Painter Dede Eri Supria gets down to business<\/p>\n
By Amir Sidharta<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Small is beautiful may now have entered the
\nrealm of cliche, but it seems a fitting summary of Dede Erie
\nSupria's exhibition at the Jakarta Stock Exchange.<\/p>\n
Unlike his previous grand shows, this one is comparatively
\nsmaller with 15 paintings on loan from several collectors.<\/p>\n
The exhibition, being held to mark the institution's fifth
\nanniversary, also includes a painting commissioned by the Jakarta
\nStock Exchange.<\/p>\n
The painter visited the Jakarta Stock Exchange to gain a
\nbetter understanding of the institution and how it works. "I
\nstill don't understand it," he said after four visits. "So, I
\njust painted my impressions of its global relationship to other
\nstock exchanges around the world, about its complexity and
\nconstant movement, and its connection to produce commodities and
\nindustry."<\/p>\n
Clocks showing times in major world cities are arranged in the
\nupper part of the painting, indicating the global relationship of
\nthe stock exchanges. Images of the buildings around Jakarta's
\nCentral Business District appear in the upper left of the
\npainting. A view to distant rice fields, contrasted with rows of
\nfactories, evidence the connection between the stock exchange
\nwith industry and commodities.<\/p>\n
The complexity of the institution is reflected in a maze
\nseemingly constructed out of corrugated cardboards. Fragments of
\nnames of listed companies are on the cardboard. Streaks of colors
\npass across the labyrinth-like maze, and the dynamic arrangement
\nof elements in the painting signify the stock market's constant
\nmovement.<\/p>\n
A stock image of a contemporary stock market trading floor,
\nwith orderly traders seated at their computer monitors, is placed
\non the lower part of the painting measuring approximately 1.5 x
\n1.5 m.<\/p>\n
"I once visited the stock exchange when it was still in
\nSabang, Central Jakarta. It was chaotic. The atmosphere of the
\nJakarta Stock Exchange is much more organized," he said.<\/p>\n
Neat appearances do not, unfortunately, make for a greater
\nunderstanding of the institution itself. The painter's failure to
\ncomprehend its complexity is evident in his use of hackneyed
\nimages and the extremely chaotic composition.<\/p>\n
In any event, this exhibition appears to be a means of
\nintrospection for Dede in preparation for a larger solo
\nexhibition, which he hopes to stage next year at the National
\nGallery.<\/p>\n
"I actually don't like to exhibit in buildings," he said. "I
\nmuch prefer to exhibit in places that are more accessible to the
\ngeneral public. I like to exhibit at Taman Ismail Marzuki or at
\nGambir, in the Gedung Pameran Seni Rupa of the Ministry of
\nEducation and Culture, the future National Art Gallery."<\/p>\n
Dede is currently working on a large painting measuring
\napproximately 4 x 10.5 meters, divided into fourteen panels of
\ntwo rows of seven panels each. He hopes to exhibit this
\nmonumental work in the Indonesian Festival to be held in Tokyo,
\nJapan, in September.<\/p>\n
Due to the spatial limitations of his studio, he is only gable
\nto assemble five panels in two rows at a time. To work on the
\nother two panels, he has to remove the two panels on the other
\nend of the row.<\/p>\n
We can decipher parts of the painting from the scattered
\nimages of the incomplete work. A large garbage disposal truck is
\nat the left of the composition. Dede explained that a satellite
\ndish will be depicted in the right part of the painting. Both of
\nthese elements seem to radiate energies toward the center of the
\npainting. The center itself consists of images of corporate signs
\nand a cardboard box bearing brand names.<\/p>\n
"Initially I planned to title it Pintu Gerbang (Gateway), but
\nI had a different idea after working on the middle part," Dede
\nsaid. "Perhaps it has to do with globalization, the influences of
\nculture from outside Indonesia, the influences to globalization,
\nand, even more so, the influences of the free world market of the
\nyear 2000-something. In art, it provides the opportunity for
\nforeign artists to enter the Indonesian market. If we are
\nnegligent, we may lose."<\/p>\n
The image of the parabola clearly seems to symbolize the
\n"broadcasting" of globalization. " When we watch lenong
\n(traditional Betawi play) on television, it is very different
\ntoday. It seems that there is a lot which has been cut away.
\nPerhaps it is also because of these influences that we never know
\nwhat will happen later on. There are so many foreign companies
\nand cultures entering and crowding us."<\/p>\n
Dede Eli Supria's paintings are at the Jakarta Stock Exchange
\nthrough July 25, 1997.<\/p>",
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