Description
Toward Independence: A Century of Indonesia Photographed chronicles the development of this kind of matrix- asignificant one-hundred-year era within the longer transformation of Indonesia, from its colonial occupation by the Dutch, which began in the 1500s, to its emergence as an independent nation in 1945. It is hoped that this collection of work by twelve photographers will convey and symbolize the strength and spirit of the Indonesian people and inspire us all to become more deeply aware of the complex social and cultural issues facing them today. Although the collection features photographers whose work spans ten decades, it tries to avoid a fixed sense of periodization while at the same time it recognizes the subtle ambience of historical narrative that permeates many of these images.
This book and the exhibition that it accompanies reveal the broad range of perspectives that have contributed to the evolution of Indonesia's dynamic, diversified visual culture.
The Indonesian archipelago is a vast yet heterogeneous complex of islands, languages, cultures and religions, with Hinduism, Buddhism, Animism, Islam and Christianity coexisting in a bewildering variety of expressions and overlays. Moreover, the nation's social structures are inextricably bound to religious beliefs and practices, a milieu unfamiliar to modern, secular, Western sensibilities. These religions and belief systems create a delicate and dynamic web of social forms, customs and tensions that is constantly mediated by the nation's people in their aesthetic and intellectual endeavors as well as in their daily lives..
ISBN:0933286589
