Art world still enjoyable, despite tension

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.