Forged art a a lucrative business<\/p>\n
The Indonesian art market is saturated with forged paintings,
\nand members of the local art community have tried in vain to
\ncombat the crime. The Jakarta Post's Rita A Widiadana, along with
\ncontributors Putu Wirata, Yusuf Susilo and Reita I.
\nMalaon, examine the business of fake artworks. Art critic Agus
\nDermawan T. also contributes his opinion.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Sorry may seem to be the hardest word for Amana
\nInc. 2000, the organizer of an art show and planned auction of
\nmore than 100 paintings, attributed to Indonesian and
\ninternational masters, in Jakarta last November.<\/p>\n
In a fax sent to several local media on Friday, the company
\nfinally expressed its apologies to the Indonesian art community,
\nart lovers and the public.<\/p>\n
"After months of consideration, we decided to totally cancel
\nall activities regarding the auction of paintings displayed at
\nour exhibition, The Old Painting Pre-World War II," wrote
\nchairwoman of the organizing committee Adelia Rangkuti.<\/p>\n
"We deeply regret (the incident), and we would like to express
\nour appreciation to those who have given their support, advice
\nand criticism."<\/p>\n
For many in the local art community, the event, with the
\nauction advertising "recently discovered" works attributed to
\nPicasso, Van Gogh, Marc Chagall and other masters, was an
\nunforgettable -- and unforgivable -- art scandal.<\/p>\n
Although some initially took the event's promotion at face
\nvalue, others in the art community were quick to express their
\ndoubts about the authenticity of the works.<\/p>\n
Amid the ensuing uproar, the auction was canceled.<\/p>\n
Merwan Yusuf, curator of the National Gallery, commented: "We
\nwere made to feel like fools. It was like a slap in the face for
\nus from the (organizing) committee."<\/p>\n
Art critic Jim Supangkat laughed at the claim of the owner of
\nthe paintings, antique dealer Julman Syahdam, that he found the
\nworks at different places around the country.<\/p>\n
"It was pointless (to claim) that these masterpieces were
\nfound in a cornfield in Sukabumi and Cianjur (West Java), or in
\nRiau in Sumatra," Supangkat told The Jakarta Post at the height
\nof the furor.<\/p>\n
The discovery of a masterpiece anywhere in the world would
\nhave immediately attracted attention from the international art
\ncommunity, he added.<\/p>\n
For others, the scandal was a sad reflection on the widespread
\nproblem of art forgery in the country.<\/p>\n
Art critic Agus Dermawan T. said the event was yet more
\nconfirmation of Indonesia's label of the "land of art
\ncounterfeiters".<\/p>\n
He said that international exhibition and auction houses often
\ncomplained that paintings from the country were the most
\ndifficult to select for authenticity.<\/p>\n
"It really hurts to hear this label frequently mentioned by
\nart observers from many countries," said Agus.<\/p>\n
Business<\/p>\n
But the canceled auction, which some dubbed "Van Gogh Gate",
\nwas only a minor blip in the otherwise flourishing business of
\ncounterfeit art.<\/p>\n
Visitors to particular art shops in Ciputat in the capital,
\nfamous Jl. Malioboro in Yogyakarta or Sanur and Ubud in Bali are
\nlikely to come across "imitations" of famous paintings of both
\nIndonesian and international artists.<\/p>\n
The fake painting business is believed to have started in the
\n1950s after the country's independence, but took off in the late
\n1980s in the wake of the 1987 art boom.<\/p>\n
The business reportedly involves artists, art dealers,
\ngalleries as well as "strong and powerful" financiers, in what
\none artist compared to a "mafia".<\/p>\n
Those counterfeiting works could involve art students, amateur
\nartists and renowned painters using simple to high-tech
\ninstruments.<\/p>\n
"This business flourishes in response to the market demand,"
\nsaid Agus.<\/p>\n
He said paintings by famous artists like Hendra Gunawan,
\nBasoeki Abdullah, S. Sudjojono, Trubus and Arie Smit are most
\nfrequently subject to forgery. Also popular are paintings by Lee
\nMan-Fong, Affandi, Anton Kustiawijaya and Popo Iskandar.
\nOccasional forgeries are reported for Jeihan, Kartono
\nYudhokusumo, Widayat, Djoko Pekik and Srihadi Soedarsono.<\/p>\n
Works of foreign painters based in Indonesia most often forged
\nare those by W.G. Hofker, Rudolf Bonnet and Le Mayeur.<\/p>\n
"The genuine paintings of the painters mentioned above are
\nmarketable at very high prices and only paintings with an
\nextraordinary level of prestige are generally selected for
\nforgery," Agus explained.<\/p>\n
A local auction house estimated one of Basoeki Abdullah's
\nworks at between Rp 200 million and Rp 300 million. A work of Le
\nMayeur titled Balinese Girls in the Gardens, for instance, has an
\nestimated value of between Singapore $380,000 and $450,000 at
\nthe coming Christie's Singapore auction of Southeast Asian and
\nIndian art in April.<\/p>\n
"The high market price for such a master work has encouraged
\npeople to take a shortcut, namely to forge the masters' works for
\nmostly economic reasons," he said.<\/p>\n
It is unfortunate that many Indonesian art lovers and
\ncollectors have inadequate knowledge and information on how to
\ndetermine the authenticity of a work.<\/p>\n
Agus said forged paintings are usually offered to novice art
\ncollectors and art lovers who are too apathetic to learn about
\nthe subject -- or those who believe they are really knowledgeable
\nin art and do not need to see expert advice.<\/p>\n
Prestige<\/p>\n
Art forgers also find easy targets in art enthusiasts who are
\nonly concerned about the prestige value of the works they acquire
\nrather than a genuine appreciation of an artwork, Agus added.<\/p>\n
A Canadian-based art historian specializing in Southeast Asian
\nart, Astri Wright, wrote in The Jakarta Post recently that
\nforgery ventures were doomed to fail after a short period of
\ntime, because the choices made by people attempting to copy the
\nwork of another, no matter how skilled they are, are always
\nsomewhat different than those of original creators.<\/p>\n
The difference between the fake and the original may be a
\nmatter of a nuance of color; the brand of the paint used; the
\ntype of canvas used; the way the canvas was assembled or other
\ndetails and features.<\/p>\n
The experienced eye of someone trained in art history can pick
\nup these signs and read them like a kind of script, Astri said.<\/p>\n
"Traveling around Jakarta alone, some time in 1994, I believed
\nI saw as many fake Hendra Gunawan paintings as real, authentic
\nones," she recalled.<\/p>\n
She concluded that what Indonesian art needs is many trained
\nart experts, strong art and legal infrastructure and a healthy
\nmarket condition in order to deal with the more sophisticated art
\nforgery and art crimes.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the country still has almost none of the above.<\/p>\n
Watie Moerani, head of the National Gallery, admitted: "We
\nfeel like soldiers without weapons in fighting art forgery."<\/p>\n
But, an effort, however small, has started.<\/p>\n
A number of art curators have registered works of several
\nIndonesian masters and young artists as references to avoid
\ncopies and reproductions circulating in the market.<\/p>\n
Watie and her colleagues initiated a meeting involving
\nartists, art experts, art and legal institutions, the police and
\nthe government to establish a special agency dealing with art-
\nrelated issues.<\/p>\n
In facing the rapid changes in the fine arts world, the
\nIndonesian art community is indeed less prepared compared to the
\ncountry's music industry which has YKCI, an agency dealing with
\nintellectual property rights of music composers and singers.<\/p>\n
YKCI chairman Chandra Darusman said the agency was born out of
\nurgent need.<\/p>\n
"At first, nobody in the music industry paid attention or
\nunderstood our existence, but we kept on working to fight
\ncopyright violations," Chandra recalled.<\/p>\n
YKCI is now working hand in hand with the police and music
\nindustry in dealing with copyright infringement.<\/p>\n
Such an agency, with the art community joining forces with the
\nauthorities to police its ranks, may be what is needed. Yet the
\nquestion remains about who will be brave enough to make the first
\nmove.<\/p>",
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