Pancasila Apa?

Concept for an art project with thematic connection to the Indonesian state ideology

Heads of

former

indonesian

presidents

Brushes and

colours available

to by-passers

National

motto

written in

Pali

August 27th 2017

Pancasila Apa?

Concept for an art project with thematic connection to the Indonesian state ideology

Outline

1. State ideology

2. The Pancasila

3. Purpose of the art piece

4. The performance

5. Sources of information

August 27th 2017

State ideology

To approach the topic of state ideology we first had a look on the aspects concerning state

ideologies in South East Asia. As a starting point for our project we therefore assumed the

following characteristics to be inherent qualities of state ideologies:

1.) Ideologies as such have not fallen from the sky even though they tend to be presented by

the respective elites in power as being of some divine, superhuman origin. 2.) We argue that

ideologies are man-made constructs and as such are formed, reproduced and changed in

discursive contexts. Nevertheless, they are often presented to be of eternal validity for a given

group like a nation. 3.) These discursive contexts are governed by relations of power and

ideologies are thus essentially used as instruments of power to exercise what Max Weber

coined as Herrschaft. 4.) Ideologies also function on an unconscious plane and therefore

manage to avoid being questioned on a daily basis which to some extent explains their impact.

In order to come into awareness or even to be changed they require a conscious effort and

even more so if that awareness or change is to come from the lower stages of the hierarchy

pyramid. Thus, our project is intended to facilitate the formation of awareness of the

constructiveness of ideology, in this case the Pancasila in Indonesia. Precisely, we want to

induce an awareness of how ideology is modified according to the actual political dominating

force by showing and making experienceable the way the different Indonesian presidents

changed the meaning of the principles of the Pancasila over time in order to instrumentalize

them for their political interests.

The Pancasila

In the course of this seminar (“The King has died. What's next? State ideologies in Southeast

Asia”), the Pancasila as integral part of the Indonesian State Ideology has been discussed.

Moreover, we examined the principles that make it up: A singular divinity (Ketuhanan Yang

Maha Esa), a just and civilized humanity (Kemanusiaan Yang Adil dan Beradab), the national

unity of Indonesia (Persatuan Indonesia), democracy (Kerakyatan Yang Dipimpin oleh Hikmat

Kebijaksanaan, Dalam Permusyawaratan Perwakilan), and social justice for all Indonesian

people (Keadilan Sosial bagi seluruh Rakyat Indonesia). For further information please see the

presentation “Pancasila” given on June 22nd in the aforementioned seminar.

August 27th 2017

Purpose of the art piece

The purpose of our critical art project is to raise awareness among the Indonesian population

about the Pancasila. Even if the Pancasila is taught at school and thus every Indonesian should

or could know about its initial objective – to unite the diverse nation −, we believe that the

majority of Indonesians does not actively think about the actual implications of their country´s

ideology for Indonesia. We intend to reveal that the state´s leaders have so far

instrumentalized the Pancasila by interpreting its principles according to their political

intentions. By doing so, we aim to indicate that due to the dictated meaning of its principles

by the respective presidents, the Pancasila resulted to some extent in unity – but less though

in diversity. This notion should motivate the Indonesian people to actively think and engage

in our project to the end that the Pancasila cannot be instrumentalized by the nation´s leader

too easily anymore. Thereby, we would turn the tables: state ideologies are usually a “game

of the elite”, with the common people having no say in it. Should our project be successful

and motivate people to actively participate in it, we could turn the Pancasila in a “game of the

Indonesian people”. One could argue that:

As the original intention of the Pancasila was to unite the variety of convictions within

Indonesia, the nation´s elite should be pleased by this project as it contributes to

achieve its initial purpose. Without people articulating their opinions and ideas, there

can consequently just be unity in unity, as the elite might not be fully aware of the

population´s perceptions and thus cannot but feel obliged to shape the principles of the

Pancasila according to their own believes. If the Indonesians share their personal ideas,

the leaders can happily integrate those and thus fulfil the original purpose of the

Pancasila: Unity in diversity.

The performance

In our perception, critical art can only have an effect if it is felt and experienced by the

spectator, or rather the participant. Hence, we did not want it to be of a socially exclusive

nature. The location of the performance or exhibition presents an important constituent for

our purpose to reach people from all kind of spheres of society. To raise awareness and foster

August 27th 2017

active thinking in all over Indonesia, our idea is to have several copies of the art piece in various

places in the country. After thinking about different places such as shopping malls, the plazas

in front of mosques etc. we reckoned that the best way to have comprehensive social reach

would be to place it in frequently visited locations. One of these locations, that could

potentially combine the magnitude of an ideologically charged place and the social inclusivity

we want to achieve would be the Medan Merdeka, the square of the National Monument in

Jakarta, that in itself represents past attempts to reinterpret the Pancasila.

We want to set up a 3D sculpture, made of rather non-durable fabric such as papier-mâché,

of the Indonesian national symbol, the Garuda Pancasila. The Garuda as a mythological being

origins from Hindu mythology but was later adopted by some Buddhist mythological traditions

and integrated in different faiths. In Hindu mythology, this divinity was usually revered as the

mount of Lord Vishnu wo in turn is generally regarded as the "preserver" in the Hindu trinity.

As part of the national emblem of Indonesia, the Garuda is equipped with a heraldic shield

representing the principles of the Pancasila, the five national principles of Indonesia. The

Garuda claws are gripping a white ribbon scroll inscribed with the national motto Bhinneka

Tunggal Ika which can be roughly translated as "Unity in Diversity".

Again, the term Pancasila was coined before in another religious tradition that was having a

great influence on Indonesia in former times, Buddhism. It does not only absorb influences

from different religious contexts that do not hold any prominent role in nowadays Indonesia

anymore, but the Pancasila has also been consistently reinterpreted by the different

Indonesian presidents since independence.

Nevertheless, there is scarce reference to the dominant ideological and religious force in

contemporary Indonesia, the Islam. Therefore, we want to design an essential white Garuda

statue build on the example of the actual national emblem. However, we want to introduce

some more minor changes. To showcase the different religious origins of these elements we

want to write the national motto in Pali, an Indian language which is still widely studied today

because it is the language of much of the earliest literature of Buddhism, instead of Bahasa

Indonesia, and place a couple of Vishnu mantras on the Garuda in order to emphasize the

origins of this symbol.

August 27th 2017

Furthermore, we want to add a few colour spots on our Garuda that leave room for

interpretation to trigger the performance. On a religious plane, green could stand for Islam,

orange for Hinduism, yellow for Buddhism etc. On a political plane, red could stand for

communism, blue & white could symbolize the stars and stripes of the US flag and therefore

be regarded as token for the globalization. Red and white could stand for one of its

embodiments, the Coca Cola Company, or represent the Indonesian republic respectively.

Our stature is to be surrounded by balloons – attached around the sculpture − that float in the

air due to their helium filling. On each of the balloons we will print the face of one of the

former Indonesian presidents and attach paints to them. These elements are supposed to

show how the Indonesian state ideology or the Pancasila, as its main embodiment and

concentrated essence, was constantly reinterpreted by power interests.

Other than the balloons, the Garuda statue will also be surrounded by paint-pots filled with

different colours, so that every by-passer will be able to participate in the painting of the

Garuda and therefore realize the constructiveness of the Pancasila and the Indonesian state

ideology.

For those who participated, or those who are at least intrigued to watch the very act of

painting the ideology, it could trigger the awareness of how ideology is constructed as well as

used and how they as the common people generally do not participate in the making of it. A

second way to rapidly spread an awareness about the Pancasila all over the country would be

to integrate social media into the performance. By providing the hashtag “#PancasilaApa” and

thereby letting people post their propositions about the ideology´s principles via channels

such as Facebook or Instagram, even people who do not initially pass our sculptures could be

reached and be activated to participate in the performance.

The reason we want our Garuda to be made of non-durable fabric is the following: As we place

our ensemble in a place where people tend to pass repeatedly, say for example on their way

to work or for leisure purposes, it must be exposed to the forces of nature to add and

additional temporal dimension to the fact that humans create ideology. The torrential

downpours typical of tropical/ subtropical countries such as Indonesia will soon lead to a

considerable deterioration of the fabric and a blend of the colours, which will eventually

create a completely blurred, non-identifiable mass that will finally dissolve into nothing more

August 27th 2017

than rests of paper. By this, the vanity of state ideologies can be emphasized: they come and

go. Animism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianism, monarchism, democracy, communism,

capitalism, globalization etc. were some of the currents of thought that at different points of

time exercised or still exercise considerable influence.

The Pancasila was intended to unite the various characteristics of Indonesia but essentially

was no more than a simulacrum (in the sense of Baudrillard) − a hyperreal embodiment that

never represented Indonesian reality in the first place but nevertheless became to be

perceived as the very essence of Indonesian reality, that in fact kept changing since the

Indonesian independence in 1945.

August 27th 2017

Sources of information

Seminar readings (Baudrillard, Mannheim, Althusser, Marcuse)

Darmaputera, E. (1987). Pancasila and the search for identity and modernity in Indonesian society. A cultural and ethical Analysis. Ann Arbor: UMI.

Fitch, R. M., & Webb, S. A. (1989). Cultural Immersion in Indonesia through Pancasila. State Ideology. The Journal of Educational Thought, 23(1), 44-51.

Franke, E. (2006). Zwischen Integration und Konflikt, Religiöse Pluralität in Indonesien. In E. Franke, & M. Pye (ed.), Religionen nebeneinander. Modelle religiöser Vielfalt in Ost- und Südostasien (S. 61-82). Berlin: LIT Verlag.

King, B. A. (2011). Government and Politics. In F. William H., & R. Worden (ed.), Indonesia. A Country Study (S. 225-306). Federal Research Division: Library of Congress.

Knörr, J. (2007). Kreolität und postkoloniale Gesellschaft. Integration und Differenzierung in Jakarta. Frankfurt/Main: Campus Veralg.

Morfit, M. (1981). The Indonesian State Ideology According to the New Order Government. Asian Survey, 21(8), 838-851.

Schindehütte, M. J. (2006). Zivilreligion als Verantwortung der Gesellschaft. Religion als politischer Faktor innerhalb der Entwicklung der Pancasila Indonesiens. Hamburg: Abera Verlag.

Song, S.-W. (2010). A Discourse on the Pancasila State and Its Contemporary Appeal in Indonesia. Ohio: Ohio University.

Sumarmata, H. T. (ed.) (2017). Indonesia – Emerald Chain of Tolerance. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung & PSKI Indonesia.

Ward, K., Aspinall, E., & Fealy, G. (Ed.). (2010). Soeharto´s Javanese Pancasila in Soeharto´s New Order and Its Legacy. Essay in honour of Harold Crouch. Canberra: ANU Press.