Yogyakarta Indonesia Week 2 Day 6

Yogyakarta Indonesia
Saturday

Nano picked me up at noon. He'd called earlier to see if I wanted to come over to his place to visit and say hi to Minnie and Willie (the kittens that we'd given to him and Dani a year and a half earlier). On our way we turned into ISI (the art school) and as it turned out we were going to a talk in collaboration with the exhibition he curated, Enjoy: Sculpture #1.

The talk was being given by artists Samuel Indratma and Yuli Prayitno, moderated by Rain Rosidi. Even though I couldn't understand it, I really enjoyed the accompanying slide show. Nano also filled me in that one of the reasons he curated this show is because many of the professors at ISI are still teaching from a very traditional model and only consider sculpture to be made from carved or cast wood, stone, or metal. However, many of the students are interested in looking to new modes of creating sculptural work, not that they don't respect traditional work, but they feel stifled by the parameters that are being set.

Of course I could relate to this, having experienced similiar perspectives in both undergraduate and graduate school.

Following the talk, a group of us went to lunch at a nearby warung. It's really frustrating not being able to speak the language(s) here. However, we were able to communicate in English. Lots of political talk around the state of the world. And I'm still surprised when I realize that most people here are really surprised to here a dissenting voice from the Bush administration propaganda -- even in the artists' community. I'm always thrilled to inform them otherwise; however, it's depressing to know that their mainstream news/information is so skewed from the reality as well. At least the mainstream American press is currently forced to report that Bush's approval ratings are hovering around 25 - 30% (so we know it's actually lower).

Nano then took me to see Minnie and Willie. Aaron Noble and I found these two kittens on the railroad tracks a year and a half ago. There was no way I was going to leave them there so we took them back to our hotel room and raised them there for a month. The hotel was very accomodating, letting us store our susu (milk) in the hotel refrigerator, and the girls at the front desk would make fish rice for them. It was a very wonderful and challenging experience as we'd have to take turns getting up in the middle of the night to feed them, and I especially was bombarded with attempted suckling, since they'd figured out I was the female, mama figure. But we really loved them and took pains to find a veterinarian to check them and give them their needed shots. We also made sure that it would be arranged for them to be "fixed" when they were old enough (they were only about 3 weeks when we found them). We'd also found a home with Nano and Dani and we made sure to explain and give them the receipt for the neutering etc.

So I arrived at Nano and Dani's and saw Willie!!! So adorable. He was as sweet and loving as when he was a kitten -- though much bigger ..... and with ..... BALLS!

And then I saw Minnie!!!!

With her new kittens -- actually, only one is hers and the other two are adopted because their mother died. We had a naming ceremony for the new kitten -- Arlo. Minnie is also just as adorable and loving as when she was a kitten.