Contemporary RI arts go international<\/p>\n
By Boudewijn Brands<\/p>\n
DELFT, the Netherlands (JP): Appreciation of an artist's work
\nis like the effect a stone has when thrown into a calm lake:
\nripples spread in expanding circles. At a first exhibition there
\nis mostly family and friends. A few years later the artist
\nbecomes known in his hometown and, if lucky, national coverage
\nfollows.<\/p>\n
This road is facilitated very much by personal contacts, as
\nwell as professional.<\/p>\n
Nobody is surprised that Affandi's works are known the world
\nover. But it is different with artists of the younger generation.<\/p>\n
However, their work can be seen in Europe, 15,000 kilometers
\nfrom their base.<\/p>\n
Since June, Indonesian contemporary art can be seen in three
\nplaces in the Netherlands. The exhibition with the largest budget
\nis Reformasi Indonesia, an exhibition with art from 1995 to 2000
\nexpressing protest. This exhibition in Museum Nusantara in Delft
\nruns until Sept.3, 2000 and was curated by Helena Spanjaard.<\/p>\n
Preparations for this exhibition started in August l999. The
\nexhibition was opened by Toeti Nurhadi.<\/p>\n
An exhibition focusing on the work of relatively young artists
\nis being held in Gallery Bremmer, established in l986 in the city
\nof Tilburg. This exhibition was organized in one month using part
\nof a private collection already available in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
Both exhibitions are well documented. The first focuses on the
\npolitical situation in Indonesia and the second on how young
\nartists in Indonesia work and under what conditions.<\/p>\n
A third exhibition is being held in a public library in
\nupmarket Amsterdam-South. This was organized by the Foundation
\nAsian Pacific Art Namana and has an educational purpose. The
\nworks shown are from the collection of this foundation. After
\nAmsterdam, the exhibition will tour other cities.<\/p>\n
Events in Indonesia in recent years have obviously attracted
\nworld attention. However, as Spanjaard explains in the
\ndocumentation of the Delft exhibition, it is not the first time
\nIndonesian artists have used politics as their subject. She
\nrefers to the association of Indonesian painters founded by
\nSudjojono in l938 and their members who aimed to support the
\nrevolution with their art. Under the New Order government, a
\nsimilar movement seemed to have developed with the foundation, in
\nl974, of the Gerakan Seni Rupa Baru Indonesia (New Indonesian Art
\nMovement). Today not only politics features in Indonesian
\ncontemporary art, but also repression and abuse of power.<\/p>\n
However, that this is not the everyday inspiration of
\nIndonesian artists can be seen in Gallery Bremmer. The only works
\npolitically inspired are two etchings by Agung Kurniawan and
\nTisna Sanjaya. These are part of a series of five from the
\nportfolio edited on the occasion of the BiasSahaja graphic
\nexhibition, held in November last year in Jakarta. These two
\nartists also have works in the Delft exhibition.<\/p>\n
Other art in Bremmer reflects the surroundings (small
\nlandscapes by Hendra Usman done when he was 18 years old at INS
\nKayutanam), animals and their movements (Eko Rahmy) and Javanese
\nmystique, humans and animals in strong works by Sutrisno. Others
\npurely focus on aesthetics and the pleasure to create (Surajiya)
\nsituations in life (Antok Ruswandoko). And the very personal
\nexperiences during the night when the artist has no home in
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
The documentation prepared for this exhibition gave the
\nvisitor much more information. Some of it is about the limited
\nart market, low earnings, the difficulty to get accepted into an
\nacademy or to get an income after earning an art degree.<\/p>\n
The text also points to other places in the Netherlands where
\ngood art by young Indonesian artists can be seen and even rented,
\nas in the CBK art center in the city of Dordrecht, and to the
\nbooks available for those who want to learn more about this
\nsubject.<\/p>\n
From the list of artists represented in the Delft exhibition,
\nit can be seen artists of all ages are represented. The youngest,
\nMuchtar Sofwan Zarkasi, is 27, and noted Djoko Pekik is 62. The
\nbiographies of these artists reveal a bit of the
\ninternationalization of Indonesian contemporary art through the
\nlist of exhibitions that these artists have participated in.
\nJapan, with its great interests in the area, regularly exhibits
\nart from Indonesia, as does Australia, Singapore and Thailand.
\nThe West is represented by the USA and the European Union (EU).
\nWhen we detail the EU by country we find Italy, the United
\nKingdom, Denmark, France and Finland have each held one. Germany
\nhas held two and the Netherlands five.<\/p>\n
If we look at the education of the 13 artists, only four had
\nan education outside of Indonesia: two in the Netherlands, one in
\nGermany and one in the United Kingdom as well as the USA.<\/p>\n
But what about appreciation of contemporary art in Indonesia
\nitself? Known are a few great collectors in the country that give
\nyoung, good artists a chance. And many buyers in Jakarta are
\nforeigners.<\/p>\n
But it seems that they understand the future. If we make a
\ncomparison between two countries of different economic levels we
\ncan predict that Indonesian contemporary art will have a bright
\nfuture. There is a good chance that current production will be
\nbought back at high prices. Foreigners (as well as specialized
\nlocal collectors) are relatively more open to strange, abstract,
\ncruel, ugly, experimental and political art.<\/p>\n
So a lot is taken away. Now, take a look at statistics: in
\nTilburg, which has a population of 200,000, there are about 600
\nartists. With more than 200 million inhabitants, Indonesia would
\nhave the same artist density: about 600,000. When politics and
\nafter that the economy normalize and wealth increases, the
\nprospects for artists in Indonesia will be very bright indeed.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/contemporary-ri-arts-go-international-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}