VISUAL ART AND THE PERSPECTIVE OF ANTI-COLONIAL INTERNATIONALISM IN INDONESIA, 1950-65

Abstract

This research is concerned with how the Indonesian visual artists articulated the anti-colonial internationalism ideas in their works during 1950-65. Presumably, there are key moments considered significant to this research topic, such as the establishment of LEKRA (Institute for the People’s Culture) in 1950, The Bandung Conference in 1955, and the G30S movement in 1965 followed by the turmoil of the anti-communist purge in Indonesia, which resulted in the banning of leftist artists. As for the 1955 Bandung Conference, the event indicated that President Sukarno (1901-70) articulated nationalism in an internationalist way by calling for decolonization in world politics, therefore incorporating the idea of Third World nationalism in the changing of global political order. This conference also had its specific agenda on the cultural sector as it highlighted the importance of international cultural cooperation. The term ‘visual art’ (seni rupa) for this research is not limited to the notion of ‘fine art’ (seni murni) that is synonymous with paintings and sculpture. Therefore, this research primarily examines visual expression as part of popular cultures such as prints, or illustrations in the media.