Gallery teaches children about the beauty of art

By Mehru Jaffer

JAKARTA (JP): There is always some hustle and bustle, but it is not a bazaar. It is not quite a restaurant, but people meet here and eat. No, it is not a school either, although much learning goes on here. The Mitra Hadiprana complex in Kemang, South Jakarta, can best be described as an edifice to art, erected by a family united in its passion for the past.

It is a passion that does not fear change; making a conscious attempt to embrace change for nearly four decades.

The lobby itself compels contemplation, with a Made Hartaguna painting of Lord Wishnu, the ultimate preserver of all life. Wishnu is flanked by Saraswati, somber goddess of wisdom and symbol of spiritual fulfillment, and Sri, the goddess of rice who satisfies physical needs.

Here customers rub shoulders with students who come in and out of the complex throughout the week not just to buy art but also to learn to draw and paint. The youngest student is five-year-old Cassie, who was waiting for her handicraft teacher Wayan to help her paint a wall hanging.

Wayan studied handicraft in the Netherlands. "And painting comes naturally to me because I am Balinese," Wayan laughed, introducing six-year-old Shiella who he said was a gifted child with magic in her fingers. Shiella said she looked forward to coming here, rather than accompany her parents shopping.

Next door, 10-year-old Valencia, who loves to paint birds and landscapes on the canvas was not sure if she would continue to paint in the future, but for the time being was enjoying herself. Eleven-year-old Hessel from the Netherlands, too, does not know why he enjoys painting. "All I know is that I love to paint all the time," he said, putting the finishing touches on the painting of the Eiffel Tower he was working on.

Adrianus, 8, was painting a sleek red car, and confessed to prefer painting to video games.

"It is never too early to get people to begin to appreciate art," says Gina, one of the eight teachers at the Hadiprana art complex and a graduate from the prestigious Pratt Institute in New York.

Gina feels that if children are simply introduced to colors, lines and shapes at an early age it is enough to instill in them a life-long love for the arts.

At the end of the course, which costs about Rp 720,000 for 12 lessons, an exhibition is organized of all the art work created by both adults and children. Another exciting aspect of the course is the visits by famous painters, such as the eclectic Erica, who mingle with the amateur painters and offered comments and a tip or two.

The permanent art gallery a few steps below where the course is held is an added inspiration, with its endless exhibition space. The imagination is stirred with each step as love for the diverse cultural heritage of Indonesia blooms afresh. There is something there from each of the country's provinces, from masks, shadow puppets, musical instruments, sculpture, doors, window frames and the bases of pillars, all reflecting the centuries-old craftsmanship and mystic beliefs of the most culturally diverse country in the world.

In these times of megamalls overflowing with goods, some useful and some not, what Hadiprana specializes in is exquisite art that is very exclusive.

"We concentrate on art that matters to the individual. If customers so wish, we also try to understand the space they live in and their cultural background and only then do we sell," said Puri, second daughter of the family so fascinated with the symbolism and myth of the traditional arts and architecture. Pointing to the staggering range of objects around her, she is convinced that each piece was designed for a specific need.

To posses art for the sheer pleasure is only part of it. Puri also believes in display art in the correct way. For art to evoke history and provoke emotion it is very important it be displayed according to its space, volume and light, says the architectural engineer who is also an interior designer, like her father Hendra Hadiprana.

Hendra began his career in 1957 when he established Grahacipta Hadiprana as an architectural agency which also offered interior designing services and an art gallery.

"Of course this business is our bread and butter, but it is also a dream," Puri said, adding this art gallery in the Block M area was Jakarta's first art shop to market Indonesian paintings. However, its philosophy remains to repair the twisted perception that culture, religion and spirituality, by definition are things of the past.

To this day the struggle continues to rediscover the past and to blend it with "appropriate modernity" for a more wholesome existence. And in creating a special ambience which has taken the best from both the east and the west, the Hadiprana complex offers traditional services in very chic surroundings.

Textile arts are among the country's most refined handicraft traditions, batik being the most famous. Therefore, on the ground floor is the showroom of master weaver Tenun Baron. On display are yards of breathtaking fabric, some of which curtain down as if from a piece of weft. From behind all this magic emerges Maya, the smiling saleswoman, to introduce the illusion created on cloth since the ancient kings of Surakarta and Yogyakarta.

Puri is proud to have Baron as one of her 12 tenants in the complex. "Only because Baron is the best," she says.