First national art gallery opened<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian fine arts world took a great step
\nforward with the long-awaited opening of Galeri Nasional
\nIndonesia, the Indonesian National Gallery, here on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the humble ceremony in the gallery's plaza,
\nMinister of Education and Culture Juwono Sudarsono said the
\nopening of the gallery was just like an elusive dream that
\nfinally came true.<\/p>\n
"My predecessors struggled to establish a reputable national
\ngallery which could show the world our rich cultural inheritance,
\nespecially fine art works," Juwono said.<\/p>\n
A month-long art exhibition called Indonesian Modernity in
\nFine Arts Representation, marked the opening of the gallery,
\nwhich is located at the former Wisma Seni Indonesia building on
\nJl. Merdeka Timur, Central Jakarta. Among the works on display
\ngaining Juwono's special attention are Basuki Abdullah's
\npaintings of Indonesia's first two presidents, Sukarno and
\nSoeharto (see picture).<\/p>\n
It was Sukarno who first had the idea of building a national
\ngallery. The idea was reintroduced in the early 1970s by the then
\nminister of education and culture Syarif Thayeb.<\/p>\n
"It needed seven ministers of education and culture, including
\nDaud Joesoef, Fuad Hassan, Wardiman Djojonegoro and Wiranto
\nArismunandar to assure the central government of the importance
\nof having an international-standard and representative national
\ngallery," said Juwono.<\/p>\n
Fuad, who attended the ceremony, added that the government's
\nreluctance to provide quality cultural and art facilities showed
\nits lack of appreciation for the arts.<\/p>\n
"There was an idea to develop a national gallery in the
\nbeautiful and spacious Bogor State Palace. But the idea went
\nnowhere in the state secretary office," he said.<\/p>\n
Edi Sedyawati, director general for culture at the Ministry of
\nEducation and Culture, said Galeri Nasional Indonesia has a very
\nsignificant role in encouraging fine arts study and activities in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
"The potency of Indonesian fine arts has been so tremendous.
\nSo far, the country has not yet had a center which functions as a
\nparameter for the development of fine arts in the country," she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Jim Supangkat, from the gallery's curatorial team, said he
\nexpected that the opening of the gallery would enlighten the
\nlocal fine art community.<\/p>\n
"It also answers the demand of local artists, art critics and
\nart lovers, as well as world artists who have been waiting for so
\nlong to have a national-scale art gallery," he said.<\/p>\n
The mission of the Galeri Nasional is pretty clear, Jim added.
\nThe institution will carefully collect works of artists of each
\nperiod, document all works and information about the artists, and
\npreserve and restore important works.<\/p>\n
It is also a place where people -- artists, art lovers,
\nstudents and laypeople alike -- can study, discuss, and simply
\nappreciate, diverse art works from each specific period.<\/p>\n
The gallery will regularly hold activities such as seminars,
\nworkshops and discussions on the arts, he said.<\/p>\n
At present, Galeri Nasional houses 1,500 art works in its
\ncollection. Among the priceless items are paintings by famous
\nmasters like Raden Saleh, S. Soedjojono, Affandi, Hendra Gunawan
\nand Basuki Abdullah.<\/p>\n
The gallery also collects the works of A.D. Pirous, Abas
\nAlibasyah, Nyoman Gunarso, Ida Bagus Made, Nindityo Adipurnomo
\nand many other noted Indonesian artists.<\/p>\n
Works of international artists are also on display, including
\nthe works of Wassily Kandinsky from Russia, Hans Hartug from
\nGermany, Victor Vasarely from Hungary, Sonia Delaunay from
\nUkraine, Pierre Soulages of France and Zao Wou Ki from China.<\/p>\n
In addition to the collections of paintings, sketches,
\ngraphics, statues and photographs, the gallery also gathers
\nhandicrafts and ethnic art works from across the country.<\/p>\n
Other facilities include a laboratory to restore and preserve
\nart works, a library, the spacious 1,200-square-meter permanent
\nexhibition hall, temporary exhibition halls, a well-equipped
\nauditorium, outdoor plaza and cafeteria.<\/p>\n
The establishment of the Galeri Nasional Indonesia has long
\nbeen hampered by technical and financial problems.<\/p>\n
Earlier reports said that the area surrounding the National
\nMonument and the Merdeka and State Palaces in Central Jakarta was
\noriginally intended to be the country's cultural center.<\/p>\n
According to the master plan, there would be a national
\ntheater building, national museum, national gallery and other
\ncultural venues. However, the plan was changed and the area has
\nbecome the center for government and business activities.<\/p>\n
The Galeri Nasional, which is designated to occupy a 13-
\nhectare plot of land, also faces a land acquisition problem.<\/p>\n
Some parts of the planned location are currently occupied by
\nhousing complexes and office buildings, including the "sealed"
\nTimor Putra headquarters belonging to Tommy Soeharto, son of
\nformer president Soeharto. (raw)<\/p>",
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