Shidosho. Both are cultural organizations established by the Japanese colonial administration to assist theirpolitical agenda and propaganda in Indonesia by providing training for artists and organizing exhibitions.

Vocabulary
Realism
An ideological principle whereby objects
and scenes are depicted as they actuallyare.
Realist (noun)
A person adopting realism principles in
his works.
Radical (adjective)
Extreme or unusual view on certain
fundamental belief
Credo (noun)
From Latin word, which means ‘belief’
Ideology (noun) – a collection of ideas andbeliefs that becomes a basis for certain
action or movement.
Criticism
An act of analyzing, evaluating or passing
judgment to something.
Genre
A category of works in a similar style,form or subject matter

Social Study & Environment (SOSE)
Realism is an art movement, which began in the
1840s during the time of the French Revolution
and in the rise of French Second Republic under
Napoleon Bonaparte. Realism rejected previous‘high art’ traditions like Romanticism which
depicted subjects that catered to the tastes of
the upper classes. Realism portrayed everyday life,
usually presenting middle or lower class people
engaged in ordinary activities. In Indonesia, oneof the artists whose work strongly echoed theideology of Realism is S. Sudjojono. Alongside
fellow artists, such as Agus Djaja, Hendra Gunawan,
and Emiria Soenassa, Sudjojono lived through theIndonesian struggle for independence and his art
reflects realist principles, nationalism and the fightagainst colonial rule.
In the visual arts Realism means the accurate
depiction of a figure or subject like it appears in real
life. The concept is underpinned by the ideologies
of social equality and the accurate representationof everyday people and events.

Independence and After

G R A DE 1- 6
• Create a family tree and trace back to your grandparents or great grandparents
who lived in the 1950s.
G R A DE 7-12
• Find out what happened in Indonesia between 1900 and 1950, what kind of philosophies
and ideologies that dominate the development of the community at that time?

LanguageTjikampek
Old Bahasa Indonesia spelling of ‘Cikampek’. In the old spelling, the letter ‘C’ was spelled as ‘Tj’.
Old Spelling Bahasa Indonesia, also known as Ejaan Republik, or Ejaan Soewandi, was revised in 1967
and again in 1972. The formal spelling being used now is named EYD – Ejaan yang Disempurnakan,
which means ‘enhanced spelling’.
G R A DE 1- 6
• Find out and list other letters that were revised in the new EYD?
• How do you spell your name in the old spelling? Is it any different than in the new spelling?
G R A DE 7-12
• Investigate the history of Bahasa Indonesia. Find out the history timeline of Bahasa Indonesia
in relation to the timeline of Indonesian independence process. Identify other languages that
influence the construction of Bahasa Indonesia and how many times Bahasa Indonesia has beenformally refined.

History and Geography
Cikampek is an area in the district of Karawang, West Java, and has, since ancient times, been
regarded as an important pathway through Java. It is situated on the Java North Coast (Jalur Pantura –Jalur Pantai Utara), which used to be the Great Postal Road.
In 1945, during the time of the Indonesian independence revolution Cikampek became a strategicroute to enter Batavia (Jakarta). Many important meetings that determined the birth of Republic ofIndonesia happened in Cikampek and its surrounding area. The Cikampek Regiment was a famous
military unit during this time because they guarded this path.
G R A DE 1- 6
• Find out about important happenings in Indonesia around the year 1945. Who are the people
involved in Indonesian proclamation of independence?
G R A DE 7-12
• Gather information about radical youth group Menteng 31. How were they formed?
What values and targets brought them together?

14

Independence and After

Similar Artworks in Our Collection

S . SUDJOJONO
Ngaso (Resting) (1964)
Oil on canvas
140 x 100 cm© S. Sudjojono Center

Check out another work by S. Sudjojono, titled Ngaso, in permanentcollection of Museum MACAN. Observe similarities between the two artworks.

15

Independence and After

DULLAH
Bung Karno di Tengah Perang Revolusi(Bung Karno amidst the Revolutionary War) (1966)

16

Oil on canvas
200 x 300 cm

About the Artwork
Dullah is a central artist of the Indonesian Revolution Period (1945–49) and his paintings record
many important activities during this time. Bung Karno di Tengah Perang Revolusi (Bung Karno Amidst
the Revolutionary War), 1966, is one example. Bung Karno is the nickname of Indonesia’s first president,
Soekarno who was in power from 1945 to 1967. ‘Bung’ is common designation for an adult male,popularized in Indonesia in the mid-20 th century. This painting depicts Soekarno amongst the freedom
fights making a speech.
This work was based on several sketches and is a larger version of another painting Dullah made a year
before. This painting features more detailed brushstrokes and a sense of depth, indicating this work is arefinement of the previous smaller version.
As the Presidential Palace Painter, Dullah was close to the first President. This painting seems to behonoring the spirit and strength of Soekarno and his important role in bringing Indonesia to unity andindependence. However, when the painting was completed the reality of the situation was quite different.
In 1965 political tension in Indonesia was at its height, and it was the beginning of the power transition
from Soekarno to Soeharto.

Independence and After

17

Meet the Artist
DULLAH
1919–1996. Born in Solo, Indonesia.
Dullah is known as the Revolution Painter. During the Dutch Second Aggression to Indonesia,(1948–50), Yogyakarta was occupied and the Indonesian military launched an attack to reclaim Yogyakarta.
This was called the 1st March attack and Dullah led a group of young artists to paint and record theevents of the war as they happened.
Also recognized for his portraiture, Dullah believed that paintings should not be made to look more
beautiful than the actual subject they depict; but nor should it appear like a photograph.
In 1950 Dullah was appointed Presidential Palace Painter, where he was responsible for looking after,
conserving, and archiving artworks and books in the Presidential Collection. In the same year, he cofounded the Surakarta Cultural Association (Himpunan Budaya Surakarta - HBS). In 1974 Dullahestablished his Realist Painting Workshop Studio (Sanggar) in Pejeng, Gianyar, Bali. Though it was only
open to public in 2016, in 1981, Dullah built his own museum in Solo, his birthplace, to keep his paintings
and artworks of his fellow artists, like Affandi and Sudjojono. The museum serves as Dullah’s personal
dedication to Indonesian arts.

Vocabulary
Revolution
An overthrow or repudiation and thethorough replacement of an establishedgovernment or political system by thepeople governed.
OrationA formal speech, especially one given ona ceremonial occasion.
Brushstroke
A mark made by a brush moving in one
direction across a surface such as paperor canvas.
Restoration
A process that attempts to return a pieceof artwork to some previous state that therestorers imagine was the “original”.
Sanggar
An Indonesian word that refer to a room
or a building for learning, workshop anddisplay works of art. Usually a sanggar isa platform for an art community.

Fun Facts
In 1978 visitors were so excited to see Dullah’s
painting exhibition, that they broke the door of
Yogyakarta Presidential Palace.

History
Bung Karno and Indonesian Independence
Soekarno was the leader of the Indonesian
independence movement and Indonesia’s first
President. During the Japanese invasion of
the Indonesia in World War II, in 1942-45, theJapanese appointed Soekarno to lead POETERA(Poesat Tenaga Rakyat – People Power Center),a political organization focusing on cultural andarts development. Soekarno effectively considered
the Japanese as national liberators; therefore
he continued to pressure the Japanese to grantIndonesia its independence. Eventually, Soekarnodelivered one of his most celebrated speecheson 1 June 1945. This speech defined the Pancasila,
which revolves around Indonesia’s five principles(belief in God, humanity, nationalism, democracy
and social justice). When the collapse of Japan
became imminent, Soekarno was initiallyconfronted by challenges posed by activist youths.
Soekarno declared Indonesia’s independence
on 17 August 1945.

As the leader of a new republic, Soekarno also successfully defied the Dutch control, thus allowing theformal transfer of sovereignty in 1949. Following political tensions in 1965, his executive power was
weakened and taken over by the military, and eventually forced to step down by the People’s Consultative
Assembly in 1967. Soekarno died in 1970 in Jakarta.

Activity
In Bahasa Indonesia, Bung is a warm, casual nickname for a man, whose meaning is equal to brother or
big brother. The use of Bung was very popular, back in 1940s when Indonesia was still struggling out toreach the freedom from Dutch colonial power. It symbolizes the equality and brotherhood.
•

What other names in Bahasa Indonesia do you use to refer to someone older male/female?

Visual Art
From the gesture of the figure, in Dullah’s painting, it is obvious that Bung Karno is making a speech,
trying to fire up the spirit the freedom fighters. We can see troops or militias around him and in the
background; as well as the dark image of a truck. Some fighters are seen lifting their weapons andhands in the air and their expressions seem to be intrigued by Bung Karno’s words.
Depth in this painting is created by making some figures and objects more visible through addition ofdetailed strokes in them, as well as in the arrangement of figures and objects in the frame.
Draw a scene with figures and/or objects and create depth by differentiating size of objects anddetailing the objects in the foreground.

Notice how the objects towards the back are smaller in size. They are drawn using thinner lines and lessdetail. This technique is used to create depth within a two-dimensional drawing.

Struggles
AroundFormandContent

Struggles Around Form and Content

AHMAD SADALI
Lelehan Emas Pada Relief Gunungan(Drips of Gold Upon the Relief of a Mountain) (1973)20

Mixed media on canvas
100 x 100 cm© Ahmad Sadali

About the Artwork
Ahmad Sadali’s abstract paintings convey spiritual ideas and philosophies. Lelehan Emas Pada
Relief Gunungan (Drips of Gold upon the Relief of a Mountain) is typical of Sadali’s oeuvre, which is often
inspired by the Quran. The artwork employs mixed media, including cloth, paint, and gold leaf which arecommon characteristics of Sadali’s works. The forms are minimal and the colors are dark – such as deep
blue, black, and earth tones. The artist defined these colors as hues of God’s greatness, taken from thecolors of the sun, the earth, and the sky.
Gunungan is taken from the word gunung (mountain), which explains the mountain-like shape, a form
also seen in Javanese shadow puppetry and other traditional ceremonies. Gunungan symbolizes threesubstances of life: God at the top, human on the left and nature on the right. The artist proposes that
harmony of human and nature must be attained with the focus of God as the ultimate goal.

Struggles Around Form and Content

21

Meet the Artist
AHMAD SADALI
1924 – 1987, Garut, West Java. Lived in Bandung, Indonesia.
Ahmad Sadali was an early generation of Indonesian abstract painter who received formal art
education in Indonesia and the United States. His works are greatly influenced by Islamic art and Westernformalism.
In 1949 Sadali studied at ULVOT (Universitaire Leergang Voor de Opleiding van Takenleraren) in Bandung,which then changed its name to Balai Pendidikan Guru Gambar (Drawing Teachers Institute), and later
merged with ITB (Institute Technology of Bandung). Sadali’s interest in abstraction reflects the focus
on the genre in Bandung art schools in contrast to the art schools in Yogyakarta, which explored a more
realistic painting style.
In 1959, Sadali received a scholarship to study at the State University of Iowa, United States, for a year.
He then continued studying at Columbia University, New York.
Sadali uses Arabic letters in his paintings, but he was reluctant to call it calligraphy, because for him
calligraphy required a deeper skill set. Regarding his art practice and relation to Islamic values, he statedthat according to Quran, humans are not mere thinking beings, but also emotional beings who have toremember to chant the name of God. This practice, according to Sadali, can be attained through thepractice of painting.
Sadali was also active as a muralist, designer, and an academic. He was a fine art professor at InstituteTechnology of Bandung, and initiated the establishment of Bandung Islamic University (Unisba). Sadali
was also the interiors designer for Indonesian Parliament Building in Jakarta.

Vocabulary
Abstract art
Art that uses forms, shapes and lines
to create an image that does not attempt
to represent an accurate depictionof an object.
Genre (noun)
A category of art characterized
by a particular style, form, or content.
Canvas (noun)
A cloth used as a surface for oil painting.

Social Studies
Gunungan
Gunungan is taken from the word gunung(mountain), which refers to a flat mountain-likeform seen in Javanese shadow puppetry. Gununganis also a term used in traditional ceremonies to
describe a mountain made from rice and other foodthat is distributed to people on the street. Gunungan
symbolizes three substances of life: God at the top,
human on the left and nature on the right. The idea
is that human and nature must exist in harmony
with the focus on God as the ultimate goal.
G R A DE 1- 6

Muralist (noun)
A painter of murals.
OeuvreThe works of one artist as seen
as a whole collection.

• Create your own Gunungan and draw a story of
your family in it.
G R A DE 7-12
• Research and collect images and events where
Gunungan is used in traditional performancesand events. List the events and present yourfindings to your class.

Struggles Around Form and Content

Visual Art
In this painting Sadali has used different techniques to create texture. One is the use of mixed mediausing paint, cloth and gold leaf. The other is the use of shapes and dripping techniques.
G R A DE 1- 6
• Create a painting using arrangement of shapes and dripping techniques.
G R A DE 7-12
• Research and collect images and events where Gunungan is used in traditional performances andevents. List the events and present your findings to your class.

Similar Artworks in Our Collection

A . D. PIRO US
Bila Bumi Bergetar II (When the Earth Quakes II) (1991)
Mixed media on canvas
147 x 194 cm© A. D. Pirous

22

GlobalSoup

Global Soup24

EC Flag Ant Farm (1992)
Colored sand, plastic box,
plastic tube, ants

YUKINORI YANAGIASEAN +3 (2017)32 x 48 cm x 13 pieces
Collection ofBenesse Holdings, Inc.

About the Artwork
ASEAN +3 is a Museum MACAN commission. The work forms part of Yanagi’s ongoing‘Flag’ series involving ant farms, which began in 1989. In this series, Yanagi creates images of flags intransparent boxes using colored sand. Each flag box is connected to the others using transparent tubes.
The artist inserted an army of ants into the boxes. The ants dig into the sand, moving between the boxes
to create tunnels. As the ants move around and establish their colony within the flags, sand from one flagis transferred into another, creating a network of holes, and altering the composition of each flag. It is acontinuous process of construction and deconstruction, which occurs in a controlled environment over a
two-month period. After this period, the ants are removed and the design they created with their tunnels
is spray-fixed with fixative glue.
In ASEAN +3 the flags represented are the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation(ASEAN): Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Singapore, The
Philippines, and Myanmar plus the three countries in Asia which contribute greatly to influence economy
and development of Asia; Japan, South Korea, and China.
This work includes a colony of around 5000 live stinging ants, called Odontomachus similimus. The
movement of the ants within the artwork creates a dynamic collaboration between the artist and the ants.
It is, in a sense, a living artwork, not controlled by the artist. The artwork questions the idea of national
borders, nationhood, regional unification, and political and economics dynamic between nations.
To develop this commission, Museum MACAN has worked with biologists from the Zoological
Department of Center for Biological Research, Lembaga Penelitian Indonesia (LIPI – Indonesian Instituteof Science). Through their research facility in Bogor Zoological Museum, Bogor, West Java, the biologists
conducted tests to determine which ant species would best suit the installation. Odontomachus similimus,
a stinging ant species endemic to tropical Asia and Africa, was chosen due to its habitat and behavior
within controlled environments. The biologist monitors the ants in the work while it has been installedin the Museum.

Global Soup

25

Meet the Artist
YUKINORI YANAGI
1959. Born in Fukuoka, Japan.
Yukinori Yanagi is a conceptual artist renowned for creating various installations using coloredsand and living ants.
Yanagi grew up in a rural area and spent most of his childhood playing in the nature, observing and playing
with all sorts of insects and other living creatures. Yanagi’s cousin owned a hardware shop and Yanagi
learned to use tools and work with building materials at a young age. His younger brother, Yanagi Kenji,
and his uncle Miyazaki Junnosuke are also artists.
After graduating with an art degree from Musashino Art University, Tokyo in 1985 where he majored inpainting, Yanagi went overseas to study. In 1988 Yanagi became a post-graduate fellow at Yale University,
receiving a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture. It was at Yale that he first began the World Flag Ant Farm
Project. He moved to New York City in 1992, with the support of Asian Cultural Council Fellowship. In 1993,
he received the Swatch Award at the Aperto at the 45th Venice Biennale for his World Flag Ant Farm (1990).
Yanagi comes from a generation of artists who lived in postwar Japan; a time when the country underwent
monumental shifts – from a nuclear devastated nation into one of the largest hi-tech industrial exporters
as well as major influencer of global Pop Culture in the second half of 20 th century. Having experienced
a transformative period in his home country before living in the United States has driven Yanagi’s work
towards issues of movement and transportation of people and culture.

Vocabulary
Conceptual Art
An art form that is intended to convey
an idea rather than to create an object.
The mediums of conceptual art arevaried; they include ready-made objects,
texts, bodies, even situations – basicallyanything that is considered best toconvey the idea. The movement emergedin the 1960s and is a dominant form ofcontemporary art practice today.

History
Established in August 1967, ASEAN (Associationof Southeast Asian Nations) was formed with aims
to accelerate economic growth, promote regional
peace, as well as encourage social, cultural, andscientific collaboration between its members. The
establishment of ASEAN was done through theinitiatives of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, and Thailand, which manifested in
Bangkok Declaration in 8 August 1967. ASEAN
continue to grow when other countries, Vietnam,
Cambodia, Laos, Brunei Darussalam, and Myanmar
joined in the following decades and holds importantroles in the region’s diplomacy and peace keeping.
Unity, friendship and solidarity are the principles
of ASEAN, represented in a stalk of rice in ASEAN
Flag. Each flag in ASEAN +3 also has certain
symbols and colors to represent the values andprinciples of each nation.

Global Soup

26

G R A DE 1- 6
• If you and your friends are going to make a country, what would be your country’s principle
and values and how would you symbolize it in a flag? Design your country’s flag basedon those principles and values.
G R A DE 7-12
• Investigate what values and principles represented in each ASEAN +3 flags, are they inline with thecharacter of the nation as you know it? Write about your findings and present it to your class.

Science
Ants (Scientific name: Formicidae)
Ants live in a colony. There are three kinds of ants in a colony: the queen, the female workers, and themales. The queen and the males have wings, while the workers do not. The queen is the only ant that canlay eggs. The male ant’s job is to mate with future queen ants and they do not live very long afterwards.
Once the queen grows to adulthood, she spends the rest of her life laying eggs! An ant can lift 20 times
its own body weight.

G R A DE 1- 6
• Observe ants around your garden, find their home; usually it’s a tiny hole in the ground.
Attract ants by spreading some breadcrumbs or sugar crystals and observe how they bringthem back to their house.
G R A DE 7-12
• Investigate how to create your own ant farm. In a group, make your own ant farm taking care not tohurt the ants or yourself. Observe how ants live in your farm.

Geography
G R A DE 1- 6
• Find and list the name of the capital citiesof each country.
G R A DE 7-12
• Find the names and locations of the capital citiesof each country.

Global Soup

Similar Artworks in Our Collection

JAMES ROSENQ UISTThe Xenophobic Movie Director or Our Foreign Policy (2004)
Oil on canvas
152.4 x 411.48 cm© Estate of James Rosenquist/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

Check out this other work above in permanent collection of Museum MACAN.

27

Public Area

JEFF KO ONS
Hulk (Wheelbarrow) (2004-2013)28

Polychromed bronze, wood, copper,
and live flowering plants
172.9 x 122.9 x 207.3 cm
Edition of 3, plus 1 AP
© Jeff Koons. Courtesy Gagosian.

About the Artwork“Hulk Elvis represents for me both Western and Eastern Culture, a sense of guardian, a protector
that at the same time is capable of bringing the house down.” —Jeff Koons
What seems to be an inflatable plastic balloon in a shape of comic character, The Hulk, is really madefrom high-tech precision bronze.
One can be easily fooled into thinking this work is an inflatable balloon because of details like the inflation
valve at the back and the refined edge of the Hulk figure. It is only by reading the wall label that spectators
realize the work is made from metal (over 900 kilograms!). A further juxtaposition is seen in the pairingof the Hulk with an old fashioned wheelbarrow filled with dainty living flowers.
The Marvel comic Hulk represents a conflicted character, a human-non-human with superpowers
he can’t control. Blowing the figure up to life size and rendering it in bronze – traditionally a medium
used for statues that commemorate important figures in history – Koons plays with ideas surrounding
popular culture.
Using objects and images from mass media that are popular in contemporary society, Koons elevates
seemingly trivial objects to the status of art object and in doing so questions the values that popular
culture holds.

Public Area

29

Meet the Artist
JEFF KO ONS(b. 1955, United States)
Jeff Koons is known for his monumental artworks, which embody popular culture, and theappropriation of commercial everyday objects. Presented in an art gallery, and often with slight changes
such as size or material, these ordinary objects elevated to the status of “art object” shift our perception
and invite new meanings.
Koons’s subject matter reflects contemporary society. By presenting familiar characters, from comic
books or other iconic images like the sculpture series Balloon Dog (1994-2000) which are reminiscent of
those seen children’s birthday parties, Koons demonstrates how whimsical and commercial images form
part of our cultural history.
Koons graduated with a BFA from the Maryland Institute of College of Art in Baltimore in 1976. Since
his first solo exhibition in 1980 at the New Museum in New York, his works have been presented ininstitutions worldwide.
Combining commercialism, conceptual strategies and pop aesthetic, Koons lives up to the pop cultureideas, stating that his art and personal life are based on the drive of a media advertisement.

Fun Fact
Koons moved to New York in 1977
and worked at the membership deskof Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).
There, Koons quickly became notorious
for his eccentric clothes and hair,as well as his impressive salesmanship.

Vocabulary
Appropriation
Creation of a new workby using an existing image or object
from another source.
Juxtaposition
Placement of two or more things
in a close arrangement to create
a contrasting effect.
Pop Culture or Popular Culture
Ideas that are shaping and conforming
to the preference of general masscommunities, realized into products,
culture and values. Through TV, radio,
internet, and printed media, the roleof mass media plays an important rolein the distribution of popular ideas.

Visual Art
Sculpture
Sculpture is a three-dimensional work of art
made by sculpting, carving, welding, or modelingmaterials such as clay, metal, wood, plastic, stone
and found objects.
Installation Art
An arrangement of objects within a certain
designated space.
G R A DE 1- 6
• Create a concept for an art installation about
your home and family, using objects of yourchoice and the plants around your house.
G R A DE 7-12
• Notice the sculptures that you can find in yourcity. What do you think they mean and why
are they placed in that certain areas? Do they
represent a certain issue related to its space?
• Create a concept of art installation about anissue in your community that needs attention.
Collect the materials from everyday objects inand around your house.

Public Area

Social Studies
G R A DE 1- 6
• When scientist Bruce Banner is caught in a blast of gamma radiation he is cursed with an alterego: The Incredible Hulk. In times of stress the weak, timid and withdrawn physicist becomes agreen-skinned muscular superhuman engine of destruction. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist
Jack Kirby in 1962, The Hulk is both human and super-powered monster. What kind of super powerthat you would like to have? How would you control it? How would you use it to improve the life of
humankind?
G R A DE 7-12
• Find the definition of Pop Culture in the Vocabulary List of this artwork resource kit. Notice what is a
popular topic within your peer group at the moment? Analyze how the issue is being discussed.

Science — Metals
BronzeAn alloy, or a mixture of metals, consisting primarily of copper, with tin additives and often with theaddition of other metals as well such as aluminum, manganese, nickel or zinc.
• What objects are usually made from bronze around you?
• Observe the metal objects around you and find out what type of metal they are and how are they
being made?

Fun Fact
Did you know that Jeff Koons was commissioned to design the cover for Lady Gaga’s
2013 album ARTPOP?
Did you know that Jeff Koons used over 7000 flowering plants for his sculpture Puppy (1992)?
The sculpture is over 11 meters tall.

30

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Vocabulary:••Cambridge Dictionary (http://dictionary.cambridge.org/)••

Dictionary.com (http://www.dictionary.com/)••

Merriam Webster (https://www.merriam-webster.com/)••

Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (https://kbbi.web.id/)

Museum MACAN would like to thank individuals below for their continuous support and contribution to our
research and the making of this Education Resource Kit:
1.

Jane Somerville

8.

Jerome Magno – Ichthus South

2.

Syedh Muhammad Hafiz

9.

Paulus Patrian - SMAK 1

3.

Annayu Maharani

10. Rachel Groves – Sekolah Tunas Muda

4.

Susan Kumaat

11.

5.

Marda Yuantika Haninggarjati –12. Nancy – Sekolah Tunas Muda

Tiffanny – Sekolah Tunas Muda

Erudio School of Arts

13. Yuhaslinda – SMPN 75 Jakarta

6.

Monika Irawati – Erudio School of Arts

14. Winardi – SDN Kebon Jeruk 15 Pagi

7.

Aprina Murwanti Ph.D – Universitas Negeri Jakarta 15. Sunarsih – SMPN 229 Jakarta

www.museummacan.org/education

For general enquiries regarding education
at Museum MACAN, please contact us:
T. +62 21 2212 1888
E. education@museummacan.org

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