Exhibition a bridge for Indonesia-U.S. cultural ties

Exhibition a bridge for Indonesia-U.S. cultural ties

JAKARTA (JP): The language of the arts is universal. It has no
social, political and cultural boundaries.

The current exhibition of American contemporary art, displayed
at Cipta Gallery II, Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts Center in Jakarta,
is a cultural diplomacy between Indonesia and the United States.

Opened by Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri last
Wednesday, the painting exhibition is held to commemorate the
50th year of diplomatic relations between the two countries which
started in l949.

Jointly held by the United States Embassy, Taman Ismail
Marzuki, and Mobil Oil Indonesia, the exhibition entitled The
Outward Bound: American Art at the Brink of the Twenty-First
Century represents the most contemporary American fine arts.

Sulebar Sukarman, chairman of the Jakarta Art Council,
explained that this is a rare opportunity for Indonesian artists
and art lovers to see an important painting exhibition by
American artists.

The exhibition, curated by Nancy Matthews, William Dunlap and
Pamela Maslansky, displays 83 works by 78 American painters
including the famous pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, Christo &
Jeanne-Claude, Jim Dine, Chuck Close, Dorothy Fall and Leonard
Baskin.

Curator Nancy Matthews from the Meridian International Center
explained prior to the opening ceremony that the exhibition is
aimed at displaying the wide selection of excellent works done by
contemporary American artists of diverse ages and cultural
backgrounds.

"The United States of America is a multi-cultural country. It
is home to people from around the world. Its art works also
manifest the plurality of its society," she conceded.

In the l950s, American contemporary art was centered in New
York and other big cities like Los Angeles, she said.

Today, New York remains the commercial center for American art
activities, yet it is impossible to speak of a single creative
artistic center. Art is being produced with as much vigor and
ambition in Dallas, Seattle, Chicago and Miami as it is in New
York and Los Angeles.

The exhibition, she explained, is not intended to define late
twentieth-century American art, nor to present a roster of the
best-known artists in New York.

"Rather, we approached this daunting task with the same intent
that guided our selections for the earlier exhibition, that is,
to take a visual sampling and to capture a moment in time,"
Matthew added.

It took a year for the curators to select works of American
artists to include in this traveling exhibition, which tours
Hanoi, Shanghai, Beijing, Jakarta, Manila, Singapore and several
other Asian cities.

"Most displayed works capture not only American scenery but
the American scene. There is no single style or prevailing point
of view. All of the artists provide a distinct and credible
commentary on their time," explained Matthews while touring the
exhibition room.

Contemporary art works may appear less strange to many
Indonesian and Asian art lovers because they are quite familiar
with the idioms of American culture.

Audiences in Asia, she said, are unlikely to experience the
feeling of alienation that might come with exposure to a new art
form.

Elvis by the Tennessee-born artist Red Grooms depicts the
familiar pop culture icon Elvis Presley.

Chuck Close's Roy, a portrait of the late Pop artist Roy
Lichtenstein, will be readily accessible because of its
photographic realism.

Roy Lichtenstein's Landscape with Boats shows the influence
of Chinese landscape painting and American comic drawing which
formed the root of most Lichtenstein's art.

All in all, the exhibition, which will run for 40 days from
Feb. 3 through early April, may foster better understanding among
artists and the people of Indonesia and America. (raw)