Art world still enjoyable, despite tension

Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta

For the ignorant art lover, the year 2002 was as enjoyable as ever, with many exhibitions, both local and international. But underneath all this lay the tension that the issue of goreng menggoreng had evoked. The term, which literally means frying, refers to the practice of collectors cum art traders raising market prices by buying large numbers of paintings by certain young up-and-coming artists. A loaded issue last year, goreng menggoreng came to a head then only to virtually disappear this year.

As noted art critic Jim Supangkat, gallery owner Biantoro and art lover Dr. Melani Setiawan all noted, forces have lately emerged countering the usefulness of such practices. Collectors cum art traders have cooled down, now doubting the significance of many young artists' works that had fetched exorbitantly disproportionate market prices in previous years. And as those prices soared to match the prices paid for masters, collectors now seem to prefer buying old masters.

While the goreng practice has received a lot of negative responses lately, it must be admitted that there were positive aspects as well, as Biantoro recently highlighted. Besides enlivening the art market, it also brought in new collectors, who might have started as art traders attracted by the lucrative art business but then became art lovers with a genuine interest in the development and authenticity of art.

The establishment of the U.S.-based Indonesian CP Foundation (CP) in April brought new expectations for quality artists to find an adequate place on the international stage. The CP Foundation proclaimed its aims as being to retain high ethical integrity and promote only artists who live up to high standards of artistic value.

The exhibition of Chusin Setiadikara in Jakarta and Washington DC, which CP sponsored in cooperation with Swiss financial institution UBS, was among the highlights, enjoying widespread publicity in Indonesia and appreciation in Washington DC. Another artist that CP brought to the international stage was photographer Oscar Matulloh, whose photos are not only of high technical quality, but are also based on enthralling imagery and deep and far-reaching philosophical thought. Whether CP will make a significant impact on the local as well as the international scene will depend on how the Foundation succeeds in maintaining its idealism in the future.

The emergence of an Indonesian initiative in Indonesia -- emulating the American based Philip Morris Awards initiative over the past eight years -- is a welcome phenomenon, stimulating a plurality of art appreciation. The Indofood Art Awards, held for the first time this year, have evoked further expectations, but also need to prove their standards in the years to come.

The Philip Morris Awards, the first art awards ever in Indonesia, were initiated by the Philip Morris company and are run by the Yayasan Senirupa Indonesia (YSRI). While these awards may have spotlighted some important talents, they now seem to have fallen into oblivion. A particular disappointment with both artists and art lovers was the lack of prior information on the ASEAN-wide Philip Morris awards event, which was held this year in Bali. Even those residing on Bali had little notion of the event being held on the island.

JakArt this year started a new tradition that it is hoped will attract young artists. Named Struggle and Creation, an annual event giving space to young artists of up to 35, it is a departure intended to endorse creativity. JakArt's coordinator for this sector, Dolorosa Sinaga explains that to be selected, an artist must have an aesthetic concept, as well as social and environmental concern. An artist is allowed to participate no more than twice.

Two international exhibitions of Chinese art held at the National Gallery were the first ever to be held in Indonesia signaling a new dynamic shifting in the usual art focus from the West to the East. Less covered in the media, but significant in this respect, is the exhibition of the highly imaginative Djoko KS's work, whose quasi Chinese calligraphic paintings reveal the hand of a master.

This year has also seen many women artists participating in art exhibitions, with some organizers making it a special point to have them included. Whether this is due to progress in the reduction of gender bias, or to the lucre factor, is not yet clear. Whatever the reason, women do have a point now.

One example is sculptor Yani Mariani Sastranegara, who for years has worked on issues that she only now dares to display. Unlike her previously displayed works of monolith sculptures, her work in the Bandung (Nuart Gallery) and Jakarta (TUK) exhibitions were eye-openers, causing quite a stir. Using polyresin, clay and broken pieces of clay, her installations evoke the magic of a world that lies between fantasy and the surreal, a stirring sublimation of the process of life and decay.

Probably the last important event of the year is a comprehensive exhibition of the works of Hilda Soemantri to honor Indonesia's foremost female sculptor and scholar, and pioneer of fine art ceramics. It is the first of its kind since she started the "revolution" of clay some three decades ago (see The Jakarta Post dated Dec. 17).

What next year will bring remains to be seen though strong rumors have it that the first of a prestigious international Biennale is in the offing. If this is true, then it might be a major boost to artistic endeavors in the country.