Biennale highlight of November Festival '98

Biennale highlight of November Festival '98

By Yudha Kartohadiprodjo

JAKARTA (JP): Nov. 10 has long been an important date for the
capital. While the rest of the country is indebted to the heroic
incident in Surabaya 53 years ago when locals fought the Allied
troops, the residents of Jakarta have another event to celebrate.
Of course, we are not talking about the People's Consultative
Assembly's Special Session, but a more culturally refined event,
30th anniversary of Taman Ismail Marzuki, the Jakarta Arts
Center, in Central Jakarta.

Inaugurated by Jakarta's famed Governor Ali Sadikin in 1968,
the center has lured the talented from various artistic
disciplines to its performing stage, galleries and plaza. In the
past, holding an exhibition or performance in the center would
symbolize the community's recognition of artists.

The list of past performers of the center would read like an
Indonesian arts Who's Who; W.S Rendra, Taufiq Ismail, Teater
Koma, Farida Feisol or Made Wianta, all could recall their own,
distinct memories of the center.

As in the following years, the commemoration will be organized
as a part of November Festival '98, which will be opened today
and lasts until Dec. 10.

Inaugurated with a cultural speech entitled "Authority and
Culture" by the chairman of the National Mandate party (PAN)
Amien Rais, the festival will reflect the achievements of the
center.

While the festival's roster is filled with names from among
up-and-coming young choreographers to internationally acclaimed
painters, it also includes Biennale XI, a painting exhibition
that could become a showcase of how art should be managed in
order to survive.

A prestigious Indonesian painting exhibition, Biennale has
introduced unknown young painters who later went on to become
prominent names in the art community for more than 20 years.

With 10 exhibitions already to its name -- Biennale is
biennial -- the exhibition has contributed to the fame and the
fortune of these artists as well as to Indonesian fine art.

As a part of the festival, Biennale is an important part of
the celebrations that is in need of additional funds.

Due to Indonesia's monetary crisis however, funds available to
organize the event from past patrons, corporate sponsorship or
the government, could be hard to come by.

It is to the past participants, and others who see the
benefits of such an event, the organizing committee of Biennale
XI now turns.

Prestigious auction house Sothebys, has come to the rescue of
the event. The British auction house's branch in Singapore
offered to raise funds for the exhibition through an auction of
paintings.

The proposition seems too good to be true: paintings of
Indonesian artists were auctioned in Singapore; Sothebys passed
the usual 30 percent commission to the organizing committee of
Biennale. The rest of the sales proceeds went to the artists.

The idea received positive reactions from the artists
approached by the organizing committee from The Jakarta Arts
Council. Most were participants of past Biennales; many of them
feel a strong attachment to the event.

"Enthusiastic upon hearing of the plan, some of the artists
even wanted to give up a greater portion of their earnings for
the cause," said Sulebar M. Sukarman from the council's fine arts
Committee.

Painters with works included in the auction were Made Wianta,
Kartika Affandi, and Dede Eri Supria.

A controversy arose prior to the auction on the basis of the
rumor that the auctioned paintings were part of the Council's
famed collection. Not only was the rumor false, the auction is
actually beneficial to artists.

"The auction actually opened a bigger market for them," said
Pia Alisjahbana, a trustee of Jakarta Arts Council.

In the past a painting had to go through art dealers or
collectors before it ended up in an auction house. Through this
mechanism, painters could only see how much their work was worth,
without getting a penny out of it.

In total the auction raised Rp 70 million, more than half of
the funds needed. The rest will be covered through the proceeds
of an auction from Biennale X, 1996 and from private sponsors,
according to Pia.

This year, Biennale's theme will be "Evaluation of Development
of Indonesian Art Painting 1974-1998, from Biennale I-X Jakarta".

Unlike the past exhibitions, this year's exhibition will
feature 68 painters from past Bienniale participants.

"This year's participants were past participants who still
create consistently good works but did not receive any awards in
the past Bienniales," said Sulebar.

Painters from 10 cities will participate in the exhibition.
Among them are Dede Eri Supria, Popo Iskandar, Srihadi, Melodia
and Wayan Sika; each participant will submit two of their recent
works.

"Many of them are so excited that they have given their best
and biggest paintings, and we nearly ran out of space," said
Wisnu M. Ardjo, Managing Director of The Jakarta Arts center.

The exhibition will be held in Cipta I and II Gallery, the
same venue that held the first Biennale 24 years ago.

Biennale will also host a seminar on Indonesia's fine
paintings, an exhibition on nine deceased famous painters
including Affandi, S Sudjojono and Ahmad Sadali, and painting
appreciation workshops for high school students.

Programs

Besides Biennale, a mix of art discipline performances: dance,
music, films and literature will fill the month-long festival.

The festival this year will attempt to break the unseen
barrier that used to bar common people from literature. An event
where common people can read poetry will be organized in the
center's parking yard on Nov. 11.

On Nov. 24, three principals of contemporary Indonesian
poetry: Rendra, Taufiq Ismail and Sutardji Calzoum Bachri will
read their poetry.

Aristokrat Theater performed Perhiasan Gelas, an adaptation of
Tenessee William's Glass Menagerie by Teguh Karya on Nov. 7. From
Nov. 16 to Nov. 18, Teater Koma will perform a drama about a
society where excrement is a sought commodity in Opera Sembelit
(Opera of Constipation).

To commemorate its 50th anniversary, from Nov. 20 to Nov. 22,
The British Council will sponsor Waterwill, a well known English
theater group. The group will perform William Shakespeare's The
Comedy of Errors.

Five young choreographers will perform their works on Nov. 13
and Nov. 14, followed by a discussion on Indonesian dance.
Another discussion with the topic: "Will Indonesian film
rejuvenate?" is also to be held with George Kamarullah, a well
known cinematographer, as a speaker on Nov. 16.

Young musicians from the Indonesian Youth Orchestra will
perform their repertoire which consists of familiar children's
tunes on Nov. 26.

New Jakarta Ensemble will perform five compositions of Epi
Martison using traditional musical instruments. Toni Prabowo, a
well known contemporary composer will be the music director of
the performance which will be held on Nov. 28 and Nov. 29.