Indonesian New Art Movement

[1] The protesters published the Black December Statement (Desember Hitam) criticising the lack of social and political consciousness in Indonesian decorative art practices.

Protesters consisting of young artists from Bandung and Yogyakarta published the Black December Statement criticising the lack of social and political consciousness in decorative art, and declaring that it was indicative of the lack of creativity in Indonesian art.

The movement emphasised the importance of redefining art and its purpose, supporting the basis for its name: "new art"[4] The movement's exhibitions in 1975-1980 and in 1987-1989 introduced artworks other than paintings and sculptures, championing installations, ready-mades, photographs, found-objects and photo-realist paintings.

[citation needed] Notable figures of the movement include Jim Supangkat, the art historian Sanento Yuliman, Dede Eri Supria, Dadang Christanto and FX Harsono.

On 31 December 1974, Muryotohartoyo, Juzwar, Harsono, B. Munni Ardhi, M. Sulebar, Ris Purwana, Daryono, Adiyati, D.A.

Peransi, Baharuddin Marasutan, Ikranegara, Adri Darmadji, Hardi and Abdul Hadi WM, presented the Black December Statement.

That in order to guarantee a sustainable cultural development painters are beckoned to provide spiritual directions that are based on the values of humanity, and are oriented to the realities of social life and political-economic culture.3.

[7] As the movement developed, the works of New Art artists began to take on the character of installations and collaborative practices.

Although the installation and mixed-media format of this newer generation of artists is heavily influenced by the New Art Movement, their concerns are significantly different.

Contemporary readings and studies of the New Art Movement propose that memories are central to the works of these artists.

Their works become a site of remembrance, recollections of the past, and reconciliation[8] that reference the power struggle of the 'common people', the marginalised, and the severe consequences of socio-political tensions that occurred in that time.

The movement tackled this issue by emphasising the importance of basic aesthetic thinking and a study of art history to replace the cultural identity debate.