Rizman Putra

Source: Theatreworks Press Release


“My belief is that art should transcend all boundaries and genres. This is what my performances and creations are about. My ultimate goal is to imbibe all cultures around me and produce an amalgamation of that product. The consumption of the Arts should be brought to the masses. One day all Art forms will be accessible to the man on the street.”


Graduated from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (LaSalle-SIA College of The Arts) with a Bachelors Degree in Fine Art, Rizman Putra co-founded the Multi-disciplinary art collective, Kill Your Television (KYTV) that has been voted as one of top ten acts in 2003 by The Arts Magazine.

He straddles between two significant posts as a choreographer and liason officer for the group. Last year, KYTV presented their works Dark Room Devil and The Spoon Circus and Deadline for the Substation’s Sept Fest and Theatre Fest respectively.

As an individual artist, he is also involved in a dance project, Melatonin, recently performed in Tokyo, Japan last October together with four other dancers which include the up and coming choreographer Daniel K.

In 2002, together with 5 other Singaporean artists showcased a multi-media work at Hanoi Contemporary Art Centre, Hanoi, Vietnam. And the following year, he performed in Yogjakarta, Indonesia for a performance art project called Fusion Strength with the rest of 23 other Indonesian and Singaporean artists.

Rizman, is well-known for his alter-ego, Manic Jango, which has seen different reincarnation in his acclaimed solo performances.

Apart from performances, he works on collages, installation and drawings, which have been the primary force behind his outrageous performances. He is also a singer/songwriter for an indie-rock outfit, Tiramisu, which has performed extensively in the local music scene.

A member of The Artists Village, presently, he is a committee member and has been involved with their shows overseas and locally.

 

KYTV is the brain-child of Aaron Kao, Jeremy Sharma and Rizman Putra, graduates of the LASALLE-SIA College of The Arts, Bachelor of Fine Art degree program.

QUOTE:

call me Manic Jango. Rizman Putra. Jonjon. Brother Joe.. i was born in Singapore, on the 28th of October 1978. i attended PAP Kindergarten (Bukit Merah), Xinghua PrimarySchool. Bartley Secondary School. LaSalle-SIA College of the Arts. i am currently re-analysing and re-structuring my life, singing for TIRAMISU, performing with KYTV, afro-ed, into NEON PINK and kinky leotards. i indulge in half-boiled eggs, digital photography, music, THE GOLDMINE,STUDIO ONK, Kiki n Lala. i am a human being and still figuring out how to be one...

Don't fake arms when you are down just sing it along.........



 

Artists Investigating Monuments II

The Artists Village’s AIM II (Artists Investigating Monuments II / 2004) on-site performance for SENI Festival by Rizman Putra, Dovan Ong, Jeremy Hiah, kAI Lam Hoi Lit and Juliana Yasin this Sunday, 7th November 2004 at 6pm. Look for 'The River Merchants' sculptures by the river at Boat Quay nearest to Fullerton hotel and Maybank:

1.Title of Performance: The Frozen Ancestors
Performed by Rizman Putra and Dovan Ong

In response to the presence of the bronze sculptures by the Singapore river, the artists seek to acknowledge the existence of historical man-made objects in relation to themselves in cultural and racial context. They will perform a modern ritual of new interpretation, for a deeper understanding or forgotten historical notes of the past, which will be revived on site.

Rizman Putra
Born in 1978, Rizman has been actively working in performative experimentation, crossing between different genres, including poetry, photography, video, music, burlesque, and dance since 1997. He is also a founding member of a multi-disciplinary art group KYTV (Kill Your Television), and front man of local indie music group, Tiramisu. Rizman has made his name as a performer both in his solo work as well as various collaborations; he has performed and exhibited his works in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan. He was the winner of Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology’s (RMIT) Most Outstanding Award 2002-2003. Presently, Rizman is collaborating together with TheatreWorks in their new production, ‘Sandakan Threnody’ under the direction of Ong Keng Sen. A cross-disciplinary performance in collaboration with Australia, Japan and Singapore.

BERITA HARIAN

FUSION STRENGTH 2003
A Performance & Installation Project
by Singaporean and Indonesian artists
Benda Art Space, Yogjakarta, Indonesia
20 January to 20 February 2003

Curatorial statement

Image from Fusion Strength 2001
FS'03 will involve the participation of twelve artists from Singapore and twelve artists from Indonesia. FS'03 aims to create collaboration by artists through art practices from Yogjakarta and Singapore, encouraging an exchange of experience of the respective cultures these two cities identify with.

The Yogjakarta audience/space/experience - the duration of the project is one month, 20th January 2003 to 20th of February 2003 - one month of creativity, and creation - one month where the public will be able to see artists at work, artists working together, artists creating, using local materials and local input. The project stimulates a certain degree of actual exchange and interaction with the audience, many of the works or elements of the collaboration that will be translated into installations and performances will be dispersed to the people of Yogjakarta through this process of collaboration and interaction. It¹s a unique concept and a good opportunity to showcase worldwide the vitality of Yogjakarta as a city and province and Singapore as a city and state.

FS or Fusion Strength was first presented at Plastique Kinetic Worms in 2001. It was a performance and installation group exhibition involving artists practising in Singapore. The concept of the exhibition involves collaboration in the art making process and intervention of artworks by all the artists. The huge success and overwhelming response from the exhibition has encouraged the decision to develop FS as a platform or strategy for collaborations between local, regional and international artists. Fusion Strength will be developed as an ongoing travelling project under the umbrella of 'The Artists Village' encouraging exchanges and collaborations between artists and artists, and between the arts and wider society.

International collaboration and exposure is crucial to the development of the arts in Singapore and Indonesia. The participation of all the artists in this event will be a valuable opportunity to expose many aspects of contemporary art from both Singapore and Indonesia. Furthermore FS'03 will be an important event for the art practices of the artists participating. Strategically locating FS'03 in Yogjakarta engages the project's concept ­ 'collaborative art practice' to incorporate a sub-text or new context ­ 'with cultural differences'. The collaboration between the local artists and visiting artists being the key to this experience. It hopes that the outcome of this ongoing project will prove to be very valuable and useful in expanding the relationship between two countries through cultural understanding and exchange. It also hopes to explore different levels of communication in contemporary art practice.

FS'03 will feature artists from:


Singapore:
Agnes Yit
Benjamin Puah
Colin Reaney
Jeremy Hiah
Josef Ng
Karee Dahl
Khairuddin Hori
Lam Hoi Lit
Lina Adam
Rizman Putra
Tang Da Wu
Woon Tien Wei

and Indonesia:

Arahmaiani
Arya Pandjalu
Geber Modus Operandi
Handiwirman
Iwan Wijono
Jompet
Marzuki
Perek
Regina Bimadona
S. Teddy D.

Curated by Juliana Yasin (Singapore) and co-curated by Titarubi (Indonesia). Co-ordinated by Gemaila Gia.

The curators of FS'03, Juliana Yasin and Titarubi wish to thank Satya Brahmantya, Sujud Dartanto, Midori Hirota from Benda Art Space, The Singapore International Foundation, LIP and all participating artists and volunteers in FS'03 for their huge support in seeing this project through in Yogjakarta.

Program Schedule for FS'03
20 January ­ 20 February 2003 at Gallery Benda

Singapore Group:
Group 1: Karee Dahl, Colin Reaney, Josef Ng, Khairuddin Hori
Group 2: Jeremy Hiah, Lina Adam, Rizman Putra, Tang Dawu
Group 3: Lam Hoi Lit, Agnes Yit, Woon Tien Wei, Benjamin Puah







Sandakan Threnody
ENERGEX Brisbane Festival in association with Melbourne International Arts Festival and The Singapore Arts Festival presents TheatreWorks’ (Singapore)

A powerful cross-cultural multimedia collaboration involving artists from Australia, Japan and Singapore, Sandakan Threnody takes its inspiration from the tragic events surrounding the death marches from Sandakan POW camp in North East Borneo in 1945 - a lesser known incident in World War II history.

Sandakan Threnody is directed by 2003 Singapore Cultural Medallion winner, Ong Keng Sen, with evocative soundscape and music created by Australian composer Jonathan Mills. This allegory of the experiences of war and brutality is a journey into the heart of darkness. The emotive performance on humanity and dignity is told through dance and movement by Kota Yamazaki, Tokyo-based dancer and choreographer; gifted Australian actor Matthew Crosby; highly acclaimed kabuki star Gojo Masanosuke; quirky contemporary performer Rizman Putra of KYTV (Kill Your Television); emerging contemporary dancer Tim Harvey and veteran Singapore actress Lok Meng Chue. Based on Australian wartime survivors' accounts of the death marches, Sandakan Threnody is an intensely personal project. In one moving account Sandakan Threnody composer Jonathan Mills drew on his father's experiences as a medical officer captured in the fall of Singapore and sent to Sandakan.

Director
Ong Keng Sen


Composer
Jonathan Mills


Set Designer
Justin Hill


Lighting/Projections Designer
Margie Medlin



Collaborators/Performers
Matthew Crosby
Tim Harvey
Lok Meng Chue
Gojo Masanosuke
Rizman Putra
Kota Yamazaki

Assisted by the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals through the Major Festivals' Initiative of the Australia Council; the Australian Government's arts funding and advisory body, Melbourne International Arts Festival an ENERGEX Brisbane Festival.