The Karbon Journal is an online journal that uses a multidisciplinary approach in discussing the urban issues and issues of the visual culture in the Indonesian urban space, and analyzes a variety of contemporary art practices that are born in the city or about the city. We wish to trace and map these problems in relation to the existing social phenomena.
Published since 2000 by ruangrupa, a Jakarta-based contemporary art organization, there have been seven printed editions of Karbon Journal in two languages, Indonesian and English. After six years of discussing a variety of contemporary art matters in its printed form, in 2007 Karbon Journal was transformed into an online journal with a more open approach toward a range of urban issues.
Having employed the perspective of art in the printed versions of Karbon Journal, we subsequently expand the understanding of ‘art’ to encompass the visual art, the public space, and the urban society itself. With this online format, we can more harmoniously address the issues of the scope of our journal, the depth of the articles, the speed with which the articles are distributed, and the website reach. In this increasingly complex era, we need to view things in a more comprehensive manner and therefore require detailed analyses on a range of problems. We believe that a city must be experienced and at the same time viewed critically without using a black-and-white perspective on things, all the while respecting the individuals in the society, each of them having his or her own personal history. We wish to provide an alternative to criticism on the city, proving that such criticism can be done using various perspectives—whether by discussing urban issues related to the visual problems of the city, the architecture, the urban public space, the urban professions, lifestyle changes, history, or by analyzing how the city has been portrayed in a variety of visual works, such as the public art works in the city, films, comics, television programs, stickers, posters, and a lot of other visual works that have been born in the city and are about the city. All of these issues are there for us to observe and analyze.
The Karbon Journal is an independent journal. We provide space for critical, focused, accurate, and thorough writing. We accept forms of writing that other mass media cannot publish due to the sensitivity of the issue or the thoroughness of the article that might require greater space than commonly provided. We want writers who are courageous in stating and presenting their ideas, provide shrewd arguments and ample space for reflections, all the while using accessible and friendly language. We look forward to collaborating with you so that together we can keenly perceive and analyze the various developments in the Indonesian cities.
