Darga Gallery awards Indonesia's foremost art critic

By I Wayan Juniarta

SANUR, Bali (JP): The Darga Gallery in Sanur has proven its commitment to enhance the development of art in Indonesia by bestowing an award on one of Indonesia's most noted art critics, the late Sanento Yuliman.

Jais Hadiana Dargawidjaya, owner of the gallery, stated that the idea to provide this award had been in her mind for years.

"I have always wanted to express my respect and humble gratitude to the art critics. And this year I have finally found a perfect way to express it," she said.

Jais believes that art critics play important role in the development of the arts.

They function as "bridges" that connect artists' perceptions of their creative and often confusing world with the "real" world and viewer's perceptions toward the artists' creations.

"Without them, the meanings and messages of many art works could not be fully understood by people," she said.

Yet, she stressed, these art critics often did not get the respect and appreciation they deserved, with most of them living in a poorer condition than the painters, collectors, or dealers.

"There are various kinds of awards for painters, but where are the awards for the critics," said Jais.

With the help of her close friends, Jais finalized the concept of the award early this year.

A committee comprising of several journalists, artists, and critics was set up to select the potential candidates for the award, which was later named the Aksara Darga Award.

"After months of consideration the committee believed that the late Sanento Yuliman was the perfect candidate to receive the first Aksara Darga," she said, adding that her gallery will present the award annually.

This year Aksara Darga's presentation was in conjunction with the Darga Gallery's 3rd anniversary.

Jais presented the award to Sanento's widow RA Dindin Siti Subadiah in a modest ceremony two weeks ago in Jakarta.

Jais also handed over a token of appreciation and 10 million rupiah to the late critic's family.

Yet, the most important feature of the award was the publication of a book with the title Sanento Yuliman dan Kritik Seni.

Edited by Edy Soetriyono and Ipong Purnama Sidhi, the 82 page book consisted of six writings and one poem by Sanento Yuliman, including the 1968 Horison literary magazine's best essay Dalam Bayangan Sang Pahlawan (In the Shadow of the Hero). The book's publication is sponsored by the Darga Gallery.

"We sincerely believe that the best way to honor somebody is by immortalizing his or her works. And, in Sanento's case, it means by publishing his writings," the award committee chairman Putu Wirata Dwikora stated.

Sanento Yuliman Hadiwardoyo was born in Jatilawang, Banyumas, Central Java, on July 14, 1941. He graduated from the Bandung Institute of Technology's Fine Arts School in 1968. In 1976 he flew to Paris and studied at Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Science Sociales, where he got his doctorate degree in 1981.

His articles and art criticism appeared in many local newspapers and magazines such as Kompas, Tempo, Horison, and Matra.

He was in the process of finishing his work on Indonesia's fine arts history when he was struck by an acute case of hypertension. He died at dawn on May 14, 1992. He was survived by his wife and his children; Banung Brahita, Danuh Tyas Pradipta, and Puja Anindita.

"He was one of our best art critics. His knowledge was deep; his critiques were clear and systematic. He was also very accurate and cautious in giving his criticism," journalist Edy Soetriyono said.

The Denpasar-based art critic Jean Couteau pointed out that the importance of Sanento's criticism lay in its historical approach and his ability to see and comprehend the bigger picture of Indonesia's art phenomenon.

Aksara Darga was the Darga Gallery's latest effort in underlining the concept of a gallery's social and educational purpose.

In the last couple of years this gallery has held several non- profit exhibitions of paintings by Indonesian and world masters. It was also deeply involved in the making of a documentary by Bali's most eccentric painter Ida Bagus Made.

One of the gallery's annual events is Refleksi Seni, The Reflection of the Arts, in which Bali's young painters are given a chance to exhibit their works. This year's Refleksi Seni will take place next October.

Jais has never revealed the source or the amount of funds she has spent to finance such non-profit events.

"Those are my ways to repay God's magnanimity which has given me so much," Jais said modestly.