EXHIBITION OF "ANDHE'R" PHOTOGRAMS
Artistic Embryo of Art Campus during the Pandemic
Dr. Irwandi, M.Sn. & Novan Jemmi Andrea, M.Sn.
It has been two years since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, including Indonesia. As a result, people have to adapt to a new way of life, in various aspects. A simple example can be observed from the world of education. The teaching and learning process is forced to run online.
In the process of online lectures in higher education, different conditions are felt this year. If last year's freshmen class of 2019 still had time to experience offline face-to-face lectures before the pandemic hit, then currently the freshmen class of 2020 have never had that experience at all. The effect is on the habituation of students to participate in the learning process in various theoretical and practical courses.
The illustration above is deliberately used as an introduction in this curatorial paper for several reasons. First, by looking at realistic conditions, the new students are students who have not yet felt the atmosphere of the art campus where they study. Secondly, with these conditions, it is likely that they do not have much experience in art creation activities, especially photography. However, the Photography Study Program, Faculty of Recording Media Arts (FSMR), Institut Seni Indonesia (ISI) Yogyakarta, through its lecturers, has anticipated and implemented various policies to maintain the quality of the final learning outcomes.
Every even semester, Black and White Photography is taught in the Photography Study Program. This course contains material on analog photography techniques, starting from upstream to downstream. Students who take the course are introduced to analog cameras, negative films, tools and means for washing negative films and how to print photos manually, to insights into alternative techniques related to analog photography. They then conducted a practicum on shooting with analog technology, and processed it into a final work of photography that could be enjoyed. The word "enjoyable" is related to the demands of the final learning outcome in the form of an exhibition of student practicum works which is carried out openly and can be enjoyed by anyone who visits the exhibition. During the pandemic, the lecturers of the Black and White Photography Course decided to implement a special policy in the form of independent practicum conducted with specific alternative techniques, namely photogram. Engineering photogram This technique was chosen because it is more flexible than other techniques, and allows students to do it independently at home. The tools and materials to practice this technique are still widely available, and are very possible to be accessed by students.
When it comes to the exhibition process, students usually carry a certain theme that represents their collective ideas and thoughts. Sometimes the theme reflects the character of the work produced. It could also be a general theme that reflects the creative process. The determination of the latter theme is characteristic of the theme carried by the 2020 students who organized the Photogram exhibition entitled "ANDHE "R". There are no rigid provisions related to the ideas that must be displayed in each work produced, on the contrary, the freedom of expression given actually provides space for students' artistic exploration. The freedom given does not mean only encouraging students to produce "empty" works. On the contrary, this freedom provides space for personal ideas to be conveyed. These ideas relate to various aspects of human life, ranging from hobbies, responses to contemporary issues, as well as emotions related to personal experiences.
Works photogram in this exhibition were selected using multiple criteria. The first criterion is visual/graphically appealing to select works that have an attractive visual appearance of formal aspects. In this criterion, students' creativity in making creative use of limited materials is also taken into consideration, such as making large works by combining several 3R-sized photo papers. This first criterion is also a fundamental assessment aspect of the works produced by students as a result of independent practice.
The next criterion is the visualization of ideas, to observe how abstract ideas and ideas from each student are realized into a real work. Selection in this criterion is in the form of observation of intelligence in choosing and processing visual symbols to convey messages according to ideas and ideas in the works created.
Next is power of content which will be seen from the suitability and strength of the relationship between the work and the narrative offered. This criterion is one of the criteria used to train students to be logically responsible for the work they produce. The ideas and messages in the work are narrated with text as a communication bridge between the artist and the viewers who will observe the work.
The illustration and process above is a description of Outcome-Based Education which emphasizes an innovative, interactive, and effective learning process for new 2020 students who are currently only entering their second semester. The works presented in this exhibition are a representation of the embryonic artistic spirit of new students as well as an effort to arouse curiosity about new knowledge and skills.
EN 
ID