Art market receives a welcome boost from speculators<\/p>\n
Yusuf Susilo Hartono, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
While development of Indonesia's fine art market has lately
\nbeen marked by attempts to give young painters a boost through
\nexhibitions and home auctions, the arts community has witnessed
\nthree notable phenomenons during this year.<\/p>\n
First, Philip Morris changed its Southeast Asian painting
\ncompetitions into a fine art contest without a particular
\nemphasis on local content; second, the exhibition of forged
\npaintings held at the Regent Hotel in Jakarta escaped legal
\nscrutiny; and third, the newly-established Indonesian Sculptors
\nAssociation lived up to its promises to help local sculptors
\nthrough its first major exhibition at the Jakarta National
\nGallery from Nov. 15 to Dec. 4.<\/p>\n
Tactics in the promotion of fine art works, especially
\npaintings, became a hot topic following the disclosure of trends
\nby Adi Wicaksono, an art observer from Yogyakarta, in his paper
\ntitled Seni Rupa Gorengan, Spekulan dan Pahala Akal Bulus
\n(Boosted Fine Art, Speculators and Rewards for Tricks).<\/p>\n
In his paper, he traces the process of how a painting reaches
\nan objective price in a transaction, or to be more precise, how a
\nprice is fixed.<\/p>\n
He observes the strong influence of new collectors around
\nMagelang, Central Java, on the dynamism of fine arts in
\nYogyakarta.<\/p>\n
In the past five years, Yogyakarta has really become a
\n\"producer of academic painters\" through the Indonesian Arts
\nInstitute (ISI), he says.<\/p>\n
Painters graduating from ISI have dominated the painting
\nmarket overshadowing painters from the Bandung Institute of
\nTechnology (ITB) and the Jakarta Institute of Arts (IKJ).<\/p>\n
Fine arts observer Agus Dermawan T believes that speculators
\nare competing to sell the works of Nasirun, Erica, Made Sukadana
\nand several other young painters.<\/p>\n
One of the most significant developments in 2001 was the
\ndecision by U.S.-based company Philip Morris to change the nature
\nof the regional arts competitions it sponsors.<\/p>\n
No longer is Indonesian, Southeast Asian or even Asian content
\na prerequisite the works have to be associated with.<\/p>\n
But the change of policy, under the pretext of universalism,
\nseems contrary to the ongoing spirit of appreciating locality as
\nthe soul of post-modernism.<\/p>\n
It is this appreciation for locality that has encouraged MTV
\nIndonesia, for instance, to screen programs full of local content
\nsuch as MTV Ampuh and MTV 100% Indonesia.<\/p>\n
But the change in policy did not reduce painters' enthusiasm
\nto take part in the Indonesia Art Award 2001, as a bridge to the
\nASEAN Art Awards 2002.<\/p>\n
Painters living outside renowned art centers like Yogyakarta,
\nBandung, Jakarta and Denpasar, especially those living outside
\nJava, still find it hard to sell their work.<\/p>\n
A Padang painter said that collectors from Jakarta have not
\neven bothered to eye works from West Sumatra painters.<\/p>\n
For these struggling artists the fortune enjoyed by their
\ncolleagues in Yogyakarta -- who are \"nurtured\" in galleries and
\nhave the worth of their paintings boosted by brokers -- remains
\nvery much a fairy tale.<\/p>\n
The past year also brought to the fore the strong suspicion
\nthat forgery is increasingly rife across the country.<\/p>\n
The biggest scandal erupted during an exhibition of forged
\npaintings at the Regent Hotel.<\/p>\n
The copies on display included those from legends such as
\nPicasso, Chagall, Renoir, Van Gogh, as well as Indonesian
\npainters such as Affandi and Basuki Abdullah.<\/p>\n
Though the police could have taken steps to pursue legal
\naction, they apparently turned a blind eye.<\/p>\n
The fine arts community itself remained very much impotent in
\nfighting against such copyright violations.<\/p>\n
In this context, the establishment of the Indonesian Sculptors
\nAssociation (API) in Yogyakarta a year ago has already given some
\nhope as it tries to bring together sculptors from various cities
\nacross the country under its umbrella while at the same time
\nupholding the importance of copyrights.<\/p>\n
But one major weakness is that art experts from ISI, ITB and
\nIKJ, who should be at the forefront of taking action, have shown
\nlittle interest. This is really a cause for concern in efforts to
\neradicate copyright violations in the fine arts.<\/p>\n
As touched upon earlier, painters from ISI in Yogyakarta have
\nmade their presence felt in the past five years.<\/p>\n
It is public knowledge that many ISI graduates and even
\nstudents have \"beaten\" their own teachers.<\/p>\n
Just drop by art galleries in Jakarta and you will find that
\nmost exhibitions are by ISI graduates and students.<\/p>\n
Their dominance also extends in various fine arts competitions
\n-- from the Philip Morris Arts Award to the Nokia Arts Award.<\/p>\n
ISI painters have also played a major role in the development
\nof contemporary fine art in Bali.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless it is the ITB people that remain preponderant in
\narts circles.<\/p>\n
Some suggest that ITB graduates focus more on the philosophy
\nof the fine arts as they are technically weak in terms of
\ncreating pieces.<\/p>\n
Like it or not, it must be accepted that the likes of Jim
\nSupangkat and his ITB network remain in control of Indonesia's
\ncontemporary fine art discourses.<\/p>\n
This by itself must be the fine art phenomenon of 2001.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/art-market-receives-a-welcome-boost-from-speculators-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }