Guruh wins Montblanc achievement award
JAKARTA (JP): Despite being tongue-tied, Guruh Irianto Soekarnoputra beamed with elation after accepting the Montblanc Achievement Award 2001 in a lavish ceremony at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Jakarta, on Wednesday.
"I asked myself, why me?" said the Sukarno clan member and noted choreographer, composer, designer and avid painter, in his brief speech.
The works of Guruh, the fifth child born by Sukarno's second wife Fatmawati, combine modern and traditional styles.
"I guess I inherit my artistic blood from my parents. Both of them loved the arts and were quite actively involved in them. As a teenager I used to watch my father painting and admired his collections. This fostered my interests in fine arts and the performing arts," Guruh said.
Guruh has received a number of awards from foreign organizations. He was awarded the Chevalier De L'Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres from the French government in 1991 and the Kawakami Award and Audience Selection Award in Tokyo in 1997.
He is the third Indonesian to have received the Montblanc award. In 1994, the award went to the late painting maestro Basuki Abdullah, while in 1995 it went to the late singer Sudjarwoto Sumarsono, popularly known as Gombloh.
The award was presented by Wolff Heinrichsdorff, Executive Vice President for Marketing and Sales of Montblanc International, and Sumarno Lohardjo, President Director of PT Sumaco Wahana Utama, Montblanc's agent in Indonesia.
Guruh performed two of his works, Lambang Sari and Gandrung Greget Sari, during the ceremony.
"People may think that my works have been strongly influenced by Balinese culture, but if you really pay attention I combine movements from other parts of the country as well," Guruh said.
With the exception of Wednesday's event, it has been quite a while since Guruh took center stage, a situation which he blames on the prolonged political and economic crisis.
This year, Guruh said he would concentrate on the 100th Anniversary of Sukarno, for which he is chairman of the organizing committee. (lup)