Designer celebrates award

JAKARTA (JP): Noted designer Harry Darsono celebrated yesterday an award he got from the City Tourism Office earlier this month.

The office presented a Tourism Award to Harry for his work in haute couture and fibrous art.

The celebration, which was held at a South Jakarta gallery, was marked by the cutting of a traditional rice cone.

Harry said he got his motives from several world traditions.

"As an artist one should not stick only with the old traditions but has to be able to develop it into a contemporary product of art."

Harry said he might have been lucky because since 1976 his designs had been printed in several countries.

"This means I've introduced Indonesia abroad," he said.

Harry said if artists wanted to advance traditional art they should live like a tree which keeps growing.

"So, don't just copy traditional objects as they are, develop them into a something new."

However, in this workmanship the tradition should remain the anvil, he said.

"Be like a tree which grows bigger and bigger but is still rooted in the earth," Harry said. (05)