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| High school students are finishing their caricature "Obama and Indonesia" |
Welcoming the arrival of U.S. Ambassador, Scot Marciel, to the campus of University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), Friday (25/02), American Corner UMM held a caricature contest. Uniquely, the theme for senior high school level contest was "Obama and Indonesia." Although having only a week of preparation, the organizers had successfully inviting 109 SMA, SMK, and MA students of East Java.
The competition took place in the reading park read of ICT building UMM. The students seemed enthusiastic about drawing with a variety of styles. Some used pencils and markers, some used watercolors and famous-branded color pencils. "The committee only provides the paper. It is free to use any kinds of drawing and coloring tools besed on the creativity of the participants," said Nasrullah, chairman of the jury. Besides him, there were two other judges; Jojok Hastonugroho from Jovani Art Studio and Yudo Asmoro, graphic designer of Radar Malang (nespaper, red.).
Director of American Corner UMM, Dr. A Habib, MA, did not think that the works of those high school students were unbelievable. In interpreting the theme, the students were so critical and intriguing. For example, there was Obama wearing blangkon and playing gunungan like a dalang (puppeteer in Javanese tradition). There was also Obama in traditional Balinese dress embracing a variety of characters dressed in typical feature of religions in Indonesia. In addition, there was also Obama eating meatballs and satay voraciously. It reminded us that Obama had ever lived in Indonesia and he liked meatballs and satay.
"It is great! They have extraordinary imagination," said Habib.
In a contest that lasted a day, the jury finally determined 20 nominees to meet the U.S. ambassador, a day after. The 20 nominees would be selected again for champion I, II, and III, and then IV, V, and VI. Interestingly, the Ambassador was also given the opportunity to choose one among the nominees to be the winner of special award.
In a press conference on Saturday (26/02), the Ambassador expressed admiration to the works of those high school students. He chose the work of a student of SMK N 2 Surabaya, Hanifa, to be the special award winner. "It is a colorful work and it illustrates cultural diversity in Indonesia," said Marciel stating his reason.
Meanwhile, the best caricatures were achieved by SMK Diponegoro Tumpang Malang Regency. The black and white caricature depicted Obama playing sack race and winning against Indonesian players. Moreover, the second winner was achieved by SMKN 2 Batu which drew Obama as puppeteer.
About the first winner, the jury had their own assessment. "The jury was intrigued wth the criticism. This is an almost perfect depiction about Obama and Indonesia. Just imagine, sack racing is a traditional Indonesian game, but even when it is played by foreigners, we still lose," said Judo Asmoro, one of the jurors. (nas/t_alf)
