Art lovers mourn the death of art critic Kusnadi

Art lovers mourn the death of art critic Kusnadi

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian art lovers are mourning the death of
Kusnadi, a senior art critic, teacher, painter and photographer,
who died at the age of 76 Monday.

Kusnadi died at his home in South Jakarta from several
illnesses, including typhoid. He had been admitted to the
Fatmawati Hospital in South Jakarta for more than two weeks. A
week before he died, he asked to return home.

Kusnadi was Indonesia's foremost art critic. In 1977 he
received the prestigious Anugerah Seni Republik Indonesia, the
highest national art award. Ten years later he received the Asean
Award for his dedication to art.

Kusnadi regularly visited exhibitions to keep up-to-date with
the current art trends. He was still seen attending exhibition
openings this year.

Critic Sunarto Pr. called Kusnadi "the old horse that has
forgotten how to stop running", as quoted by Agus Dermawan T. in
a book titled Kusnadi; Seniman, Kritikus, Pendidik (Kusnadi,
Artist, Critic, Educator). Kusnadi said he did not intend to stop
running.

Kusnadi was born on April 1, 1921 in Kaliangkrik, Magelang,
Central Java. He started his career in fine art by apprenticing
under Basoeki Abdullah during the Japanese occupation. At the
same time, he entered the Keimin Bunka Shidoso (a cultural center
during the Japanese occupation), and participated in an
exhibition held by Poetera and the Keimin Bunka Shidoso.

In 1950 he worked in the Art Division, Office of Culture, as
the chairman of the fine art department. His main task was to
collect works of fine art for a future Fine Art Museum, provide
subsidies and aid for art organizations in major towns in
Indonesia, and organize local and international art exhibitions.

He started writing about fine art in 1950, with an article on
the first exhibition of the Indonesian Fine Art Academy (ASRI).

Kusnadi introduced Indonesian art to the Second Sao Paolo
Biennial in 1953. From 1954 to 1963, he was head of the Budaya
(Culture) magazine. He also prepared an exhibition of Indonesian
art for the Asian-African Conference in Bandung in 1955.

From 1960-1966 he taught at the Indonesian Fine Art Academy in
Yogyakarta, and a year later he was assigned to head the Sub-
directorate of Fine Art, under the Department of Education and
Culture in Jakarta. In 1971, he taught at the Jakarta Institute
for the Arts (IKJ).

He organized numerous exhibitions and wrote many other
articles and books. He also had an instrumental role in the
preparations for the Festival of Indonesia art exhibition in the
United States from 1990-1991.

Leading art experts have commended Kusnadi's dedication to
fine art and art criticism. Critic Sudarmadji proudly said
Kusnadi was his master. H. Widayat, a painter six years older
than Kusnadi, honors the latter as "The Teacher".

During a discussion at the ARTeMEDIA Gallery Monday, critic
Jim Supangkat said Kusnadi played an important role in the
development of fine art.

"Forty years ago, he conceived the National Gallery which
plans to be inaugurated this year. The collection he amassed is
now kept at the Directorate of Art," he said. (Amir Sidharta)