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.