JP\/20\/PAPER<\/p>\n
Paper art versatility on display at Erasmus Huis<\/p>\n
Mario Koch
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Jak<\/p>\n
Erasmus Huis, Kuningan, South Jakarta, is holding an exhbition
\ntitled Paper Art, through Oct. 30. It shows the work of 11 Dutch
\nartists, inspired by the unique quality of paper as a medium of
\nexpression.<\/p>\n
All the participants come from different backgrounds. With
\ntechniques ranging from drawing or painting to sculpting, none
\nstarted their career using paper as a base for their work.<\/p>\n
Attending the opening of the exhibition on Oct. 4, one of the
\nartists, Marian Smit, told The Jakarta Post:\" I started off being
\na weaver, as working with textiles was very popular with Dutch
\nartisans in the 1970s. But in due course, many of my friends
\nstarted experimenting with paper, so I also gave it a try.<\/p>\n
\"I became fascinated immediately,\" she continued. \"I didn't
\nneed a loom anymore and everything became much less expensive.
\nPaper is very easy to find and one can instantly set out to
\ncreate something.\"<\/p>\n
Her works presented at Erasmus Huis consist of loose
\nsculptures made by binding screwed-up, colored Japanese silk-
\npaper onto rugby ball-shaped pieces of silicon.<\/p>\n
Visitors to the exhibition will definitely enjoy the extensive
\nversatility of the artwork on display.<\/p>\n
Couzijn van Leeuwen utilizes materials he finds, especially
\ncartons. These are cut into strips that he molds into autonomous
\nsculptures using staples. For the current exhibition, he built an
\nentire living-room in African colonial style, including a bird in
\na cage and a bedside carpet that looks like a rhinoceros.<\/p>\n
The lively, seemingly moving sculptures by Martine Horstman
\nare made by combining and folding colorful cards, which are
\nstarting to become available free at cafes and bars all over the
\nworld.<\/p>\n
A very different example of utilizing paper for art is
\npresented by Nel Lissen. She specializes in jewelry-like
\nnecklaces and rings, composed of repeated shapes of wrapping
\npaper. With the paper folded and shackled, the form and color of
\nthe pieces changes constantly when worn.<\/p>\n
Paper art is relatively new to the world of visual arts. Only
\nin the late 1950s did interest in traditional methods of paper-
\nmaking develop in the U.S., largely due to the work of paper-
\nobsessed Dard Hunter.<\/p>\n
From 1911 onwards, he was keenly interested in the craft of
\npaper-making, which had almost ceased to exist in the Western
\nworld. Not only did he set up a paper mill that followed 17th-
\ncentury tradition, but he also published more than 20 books on
\nthe subject.<\/p>\n
The craft of paper-making can be followed in Erasmus Huis by
\nwatching Aliza Thomas. Using a pulp of mulberry fiber, water and
\npigments, she produces the material for her works right on the
\nspot. These are colorful, multilayered creations, for which
\ninspiration is drawn from Asia.<\/p>\n
\"I started by studying sculpture in Brussels and Paris. But as
\nI moved a lot, I could never keep the things I had made and ended
\nup placing them next to city lampposts,\" Aliza said.<\/p>\n
\"When I then learned paper-making in Japan, I decided to
\ncreate flat sculptures from handmade paper,\" she explained. \"Even
\nif it is easier to move those now, when one doesn't sell, I just
\nput it back into the vat and make new paper out of it.\"<\/p>\n
To increase the international recognition of paper art,
\nseveral foundations were brought into being, the most well-known
\nbeing the International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper
\nArtists (IAPMA), founded in 1986.<\/p>\n
In the Netherlands, home country to the participating artists
\nin Erasmus Huis, the popularity of paper art has largely been
\nincreased by the biannual Holland Paper Biennial in the museum at
\nRijswijk.<\/p>\n
Anne Kloosterboer, conservator in Rijswijk and curator of the
\nexhibition in Jakarta, told the Post:\" We want to show these
\nartworks to the Indonesian public to make them interested in
\npaper art. This country has everything -- both natural resources
\nfor making paper and creative and talented people. Still, there
\nseem to be hardly any paper artists.<\/p>\n
\"Paper is such a great material. It combines strength,
\nflexibility, transparency and fragility and thus is an
\ninexpensive, inexhaustible source of expression,\" she concluded.<\/p>\n
Centuries-old craftsmanship, together with modern, abstract
\nartistic viewpoints, makes for an experience of its own in
\nErasmus Huis.<\/p>\n
October's Paper Art exhibition is definitely worth a visit.
\n
\nin box
\nPaper Art exhibition
\nthrough Oct. 30
\nErasmus Huis
\nJl. H. R. Rasuna Said Kav. S-3
\nJakarta 12950<\/p>\n
Mondays to Thursdays 9 a.m. through 4 p.m.
\nFridays 9 a.m. through 2 p.m.
\nSaturdays 9 a.m. through noon<\/p>\n
admission free<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp20paper-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }