Totok

 I went to Bali a few months ago. I had a very knowledgeable driver accompany me for several days. He goes by Totok.

I sat next to him and we had a music guessing game. It's interesting to note that certain songs relate to his experiences in life.

If we don't listen to Bali's indie grunge band, Navicula, our trip won't be complete. Through the car's speakers, "Saat Semua Semakin Cepat, Bali Berani Berhenti" was played.

Totok informed me about the band's vocalist, Robi. The grunge guy is now a farmer as well as a musician. A coffee plantation belongs to Robi. It must have felt alive when Robi performed a song about a coffee farm for the 2015 film Filosofi Kopi's original soundtrack.

At an intersection Totok proceeded to play Metropolutan, another song from Navicula. The title makes sense in light of his background.

In 2006, the man moved out of the "metropolutan" existence in Bekasi, West Java. He began his career on the island of God, in order to experience the tranquility.

In Bali, Totok supports himself by working as a tour guide while living with his hobby of riding on a motorcycle. One of his three Honda RX Kings was recently used to visit Lombok Island.

"100 km/h." I mention the title of a song. However, it turns out that I was referring to the incorrect song. It was The Brandals' Lingkar Labirin.

The Brandals, a self titled album published in 2003, featured both of these tracks. It was through a compilation album that Sony BMG Music Entertainment issued that I became acquainted with Lingkar Labirin.

I remember the tape so well that I am aware of a few significant bands from it. Superman Is Dead, Rocket Rockers, Purgatory, and The Brandals were some of the big names that participated in the album.

"Sampeyan referensinya banyak," Totok made me feel good even though I didn't win this song-guessing game. He said us farewell for the day with a promising "sampai jumpa di album berikutnya" in his Klaten accent. []

Sherina

Petualangan Sherina 2 dikemas sedemikian sederhana. Karakter protagonis-antagonis dipisahkan ke dalam spektrum yang hitam-putih. 

Dulu Kertarajasa, kini Syailendra. Kita bisa rasakan posisi mereka dalam kisah ini sejak kemunculan pertama. 

Meski bersegmentasi "semua umur" sekuel ini terasa lebih tepat ditujukan bagi penonton film pertama. Penonton yang berusia dewasa diajak menengok lagi masa anak-anak, saat Petualangan Sherina mempengaruhi gelagat anak tahun 2000an.

Saat itu saya masih SD. Begitu pula istri saya yang mengaku banyak terinspirasi gaya sherina: cokelat M & M's, bekal sekolah, you name it. Dua puluh tiga tahun kemudian, kami melihat Sherina yang sama, tampil dalam kemasan kisah serupa.

Sherina kecil dan dewasa harus menghadapi perbedaan realita dengan ekspektasi. Jika Sherina 2000 sedih dan gundah karena tak ingin pergi berpisah dengan temannya di Jakarta, maka Sherina 2023 digambarkan marah karena peliputan ke Davos batal. Sherina yang sudah jadi reporter televisi malah ditugaskan ke hutan Kalimantan.

Bandung dan Palangka Raya bagi Sherina kecil dan dewasa terasa sama saat dia melintasi rimbun pohon yang tampak serupa. Ia menatap ke luar jendela mobil dalam komposisi visual yang mirip.

Kejutan: Sherina kecil bertemu Sadam di Bandung, Sherina dewasa jumpa Sadam di Palangka Raya. Mereka kadang kompak, tapi beberapa kali juga beda pendapat saat menghadapi tokoh antagonis pemburu satwa liar.

Riri Riza dan Mira Lesmana, sebagai duet sutradara dan produser, kini menawarkan gagasan konflik pelestarian orang utan. Dua puluh tiga tahun lalu, isu yang mereka sodorkan berupa perebutan lahan. 

Saat pencaplokan wilayah masih relevan di saat ini, mungkin masalah pelestarian hewan juga akan tetap penting disampaikan di masa depan nanti. Mereka sedang menandai zaman.

Penanda era lain yang juga tampak sengaja disisipkan, terlihat ketika Sherina diminta segera pulang ke Jakarta untuk meliput konferensi pers Presiden Jokowi. Dua puluh tiga tahun dari sekarang, penonton film ini akan punya sebuah konteks menarik saat menilik lagi kondisi yang dihadirkan dalam jagat Petualangan Sherina 2. 

Di luar hal-hal simbolik itu, Petualangan Sherina 2 sesederhana surat cinta buat inner child kita. Sherina dan Sadam terlihat bersenang-senang dengan karir dan tantangan kerja di dalamnya. Hingga di usianya yang kepala tiga, mereka belum menikah dan itu nggak apa-apa. 

Dalam beberapa hal, film ke-25 rumah produksi Miles Film ini nampaknya ingin membuat generasi 2000an sumringah, serupa ekspresi Sherina ketika dihadiahi tas lama. []

Experiencing Vincent Van Gogh

Through certain style, painting becomes a way of expressing ones feeling. Vincent Van Gogh once said "Paintings have a life of their own that derives from the painter's soul." 

Now imagine, what if their soul's expression is extended. That's what exactly the aim of an exhibition titled Van Gogh Alive Jakarta.

I visited the exhibition on July 30, although the event is set to end on October 9 this year at Taman Anggrek shopping center, Jakarta. The capital becomes another city to host this exhibition which uses Sensory 4 technology.

An information panel stated that the technology promises us "a powerful and vibrant symphony of light, colour and sound". Through the technology, objects on the paintings are able to move. 

On The Starry Night, swirling clouds are moving. The move is slow enough for us to still enjoy the night scene from Vincent's asylum over the township of Saint-Rémy, France.

But before that, visitors can immerse themselves in some rooms where Vincent's paintings are transformed into numbers of art installations. Sunflowers and Bedroom In Arles are few of them.

In one particular room myriad number of plastic sunflowers are planted. There are mirrors on the wall which reflect the flowers to be seen as it is a garden.
Sunflowers' inspiration came from the gardens of Montmartre in Paris. "The sunflower is mine, in a way." Wrote Vincent to his brother.  

Another installation also lets visitor to get into Bedroom In Arles. Decorated in some 8 meter square area, the installation is originally inspired by the 72 cm x 90 cm painting.

A digital projection of Vincent's paintings become another highlight of the exhibition. As I entered the last exhibition room, japanese music was heard.

Inside, I can see a number of big screens. There are 37 screens that placed both vertically and horizontally which display projection of japanese style paintings—before showing Vincent's paintings. 

At the end of the 19th century some artists in Europe were inspired by the style. Van Gogh was among them.
The influence can be seen through Vincent's painting titled Almond Blossom. 

"There are hints of Japanese influence, suggesting that Vincent and Theo's collection of more than 400 Japanese wood block prints may have been a source of inspiration for this work." wrote exhibitor on one panel.

Out from Van Gogh Alive exhibition, I was also introduced to Theo Van Gogh—Vincent's little brother. Almond Blossom was made as Theo's wife gave birth to a boy named Vincent Willem van Gogh. This Vincent then handed all his uncle's collection to Netherland's government.

Theo himself, was Vincent's life supporter. He spared his earnings so that Vincent can still be able to draw. As a result, along Vincent's last 10 years of his life, the mentally ill painter has created 1.100 sketches and 930 paintings.

Aside from Theo, his wife Johanna Gezina Van Gogh-Bonger also took a distinctive role on making her brother in law's paintings become popular posthumously. Vincent died at the age of 37. 

On Van Gogh Alive Jakarta, his death was depicted by a painting titled Wheatfield with Crows. Sound of a gunshot was heard loudly at the end of video projection. Crows on the picture then seen flew immediately.

Wheatfield with Crows was painted on July 1890, week(s) before Vincent shot himself on July 27 in the same year and died three days after. Six month after that, Theo also passed away.

The tragic life of Vincent Van Gogh today meets its relevance. Mental health issue becomes mass concern. And this exhibition extends the experience of how art can be one's medium of expression. []