Foreign curators spark controversy in Bali

Foreign curators spark controversy in Bali

By Putu Wirata

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): The involvement of foreign curators in the Art Reflection '98 painting exhibition being held at the Darga Gallery here until Jan. 16 has sparked a bitter controversy.

Gallery owner Jais Hadiana Dargawijaya made the decision to involve a number of foreign curators in the exhibition, including Jean Couteau, Chaterine Coutour and Pascal Lansberg.

All three are from France and only Jean Couteau, who is conducting research on Balinese culture, lives in Bali. Pascal Lansberg is the owner of the Lansberg Gallery in Paris, while Chaterine Coutour is a curator for the Beyeler Foundation, which is associated with the Beyeler Museum in Basel, Switzerland.

The heated debate was fueled by painter Aant S. Kawitsar's refusal to participate in the exhibition because of the involvement of the foreign curators.

Kawitsar argues that their involvement goes against his principle of independence in the development of Indonesian culture. He also believes that only Indonesians are able to truly understand their culture.

He questions the failure of the Darga Gallery to employ Balinese artists such as Made Bandem, Djelantik, Wayan Sika, Made Wianta, Ngurah Bagus and Gede Pitana as curators.

Painter Wayan Sika, owner of the Sika Contemporary Art Gallery in Ubud, supports Kawitsar's position.

"We should cast doubt on their (foreign curators) understanding of Balinese or Indonesian culture because they are not experts in these areas," says Sika, who has had a number of shows in Switzerland and Australia and acts as his own curator.

Jais says he chose the French curators because he is looking to exhibit Balinese art works in Paris and other major European cities. Last June, in cooperation with the Lansberg Gallery, he opened a Darga Gallery in Paris.

"We mean to bring the works of these young Balinese artists (taking part in the exhibition) to the Darga & Lansberg Gallery in Paris. Therefore they (the French curators) can function as a yardstick of the European public's taste for Indonesian modern art," he says.

Jais makes it clear that he does not object to involving Indonesian curators in the selection of paintings to be displayed in the Darga Gallerys in Denpasar and Paris.

"We will select curators based on their capabilities," he says, adding that he refuses the idea of differentiating between local and foreign curators.

"I believe that art is universal. In terms of understanding, there is no reason to assume that the French understand modern art less than locals do."

Painter Nyoman Tusan, one of the artists participating in Art Reflection '98, supports Jais' stance.

"It's unfair to assume that foreign curators are not qualified enough to comprehend our art work. My only objection is that they often view our work as a continuation of ethnic art. What the Darga Gallery is doing now is useful in remedying this situation," he said.

Jean Couteau, a French anthropologist who has spent almost 20 years studying Balinese culture, shares this opinion.

"I agree that art is universal. If people assume that Balinese culture is rightly understood only by the Balinese, then Islamic art could be criticized only by Muslims, etc. I'm afraid that would be a setback," Couteau says.

He adds that he can understand why some Balinese artists feel that foreigners intervene in the development of local culture.

Putu Suasta, chairman of the exhibition's organizing committee, has also criticized the sentiment that foreign curators should not be involved in the exhibition.

"We picked the foreign curators because we want to apply an international standard to our fine arts. It's like in a world soccer tournament where foreign coaches are needed ... I don't agree with Timor car nationalism," he argues.

The failed Timor "national car", which the Soeharto government liked to claim was a "national pride", was designed and built in South Korea and imported free of taxes. The project was awarded to a company owned by former president Soeharto's youngest son, Hutomo Mandala Putra.

Violence

Then president Soeharto proclaimed 1998 as the "year of arts and culture". However, what really occurred in 1998 was the antithesis of this ideal: violence, murder, political manipulation, racial tension and sectarian conflict.

Violence is the dominant theme of the art works exhibited in Art Reflection '98. Taking part in the event are around 80 painters, ranging from established artists such as Nyoman Tusan, Chusin Setiadikara, AS Kurnia and Djoko KS; to newcomers such as Ketut Susena, Nengah Sujana, Made Supena, Imam Nurofiq, Gusti Putu Muliana, Duatmika and Teguh Ritma Iman.

One of the aims of the exhibition is to give young talents an opportunity to present their original works.

While none of the artists show any outstanding innovation, Jais says that "many of the participants show great talent".

Among the most attractive works on display is Disharmony by Chusin Setiadikara. The 150cm x 150cm painting features a woman lying facedown holding a rose, a muscular man holding a knife, and a monkey in one corner saying, "Gosh, it's difficult to be a human being".

The work alludes to the tragedies such as rape, looting and political "comedy" that reigned in 1998.

Pemerkosaan (Rape) by Martin Agam Sitepu is another outstanding work. The 140cm x 140cm painting depicts buildings, armored vehicles, soldiers, terrified women and flames. The painting obviously tells the story of Jakarta's May 1998 riots.

Another painting, Jakarta-Tionghoa by Imam Nurofiq, surrealistically describes violence through human figures crossing each other. With the dominant dark color of the work, the message of the painting is strongly conveyed: Violence and bloodshed are burying the hope of a brighter future.