Wagamama Amsterdam

2 December 2004 | Star: 3/5

Category:	Restaurants
Cuisine:	Japanese / Sushi
Location:	Max Euweplein 10, Amsterdam

(as posted on 25 November 2004 in Jalansutra mailing list, msg #27635)

Karena ada yg menyebut2 Wagamama Amsterdam, saya jadi ingat, pernah mampir ke sana tahun lalu. Untuk yg pertama dan terakhir kalinya. Seorang teman merekomendasikan tempat ini, jadi saya penasaran juga ingin mencoba.

Lokasi Wagamama cukup strategis, terletak di antara Leidseplein dan Max Euweplein, yang selalu dipenuhi orang. Beberapa kali saya lalu-lalang di depan restoran ini tanpa tertarik untuk masuk, karena, pertama, kesannya yg terlalu ‘steril’. Dari luar, etalasenya memang elegan sekali, minim dekor, dengan warna tenang. Kedua, karena saya pernah sekilas membaca review ttg restoran ini di suatu majalah
mingguan (suplemen dari surat kabar De Volkskrant), di mana si penulis tidak terlalu terkesan. Tapi, demi meredam rasa penasaran, sekali2 harus saya coba sendiri.

Tibalah hari itu, saya kebetulan punya waktu untuk mampir. Karena memang bukan jam makan, tempat itu tidak terlihat ramai. Begitu masuk, tak ada sambutan apa2. Saya berjalan melalui bar, langsung saja menghampiri meja2 panjang dan duduk di salah satu bangku. Saya lihat sekeliling, hanya ada sekitar 3 – 4 orang yg sedang makan sendiri-sendiri, masing2 sambil membaca buku, menulis2 sesuatu, atau
bertelepon.

Ketika saya sedang menduga2, di mana kiranya daftar menu restoran tersebut, seorang pelayan berkulit hitam menghampiri dan bertanya apakah saya siap memesan. Saya tanya, di mana menunya. Ia bilang, seharusnya saya ambil sendiri begitu masuk tadi, ada setumpuk menu di atas meja bar. Nah, mana saya tahu? Setelah ia ambil satu menu untuk saya, saya baca2 dan pilihan jatuh pada Chicken Ramen dan Ebi Katsu, dengan Chi sebagai minumannya. Si pelayan mencatat pada buku elektroniknya, lalu pergi menuju dapur.

Sambil menunggu, saya lihat ke sekeliling. Ruangan ini berbentuk persegi empat, dipenuhi jajaran meja dan bangku panjang. Di muka dan belakang saya adalah dinding solid; di sisi kanan terdapat dapur yg tidak berdinding penuh, sehingga saya bisa melihat para koki (semuanya berkulit hitam, tak ada koki Jepang) menyiapkan makanan.
Komentar si reviewer di majalah yg saya baca tersebut, bahwa di restoran yg bernuansa Jepang (baik dekor maupun menunya) hampir semua pegawainya berkulit hitam, ternyata memang benar. Di sisi kiri terdapat dinding kaca, yg memperlihatkan ruang terbuka Max Euweplein, di mana terdapat permainan catur raksasa dan monumen air mancur.
Sebagian dari dinding kaca ini adalah pintu, yang dibuka bila hari hangat dan cerah, sehingga pengunjung Wagamama dapat pula menikmati makanan di ruang terbuka.

Teh Jepang pesanan saya adalah yg pertama kali dihidangkan, dalam satu cawan kecil. Tak ada poci teh yg menemani, sehingga hanya sebanyak itu lah jatah minum saya sore itu. Ramen datang berbarengan dengan Katsu.
Udang goreng ini memang enak, tepung pelapisnya renyah dan ‘tasty’ sementara kematangan dan tekstur udangnya pas empuk-kenyal. Saus yg menemaninya, semacam mayonaise, juga gurih dan sangat cocok jadi teman udang ini. Namun porsi tersebut (lima ekor udang) dihargai sekitar 5 Euro (BYKS), yang termasuk sangat mahal.
Ramennya datang dalam mangkuk yg sangat besar – perkiraan saya, volumenya 2x mangkuk bergambar ayam spt punya tukang2 baso kampung. Sendok yg disediakan unik, bukan dari logam namun terbuat dari batok kelapa yg diikatkan ke bambu. Di salah satu sisi di dalam mangkuk terdapat setumpuk sayuran (jamur dan semacam sawi), dan di sisi lain terjajar irisan daging ayam. Kuah ramen ini berasa lembut, cenderung hambar (di meja tersedia kecap Jepang, juga garam dan merica, bagi yg
ingin rasa lebih kuat). Ramennya sendiri juga enak, namun porsinya banyak sekali. Too much of the same thing – hingga rasanya cenderung ‘membosankan’ setelah sekian lahapan sumpit. Daging ayamnya berasa aneh – sayang sudah setahun lebih berlalu, jadi saya tidak bisa mengira2 sekarang, bumbu apa yg dipakai utk memasak ayam itu. Saya juga lupa harga ramen ini, tapi (BYKS) seporsinya berkisar antara 8 – 10 Euro. Juga termasuk sangat mahal.

Selesai makan, saya panggil pelayan untuk langsung membayar dan meninggalkan Wagamama, tanpa berniat kembali lagi. Sebab, selain mahal sekali, makanannya juga berasa biasa2 saja. Mungkin ini juga masalah selera, namun saya tahu sekarang bahwa Wagamama itu bukan untuk saya. Kalau ingin sup, lain kali saya ke De Soepwinkel saja, atau ke kantin HEMA untuk ewrtensoep-nya yg murmer itu.. hehe..

Pengalaman saya hari itu, termasuk ketika makan di Wagamama, terekam di bagian “Photos”: Wagamama Amsterdam.

Wagamama Amsterdam
Max Euweplein 10
1017 MB Amsterdam
http://www.wagamama.nl

Strips in Stereo: Musik dalam Cergam

13 March 2006

Sabtu malam, 11 Maret 2006, sekitar pk. 21:00, tampak antrian panjang di luar Paradiso (sebuah gereja tua yg kini berfungsi sbg gedung pertunjukan). Hawa dingin dan turunnya butiran salju lembut tidak mengurungkan niat para pengunjung malam itu, yang telah menghabiskan seluruh tiket yang terjual.

Sekitar jam itu pula saya tiba di Paradiso, tapi tidak sempat berlama2 memandangi panjangnya antrian di luar sebab harus segera mencari tempat parkir utk sepeda saya, supaya bisa segera ikutan mengantri. Ini tidak mudah, sebab semua tempat parkir sepeda dan ruang yg ada di sisi jalan juga sudah penuh dengan sepeda. Untung akhirnya dapat juga tempat nyempil di seberang Paradiso, di pelataran sebuah sekolah tingkat menengah, meskipun harus dengan menarik dan menyingkirkan sebuah sepeda yg diparkir miring.
Mungkin sekitar 10 menit waktu yg dihabiskan para pengunjung untuk mengantri di luar. Saya hanya bersyukur hawa dingin malam itu tidak ditingkahi angin. Begitu antrian bersendat maju, saya termasuk yg bisa langsung masuk ke pintu, sebab selain tiket masuk Strips in Stereo (15 Euro), saya juga sudah punya tiket Paradiso (2,50 Euro, yg berlaku bulanan), sementara banyak orang yg masih harus mengantri utk ini. Sampai dalam ruangan, langsung terasa hangat, jadi saya titipkan dulu jaket tebal di ruang mantel (1 Euro per jaket) sebelum masuk ke ruang pertunjukan.

Lantai dasar Paradiso waktu itu sudah penuh orang yg sibuk berbincang, merokok, dan minum (ada bar di salah satu pojok ruangan). Di depan, terlihat berbagai instrumen musik sudah tertata di panggung. Di latar panggung, terdapat layar raksasa. Balkon lantai satu dan dua juga tampak sudah terisi penuh, sementara orang2 terus mengalir masuk. Terjual habisnya tiket masuk ini pasti juga karena adanya ulasan ttg acara ini di De Volkskrant (sebuah koran nasional) sehari sebelumnya. Suasana ramai karena ada alunan musik yg dikontrol oleh seorang DJ di pojok ruang yg berseberangan dengan bar.
Para pengunjung malam ini terlihat sangat beragam. Bukan saja dapat dikelompokkan antara yg datang utk musik atau datang utk komik atau dua2nya, tetapi juga dapat dikelompokkan antara penggemar suatu jenis musik. Maklum saja, sebab lagu2 yg dipilih oleh para komikus ini adalah dari bermacam2 jenis (ballads, rock, country, rap, dsb). Selain itu, orang2 ini antusias utk datang juga karena lagu2 yg terpilih akan dibawakan oleh musisi dan penyanyi aslinya.

Lagu pertama, Kinderballade, dibawakan oleh Boudewijn de Groot, yg di-cergam-kan oleh Maaike Hartjes. Sementara lagu dinyanyikan, pada layar terpampang animasi dari karya Maaike. Berbeda dengan gambar sehari2nya yg mirip stick figures, ilustrasi Maaike kali ini cukup memikat, bergaya dekoratif kejepang2an dengan aksen warna2 yg kuat. Balada si anak ini pun terasa mencekam, berkat visualisasi Maaike.
Boudewijn de Groot kemudian membawakan lagu keduanya, Malle Babbe, yg grafisnya digarap oleh Erik Kriek (pencipta seri Gutsman). Jenis lagunya pun balada, dengan lirik yg menggugah rasa, dan digambarkan dengan tepat oleh Erik. Gaya gambar Erik yg biasanya berjiwa American pop art, kali ini diberi aksen kekasaran tertentu, sesuai dengan setting waktu yg dipilihnya.

Berikutnya tampil Guido Belcanto dengan De Verpleegster, dengan visual karya Mark Retera (terkenal dengan tokoh Dirk Jan-nya). Sesuai kisah dalam lagu tsb, Mark menggambarkan Guido yg terpikat oleh seorang perawat yg mengambil contoh darahnya, yg terlihat resah waktu bertemu dokter, dan reaksinya saat ia mengetahui hasil tes darahnya. Di sini pacing dan komposisi panel (pada animasi komik) dengan tepat mengekspresikan tone dan lirik pada lagu.

Frans van Schaik membawakan Ketelbinkie yg divisualisasikan oleh Dick Matena, seorang komikus kawakan yg kali ini memilih menggunakan duo tone pada komiknya, dan menampilkan sosok2 karikatural.

Jeroen Zijlstra yg sedang tur berhalangan hadir utk membawakan lagunya, Je bent zo lelijk, dan digantikan oleh seorang rekannya. Lagu yg, bila diterjemahkan bebas, kira2 berarti “kamu jelek sekali” ini digambar oleh Hein de Kort, yang keunikan gayanya memang sangat cocok untuk lagu tsb. Gambarnya bergaris dan berbentuk seenaknya, dan sengaja dibuat berantakan, seolah2 hendak menekankan arti kata “jelek”.

Spinvis dengan lagunya Voor ik vergeet tampil di panggung dengan Hanco Kolk, komikus yg malam itu kebetulan berulang tahun (ya, penonton sempat menyanyi lagu ulang tahun utknya). Keunikan Hanco adalah gaya garis2 minim namun efektif. Utk Strips in Stereo, Hanco banyak menyertakan kolase foto di antara goresan kuasnya.
Malam itu, Hanco adalah satu2nya komikus yg melakukan live performance. Sebuah kanvas dipasang di panggung sebelum lagu dimulai. Saat Spinvis mulai memainkan lagu (yg terjemahan judulnya adalah “karena saya lupa”), Hanco pun turut beraksi dengan kanvasnya. Kanvas tsb sebelumnya telah digambar oleh Hanco: fokus pada tokoh utama lagu, dikelilingi oleh elemen2 memori yg ada pada benaknya. Selama lagu berlangsung, Hanco menyapukan kuas (dengan cat), sedikit demi sedikit, ke memori2 tsb, hingga perlahan2 hanya tinggal si tokoh utama yg terlihat pada kanvas. Menjelang lagu berakhir, si tokoh pun tersapu kuas, dan setelah semuanya ‘terhapus’ oleh cat, Hanco menggambarkan jantung hati tepat di mana si tokoh berada.

Peter Pontiac memilih lagu Meisjes (= perempuan muda) karya Raymond van ‘t Groenewoud utk divisualkan. Ini bukanlah pilihan sembarangan, sebab gambar2 perempuan karya Peter dinilai sebagai yg terseksi di seluruh Belanda. Raymond malam ini tampil mengenakan rok mini hitam (terlihat spt lingerie), wig brunette pendek dan memakai lipstick (bukan hal yg baru baginya utk tampil berkostum).
‘Komik’ Peter kali ini lebih berupa clip arts, yg memperlihatkan beberapa versi perempuan: dari tipe girl-next-door yg membuat jumpalitan para pria, hingga tipe alien yg membuat jiper laki2. Hal yg paling menarik adalah interpretasi Peter yg tak terduga terhadap lirik2 Raymond, yg lebih dari sekedar berorientasi seksual.

Getty Kaspers, eks penyanyi dari grup Teach-In (sebuah band pop di th 70an) menampilkan Ding-edong, yg divisualisasikan oleh Jean-Marc van Tol. Keras-pelannya nada di bagian2 tertentu pada lagu terasa pada gambar melalui besar-kecilnya huruf pada komik, terutama pada bagian ‘sound effect’ (bunyi detak jam, atau bunyi lonceng gereja).

Henny Vrienten dari grup Doe Maar membawakan Is dit alles?, yg liriknya digambarkan oleh Barbara Stok dalam suasana sehari2. Selingan “wouu wouu” yg sering terdengar dalam suatu lagu dimasukkan dalam panel2 komik melalui berbagai adegan (bayi menangis, anjing melolong, dsb). Sehingga, meskipun di luar alur cerita utama, “wouu wouu” itu tetap tampil pada komik.

Karya Thé Tjong-Khing termasuk yg paling ditunggu2 kali ini, mengingat kiprahnya terakhir dalam dunia komik profesional adalah lebih dari 20 tahun yang lalu (beliau kini lebih terkenal sebagai ilustrator buku anak2). Haar sneeuwwitte boezem dari Johnny Hoes yg dipilihnya mengisahkan ttg seorang gadis yg meninggalkan orang tuanya di desa kelahirannya utk pergi ke kota demi masa depannya. Ia lalu mengabari orang tuanya bahwa ia telah berhasil hidup di bawah gemerlapnya lampu kota besar. Interpretasi Khing sangat menarik: “gemerlap lampu”, yg biasanya dianggap sebagai mewahnya kehidupan kota besar, digambarkannya sebagai gemerlap lampu berwarna merah muda, yang membingkai sebuah kaca, di mana si gadis duduk menunggu pelanggan.

Leon Giesen (Mondo Leone) tampil dengan lagunya, Naakt en Kaal, yg divisualisasikan oleh Joost Swarte, komikus yg lebih dikenal sbg seorang desainer grafis termahal se-Belanda. Komposisi dan panel pada karya Joost sudah bisa diduga, dengan teknik garis bersih yg dianutnya itu. Kekuatannya dalam memainkan obyek2nya pun muncul melalui beberapa adegan surreal, yg juga merupakan spesialisasinya.

Def P (dengan grup rap-nya Osdorp Posse) membawakan Moordenaar, dengan visualisasi oleh Typex (baik lirik lagu maupun komik yang satu ini sangat tidak layak utk anak2). Typex membuat komik tanpa kata2: seluruh lirik dituliskan pada sebuah ‘piringan’ di tengah2 halaman.

Bennie Jolink (dari grup Normaal) membawakan D’n poot op het gas, digambarkan oleh Henk Kuijpers (yg terkenal dengan karya serinya, Franka). Komik yg satu ini tampil mantap, hingga hampir tak terasa bahwa teksnya adalah lirik lagu.

Peter Koelewijn dengan lagunya Kom van dat dak af, yg saking terkenalnya sampai dibilang ‘lagu nasional’ Belanda, tampil sebagai penutup. Gerrit de Jager, yg mencergamkan lagu ini, juga sangat terkenal berkat karyanya De Familie Doorzon (ia, dan Jean-Marc van Tol, adalah pemrakarsa acara Strips in Stereo ini). Tentu saja nomor ini mendapat sambutan sangat meriah. Sekali lagi, kerasnya nada dapat terlihat pada besarnya font, dan kecepatan lirik juga terlihat pada deretan kata2 yg bersambungan tanpa jeda.

Saya yg sebelumnya belum pernah mendengar lagu2 yg ditampilkan malam ini dapat dengan mudah menikmati musiknya. Mungkin juga karena terbawa suasana, di mana kelihatannya semua orang di Paradiso (kecuali saya) hafal lirik2 lagu tsb dan ikut bernyanyi.
Mengenai visualisasi lagunya sendiri (saya baru menduga, sebab belum melihat bukunya dengan lengkap, juga tidak hafal lirik lagu2 tsb), saya lihat para komikus tsb umumnya mengambil lirik dan menerjemahkannya ke dalam gambar, dengan interpretasi masing2 – bagai mengambil naskah utk dikomikkan. Ada juga di antara mereka yg bermain dengan tinggi/rendahnya nada atau kecepatan lagu, dan berusaha mengekspresikannya dalam gambar.
Baru ini yg dapat saya tangkap dari live performance malam itu, plus tampilan animasi komik pada latar panggung. (Review buku & CD Strips in Stereo akan saya susulkan begitu barangnya sudah ada di tangan)

Di penghujung acara, kedua pemrakarsa acara ini tampil ke panggung dan memperkenalkan para komikus yg terlibat, satu demi satu (semua hadir, kecuali Thé Tjong-Khing) dan menghadirkan kembali para musisi yg telah tampil malam itu. Namun ada berita mengecewakan bagi penonton: malam itu buku & CD Strips in Stereo tidak dapat dijual, sebab persediaan sudah habis sama sekali, dan kita semua harus menunggu cetakan keduanya! (atau mungkin stok habis karena distribusi besar2an sebelum malam itu?). Tentu banyak yg kecewa, termasuk saya, yg berniat memintakan tanda tangan pada buku tsb ke semua komikus yg hadir pada malam itu (sesuai yg dijanjikan pada program Strips in Stereo).

Untuk (agak) mengobati rasa kesal, sebelum pulang saya beli satu kopi versi Bootleg yg dijual di lantai atas (di mana berlangsung pula penjualan berbagai komik dan merchandise spt bros, stiker, dll). Bootleg ini berisi karya2 para komikus Belanda yg tidak termasuk dalam Strips in Stereo, namun juga menggambarkan lagu2 yg mereka pilih masing2. Fotokopian kualitas bagus, bersampul kertas warna perak, berharga 5 Euro.

Saat saya meninggalkan Paradiso (sekitar pk. 23:30), acara masih terus berlangsung: DJ, strips jam session, strips club, dsb. Berhubung bukan penggemar hura2 malam (sambil masih agak sebel perihal buku), dan ingat ada yg menunggu di rumah, saya memilih utk pulang.

Images: dari situs Strips in Stereo: sampul buku dan halaman2 dari Peter Pontiac dan Gerrit de Jager.

A Jumble of Distraction

8 March 2006

These recent couple of weeks are (supposedly) very hectic for me. I’ve got one important deadline (my dissertation manuscript!) and, shortly after, another deadline (materials for Barcelona!). But somehow I managed to make myself more busy with other things..

First of all, it’s not easy to concentrate when your head is filled with many upsetting news (the Raju case, the RUU AP/P conflicts, and such). Secondly, it’s very easy to get distracted by lighter activities (which I easily agreed upon), such as helping Dhanu’s class preparing their “Pirate” theme for this month. I ended up making cardboard short swords and binoculars, painted and decorated them with crépe paper and (self-made) pirate stickers. I drew a seriously challenging treasure map. I made a ship’s steer wheel out of a real car steer wheel, added with cardboard pieces and more crépe papers. And today, I volunteered to paint a scenery of a pirate ship, heading to a volcanic island (where a treasure chest is kept), next to a skull-shaped rock – on a 2×2 sqm cloth.

On Saturday evening, I plan to go to a Strips in Stereo event at Paradiso, and the Sunday afterwards, we’ll go to a birthday party (a colleague of my husband) in Vijzelstraat. I’m just glad that the venues are nearby our place.

I might have missed the board meeting of Stichting ZieZo (where I am a member) last Monday, but I voted for The Netherlands and Amsterdam councils (for the first time, as an immigrant!) last Tuesday. I rarely go to the chatting line anymore (miss you, people!), at least until I come back from Barcelona, next week.
I should be reading books that are relevant to my research, but I oftenly picked up my new The Hitchhikers’ Guide to The Galaxy or the new MAD magazine (that keeps coming, despite the fact that my subscription should already be expired about half a year ago).

Well, I should really get on with my work now. But before that, I think I’ll take up the challenge from my friend www5 about revealing my little secrets (see? It’s too easy to tempt me nowadays! Haha!)

Image: “Distraction”, John Leech Sketch from 1847. Source: John Leech Archive, UK.

(Baby Baby) Can I Invade Your Country?

28 February 2006

.. rightaway gained my affection on the first hearing. Along with songs from the same album, Sparks‘ newest Hello Young Lovers, all are quite catchy. It didn’t take too much getting used to for me; I was rightaway absorbed into the music during the gig at Paradiso, Amsterdam, last Tuesday (21 Feb). Paradiso, which used to be a church, is not a very big concert venue; in the contrary, it’s sort of snuggly. The standing space (ground floor) was full (of about 500 people), and there’s no barricade between the stage and the floor (people at the first row could lean on the stage).
In the first half of the show, all Sparks band members wore identical black outfits. There’s a screen (white between black transparent clothes) separating Ron & Russell Mael (brothers who are Sparks) from the rest of the band (two guitarists at the left side and a bassist & a drummer at the right). During the show, the white screen was actively used to display projected images that corresponded to the songs. The images also corresponded to the acts of Ron and Russell, i.e. Ron ‘hitting’ his image, Ron ‘playing’ an orgel on the screen, Ron & Russell standing ‘in the rain’. There’s really a lot of screenteraction going on.

Russell and Ron during the show in Amsterdam. Photo source: sparksfan.info

Now, the music. How shall I put it – it’s all very energetic, I could even feel the vibe of every beat (although perhaps it had to do with the fact that I stood next to the speaker, 2nd row, far right). What amazed me the most is Russell’s constant voice – how could he sing like that for (almost) two straight hours, so powerfully?! The atmosphere was quite pleasant, the crowd seemed to have fun; some danced and sang along. Although, I regret that some people lit up their cigarettes during songs. How distracting and inconsiderate.

The first act consisted of all songs from Hello Young Lovers: Dick Around, Perfume, The Very Next Fight, (Baby, Baby) Can I Invade Your Country?, Rock Rock Rock, Metaphor, Waterproof, Here Kitty, There’s No Such Thing as Aliens and As I Sit to Play the Organ at the Notre Dame Cathedral (which was presented so grand when they purposedly lit up the old church windows of Paradiso). The lyrics were smart and witty, the music pleasant and humorous, and sounds almost pompous. For this album, Sparks applied drums/percussions and guitars, unlike for the previous album. I welcome this change very much: different, but still sounds ‘sparky’.

For the second act, the screen was dismantled, and all personnel wore semi-formal outfits (i.e. jacket and tie), performing older Sparks songs (from the ’90s). I knew Sparks waaay too late (only about 4 years ago – while they’ve been making music since the early ’70s), so I wasn’t too familiar with most of the songs. I knew only the ones from Lil’ Beethoven, which they presented at the end of the show (at around 23:30 – they started at about 21:00). All in all, we are very satisfied and couldn’t stop talking about it on our way home (on our bikes, so it’s more like yelling than talking). I was very lucky to have the chance to watch them LIVE! And of course, many thanks to Sybrand for introducing me to Sparks and getting me the tickets as my birthday present! (He said he has all Sparks albums, but mostly in vinyl.. well, I’ve got a lot of catching up to do!)

From the show in Sweden, the next day (same outfit, though!). Photo source: a link from Sparks forum

My graphic notes from the event are here and here.
Sparks site: http://allsparks.com/
More about Hello Young Lovers at BBC Music – including downloadable songs: Perfume and (Baby Baby) Can I Invade Your Country?

Ron and Russell Mael are joined on stage by Tammy Glover (Drums), Dean [Faith No More] Menta (Guitar), Josh Klinghoffer (guitars) and Steve [Red Kross] McDonald (Bass).
Top image: cover of Hello Young Lovers CD

Thirty Three Today

29 December 2005

Getting up this morning, I brought Lindri (who was already up at around 06:30 as usual) downstairs, to the study. It’s always chilly here at my mother in law’s house, especially in winter mornings. The day before, snow fell softly and lightly covered the ground; today, only some spots looked white. I opened the internet connection on moeder’s PowerBook and went to my mails, with Lindri eating a banana next to me (while fiddling with anything within her reach). Ooh there’s a lot of birthday wishes and prayers, from family and friends! Thank you all!

Dhanu came into the study not long after he heard us going downstairs. He gave me some drawings: one from Lindri, and another from himself, picturing a table with a present, wrapped with bows, on it. And a home made card, from my husband’s sister and her family (who stayed here as well until yesterday). During breakfast, I got my other presents: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory DVD from Lindri (I haven’t seen that one), Akira DVD from Dhanu (adding to our animation DVD collection), and two sets (Seasons 1 & Season 2) of Frasier DVD and a set of pasta plate (including olives, pesto and pasta) from moeder. A present from Sybrand is a couple of concert tickets: we’re going to see Sparks in Paradiso Amsterdam, in February! Yaaay! A bit later after breakfast, we had our birthday cake: a chocolate cake, which Lindri likes so much she finished two servings in a go. Dhanu was a bit reluctant to eat it at first, saying that he’ll eat his portion “next week”, but then grabbed and ate it by hand a moment later.

My birthday has never been a big thing, because it comes between big celebrations: Christmas and New Year. I have never been at school (it’s holiday season) so I’ve never felt the birthday fuss at school. And when we were much younger, this month was when we used to travel to Central Java, to stay at my grandparents’ house in Salatiga. There was where I used to celebrate my birthday, usually altogether with a family Christmas event and such. I really do not mind this, since I prefer not to be the center of attention – therefore, especially in the later years, I’d rather use this day to reflect at my passing life and to think about the coming years.

My first thought usually went to my parents, who have delivered me into the world (my mother: “You practically jumped out of my womb – I haven’t even properly laid myself down on the maternity bed!”), provided for me and brought me up. Their most valuable gift to me? Their trust and confidence in me, which have led me to where I am now. Then some childhood birthday parties (not necessarily mine) at home, inviting neighbourhood kids and preparing our own kiddie games and making goodie bags (out of manila cartons and colourful crepe papers), and a compulsory home entertainment: cartoons! (my father has an old projector movie player) Then there was my birthday celebration at an orphanage in Salatiga, some birthdays on which I was to wear pretty dresses (with pouting mouth, as shown in our family photo albums). I’ve noticed myself growing, including habbits that I stopped and attitudes that I keep.
I then thought about my achievements: having my own family, my endless school/research works, and my oh-so-fun, distracting hobby (comics! drawings!). What I would change, what I would improve, what I would leave behind (my extra weight, for instance).

“What do you want for your birthday?” is probably one of the most difficult questions in life, since I still don’t know how to answer it, eventhough this predictable question comes every year. OK, when I was 9, going to 10, I asked my father to buy me a bike and I promised never to ask for any birthday present ever again in my life. He bought me that black ‘sepeda mini’, which I rode to school until my junior high years (until I turned 14 – then I had to ride a bus to go to my senior high school). That was really my last birthday wish, and perhaps up to today I’m still keeping my promise to not ask for anything ever again.
So, everytime that question pops out, I usually reply with, “Thank you, I’ve had everything”, or “World peace”, or “A magic wand that can help me finish my dissertation”, or “A super power”, or something within those lines..

After pondering for a while, I think I’ve been leading a pleasant life. Moreover, because I am blessed with loving family and friends. What have I done with my life, and what will I make of it? However it is, I am happy where I am. I might not have big ambitions, but I have plans and goals for me and my family in the near future, and I hope to achieve them in due time.

Comicstrip: by Flo. which more or less expressing what I’m about to do if the snow keeps falling..

Pakjesavond

6 December 2005

The night of Dec 5th is called “Pakjesavond“, or ‘evening of packages’, where Sinterklaas and his Zwarte Piet secretly delivering presents to your house. The custom is that the children (and anyone else in the house) should sing loudly, so Sinterklaas can hear them and drop by their house to deliver the presents. If Sinterklaas doesn’t hear your singing, he might pass by without knowing that there are children who deserve his presents in that house. Zwarte Piet, the helper of Sinterklaas, always spread strooigoed (sweet treats to throw around) wherever Sinterklaas goes, and that is the sign of his presence.

So, last night I and Syb prepared something similar to those happenings. It’s a pity we don’t have any CD containing Sinterklaas songs, so we had to browse on the Internet for something we could use. There’s a site for karaoke, songs with midi, complete with lyrics. Not bad.
So, after dinner, Syb brought the iBook over the front room’s bed, then we sang songs that Dhanu picked from the list. Lindri could also sing the tunes, though the words didn’t come out too clearly. Me? I know lots of Dutch children songs, but not for this specific event, so I always had to peek at the lyrics. As planned, when the kids were deeply occupied with singing, Syb slipped away (as if going to the toilet), sneaking to the kitchen. He wore a black glove and threw strooigoed at us, from the kitchen. That was such a surprise, this strooigoed rain, since loud noises occurred when they hit a hard surface.

The throwing went on several times, while Dhanu was being amazed, staring at the direction to the kitchen, but could see nothing except Syb’s gloved hand. Lindri, in the meantime, didn’t bother investigating – she was already busy picking up and stuffing her mouth with the pepernoten and candies. Before throwing the sweets, Syb already secretly pushed our rattan laundry basket (filled with presents) to the dining area.
Not long after the sweets-shower stopped, Syb appeared from the toilet’s hallway, acting surprised. Dhanu rightaway updated him with the latest situation – he was excited but trying to keep cool. Syb asked Dhanu if he wanted to catch the Piet, while they’re not far away yet. The door to the balcony was a bit open, and cold wind came in. We could feel the chilly wind, and that added to Dhanu’s excitement. But he wouldn’t go chasing the Piet. He wouldn’t even run to the basket full of gifts, just sitting and smiling there eagerly.

Syb brought the basket over and let Dhanu remove the lid. It was full of presents! Dhanu had to identify each present by reading the letter written on each, then gave it to whom the initial was written. One by one, so everyone can enjoy each other’s expressions when opening their gifts.
My parents also took part in this game, by giving me a couple of things to wrap and be included in the Pakjesavond. Lindri got a playing mat (a mat with roads, houses, etc, printed on it), a LEGO mini racing car, Dora underwear and hairpins, books (a Sinterklaas sticker book and Hexa kan niet heksen by Tijn Snoodijk)… Dhanu got a Bionicle (red spider variation), a Meccano (helicopter/ fire truck set), a pair of pajamas (orange, his favorite color), a book (M is een Monster, also by Tijn Snoodijk – “My favorite book!”, Dhanu claimed), a small Transformer… Syb got books from me: Een indruk van Echtheid (a collection of comics essays by Joost Pollmann) and Tover mijn verhaal (published by Teken Mijn Verhaal Foundation, where Dutch comic artists drew stories based on disabled childrens’ requests). I got a set of Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (one package for two volumes) and, a real surprise: a DVD player! Aah.. it will be a comfy change when the kids don’t have to fight over space again when watching movies from my iMac, and they won’t be able to fiddle with the keyboard and mouse anymore (*phew*).

The night continued with, of course, constructing all the Bionicle and LEGO and Meccano and playing endlessly. I’m glad Dhanu really likes all his present and he didn’t like one more than another – all are equally big scores! And I like to see that he didn’t behave greedily. His expressions were mostly overwhelmed and awed, while also trying to constrain his overjoy. Lindri felt the excitement and she, too, could already appreciate her new things. Bedtime is usually around 20:00, but last night we let the kids enjoy their presents, until they voluntarily fell asleep (at about 21:00).
It’s good that Dhanu’s school makes the rule of starting classes at 10:00 in the morning today (instead of the usual 08:30), considering most kids would stay up until late for their new presents. Because, really, in the morning Dhanu was again fully occupied with playing, and having some extra time in the morning gave him time to accept the fact that it’s not holiday yet. He still has to go to school.
Lindri doesn’t have to go anywhere today (she goes to her daycare center only on Mondays and Wednesdays), so I could wake up late. I thought. But no, Lindri woke up too early as usual and started demanding things from me (Feed me! Read me this book! Give me some water!). That’s a bit tiring, because I spent last night finishing Persepolis, both volumes (really a good read! I’d reccommend it to everybody!).

For us, the festive season just started.. there’s going to be Dhanu’s birthday, and Christmas, then my birthday.. Anyway, it’s time to pick up Dhanu from school now. He’ll have a friend coming over. Until the next news! 🙂

Image: Strooigoed from Wikipedia

Dag, Sinterklaasje.. dag, Zwarte Piet!

5 December 2005

Dec 5th, the birthday of St. Nicholas, is one of the most anticipated days here in Holland, especially for children. This is the day they get presents, along with all the novelties of the year that come with the Sinterklaas tradition: chocolate letters, pepernot, speculaas, finding your shoes filled with snoep (sweet treats) every morning you wake up, greeting Sinterklaas and his Piets when they just get off the boat (from Spain), greeting Sinterklaas who parades on his white horse..

This year Dec 5th is on Monday. People go to work as usual, but supermarkets are closed early (at 18:00 instead of the usual 22:00) and schools are arranging special programs. Today, De Community School (where Dhanu goes) arranged a Sinterklaas meeting at Hemonyplein (a square nearby the school) at 08:30. Unfortunately, rain poured down heavily around that hour, the appointed square was empty, so parents and children arrived at the school building, looking a bit anxious.
I stayed with Dhanu, when the teachers were trying to improvise the program. They should have had a B-plan, considering the uncertain weather nowadays. I took Dhanu upstairs (to his classroom) so he could hang his jacket and put his backpack. Nobody was allowed into the classroom, but some peeked to see a stack of big presents in the middle of the classroom!

These youngest kids of the school (class 1 to 4) were then gathered in the sport hall, all sitting on blue mattresses. Older students (class 5 to 8) waited in their classrooms. Some of them were wearing the costume of Zwarte Piet (a cap and a cape), some Sinterklaas’ cape and high hat. Parents and teachers stood around the walls and at the back of the hall.
The principal of the school, helped by a teacher (Dhanu’s class teacher, Meester Joeri), led the children to sing Sinterklaas songs, while the Sinterklaas himself entered the room, accompanied by two Zwarte Piets. The kids were excited and could hardly sit still. Sinterklaas brought a bad news, that his bags full of presents (for the kids) were stolen! They have to find the bags, quickly!

The kids were then divided into two: class 1-2 to the theater hall, while class 3-4 stayed at the sport hall. I went along Dhanu’s classmates to the other hall. Between the two halls, stands a counter (a reception desk and a kitchenette to serve tea/coffee/cup soup). Some bigger kids were hanging around the counter, pointing and shouting, “We have found the thieves! They’re here!”.

In the theather hall, the kids were seated on low wooden benches, parents on plastic seats. More singing, Sinterklaas and his two Piets entered the room, then the “thieves” story continued. The kids were so excited they couldn’t sit on the bench, they stood and danced, their faces full of anticipation and eagerness. They were sweet, though, obediently raising their hand when about to say something, eventhough some shoutings were heard now and then.
Soon, the ‘thieves’ were caught (two men dressed in Dalton Brothers’ kind of stripey prison uniform). Presents were revealed from ‘behind the blue doors’ (the storage room of the theater hall). Then Sinterklaas started to call some of the kids to sit on his lap – not all, because he’s old and tired, he said. He was given a book of ‘report’ of these children. Sweet, these kids: they came forward and sat on Sinterklaas’ lap and sang when asked to sing, answering all the questions. Getting off his lap, the kids received a handful of pepernoten from Zwarte Piet, to be eaten together with friends.

At about 10:00. Sinterklas left, while the children sang the “Dag Sinterklaas” song for him. They danced, jumped and sang happily, then were led to their classrooms. We parents were still following them into the classroom, where the seats were arranged to form a big circle. In the middle of the circle, was a pile of presents, boxes of the same size.
Meester Joeri explained that Sinterklaas has left these presents for them, and each kid may pick one present for him/herself. Once everyone got their present, they unwrapped them at the same time. Everybody got the same thing: a catapult game with plastic tree and monkeys. We left not long afterwards, then came back to pick up the kids at 12:00 already.

Tonight, we still have to make a surprise for Dhanu and Lindri. We had to make it as if Sinterklaas himself came and left a bunch of presents for us. The presents are now hidden in the laundry room, and I’ve cooked up a plan with Syb of how to go about it. Allright, time to move on.. dinner, and then the ‘theater’.. hee hee. See you!

(One of the children’s songs for Sinterklaas:)

“Zie ginds komt de stoomboot
uit Spanje weer aan.
Hij brengt on Sint-Nicolaas,
ik zie hem al staan.
Hoe huppelt zijn paardje
het dek op en neer,
hoe waaien de wimpels
al heen en al weer.”

Image: from St. Nicholas Center

God is dead. Meet the kids.

18 November 2005

Getting home from Delft to Amsterdam, yesterday, I was caught in the peak hours. To make things worse, trains got delayed, and even cancelled, from the Delft station – leaving the people at the platform fully packed, standing against the chilly autumn evening, and mostly grumpy. I didn’t mind the situation so much because I got a good book to read: Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman‘s newest novel (my sister found this soft cover version in Singapore.. yaay!).

When the train to Amsterdam finally came, I joined the crowd, squeezing myself into the already-jammed interior. There’s no seat available, so I and some other people stood up at the aisle. I resumed reading my novel while trying to keep my balance. Somehow I felt somebody stole a glance at me, once in a while: a woman sitting next to where I stood.

At one stop after Delft, Den Haag HS, a lot of passenger got off, and those who stood and continued their journey were shuffling around the aisle to find seats. The easiest choice for me was the seat next to the woman, so I sat there, quite content, and resumed reading. Again, the woman stole a glance not only at me, but seems like she was trying to read my book, too. This time, more sternly.
She herself was holding a thin A5-sized folder-like publication on her left hand, while her right was busy underlining some words in her folder. Naturally, I also glanced at what she’s been busy with. It turned out that the folder in her hand was a – sort of – religious folder. Complete with an illustration of Jesus, full of quotations of verses in the bible. Then I suddenly realized why she was so curious about Anansi Boys: the catching phrase of this novel is, “God is dead. Meet the kids”, which is printed fairly big and flashy (blue-metallic color against black background) at the back cover of the book. No wonder she looked at me as if I’m a mild heathen.. hee hee.. (a review for Anansi Boys, coming up!)

Photo source: the website of MUM Puppet Theatre

========================================
ps [an old story]. People should lighten up. This reminds me of discussions in several mailing lists about The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown: the truth (or un-truth) of it, the official declaration from the Catholic church, and all such fuss. I’ve posted my opinion (as a comment) at a friend’s review, here goes:

Books labelled as “best sellers” usually don’t match my taste, and that’s clearly the case with The Da Vinci Code. Out of curiousity, I finally bought a copy from a 2nd-hand book stall in a marketplace (3 Eur only) not long ago and started reading, finished the next day and rightaway came to a conclusion that this book is overrated.

1. I’ve been an admirer of Da Vinci’s works and have naturally been always interested in biographies & documentations concerning this great artist & all relevant subjects. So, things that are supposedly “big secrets” in this book hardly roused my excitement. These “surprises” might be interesting, mind you, had the author not exaggerate all the supporting elements towards these sub-climax. So, my first problem is perhaps the language style of the book, which sounds rather pompous.

2. I won’t refer to myself as a religious person, so I don’t really mind whatever subject a book contains. It’s just that this book brings up a topic that I’ve read (or watch or hear) time and again. Just another form of a repeated news.

3. There’s a difference between an amusing, great detective story and a plain mystery story where most what-happens-nexts are predictable. Sadly, this book falls into the later category. Plain words are perhaps adequate in telling an exciting mystery adventure, but plain words for not-so-mysterious happenings are boring. This book is clearly not a great literature material. And I could see rightaway why Hollywood wants it on big screen; everything is there: there’s a hero and his pretty partner-heroine, villains, conspiracy, exclusive & fancy ‘tours’ across Europe, and the script is ready. There, you’ve got yourself a supossedly-succesful movie.

4. I am biased by the idea that the main character will be played by Tom Hanks. That’s it, enough to ruin the whole book. I like how Tom Hanks presents his characters in most of his movies, but I don’t think he suits this Langdon character.

However, I can respect the research done by the author to complete this book, and his ability to put words together so that people who don’t usually read novels are able and willing to read this book until the end. For that, I give this book one star.

just passing by..

16 November 2005

It was more than one week ago that I posted the following entry to Jalansutra mailing list (in Indonesian). Now I’m letting you know that my sister is already joining us in Amsterdam, still recovering but far healthier than when she was ill in Japan. Here’s she with me, in front of Lambiek (thanks to Akil for the photo).

In short, the posting was about how my sister got terrible case of flu in Tokyo, and how a family who, eventhough they know her for only one week (then), really nursed her with great care and took care of everything (medicals, ticket, visa). At first I had a lot of doubt of posting this to the mailing list, since it is sort of a personal matter. But shortly, after an encouragement from the chief of the community, I did. But I mainly did it for other reasons: I want the world to know that kind and sincere people do exist, and I want to tell a story of hope and humanity, among the bad news that we received recently.

So, here goes..

===================================
From: Dwinita Larasati
Date: Sun Nov 6, 2005 9:00 pm
Subject: [o/t] untuk keluargaku: terima kasih!

Dear keluarga besar Jalansutra,
Ijinkan saya mengisahkan sedikit mengenai berkah yg kami peroleh
berkat pertemanan dalam komunitas (yang tidak hanya sekedar) jalan-
jalan dan makan-makan ini. Terima kasih sekali lagi utk Pak BW sang
kepala suku yg telah mengijinkan saya berbagi cerita ini melalui
milis 🙂

Terakhir kali saya & keluarga pulang ke Indonesia adalah th 2002, dan
sejak itu orang tua saya hanya sempat berkunjung 1x saat anak kedua
saya baru lahir (akhir 2003). Sekarang orang tua saya berkesempatan
mengunjungi kami di Amsterdam sekali lagi setelah sekian lama hanya
‘bertatap muka’ dengan cucu2 di sini melalui kiriman foto2. Mereka
sudah tiba sejak lebih dari dua minggu yang lalu, berbarengan dengan
acara rutin bapak menghadiri sebuah konferensi bi-annual di Köln,
Jerman. Adik saya, Tiyas, rencananya menyusul kemari setelah
perjalanannya di Jepang.

Saat tiba di Jepang, Tiyas menginap dulu di kediaman keluarga Lim Kim
Soan, seorang anggota Jalansutra yg tinggal di dekat Tokyo, selama 3
hari. Lalu ia mengunjungi sobat SMA-nya yg sedang kuliah dan bekerja
di Hokkaido, di belahan Utara Jepang yg cuacanya lebih dingin, selama
3 hari. Dari Hokkaido, Tiyas kembali ke Tokyo utk menginap semalam
lagi di rumah Kak Kim sebelum melanjutkan penerbangan ke Amsterdam.

Tapi ternyata, saat ‘transit’ di rumah Kak Kim tsb, Tiyas mengalami
demam tinggi, suhu tubuhnya mencapai 39,8 C. Kak Kim sampai menelpon
kami utk memberitahukan kejadian darurat tsb utk mengambil keputusan,
lalu dengan sigap membatalkan penerbangan Tiyas hari itu dan langsung
merawatnya dengan sangat telaten.
Tumben, biasanya bila demam, suhu badan Tiyas sudah akan membaik
dalam waktu 2-3 hari hanya dengan beristirahat. Kali ini lewat 5 hari
pun masih panas tinggi, bahkan disertai gejala2 parah seperti mual
dan sakit kepala. Kami berusaha berkomunikasi intensif dengan Kak Kim
untuk selalu ter-update dengan keadaan Tiyas, si putri bungsu yg
sedang berperjalanan sendiri, yg terpaksa terdampar di negri
orang dalam keadaan sakit, dan terpaksa tinggal di rumah orang yg
baru ia kenal.

Tiyas yg rencananya tiba di Amsterdam tgl 2 Nov lalu, hingga hari ini
(6 Nov) masih dalam perawatan Kak Kim sekeluarga. Urusan ke dokter,
pengubahan tiket, perpanjangan visa dan penalangan biaya, semua
diurus dengan cekatan oleh Kak Kim dan suaminya, bagai mengurus anak
sendiri. Orang tua saya yg sedang berada di sini dan tak dapat
berbuat banyak, tentu saja sangat berterima kasih pada Kak Kim &
keluarga, atas kebaikan dan ketulusan mereka.

Kemaren kami mendapat kabar bahwa keadaan Tiyas sudah membaik.
Meskipun sampai sempat mimisan, suhu tubuhnya sudah turun dan stabil
pada 37 C setelah (akhirnya) diinfus. Kak Kim pun bilang bahwa Tiyas
sudah bisa makan, meskipun sedikit. Walaupun begitu, waktu itu kami
masih harus melihat kondisinya, apakah masih memungkinkan utk terbang
ke Belanda atau langsung pulang saja ke Jakarta (Tiyas sih berniat
bisa, sebab dia belum pernah bertemu dengan keponakan perempuannya yg
baru berulang tahun yg ke-2).

Kami bener2 sempat dibuat deg2an dengan flu parah itu. Apalagi waktu
baca berita di Internet bbrp hari yg lalu ttg outbreak avian flu di
Vietnam, Cina dan Jepang. Syukurnya Tiyas tidak kena virus tsb. dan,
syukurnya lagi, Tiyas dirawat oleh tangan2 yg bertanggung jawab dan
tulus-kasih – sekali lagi, berkat pertemuan kami dalam komunitas
Jalansutra.
Betapa mengharukan, bukan saja uluran tangan yg diberikan keluarga
Kak Kim di Jepang, namun juga perhatian dari saudara dan teman2 JS
yang turut memantau keadaan Tiyas setiap kali ‘bertemu’ dengan saya
di program chatting.

Tadi siang (waktu Belanda, malam waktu Jepang) kami sempat mengontak
Tiyas lagi, kali ini lengkap melalui program Skype (‘telepon’-
internet), messenger dan web-cam di rumah Kak Kim. Wah, betapa
leganya orang tua saya ketika bisa melihat Tiyas sudah bisa duduk
chatting dengan wajah sehat, bisa bercanda dan ketawa2 lagi. Betapa
senangnya mereka bisa ‘bertemu muka’ dengan Kak Kim dan suaminya
meskipun hanya melalui web-cam, sambil sempat bercakap2 sebentar.
Jarak jauh yg memisahkan, benar2 bukan penghalang pertalian
kekeluargaan kami. Kini hampir dapat dipastikan bahwa Tiyas akan
cukup sehat dan kuat untuk melakukan penerbangan jauh ke Amsterdam,
dan berkumpul bersama kami sesuai rencana semula.

Secara tidak langsung, kami juga telah dibantu oleh Pak Bondan dan
oleh semangat pertemanan keluarga Jalansutra, di mana pun berada.

The Past Feeds The Future

6 November 2005

10 tahun yang lalu, jurusan Applied Arts (seni terapan) mulai berdiri di Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam. Malam ini adalah perayaan hari jadi ke-10 jurusan tsb, ditandai dengan pembukaan pameran karya2 para alumninya di Museum Amstelkring, Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder dengan tema “The Past Feeds The Future“, berbarengan dengan berlangsungnya Museum Night di Amsterdam.

Museum ini, yg sebenarnya adalah sebuah gereja yg didirikan sekitar 350 th yang lalu, berlokasi di tengah2 daerah red light, berdekatan dengan De Oude Kerk. Kala didirikannya, orang2 pada masa itu tidak dianjurkan utk memperlihatkan kepercayaannya sbg umat Nasrani, sehingga gedung gereja ini terlihat seperti layaknya rumah2 di sekitarnya, dan interiornya pun tidak semegah katedral2 besar abad pertengahan pada umumnya. Hampir tak terlihat ornamen pada elemen interiornya, dan sebagian besar konstruksi dan perabotnya pun terbuat dari kayu dengan desain sederhana. Benda termegah pada gereja ini adalah ornamen yg terdapat di altar: sebuah bingkai dengan lukisan di dalamnya. Hiasan lain adalah lukisan2 yg terpajang di dinding ruang kebaktian dan beberapa patung yg semuanya bertemakan kisah2 dan tokoh2 pada kitab suci.

Seperti umumnya bangunan2 tua di Amsterdam, gereja ini tidak berlantai luas, namun meninggi ke atas dan memanjang ke belakang. Banyak terdapat anak tangga di berbagai sudut ruangan, dari basement hingga ke loteng. Tidak semua pintu terbuka utk publik, dan tidak semua ruangan terbuka. Rasanya seperti berada di dalam labirin bertingkat, bila tidak tahu jalan – hanya berorientasi pada ruang terbuka (ruang kebaktian utama) di pusat gedung.

Di berbagai ruang, terdapat kotak2 display dan kotak2 penyimpanan benda2 yg dipakai pada masa gereja tsb aktif berfungsi sebagai tempat ibadah. Kotak2 kaca terlihat menampilkan jubah pastur, cawan2 persembahan, tempat2 lilin, wadah2 air suci, dll.
Dalam rangka pameran ini, produk2 hasil alumni Applied Arts dari Sandberg Instituut dipamerkan berdampingan dengan produk2 masa lalu tersebut. Jadi misalkan, dalam kotak display yg berisi piring dan cawan kuno yg dipenuhi ornamen cantik, turut bersanding satu set piring dan mangkuk karya seorang mahasiswi yg sepenuhnya terbentuk dari ornamen. Dalam kotak display berisi tempat2 lilin, turut dipasang sebuah kalung bergaya etnik, dan sebuah jubah pastur bersanding dengan karya tekstil.
Sebuah salib kuno bersanding dengan sebuah benda berjudul “Bling Bling”, yg dari kejauhan terlihat spt salib emas berornamen meriah, tapi ornamen2 tsb ternyata adalah lambang2 dari penyembahan masa kini (spt halnya logo Coca Cola, McDonald’s, Gucci, dll). Pada bilik pengakuan dosa, terlihat seni instalasi deretan hewan2 kecil mengantri di muka, berbaris dengan manis hingga sampai ke bantal tempat berlutut. Di bagian dapur, pada perapian terdapat pampangan susunan ubin (tiles) dengan warna dan ornamen menarik – yg bila diamati ternyata merupakan sebuah pola yg terdiri dari cuplikan foto2, berjudul “Violence is the motif“. Masih di dapur, pada wastafel kuno, terdapat tumpukan piring dan cangkir yg sepertinya kotor ternoda tumpahan kopi – tapi noda tsb ternyata terbuat dari lapisan emas.

Benda2 kuno dari ratusan tahun lalu, ternyata masih cocok bersanding dengan produk2 masa kini. Atau bahkan mungkin lebih dari itu: ternyata artefak2 tsb benar2 menjadi inspirasi dan dasar dari pembuatan karya2 modern tsb. Sebuah masa lalu yg memberi makanan, atau energi, bagi kreasi masa kini.

Setiap tamu yg datang malam itu ditawari cap pada punggung tangannya, terdiri dari pilihan sbb: Designer, Artist, Journalist, Non-Important, Groupie, dan Medewerker (= co-worker). Masing2 pengunjung bebas memilih cap, ingin jadi apa malam itu. Ada cerita di balik urusan cap ini, tapi nanti lah ceritanya, utk yg tertarik saja.
Acara pembukaannya sendiri diisi dengan beberapa ucapan penyambutan, yg disusul oleh sebuah prosesi: iring2an sejumlah mhs berkostum spt biarawan, yg masing2 membawa produk2 karya alumni, berjalan mengelilingi ruang utama. Setelah itu para hadirin dipersilakan melihat2 karya2 yg ditampilkan dalam museum, lalu langsung ke basement utk menikmati hidangan.
Ruang bawah tanah tsb dipenuhi pengunjung, yg sedang makan dan minum. Hidangan malam itu, karya Anton van Doremalen, seorang foodstylist/ foodjockey, terdiri dari satu porsi makanan yg ditata apik di atas piring (piring kertas berkualitas tinggi, dengan ornamen bernuansa biru pada pinggirannya). Kecap manis dituangkan pada pinggiran piring, sedemikian rupa sehingga membentuk format bundar yg terdiri dari 2 garis tipis. Garis2 tipis kecap ini lalu ‘dikacau’ dengan cara disentuh sedikit di sana-sini, sehingga membentuk bundaran2 noda di beberapa titik. Pada ‘rel’ garis kecap tsb, ditata 2 potong sushi maki (polos) dan 2 tumpuk (semacam) chutney berwarna kuning cerah, masing2 berhadapan satu dengan lainnya, sementara di tengah2 piring terdapat sejumput mie berwarna hitam. Di atas mie ini terdapat sebuah bola (spt baso goreng, tp rasanya manis) yg ditancapkan pada sebuah pipet plastik berisi cairan merah (cairan ini adalah saus utk bola tsb). Hidangan ini dimeriahkan dengan taburan kentang goreng berbentuk balok, yg sekepingnya hanya sebesar paruhan korek api.
Di meja sebelah terdapat wadah2 dalam berbagai bentuk (juga karya seorang alumni), yg berisi berbagai jenis saus utk menemani hidangan yg disajikan. Di meja lain lagi, terdapat 2 macam minuman, dengan pilihan mengandung alkohol atau tanpa alkohol. Minuman2 tsb ternyata dibuat berdasarkan resep campuran minuman pada abad pertengahan, terutama utk anggur merahnya, di mana terdapat unsur2 jahe, cardemom, kayu manis, dan bumbu2 lain (mungkin, bila disajikan hangat, rasanya mirip “bischopwijn“). Minuman versi tanpa alkohol terbuat dari campuran jahe, aloe vera, air mawar, cranberry juice, air mineral bersoda, dan beberapa bumbu lain.

Menyenangkan sekali acara malam itu. Selain menjadi ajang reuni bagi sebagian besar alumni, mahasiswa dan para staf pengajar, acara ini juga dapat dikatakan sebagai tonggak penanda prestasi yg pantas dibanggakan bagi jurusan Applied Arts Sandberg Instituut di usianya yg ke-10. Dan tak ada waktu yg lebih tepat lagi selain malam ini, yg berbarengan dengan Museum Night di Amsterdam, sehingga kemeriahan gabungan artefak2 kuno dengan kreasi modern masih dapat dinikmati banyak orang hingga lewat tengah malam. Pameran ini sendiri akan berlangsung selama satu bulan, sehingga masih ada waktu utk datang lagi ke sana dan menikmatinya dalam suasana yg lebih tenang.

Saya tutup jurnal kali ini dengan kutipan kata2 Lao Tzu yg saya temui di katalog pameran malam tsb, yg dipilih oleh Yu-Chun Chen (seorang alumni Sandberg), sebagai konsep karya2nya:

We join spokes in a wheel
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move

We shape clay into pot
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want

We hammer wood for a house
but it is the inner space
that makes it livable

We work with being
but not-being is what we use

[Lao Tzu, ‘Tao Te Ching’, hoofdstuk 11, ca. 500v.Chr]

Foto: Bling Bling karya Frank Tjepkema