Art Exhibition What’s in a Name? Picturesque Calligraphy by Butet Kartaredjasa
11 February, 2025 @ 11:00 am - 23 February, 2025 @ 7:00 pm
“What’s in a Name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” This line was used by William Shakespeare in the play Romeo and Juliet to convey that the naming of things is irrelevant. Centuries later and continents apart, Butet Kartaredjasa –an Indonesian artist known for his acting, monologue and social commitment– claims otherwise with his picturesque calligraphy. The artworks, exposed by SEA Junction at the BACC, 3rd Floor Curve Wall, on 11-23 February 2025, 11am – 7pm, are composed of the repeated writing of his birth name.
This artistic process was inspired by the widespread belief in Indonesia and in other parts of the region that a name given at birth does not always match with the person, in which case it can be a source of bad luck and remedy has to be found. After confirmation from a spiritual teacher that his full original name “Bambang Ekolojo Butet Kartaredjasa” was his essential name whose inner power could be reinforced by the meditative act of writing it hundreds of times a day for 90 days, Butet embraced the exercise of repeated writing as a “visual wirid” or a litany prayer that is given form, rather than sound. While he did not practice it for a while, in 2022 he restarted with new intensity at a particularly difficult juncture of his life, when health issues also affected his mobility, and the visual wirid served him to both improve his psychological well-being and to exercise his body.
Initially conducted by filling line notebooks, soon the artistic predisposition of Butet lead him to transform the repeated writing into extraordinary paintings composed of his name. Changing the notebooks for A3 sheets, he started to draw all kinds of figures and compositions gradually improving his skills as he surpassed the 90 days and continued his picturesque calligraphy to these days (albeit no longer every day). Gradually, the fonts and the way of writing also started to take different sizes and styles further advancing the diversity and quality of the drawings. The A3 art works were then enlarged, painted and further elaborated on all kind of material including cloths, ceramic and steel.
As public curiosity and appreciation grew, Butet’s calligraphy has been published in an art book, exposed in ArtJOG in Jogjakarta in 2023, and has become a substantial section of the successful retrospective exhibition titled “Melik Nggendong Lali” (with reference of the dark side of power) at the National Gallery in Jakarta in 2024 followed by an exhibition with the same title in Bali. The exhibition in Bangkok is the first time, a selection of this unique art work will be presented abroad. The artist will attend the opening of the exhibition on 11 February at 5.30pm in person to discuss the meaning and modalities of his art and the visual wirid process, with details to be shared in due time.
Artist Profile
Bambang Ekoloyo Butet Kartaredjasa (in short Butet Kartaredjasa) is an Indonesian artist, actor, comedian and monologue reader. He is the son of the famous late choreographer Bagong Kussudiardja and today heads the cultural foundation established in his father’s name. He has a long history of playing in theatre, television series, films and advertisements. With his late brother, multi-talented musician Djaduk Ferianto, he started the musical group Kua Etnika (1995-present) and, together also with writer Agus Noor, he initiated the “Indonesia Kita” (Our Indonesia) program, a series of theatre performances satirizing Indonesian politics. His humour can be audacious such as when he mimicked the voice of then-President Suharto, during the final years of the authoritarian regime, and recently for his criticism of the abuses of power of former president Joko Widodo in defence of democracy and upholding the constitution (see further IG @masbutet).
For more information, please email: info@seajunction.org or phone/wa: +66970024140
NB: The exhibition is free, but donations are welcome to support SEA Junction activities.
Organizer
SEA Junction
SEA Junction, established under the Thai non-profit organization Foundation for Southeast Asia Studies (ForSEA), aims to foster understanding and appreciation of Southeast Asia in all its socio-cultural dimensions, from arts and lifestyles to economy and development. Conveniently located at Room 407-8 of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Center or BACC (across MBK, BTS National Stadium), SEA Junction facilitates public access to knowledge resources and exchanges among students, practitioners and Southeast Asia lovers. For more information, see www.seajunction.org, join the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/1693058870976440/ and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @seajunction
