Asmat crafts go commercial?

Thank you to The Jakarta Post editor for publishing my article titled 'Journey into the spirit of the times of the Asmat' on Sept. 11, 1997. This was written as a comment to the article titled Asmat now crafts totem poles for money published Sept. 4, 1997.

The objective of the article was to express my confidence in the existence of Asmat art, which seems to have developed into "non"- spiritual contemporary art. Certainly some of the art will crystallize into a more commercial form or handicraft. This is both common and natural, and has happened in various cultures.

Therefore, if we once again read closely the review on the Asmat Cultural Evening hosted by Sheraton Timika Hotel at the Mercantile Club, Jakarta, it seems slightly one-sided, even giving the impression that all Asmat artists have gone commercial. This is the reason why I was moved to write my comment.

Unfortunately the confirmation between the Post and myself, to delete my draft article sent by mistake through the e-mail was not implemented. After sending the revised and completed article, I was surprised to find that the Post published my draft article. Furthermore the editor deleted my opening sentence which read: After reading Ms. Dini S. Jalal's article published in the Sept. 4, 1997 issue Asmat now crafts totem poles for money, I am compelled to further examine her comments.

On the day my draft article was published, I received many telephone calls from Post readers. They queried the intent and the content of my article. Through this letter, I would like to inform Post readers who wish to read my original article to kindly contact the Post's features editor.

I would also like to apologize to Post readers regarding this administration error. Thank you and happy reading!

Teguh Ostenrik

Jakarta

Note: Mr. Teguh Ostenrik's article published on Sept. 11 was downloaded from his third message sent to The Jakarta Post through e-mail. The first and second messages were ignored after he informed us that the first one had been sent by mistake by his secretary. The fourth message, which was sent with a different name, was overlooked because there was no further information.

As regards the changes to the opening sentence, the editor retains the right to make changes to comply with the newspaper style.

-- Editor