ASEAN Gallery showcases art from near and far

ASEAN Gallery showcases art from near and far

By Mehru Jaffer

JAKARTA (JP): The corridors of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat here are abuzz with an activity
not normally thought of when considering the regional grouping.

Taking advantage of a lull in activities, a result of the
Asian financial crisis that has gripped the region since 1997,
the Secretariat took the time to do some spring cleaning. The
result was the gathering together of a wealth of art and
artifacts that were scattered throughout the imposing building of
the Secretariat or collecting dust in storerooms.

A curator was hired to select the best of the countless
paintings, works on paper, sculptures, ceramics, rare pieces of
silver, and to polish it all up to coincide with the 34th
anniversary of ASEAN on Aug. 8.

And on that day, all roads led to the mezzanine of the
Secretariat where the ASEAN Gallery was inaugurated as a
permanent home for the collection of gifts received from member
governments, dialog partners, private foundations, companies and
individual artists.

Slightly frustrated by the negative impact of the financial
crisis on most ASEAN activities, the association's secretary-
general, Rodolfo C. Severino, personally supervised the opening
of the gallery as proof of ASEAN's continued commitment to the
promotion and use of the visual arts in creating awareness of
universal ideals, as well as the realities of the region.

"We hope to contribute to greater international understanding
through these works of art," Severino, the head of the 10-member
association, wrote in the catalog for the gallery.

ASEAN was established in 1967 with five founding members,
including Indonesia, in a bid to foster regional cooperation. A
top priority of ASEAN since its inception has been cooperative
security and shared prosperity. But to bring people together,
ASEAN also believes in creating an atmosphere where societies can
better understand and appreciate each other's cultures.

The historic ASEAN Concord of 1976 encourages a wide variety
of cultural projects and studies from the visual and performing
arts, literature, archeological and museum studies, oral
traditions, information and other activities in support of
scholars, writers, artists and mass media representatives to
enable them to play an active role in fostering a sense of
regional identity.

In short, it is believed that all economic activities will
come to naught if no attempt is made to gently bridge the
cultural gap between people doing trade with each other or
wanting to secure their premises from dangers posed both by man
and nature.

The most imposing exhibit of all at the recently opened
gallery is the 270-centimeter by 103-cm Garuda woodcarving
presented by former Indonesian president Soeharto when the ASEAN
Secretariat opened here in 1981. Appropriately, the Garuda is
placed at the entrance as a gesture of welcome by the host
country.

Equally impressive is the Shiva bronze that came from India
when the country became a full dialog partner of ASEAN in 1996.
The most recent gift is an Ankorian female deity which Cambodia
shipped here to celebrate the opening of the gallery. It is one
of the most fascinating pieces of the exhibition.

Joyous celebration

In 1997, Indonesian artist Teguh Ostenrik completed a gigantic
10-panel mixed media on canvas measuring 300 cm by 700 cm,
perhaps in joyous celebration of his return home from Europe.
Titled As the Earth Meets the Sky, the work was bought by the
Philip Morris Group of Companies and presented to ASEAN. It now
makes a colorful guide for visitors as they alight from the
elevator, compelling them to follow it to the gallery.

Woman artist Pacita Abad is represented with a fiery work
titled Dayak Burning, painted when forest fires ravaged
Kalimantan in the late 1990s. From Bali is a traditional mother-
child oil on canvas by Indra Wahyu SK.

One of the first gifts to the secretariat was from Japan.
Flowers is a watercolor on paper and paper cutouts that measures
a mammoth 250 cm by 165 cm and came in 1981 to commemorate the
inauguration of the new ASEAN Secretariat. According to Vic
Albornoz Lactaoen, a senior public information officer, the
delightful piece by an unknown artist is a prized possession.

The Secretariat attempted to find the name of the artist
before displaying it at the gallery but has so far been unable to
trace the person responsible for its creation.

Plum Blossom by China's Wang Chen Xi is yet another
masterpiece. But the watercolor on paper that is 230 cm by 130 cm
needs some restoration and perhaps a new background.

There are some interesting pieces of work by Singaporean
artists, especially those depicting the island-country's skyline
as well as shoreline before the economic boom that transformed
Singapore into the New York City of Southeast Asia.

A gift from Thailand is a piece of typical Benjarong pottery
in ash blue and gold. Also on display are artifacts from Burma,
Brunei and Malaysia. Among the exhibits from Europe, Gold of
Russia by Mikhail Abakonov stands out for its extraordinary
colorations.

The permanent exhibition is open to the public at the ASEAN
Secretariat on Jl. Sisingamangaraja in South Jakarta. It is open
Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., free of charge. For
further information call 7262991 or 7243372.