Art is subjective, but spending more than half a billion rupiah on a disposable piece of art? Well, many would argue that that is objectively a waste of money — especially if it was taxpayers’ money.
Yet that is exactly what the Jakarta provincial government did with Getah Getih, a public art installation placed at Jakarta’s iconic Bundaran HI (HI roundabout) which was taken down yesterday evening.
Getah Getih, a creation of artist Joko Avianto, consists of 1,600 pieces of bamboo twirled to resemble ropes in a knot, which is meant to symbolize unity. It was put up on August 15, 2018 — two days before Independence Day — and held up by 73 bamboo stilts to mark Indonesia’s 73rd anniversary last year.
Governor Anies Baswedan was particularly proud of the installation and what it symbolized.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmevFumj8SZ/?utm_source=ig_embed
“With love and creativity, this seemingly worthless bamboo becomes a priceless piece of art,” he wrote in the caption to the post above.
But Getah Getih did have an actual price: IDR550 million (US$39,425). While that price tag was deemed exorbitant at the time, many citizens were even more outraged when it was revealed that the installation was disposable; it was apparently never meant to last more than 12 months.
True enough, 11 months after its unveiling, the whole thing was taken down last night after city officials said the installation was deteriorating and the bamboo had turned brittle, which could endanger motorists and people in the busy commercial area.
Getah Getih’s removal reignited criticisms against the city administration, many of which were scathing with sarcasm.
https://twitter.com/ApriliaLin/status/1151652327847165954
FINALLY a “phenomenal” Jakarta icon is gone, the only one of its kind in the world. An installation that only lasted one year. Jakartans are rich people
Hore…!!! akhirnya uang rakyat Rp.550jt cuma jadi sampah…https://t.co/BTdVgaJds6
— ᴍᴏᴄʜᴀᴍᴀᴅ ᴀʀɪᴘ (@mochamadarip) July 17, 2019
Hooray! At last IDR550 million of the people’s money becomes trash.
At the very least, though, officials say that bamboo from the installation is still reusable and will be utilized to build huts at the Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta.
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