Tarko Sudiarno
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nYogyakarta<\/p>\n
Mount Sumbing in the west of Magelang city, Central Java, looks
\nvery beautiful from the window of the veranda in the morning. The
\nslope of the mountain is green with tobacco plants. The panorama
\nis like a pretty painting on canvas.<\/p>\n
There is indeed no direct relationship between tobacco and
\npaintings. For Deddy Irianto, 43, the owner of the house in the
\nelite housing compound of Taman Wisata Kyai Langgeng Magelang,
\ntobacco and painting are intertwined.<\/p>\n
Starting his tobacco business in 1994, he is now one of the
\nmost successful businesspeople in Magelang.<\/p>\n
Irianto is not only known as a tobacco businessman but also a
\npainting collector. Being an art collector\/dealer has been a sort
\nof trademark for Magelang's fabulously wealthy tobacco traders.
\nUniquely, Magelang's tobacco businessmen treat paintings like
\nthey do the commodity of their core business.<\/p>\n
In the tobacco business, the busiest time of the year only
\nlasts for three to four months -- usually between August and
\nNovember, the months for the tobacco harvest. As these tradesmen
\nmake a lot of money from selling tobacco, they also turn to
\nselling paintings.<\/p>\n
For some people, these tobacco traders-cum-painting collectors
\nand dealers are often cynically called kolekdol, a Javanese
\nacronym meaning "collect and resale". A businessman will buy some
\npaintings and then sell them again, just like what they do in the
\ntobacco trade.<\/p>\n
For these tobacco traders paintings are just as profitable a
\ncommodity. If you know the right paintings to buy you can make
\nmoney quickly.<\/p>\n
"These kolekdol businessmen do not see paintings in terms of
\nesthetics but in terms of how fast they can rake in profits,"
\nsaid Irianto, who avows he does not belong to this group. He has
\nbeen a painting collector for three years now and has collected
\nabout 100 paintings.<\/p>\n
Still, he maintains, some collectors in Magelang have a high
\nappreciation of art.<\/p>\n
"Usually, they view paintings as long-term investments. So,
\nthe presence of these collectors will do no harm to artists. Nor
\ndo they dictate the market prices. If these collectors are only
\nafter profit, the artists will simply cater to the market taste.
\nA sound art market will be one that gives freedom to artists to
\nproduce their work," he said.<\/p>\n
To show his commitment to educating art lovers, Irianto set up
\nStudio Budaya & Galeri a year ago at his home. The gallery
\nreflects the idealism and vision to promote good-quality
\npaintings.<\/p>\n
To mark the first anniversary of the gallery last March,
\nIrianto organized the Magelang Art Festival, featuring famous
\nnational artists of various genre, among others, WS Rendra, Harry
\nRusli, Made Wianta, Arahmaiani, Tisna Sanjaya, Eko Supriyanto,
\nSapto Raharjo and Slamet Gundono.<\/p>\n
At first the presence of the gallery was received with
\ncynicism as was the March festival. Among the skeptics is the
\nMagelang regency government. But the skepticism has failed to
\ndampen Irianto's spirit.<\/p>\n
"I could afford it now so I just gave it a go. Is there a
\nregulation prohibiting someone from inviting great artists to
\ntheir house? What I am doing will also benefit the arts," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Irianto's gallery focuses on Indonesian contemporary arts that
\nhe hopes will achieve international recognition.<\/p>\n
"If you happen to browse through a foreign art book, for
\nexample from an Asian country, it will be difficult to find
\nadvertisements about Indonesian paintings. Of course, you can
\nfind works by Vietnamese, Chinese and Korean painters but not by
\nIndonesian artists," said Irianto, a graduate of UCLA (University
\nof California at Los Angeles).<\/p>\n
Irianto believes many Indonesian painters have great potential
\nand artistic enthusiasm. Unfortunately, they have not gained
\nrecognition in the international art market.<\/p>\n
Through his gallery, Irianto aims to build a good market
\nnetwork at home and overseas -- something vital to promote
\nIndonesian arts. Another thing that he wants to do is to organize
\nmajor art events.<\/p>\n
"It is my dream to organize a biennial art festival in
\nMagelang. This event will indirectly promote contemporary art. As
\nfar as I know, this event has long been absent in Yogyakarta, a
\ncity known to have a lot of very talented artists," said Irianto.<\/p>\n
Irianto is an organizer of the Borobudur cultural festival
\nthat will last until June 27, 2003. He is a guest lecturer at the
\nmanagement master's program at Gadjah Mada University in
\nYogyakarta.<\/p>\n
He said he has often been treated with suspicion for what he
\nhas been doing for the arts simply because he is a Chinese-
\nIndonesian. Even his wife does not like it -- for a different
\nreason -- as she claims he spends "too much money" on things like
\nthe Magelang Art Festival.<\/p>\n
Still, Irianto believes that the future for Indonesian
\npaintings is quite bright.<\/p>\n
"Professionalism on the part of the artists and a good
\nmarketing network are the key to the world market," he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tarko-sudiarno-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}