Lust with some dust: Erotic art from yesteryear on show<\/p>\n
Joe Kuhlmann, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
It's all about sex, baby. The dark wooden sculptures of mystic
\nancestors with their phalluses, the delicately ornamented golden
\nmamuli jewelry, doors from traditional houses in Timor displaying
\ntwo -- or more -- female breasts on each of them.<\/p>\n
But is it really all about increasing our carnal knowledge?
\nThe Dharma Mulia Galleries claims just that in putting together a
\nquite explicit ethnographic exhibition.<\/p>\n
It's also got that eye-catching title, \"Sex and the City\"; one
\ncan just imagine libidinous Samantha from the TV show of the same
\nname striding out on the town, some male genitalia -- OK, highly
\nstylized in silverwork -- hanging from her necklace.<\/p>\n
\"It may be a silly title,\" admitted curator Irwan Holmes.
\nInitially, he wanted to add the name of the metropolis of the
\nMajapahit period in the first half of the last millennium,
\nTrowulan, to stress the continuity of the sex theme in art
\nthroughout the ages.<\/p>\n
\"But then, I just hadn't enough pieces of that period,\" Holmes
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He prefers to call the exhibition \"erotic art\", but even that
\nmight just be one side of the story.<\/p>\n
Most of the pieces are not so much erotic as symbols of
\nfertility dear to peoples for whom having lots of children was a
\nmatter of survival. Mamuli, for instance, are not just images of
\nthe female genitals often used as bride price, but are supposed
\nto symbolize the connection between the upperworld and the
\nunderworld.<\/p>\n
Their true value consists less in age, material or
\ncraftsmanship but in the meaning they have in their original
\nsocial context, being part of rites of passage, like from the
\ntransition from girl to bride. Mothers on the island of Sumba,
\nEast Nusa Tenggara, would pass them on to their daughters when
\nthey came of age.<\/p>\n
All that cannot be reduced to just the sexual aspect, but sex
\nsells -- and all the objects are, in fact, for sale.<\/p>\n
It's something that does not please all in the art community.<\/p>\n
\"It is a pity that these artifacts go away like this,\" a
\nsenior expert at the National Museum said, criticizing not just
\nthe families who do so but also \"very much\" the galleries that
\nmake it their business, even if they do it in accordance with
\nlegislation that demands special permits only for export.<\/p>\n
\"But it's our heirlooms that get sold off,\" the expert added,
\nshying away from giving her name. \"The young generation has to
\nknow its ancestors and their culture, so these objects are part
\nof their identity.\"<\/p>\n
\"I fear one day it will all be gone.\"<\/p>\n
The younger generation sells what they inherited not because
\nthey are ashamed of it, \"but for the money\", said Holmes, who is
\nquick to show an authorized letter from the Tangerang office of
\nthe tourism and culture agency, stating that the exhibition
\nconforms to its regulations.<\/p>\n
\"They want to be modern, they want a car and a Rolex -- the
\nmeaning of these traditional artifacts seems not to be so
\nimportant for them anymore.\"<\/p>\n
Some might find the exhibition a little shocking because it
\ncertainly does not conform to a strict interpretation of Islam in
\ntraditional societies, Holmes, himself a Muslim, said.<\/p>\n
\"But when people bring those statues to me, no one has ever
\nput a wrapper on them.\"<\/p>\n
The curator did not go to distant villages to acquire the
\nartifacts. As the Dharma Mulia Galleries are well known, people
\ncome to it with what they have to offer, Holmes said.<\/p>\n
Over a period of 10 years, he collected the items for the \"Sex
\nand the City\" exhibition. To tell where an object comes from, its
\nage -- and whether its authentic or fake -- \"is all about
\nexperience\", Holmes, 61, said.<\/p>\n
The gallery is proud to give a guarantee of authenticity -- it
\nclaims that only twice in 20 years has a customer proved that an
\nartifact was fake and was then offered the chance to return it.<\/p>\n
Among the objects exhibited is a terra-cotta artifact
\ndisplaying a man touching a woman's breast that Holmes dates as
\nfar back as to between the 13th to 16th century.<\/p>\n
Of course, there are various stone lingga, the famous phallus
\nsymbol of the Hindu Shiva deity. Also on display are some quite
\nrare pieces, such as a hermaphrodite figure of the Dayak tribe in
\nKalimantan. They made bisexual persons their shamans, Holmes
\nexplained, \"as they represent both worlds\".<\/p>\n
In the case of an almost human sized sitting wooden figure
\nwith a large penis and a demon-like shaped head that hails from
\nthe Irian Yayan tribe, probably from the 19th century, even the
\ncurator cannot explain its original meaning.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the exhibition is cramped into one tiny, poorly
\nlit cabinet.<\/p>\n
\"We would like to present it in a better way,\" said Holmes,
\nwho recently extended the exhibition to continue throughout May.<\/p>\n
He hopes to be able to move it from the somewhat remote
\nJakarta quarter of Ciputat into some place in the city center.
\nAfter all, the exhibition does count 165 artifacts with a
\ncombined value of more than Rp 1 billion.<\/p>\n
Speaking of prices, one should be reminded that haggling is
\nnot just a matter of antiques buyers. In olden times, when a
\nfamily was offered a mamuli by another one, they, too, would
\nalways complain about the quality, pointing out flaws, until they
\nreceived one that they considered suitable.<\/p>\n
The difference is, they did not give away money for it -- but
\nthe bride.<\/p>\n
i-box
\n--------------------------
\nSex and the City
\nDharma Mulia Galleries
\nJl. Ciputat Raya No. 50, South Jakarta
\n9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily (Tel. 749-2850)
\nUntil May 31
\n------------------------------------<\/p>",
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