Reality Effects

Curated by Asmudjo Jono Irianto & Rizki A. Zaelani

“Reality Effects” constitute the fundamental problems faced by the “realism” genre in Indonesian art. The curatorial invitation of this exhibition asks the artists to trace back the problems of “reality” in order to re-assess what has previously been called “realism”. The term “realism” does not necessarily have the same meaning with the keyword to this exhibition, or “reality”. “Reality”, however, is an important issue in the way we understand realism, as the two concepts are inextricably linked. The cultural theoretician Raymond Williams explains that realism is one of the problematic cultural terms. Realism, according to Williams, is a difficult word not only because of the intricacy of the disputes in art and philosophy to which its predominant uses refer, but also because the two words on which it seems to depend, real and reality, have a very complicated linguistic history.” In practice, the understanding of realism is often represented by our judgment about certain art expressions (a painting or a sculpture) containing forms or images that are realistic in nature. To the commoners, realism is even considered as “art-ism” that explains the ability of an artist to copy the nature and other forms in realistic manners, making them look “natural” or “honest”.

Host: sigiarts and Galeri Nasional Indonesia
Date: Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Time: 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Venue: Galeri Nasional Indonesia
Address: Jl. Merdeka Timur No.14 Jakarta, Indonesia


Events, Exhibition