CP Open Biennale's breakthrough visions

CP Open Biennale's breakthrough visions

Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta

On Sept. 3, CP Open Biennale 2003 will be officially opened,
beginning a new tradition of valuing art in a more democratic
manner. In a format that is unique in international exhibition
practice, artists were not invited but selected from application.
It is organized by the CP Foundation, which Djie Tjianan and Jim
Supangkat founded in the wake of the new millennium in Washington
D.C.

Supported by Bank Indonesia and UBS Swiss Financial
Institution, the exhibition showcases 167 works from 128 artists,
selected from over 600 "applications." The 167 works use visual
arts media such as painting, drawing, sculpture, installation
works, objects, photography, video, as well as ceramics, wood,
metal, fiber and human hair.

Lead curator Jim Supangkat is of the opinion that
Internationalism, which considers international art as existing
in a homogeneous situation around the world, is no longer valid,
for art developments outside Europe and America have a parallel
significance.

This does not mean that art outside these two countries has
not been affected by art development there, or may show
similarities. Drawing a parallel with English that is spoken with
an accent in countries outside England, Jim terms non-Western art
as art with an accent. Just as English with an accent is English,
art with an accent is real art and should be given due
consideration.

Supangkat says: "International exhibitions must be set free
from art institutions that always refer back to the Western
institution of art as seen in Europe and America. There is no
other possible valid way to look at international exhibitions
than to view them as autonomous art institutions in themselves."

According to CP Foundation chairman Djie Tjianan, for almost a
century the term "international world" in the arts has been the
cause of too many misunderstandings.

"Now it is time to turn the scales and work together toward
understanding the realities in a sense that is truly
international.

"The CP Open Biennale is one attempt, which has received
tremendous support from artists, curators, writers, collectors,
business partners and international institutions."

That CP Foundation and the management of Galeri Nasional
consider this biennale of great importance is evident in the
comprehensive "renovation" that Galeri Nasional has consented to
and which CP Foundation has been willing to undertake.

For CP Open Biennale, the participation of world-renowned
Chinese artist Gu Wenda is confirmation of the significance of
their undertaking. Gu Wenda, who consistently uses human hair as
his artistic medium to symbolize our common humanity, and reworks
traditional Chinese media, such as calligraphy, ink painting and
carving to express ideas of universal concern, personally comes
to Indonesia to install at Galeri Nasional the 21st artwork of
his renowned United Nations series.

The importance of CP's undertaking is also marked by the
International Symposium, titled Interpellation: Simultaneous
Translation in Understanding Contemporary Art, on Sept. 4, with
noted speakers like Kuroda Raiji from Fukuoka Asian Art Museum of
Japan, and Akira Tatehatta, art historian/curator;
Oscar Ho, art critic from Hong Kong; Els van der Plas, art
historian from Holland; Christine Clark from the National
University of Australia; and Ritzky A. Zaelani, Indonesia. The
keynote speaker is Jim Supangkat, on Art with an Accent, while
guest panelists will be Gu Wenda, an avant-garde artist from
China and Li Xianting, art critic from China, with Goenawan
Mohamad and Toshio Simizu as moderators.

The Indonesia focus is on Sept. 27, when a seminar titled
Identification of Arts, and the International Art Forums discuss
the Indonesian arts by way of identifying the existing
developments and their relations with international art forums.
Speakers will include Soewarno Wisetromo, Asikin Hasan,
Anusapati, Tatang B. Sp, Agung Koechink and Tiarma Dame Ruth
Sirait.

To facilitate understanding, selected artists and curators
will guide a tour with explanations throughout the exhibition at
the National Gallery on Sept. 7, 13, 20 and 28, at 11 am.

For children, a special children's workshop is held on Sept.
14 and 21. Participation is subject to registration.

The Open Biennale comes with an interesting catalog, which
includes essays from respected art historians, as well as
articles on every participating artist, written by various art
critics.

CP Foundation was founded by Djie Tjianan, an Indonesia-
Washington based entrepreneur, and Jim Supangkat, who founded the
Seni Indonesia Baru movement in the 1970s, and is widely known as
an art critic and curator.

Striving to break through the barriers of dominating
hegemonies in the world of art, the foundation's activities are
channeled through its CP Open Biennale Jakarta and CP Artspace in
Washington DC.

Meanwhile, CP Foundation is expanding with an artspace in
Jakarta, now under construction. An artists' residency in Bandung
is under way and will be part of the Cultural Center under
Parahyangan Satya Foundation.

The startup of this Open Biennale is certainly a solid base
for great expectations. What is important, though, is that CP
will be able to fulfill its aspirations in the longer term. Djie
Tjianan and Jim Supangkat are convinced it will. As early as
today, they are already thinking of the next in 2005.

CP Open Biennale 2003: Sept. 4 through Oct. 3, 2003
Galeri Nasional, Jl. Merdeka Timur 14, Jakarta, every day except
Mondays
Opening: Sept. 3, at 7:30 p.m. (by invitation)
International Symposium: Sept. 4 from 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. (free
entry)
Art Seminar: Sept. 27, from 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. (free entry)
More at: www.cp-foundation.org, or contact Naning Sugeng, General
Manager of
CP Foundation at 0815-1821329.