GOOGLE INDEPENDENCE DAY

Yesterday, 17 August 2011, was the 66th anniversary of my beloved country. I was happy when I saw Google also celebrates this moment, by adding an illustration of Pinang Climbing game to its logo.

This tree Climbing game is no ordinary competition, we can find this cheerful activity in every village in Indonesia whenever our independence day arrives. The game is consist of a group of male or boys, they try to go up and climb the tree to reach out various prizes (such as bike, dvd player, clothes, tape recorder, etc) that has planted on the top. It sounds easy, but not.

The tree is 10-12 meter high, people cut it few days before the event, they peel its rough outer skin, exposing its white smooth surface. Then the tree dried in the open air. A day before the tree is planted on the muddy ground, they cover its surface with grease/motor oil after they put a 2 meters ring where all the prizes attached on top. Hm, wanna try and slip down? Prego.

The fun is when we see the group try to climb up and keep slipping down one after another from their friends shoulders and off from the tree that they hold on to. The higher the get, the fastest they slip and landing on the muddy ground. Happy Anniversary...

Can You See Me Down Here?

Ray of Light

Between Muna Island and South East Sulawesi

I never saw a ray of light, I mean for real. Then I had a chance to visit Muna island, a little island down south east Sulawesi, Indonesia. In my trip over the ocean, I almost never closed my eyes. It was so beautiful, poetic, there were a moon up there, a silhouette of an island, a deep blue ocean (Banda Sea), and wind that I couldn't catch. The sun was about to set. I stood on the ship's roof, amazed by nature, here what I saw...

Moon and Cloud Above

Can You See Me Down Here?

Rain From A Distance

The Texture of the Ocean

Camera: iPhone4

WHO LET THE DOG OUT?

Binatang Jalang - Bitch

Agapetus A. Kristiandana (galeri_semarang@yahoo.com)

Aluminium

I like art that could provoke my imagination blatantly, that could drive me to lough and criticize myself in just one split second, or at least could put me in the state of "Wow, how dare you!".

Here I saw a dog with beautiful anatomy was playing around with its urine. What was that suppose to mean? Sense it yourself.

This dog showed its action in Bazaar Art Jakarta 2010 at The Ritz-Carlton, Pacific Place last July.

Sleeping Leopard

Nyoman Nuarta

80x5045cm

Bird's Nest

Bambang Adi Pramono

height: 290cm

1 Light (Cahaya)

Junaidi MS (emmitangaleri@yahoo.com)

90x71x54cm

Le Piéton de Paris a Jakarta

Seeing an exhibition in the open space here in Jakarta is just like expecting Madonna lets photographer take her wrinkle eyes picture, pretty rare (almost never). Until one lovely afternoon, last May, I saw more than a dozen pictures exhibited in an old park (built by Dutch) in central Jakarta. Each picture (150x180cm) stood back to back under the shade of trees.

This was very nice, amid Jakarta stressful traffic. The weather luckily was good, the sky was almost cloudy, some visitors seems enjoying togetherness with friends, some other was just busy with their minds. I led my step closer to every pictures. My feeling gone a little romantic as I saw a picture of 15 children hand in hand crossing Rue de Rivoli in Paris (shoot by Robert Doisneau, 1978). They were in sephia color, what could be more melancholic than that color? Other pictures? Here they are...

Les tablier de la rue de Rivoli (Robert Doisneau, 1978)

Bal et rejouissances pendant le bal de la fete nationale du 14 Juillet 1928 (Meurisse)

Seeberger

L'avenue des Champs-Elysees et L'arc de Triomph (Neurdein)

dans le quartier des Halles , la rue Mondetour (Eugene Atget)

Paris Animee , Le Pont des Arts (Claude Marie Ferrier)

The pictures stand back to back

OBAMA JACKO JAKARTA

Next week, a person who is very responsible for American public health (not God), will visit his childhood memories in Menteng, Jakarta. Several TV station celebrate this moment with their feature human-interest program (i.e. interviewing Obama’s teacher, featuring Obama school, and so on). A lot of people who work for US company Jakarta base, discuss his ‘come home’ journey over and over over lunch or in the cubic transparent smoking room. You know the topic, expecting this G to G encounter will turn into drama.

But anyway, there in between two quiet escalators in Plaza Indonesia, Obama is sitting in a Becak (Jakarta traditional transport), his right hand is signaling victory, his laugh as if he watch’ Funny or Die TV, his legs rest in British cross style which is relax and elegant, his socks seems embodying James Brown and Michael Jackson. He is here – in an artwork format – as one of many artwork exhibited for Plaza Indonesia 20^th Anniversary in conjunction with BAZAAR ART (Harper’s Bazaar Magazine). The artist, Wilman Sjahnur, replace Obama’s body with Polysterin.

GOOGLE WORST ARTWORK

This is the worst artwork I have ever seen at Google front page. Who did this? Cheapo. How much money did Google pay the artist? Or barter? It looks like a frozen molecular meets incomplete Glee TV show wannabe. 

Where does the money go? Maybe the money prepared for Eva Hibnick, a Florida woman who has filed Google a lawsuit, who has been chosen to represent the many Gmail users who felt, well, used, when Google launched Buzz.

VOGUE & JENNIFER BIEL RISK

If you have a chance to see all international magazines plus some locals at newsstand, you will notice how VOGUE (US) magazine takes a risk by using denim as its model's outfit for the cover. Play with denim for high end market is not an easy task, it's kind of suicidal (for those who never see a risk as a success opportunity). Denim has all minor characters, lazy, dirty, messy, cheap (there's no magazine would love to have cheap impression), sexy boogie, and so on.

There's no one would try this kind of gut for their magazine's cover (yet), the risk is too big, the mag would fall from grace, the magazine position in the market would be violated, and all the competitors would laugh with very big smile like Willy Wonka. But for this, (cum'on, clap) VOGUE proofs that YES they can, gracefully. 

VOGUE challenges its reputation. I like its formula: Colliding Denim with Classic Natural Beauty. The result is excellent, Jennifer Biel is the right choice, her golden hair, classic face, and decent gesture, succeed lifting up all denim reputation onto VOGUE level. It won't work if they pick Anna Kendrick, Kardashian's sisters, Lady Gaga, Katherine MacPhee, Miley Cyrus, or even Beyonce for this situation. Denim will drag them down to its minor level, even though you ask a photographer as caliber as Mario Testino to snap it.

Brava, Brava, Brava.
Here Jennifer wears Ralph Lauren, photo: Mario Testino.

GIRAFFE KOONS

I spend my quality time with my son, one morning, in little garden in my neighborhood. My son, 15 months, celebrating his new skill, walking with no direction, I put my eye on him, I followed every step he took, then he leads me to this wooden creature. It looks like a struggle Giraffe that tried to stand up. In some point, well at least from my point, it also looks like a chronic version of Jeff Koons naughty dog.