Statue of U.S. President Barack Obama unveiled in Indonesia
http://zippy1300.blogspot.com/2009/12/statue-of-us-president-barack-obama.htmlhttp://rohaditerate.blogspot.com/2009/12/foto-patung-obama-di-taman-menteng.html
http://rohaditerate.blogspot.com/2009/12/foto-patung-obama-di-taman-menteng.html#more
A statue of U.S. President Barack Obama has been unveiled in Indonesia to worldwide headlines !!!
The sign on the six and a half foot statue reads, in Indonesian:
SI KECIL BARRY BERMAIN BERSAMA IBUNYA ANN DI DAERAH MENTENG INI. DIA TUMBUH DEWASA DAN MENJADI PRESIDEN AMERIKA SERIKAT KE 44 DAN PENERIMA NOBEL PERDAMAIAN.
In English the sign reads:
A YOUNG BOY NAMED BARRY PLAYED WITH HIS MOTHER ANN IN THE MENTING AREA. HE GREW UP TO BECOME THE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER BARACK OBAMA.
A statue of the U.S. President, who lived in Jakarta from 1967 to 1971 as a young boy and used the name Barry Sotero then, has been unveiled in a park in the Indonesian capital. The statue refers to Obama as "Barry" and his mother as "Ann." In the statue, the boy is wearing an Indonesian pendant, said to be a Moneky God Pendant for good luck that was common in those days.
Obama has described his Indonesian experience as both exotic and enlightening. He said he had a pet monkey, and baby crocodiles swam in a pond behind his house. But he also saw Third World poverty and disease. Although it was just a four year sojourn in a foreign country, it became a big part of his life in this sense that it opened up his eyes to a much larger world outside the borders of the USA.
The statue's pedestal carries an paraphrased quote from former U.S. first lady Eleanor Roosevelt reading, "The future belongs to those who believe in the power of their dreams."
The almost life-size statue depicts a 10-year-old Obama, wearing school-boy shorts with his outstretched hand holding up a butterfly.
The U.S. president was born in Hawaii and lived in Indonesia for four years in the 1960s with his mother and Indonesian stepfather.
The young Obama, who once studied and played in this neighborhood, was known to many then as "Barry."
"We imagined Barry, and we thought the story would be inspirational to all Indonesian children that when you dream big, they can come true," said Ron Mullers, chairman of the nonprofit group Friends of Obama.
Mullers, a Hawaii native and long-time resident of Indonesia adds, "We thought wouldn't it be great to have a statue of him here as a child, not as president, but as a child, as an inspiration to the Indonesian people."
It was shown to the public Wednesday in a colorful ceremony where children from nearby schools played music and performed a traditional dance.
After the unveiling, a group of grade school students eagerly awaited their chance to have photos taken in front of Obama's statue.
The bronze statue cost about US$10,000 and was paid for by eight Indonesian patrons, a private television station and a charity that helps the urban poor.
It is in a park near one of the Indonesian schools Obama attended as a child.
"I'm proud because he used to study in Indonesia, and now he's the 44th president of America," said Hendrawan, a sixth-grader who wants to be a lawyer.
The statue shows Barack Obama as a 10-year-old wearing shorts and a t-shirt smiling at a butterfly that has landed on his upheld left thumb.
It stands in Taman Menteng Park, near where Obama lived from 1967 until 1971 with his American mother, his Indonesian stepfather and his half-sister.
"We welcome the statue, which is designed to give Indonesian children the spirit to reach their dreams," Central Jakarta Mayor Sylviana Murni said.
"There is a message through the young Obama statue that any child and anyone from any background can reach their dreams if they fight for it persistently," she added.
INDONESIAN ＮＥＷＳ
Obama Diabadikan di Taman Menteng
Kamis, 10 Desember 2009 13:13 WIB | Peristiwa | Unik | Dibaca 348 kali
Barack Obama (REUTERS/Jason Lee)Jakarta,10/12 (ANTARA) - Walikota Jakarta Pusat Sylviana Murni, Kamis, meresmikan Patung Presiden Amerika Serikat Barrack Obama di Taman Menteng, dengan dihadiri sejumlah donatur antara lain poliitisi dan pemilik sebuah grup media Surya Paloh.
Sylviana Murni mengatakan, patung ini untuk memotivasi dan mengilhami kaum muda untuk berkiprah seperti tokoh AS yang pernah tinggal di Mentang, Jakarta Pusat, itu.
Patung bernama "Barry Dream Statue" ini dibuat berdasarkan foto Obama semasa kecil, dan dipahat oleh Edy Chaniago (Pengagas Ancol) dengan bahan patung dari perunggu.
Patung bertinggi 110 cm dan berat 30 kg itu menggambarkan Obama saat berusia 6 tahun dengan mengenakan kaos bercelana pendek bersepatu kets.
Tangan kiri Obama diangkat ke atas dengan seekor kupu-kupu hinggap di jempolnya.
Pembuatan patung Obama ini menghabiskan dana kurang lebih Rp 100 juta dan memakan waktu tiga bulan, dengan proses izin satu tahun.
Warga sekitar Taman Menteng sedang berfoto-foto di patung Obama.
Pembangunan patung ini sendiri digagas oleh lembaga `Friends of Obama`.
Ron Muller, teman Obama mengatakan, tidak ada niat politis di balik pendirian patung Obama ini , karena semata ingin menginspirasi anak muda Jakarta dan Indonesia tentang mimpi.
"Kemarin juga Pak JK (Jusuf Kalla) datang waktu proses pembuatan patung. Dia bilang patung ini bisa menjadi inspirator bagi guru," ujarnya.
Di bagian bahan patung ada tulisan "Si kecil bermain bersama ibunya di daerah Menteng ini. Dia tumbuh dewasa dan menjadi Presiden Amerika Serikat ke 44 dan penerima Nobel Perdamaian."
Pada peresmian itu, Duta Besar Amerika Serikat dan sejumlah donatur pembuatan patung hadir, diantaranya Mien R Uno, Hasyim Joyo Hadikusumo dan Surya Paloh. Hadir pula ratusan siswa dan guru SDN Menteng 01, Besuki, dan teman-teman semacam kecil Obama. (*)
COPYRIGHT © 2009
http://www.antara.co.id/berita/1260425637/obama-diabadikan-di-taman-menteng
posted by dan at 3:16 AM
2 Comments:
Group, public urge ‘Barry’ to step down from Menteng
Hasyim Widhiarto , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 12/15/2009 11:03 AM | Headlines
The life story of Barack Obama has become an inspiration for people across the globe, including Indonesia.
But for more than 6,000 Facebook users, erecting a statue of the US President in a park in Menteng, Jakarta, is too much.
Just a few days after the Central Jakarta municipality unveiled the bronze statue of Obama as a boy at Menteng Park, experts and a group of Facebook users have jointly demanded the city administration dismantle the statue for “insulting national pride.”
Facebook users have been joining the group, “Take down the Barack Obama statue from Menteng Park,” which was created Saturday evening, two days after the statue was launched.
Heru Nugroho, the group’s creator told The Jakarta Post there was no point erecting the “Barry” statue in Indonesia since he had contributed almost nothing to the country.
“For me, the establishment of the statue shows that this country no longer has national pride,” he said Monday.
“Obama spent several years of his childhood here, but what did he do for Indonesia?
“Besides [Obama], there are many national figures or heroes, such as [late comedian] Benyamin Sueb, who deserve to have their sculpture erected in Jakarta.”
Several others support Heru’s opinion.
Cultural observer Ardi Yunanto wrote in online urban studies journal karbonjournal.org that the sculpture showed the country’s “tortured logic,” insinuating that Indonesian education could “produce” a US president.
Asep Kambali, the founder of Komunitas Historia Indonesia, a history enthusiast group, said the establishment of the Obama statue was an example of the absence of dialogue between the city administration and its people in deciding what was culturally and historically valuable to the city.
“The administration is supposed to first run a public consultation with people such as historians, community figures or people in art communities, before erecting iconic works such as monuments or sculptures,” he said.
Asep, however, said there was no need to dismantle the Obama statue from its current location.
“Even if by a little, it would affect the relationship between Indonesia and the US,” he said.
“The most important thing is that the government sees the current public protest as a wake-up call to facilitate and encourage the country’s citizens, especially the youth, to learn more about national history.”
The bronze statue, resembling a young Obama, was installed by the Jakarta-based Friends of Obama Foundation to inspire the Indonesian youth to work hard to reach dreams, the foundation said.
According to data from the city’s Park and Cemetery Agency, nearly 90 percent of the statues in cities were funded by the private sector. Before erecting statues, financiers must first submit their construction proposals to the agency.
Arientha Primanita & Emmy Fitri
A screenshot of a Facebook group page calling for a statue of Barack Obama in Central Jakarta to be taken down.
Facebook Group Wants Obama's Jakarta Statue Taken Down
A 110-centimeter-tall statue of the young US President Barack Obama in Jakarta, the first of its kind in the world, has unexpectedly attracted the attention of thousands on Facebook who want the statue taken down.
A Facebook group called “ Turunkan Patung Barack Obama di Taman Menteng ” (“Take Down the Barack Obama Statue in Taman Menteng”), created by Heru Nugroho and Daniel Rudi, has stated that it will file a class action suit against the city if it gets 10,000 members.
More than 5,800 people have already signed up as members of the group, which was launched on Thursday — the same day the statue, erected in Taman Menteng, Central Jakarta, was unveiled.
The Facebook page has members discussing not only taking down the statue but also moving it from its current location to the Embassy of the United States of America, near Merdeka Square.
“Erecting the statue of Benyamin Sueb or Ali Sadikin would have been more appropriate,” said one member, Heru, referring to the late Benyamin Sueb, a legendary Betawi comedian and singer of the 1970s, and former Jakarta Governor Ali Sadikin, who was celebrated for his ideas to push economic growth.
Ali went as far as to propose building a casino in the Thousand Islands to help growth. This proposal was declined, but he is nonetheless remembered as one of the best governors the capital has ever had.
Heru said he realized people would sneer at him and call him a “busybody,” but he said he did not mean to attack anyone.
“I want to defend my country’s dignity. Why should we glorify people who have nothing to do with us?” Heru said.
“We often hear our state officials say they cannot do much for our heroes. So why spend so much money on a statue? Today children don’t know anything about national heroes Agus Salim [a Muslim intellectual], Chairil Anwar [celebrated poet] or those who have made some of the greatest contributions for Indonesia.”
Created by sculptor Edi Chaniago, the statue depicts Obama at 10 years old, when he had just started to live in the Indonesian capital with his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, in 1967.
Obama went to the public Besuki elementary school in Menteng before he was sent back to the United States in 1971.
When contacted by the Jakarta Globe, chairman of the Friends of Obama Foundation, Ron Mullers, expressed concern over the negative reaction.
“It’s just a statue of a boy who once lived in Menteng and liked nasi goreng [fried rice] and bakso [meatball soup],” he said, adding that there was no political motivation behind it.
The bronze statue, which cost about Rp 100 million, was the initiative of the Friends of Obama Foundation and was funded by 10 Indonesians who have been acknowledged on the monument.
It was unveiled on Thursday by Central Jakarta Mayor Sylviana Murni, the same day Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.
Post a Comment
<< Home