Art Talk #1 – COMICS
The first series examines the realm of comics focusing on its development, explorations and cultural connection throughout Asia. Asian societies have developed their own distinct art and culture, yet have also been assimilated into popular art forms such as comics. The Center for Art and Design at Surya University wishes to convey how comics can be a platform for both creative practice and discourse around creativity. It gives attention to the tension between comics as a mainstream style of popular art and as a means to reveal local characteristics. The discussion will also underline how significant a role comics play as tools of communication and how aesthetic values in comics can be pondered when they face political actions.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
3 pm – 5 pm
Auditorium (ground floor)
Surya University
ABSTRACT
Hikmat Darmawan (Lecturer, University of Indonesia)
Identitas atau Budaya Lokal? Dalam kemungkinan jaringan komik regional Asia Tenggara
Identitas atau Lokalitas? Tentang Kemungkinan-kemungkinan Jaringan Kerjasama Regional Komik Asia Tenggara. Abstraksi: Dominasi komik Jepang, dan hingga taraf tertentu, komik Amerika di negara2 Asia Tenggara (khususnya Indonesia, Thailand, dan Filipina) sering dianggap sebagai ancaman bagi identitas nasional. Tapi, menyoal masalah identitas (nasional) dalam komik dapat menyesatkan kita hingga terjebak dalam diagnosa dan usulan keliru untuk “mengobati” krisis industri komik lokal serta berbagai subkultur mereka saat ini di kawasan ini. Alih-alih menekankan persoalan identitas dalam komik, akan lebih konstruktif bagi kita untuk mengenali masalah2 lokalitas dalam budaya komik di Asia Tenggara, dan menemukan berbagai kemungkinan untuk mengembangkan serta membangun sebuah jaringan kerjasama strategis.
Identity or locality? On the possibilities of regional network of South-East Asian comics
The domination of Japanese Comics and, to some extent, American comics in South East Asian countries (especially in Indonesia, Thailand, and Philippine) often regarded as a form of treat to national identity. But a question of identity in comics could be misled us into a false diagnoses and wrong prescription on “curing” the current crisis in local comics industry and it’s subcultures in the region. Rather than emphasizing the question of identity, it’s more constructive to identify the locality problem in the comics’ culture in South-East Asia region and discover possibilities to develop and build a strategic network.
Sunny Gho (Director, STELLAR Labs)
Pasar global sebagai pintu masuk komik Indonesia melalui sinergi lintas-media
Pasar budaya-pop Indonesia telah dibanjiri oleh berbaga komik dari negara-negara yang industrinya telah maju seperti Jepang dan Amerika sejak awal tahun 80-an. Kebanyakan orang muda kita sudah akrab dengan karakter-karakter seperti Doraemon, Kamen Rider, Batman atau Superman. Mereka tumbuh dewasa bersama karakter-karakter tersebut, bukan hanya sekedar mengkonsumsi namun juga menyerap budaya dibaliknya. Baru-baru ini muncul gelombang baru komik Indonesia yang memanfaatkan kondisi ini sebagai kekuatan mereka, memadukan konten budaya lokal dengan gaya luar negeri untuk menarik perhatian pasar lewat publikasi transmedia yang memanfaatkan banyak platform.
Overseas market entry strategies for Indonesian comic market through transmedia synergy
Indonesian pop-culture market has been showered with comics from prominent industries like Japan and the US since early 80s. Most young people are familiar with characters like Doraemon, Kamen Rider, Batman or Superman. They grew up with those characters, not only consuming but also absorbing the culture behind it. Very recently a wave of Indonesian comics are using this to their advantages, mixing local contents with overseas’ strategy and tropes to attract market by means of transmedia publication that relies on many platforms.
Ockto Baringbing (Comic Writer)
Sebuah perjalanan menjadi seniman komik: pertimbangan aspek social
Komik Indonesia sempat mati suri, komikus lokal terlihat seperti berhenti membuat komik dan akhirnya komik Indonesia jadi sulit ditemui dimanapun. Hal ini membuat komikus muda menemui berbagai kendala diantaranya adalah kehilangan panutan seorang figur komikus Indonesia maupun karya buatan dalam negeri sebagai acuan. Komikus muda berkarya dengan menjadikan komik terjemahan, terutama dari Jepang, serta industrinya sebagai acuan. Dan ketika karyanya mulai diterbitkan, kritikan bermunculan mulai dari gaya gambar, cerita, hingga dibandingkan secara langsung dengan komik terjemahan. Beberapa penerbit pun menyarankan untuk sekedar membuat komik edukasi yang cenderung lebih aman penjualannya. Namun secara perlahan, komikus-komikus muda yang tetap berkarya baik yang dipublikasikan dalam bentuk cetak maupun online mulai meraih penggemar. Generasi baru komikus dan penggemar komik Indonesia mulai terbentuk. Semua terjadi karena komikus terus berkarya dan pembaca kini bisa menemui komik indonesia dengan cukup mudah.
The road to a comic artist: overcoming social prejudice
Indonesian comics had a dead faint, it seems like local comic artists stop making comics and thus Indonesian comics are getting difficult to find. This made young artists encounters many obstacles including the loss of an Indonesian comic artist figure as a role model and local comic as a reference to make comic. Young comic artists are using foreign comics, especially from Japan, and its industry as a benchmark to make comics. And when their works started to be published, criticism emerging from the drawing style, the story, and even being compared directly with the foreign comics. Some publishers also suggest to just create educational comic in which tend to have a good sales. But slowly, the young comic artists who keep working and published either in print or online begin to achieve fans. The new generation of Indonesian comic artists and fans beginning to take shape. All happened because comic artists continue to make comic and the reader now able to find Indonesian comics fairly easy.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Hikmat Darmawan
Hikmat Darmawan adalah dosen tamu di Institut Kesenian Jakarta dan di Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Politik di Universitas Indonesia. Dia bekerja sebagai penulis lepas di beberapa perusahaan media massa, dan juga merupakan salah satu pendiri Kuliah Jalanan dan Akademi Samali (komunitas komik). Pada tahun 2010-2011, ia menerima Asian Public Intellectual Fellowship untuk penelitian tentang identitas nasional pada gambar komik di beberapa negara Asia termasuk Jepang, Thailand dan Indonesia.
Hikmat Darmawan is a guest lecturer in Institut Kesenian Jakarta (Art Institute of Jakarta) and in the Faculty of Social and Politic in the University of Indonesia. He worked as a freelance writer in several mass media companies, and is also the co-founder of Kuliah Jalanan (knowledge forming community) and Akademi Samali (comics community). In the year of 2010-2011, he received Asian Public Intellectual Fellowship for his research of the national identity on comic pictures in several Asian countries including Japan, Thailand and Indonesia.
Sunny Gho
Sunny Gho telah aktif dalam komik sejak tahun 2003 sebagai seorang colorist. Ia memulai karir profesionalnya dengan bekerja pada Dua Warna, komik lokal yang diterbitkan oleh Gramedia sebelum ia bekerja untuk penerbit di Amerika Serikat pada tahun 2006. Karya terkenalnya saat tergabung dalam tim untuk Marvel The Avengers, Incredible Hulk, seri Ultimates dan DC Comics ‘Superman. Selain sebagai seorang colorist, Sunny mendirikan dan mengelola sebuah studio produksi komik, Stellar Labs yang mengelola 40 seniman yang melakukan pekerjaan untuk penerbitan internasional. Di kemudian hari mendirikan penerbitan online lokal, Makko Publishing.
Sunny Gho has been active in comics since 2003 as a comic book colorist. He started professional carreer working on Dua Warna, a local comic published by Gramedia before he works for US publishers in 2006. His notable work includes work for Marvel’s The Avengers, Incredible Hulk, Ultimates series and DC Comics’ Superman. Other than coloring work, Sunny founded and manages a comic production studio, STELLAR Labs which manages 40 artists doing work for international publishing. He also founded a local online publishing initiative, MAKKO Publishing.
Okto Baringbing
Okto Baringbing saat ini bekerja di sebuah stasiun TV sambil terus mengejar mimpinya sebagai seorang penulis komik. Dia telah menerbitkan 5 judul komik yang bekerjasama dengan berbagai perusahaan penerbitan. Beberapa judul komik dan beberapa penghargaan yang diberikan adalah BOCAH (Diterbitkan oleh Koloni M & C, masuk dalam nominasi Kompetisi Manga internasional), seri MERDEKA (Diterbitkan oleh Koloni M & C), 5 Menit Sebelum Tayang (Diterbitkan oleh makko.co, dianugerahi hadiah perak di 6th International Manga Award), adaptasi komik Bima Satria Garuda (Diterbitkan oleh Alfamart) dan Galauman (Diterbitkan oleh Re: On comics magazine).
Ockto Baringbing is currently working in a TV station while keep pursuing his dream as a comic writer. He has published 5 comic titles with various publishing company. His published comic titles and some of the award given are B.O.C.A.H (Published by Koloni M&C, nominated in the 3rd Morning international Manga Competition by Kodansha), MERDEKA series (Published by Koloni M&C), 5 Menit Sebelum Tayang (Published by makko.co, awarded silver prize in the 6th International Manga Award), Bima Satria Garuda comic adaptation (Published by Alfamart) and Galauman (Published by Re: On comics magazine).
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
Karna Mustaqim
Karna Mustaqim, sebelumnya bekerja di bidang desain grafis dan ilustrasi. Tertarik pada Studi Seni Menggambar dan Kajian Desain Grafis, kemudiani terlibat dalam studi komik dan budaya popular, dan mendalami semiotika desain (grafis) serta tertarik pada fenomenologi dan seni komik. Kandidat PhD di Fakulti Seni Lukis dan Seni Reka (FSSR) di Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Shah Alam, Malaysia, di bawah bimbingan Prof. Dr. Muliyadi Mahamood.
Karna Mustaqim, formerly trained as graphic designer and illustrator. Interested in Art of Drawing and Graphic Design practices, lately involved in comics and popular culture studies, concerning the semiotics of graphic design and the phenomena of reading comics experience. A PhD candidate of Art and Design at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Shah Alam, Malaysia, under Prof. Dr. Muliyadi Mahamood supervision inquiring the conceptual framework for studying the visual of comic art.
