Kantor Berita MES 56

Here, There and Everywhere by Fitrilia Wulansari.

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Statement

The world of music industry has recorded: The Beatles is well-known as the most successful music group that ever existed. Back in that time, every single thing about The Beatles would definitely become something huge. Besides the music, their success had effected every aspects. Their albums, single albums, and concerts always gained big profit. Their memorabilia and merchandises became to-die-for stuffs. Also, any news about The Beatles, no matter how unimportant, had been exploited by the media to raise their circulation.

The sense of image culture has started to appear in the 1960s, which when images, especially photographs, began to be utilized frequently. The Beatles, which was in their golden year in 1960s, applied photographs repeatedly as their albums covers. From their first album “Please, Please Me” (1963), “With The Beatles” (1963), “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964),  to “Beatles For Sale” (1964), and so on. Other than using photos, several of the covers were using design as in “The White Album” (1968), photo collage mixed with other pictures as in “Revolver” (1966), “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (1967), etc, they even applied cartoon as in “Yellow Submarine” album (1969). This has stated an endorsement to Barthes’ opinion which is: in 1960s he saw the shifting of writing culture to image culture.Though at that time, Barthes was still doubting the future of the shifting. It was in 1980s that he was definitely sure that image culture is unavoidable (Sunardi, ST; 2001).

The music and fashion style of The Beatles greatly inspired the youth of the 60s, and even the youth of today. Fringe hairstyle was introduced by Astrid Kitcher, the girlfriend of their ex-drummer Stuart Sutcliffe, known as “Moptop” style. This “Moptop” hairstyle had been applied and become the hallmark of The Beatles, in addition to their look in Pierre Cardin neat suits, although since their ninth album, (British Album) “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band”, they no longer put on this hairstyle.

Being their aficionado, The Beatles’ album covers have always become my references to create photography works other than my surroundings which happen to be quite musical. It’s because of there are many people following styles of their idols, whether it’s hairstyle, fashion style and accessories,  and how it’s even being carried into their daily life, that generated these works’ creation. All of the works’ locations took place in Yogyakarta, for instance at Southern Square, Yogyakarta Palace, Vredeburg Fort, Kewek bridge, Code River, etc.

This photography exhibition entitled Here, There and Everywhere is an effort to affirm that The Beatles’ music is still on the air till now, and their figures still can be found in many places, not just in England, but also in America, Africa, China, Japan, Jakarta, Vredeburg Fort, Southern Square, Yogyakarta Palace, Kewek Bridge, and everywhere all around the world.           (translated by Dessy Sahara Angelina)

Statemen

Sejarah industri musik dunia mencatat, The Beatles dikenal sebagai grup musik  paling sukses yang pernah ada. Saat  itu, segala sesuatu yang berbau The Beatles  pasti akan menjadi hal yang besar. Selain musik, kesuksesannya mempengaruhi segala bidang. Album, single album, dan konser mereka selalu mendapat keuntungan besar. Memorabilia (kenang-kenangan) dan merchandise selalu jadi rebutan. Bahkan berita sekecil apapun tentang The Beatles dimanfaatkan media untuk menaikkan oplah.

Budaya gambar sudah mulai dirasakan pada tahun 1960an dimana gambar terutama foto mulai banyak digunakan. Grup musik The Beatles yang berjaya pada tahun 1960an banyak menggunakan foto sebagai sampul albumnya. Mulai dari sampul album pertamanya “Please, Please Me” (1963), “With The Beatles”(1963), “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964), “Beatles For Sale (1964), dan seterusnya. Selain menggunakan foto, beberapa sampul menggunakan disain seperti pada album “The White Album” (1968), kolase foto dengan gambar lain seperti pada album “Revolver” (1966),“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (1967), dan lainnya, bahkan menggunakan gambar kartun seperti album “Yellow Submarine” (1969). Hal ini mendukung pendapat Barthes bahwa pada tahun 1960-an Barthes melihat adanya pergeseran dari budaya tulisan ke budaya gambar. Meskipun demikian, Barthes masih meragukan masa depan pergeseran tersebut. Baru pada tahun 1980-an ia merasa yakin bahwa budaya gambar tidak dapat dielakkan (Sunardi, ST:2001).

Musik dan style fashion the Beatles banyak menginspirsi anak-anak muda pada tahun 60an bahkan sampai saat ini. Gaya rambut poni yang diciptakan oleh Astrid Kitcher, kekasih mantan drummer mereka Stuart Sutcliffe rambutnya atau biasa disebut “Moptop”. Gaya rambut “moptop” ini selalu digunakan dan menjadi ciri khas The Beatles, selain penampilannya yang selalu mengenakan jas rapi buatan Pierre Cardin, meskipun mulai album kesembilan (British Album), “Sgt.Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band”, mereka tidak lagi menggunakan model rambut ini.

Sebagai penggemarnya, sampul album The Beatles menjadi acuan untuk mencipta karya fotografi selain keadaan lingkungan sekitar yang tidak jauh dari musik. Banyaknya orang mengikuti gaya tokoh idolanya baik gaya rambut, gaya berpakaian dan aksesori bahkan terbawa dalam kehidupan mereka sehari-hari, mendorong terciptanya  karya-karya ini. Karya-karya yang dibuat ini seluruhnya menggunakan lokasi di Yogyakarta, seperti di Alun-alun Selatan Kraton Yogyakarta, Benteng Vredeburg, Jembatan Kewek,  Sungai Code dan lain-lain.

Pameran fotografi yang berjudul Here, There and Everywhere, disini, di sana dan di mana-mana merupakan upaya untuk menegaskan bahwa musik The Beatles masih terus terdengar sampai saat ini dan sosoknya masih dapat dijumpai di berbagai tempat. tidak hanya di Inggris, tapi di Amerika, Afrika, China, Jepang, Jakarta, BentengVredeburg, Alun-Alun, Kraton, Jembatan Kewek dan dimana-mana, diseluruh dunia.

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