The Importance Of Photography In Indonesian Culture

Strassler examines how Indonesian culture has been ‘imagined, questioned, and remade’. This evidently seen through and within the people of Indonesia. How they implement photography in their day to day and allow it to depict and alter their lives. Various backdrops, props, and costumes are used in order to create this image of Indonesia and the culture the people want to portray, be that of Indonesia or in their own lives. Photography is not simply utilized to document their life and various events but additionally as a way to create a life and a self that people aspire to have and be. This ethnography allows us to look through the lens of the camera to witness the creation of what it means to be Indonesian and the lives of these people.

Photographic

In this culture, photography is not only used as a form of documentation but furthermore become a large aspect of the occasion and a way for the culture to be altered and remade. Photography in Indonesia more often than not illistrates a life that the subject wishes to have or wishes to share with the world. Strassler examines this in the many props that the subjects used as a way to portray a life wish for. This includes photos placing subjects in cars, planes and remotes areas. This is a way for people to convey a wealth and status that they aspire to achieve. This practice allows for people to reach something they may rarely be able to achieve in real life. This can be compared to photographic practices in India, as documented by Chris Pinney. Rather than portraying the person someone wishes to be, in India, photography is used to portray a person as they are (Pinney, 2002). This idea of allowing the camera to capture the person you aspire to become can likewise be seen in modern western society. Various props, as elaborate as private jets, can be rented in order to achieve the perfect photo. In this way, it is comparable to how the people of Indonesia utilize props to epitomise a life they don’t have but may aspire to

The irony of this was that the Chinese population were not seen as Indonesian but were the main players in photography which allowed for this ‘idea’ of Indonesia to emerge.

Indonesia as

Geographic location

The Chinese photographers regularly used different backdrops in order to place the people of Indonesia in various geographical locations. In the post-colonial era, the backdrops reflected a desire for Indonesian people to appear more European. Being European represented modernity and modern technology and advancements. In the same way that these photos allowed people to become the person they aspired to be, these backdrops allowed them to further achieve a sense of being more ‘European’. They used images of landscapes, interiors, columns, and stairs to represent the upward movement and modernization. People wanted to place Indonesia in the global frame rather than simply a European backdrop. They wanted to show that they weren’t Europe but rather an individual part of Europe with their own identity. This combines the local landscapes of Indonesia and the modernity of Europe. Edging towards the 1990’s backdrops reversed back to a more traditional deception of Indonesian. They included views of Indonesian landscapes and monuments. The way that backdrops placed Indonesia in a geographical location, placed it in the world in terms of modernization. How