REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SLEMAN -- The mural which is thought to be similar to the picture of the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, which is accompanied by the words '404: Not Found' has gone viral on social media. The authorities immediately removed the mural and looked for the artist who made the mural because it was deemed to have insulted the national symbol.
Because, in this condition, it is often associated with harassment of state symbols and the destruction of public facilities. This is because that condition is often associated with the abuse of state symbols and the destruction of public facilities.
"The destruction of public facilities is a little funny because the mural that was removed was only a mural that was considered a picture of President Jokowi. While the other murals were not cleaned. Then, the T-shirt designer using the mural image was also visited by the authorities and asked to apologize," said Irham, Friday (27/8).
This means that, according to Irham, the main point of this problem is that murals are considered to be insulting the symbols of the state. However, whether the image is a picture of President Jokowi or just a similar or evolving interpretation needs to be questioned.
Moreover, drawing experts try to interpret that the mural is less than 50 percent similar to President Jokowi. Although it can be easily interpreted from the hairstyle and chin, that is not enough reason to determine the mural as a form of harassment of the president.
"It cannot be considered as a form of harassment against the president because it is not an original photo, but only a picture," said Irham, who is also the supervisor of UKM Seni Rupa UGM.
According to Irham, this case shows the important point of art. Artists can express criticism creatively and convey it without being judged absolutely. Because, there are only pictures, not photos or videos, and there is no name even mentioning the picture as the president.
From this case, it can be seen that murals are a medium to convey aspirations or critique facing challenges. In the current era of democracy, it is questionable that there are still parties who feel resentful of social criticism conveyed through murals.
"Because, without conflict, there might be a steady state in which there is actually a dominant hierarchy. Any form of aspiration should be heard and found out," said Irham.
He considered that the use of murals as a medium for conveying aspirations was proof that the government's formal aspiration conveying system was not working well. The system is no longer able to accommodate these aspirations and makes some people look for other media to voice their aspirations.
"By exposing it to the public, both through online and offline media, including murals. If online media is not enough, then it is done through offline media such as posters and murals. This is a form of democracy," said Irham.
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