Local sculptors send works abroad

Local sculptors send works abroad

By Gin Kurniawan and Kristanto W.

MOJOKERTO, East Java (JP): They are very modest in appearance.
They deal only with slabs of stone every day. Behind this
simplicity, though, they have great talent and skill. An
apparently worthless chunk of stone will be turned into a statue
with artistic and commercial values. To the people of Trowulan,
Mojokerto, East Java, sculpting is their daily activity.

Recently, there has been unusual enthusiasm among stone
sculptors in this area. More and more locals have taken up
sculpting. No wonder, the statues from Trowulan have a good
market now and have enabled local sculptors to earn handsome
amounts of U.S. dollars.

About a decade ago there were only a handful of stone
sculptors in Trowulan but today there are hundreds of them.
Sculpturing workshops likewise have multiplied in number. This is
good for the labor market because each workshop employs 10 to 15
sculptors.

The sculptures are popular among foreigners and the demand
continues from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France,
Australia and the United States, among others. Unfortunately, the
local sculptors cannot export their works of art directly to the
buyers. "We export our sculptures through an exporter in Bali,"
said Ponidi, 56, one of the sculptors from Jatipasar village.

Every month, each sculptor receives an order for six to 10
sculptures on average. Most of the orders are for the kind of
statues which are usually found in temples, namely the statues of
Ramayana, Ganesha, Buddha and primitive sculptures showing naked
models, dubbed by the locals as 'porn' sculptures.

"Primitive 'porn' sculptures are popular among American
buyers," Ponidi said.

The prices of sculptures depend on the size and the level of
difficulty. Generally the prices range between Rp 200,000 and Rp
5 million. "These are our prices. We do not know how much the
exporter will receive from the foreign buyers," said Jarwo,
another sculptor.

Only a few of the local sculptors have had any formal training
in sculpting. Most of them are elementary school graduates and
have learned sculpting from the earlier generation of sculptors.
They have no literature or pictures showing the types of statues
they are supposed to create.

Historically, Trowulan was the seat of the Majapahit kingdom.
In those days, many artisans sculpted the statues needed by the
kingdom as their dedication to the king. It seems that this skill
is endowed from birth to every generation born in Trowulan.

Today, the sculptors of Trowulan, who have received orders
from an archaeological institution for the repair of damaged
statues, attend to the needs of collectors and neophytes in
Indonesia as well as abroad.

It seems that it is the link with history that has made the
sculptures from Trowulan popular. "People place orders with us
because of the historical link that our village has," some local
sculptors have said.

The market for stone sculpting has attracted many companies
with big capital to open showrooms in Trowulan. As a result,
unfair competition is growing among these companies in recruiting
skilled sculptors from other workshops.

However, the local sculptors do not seem worried about this
tough competition. They have their own understanding of good
fortune. They believe that good fortune is well arranged for
them. The presence of a great number of companies running
showrooms for sculptures means good business to them.

"The fact is, we receive more and more orders, although the
number of workshops run by financially strong companies is
growing," said Ponidi.

What worries them, though, is that the primary material for
their sculptures, the andesite stone, is now becoming scarce. At
first the local sculptors collected this stone from nearby Mount
Kelud but recently they have had to find the stone from as far as
Blitar because there is no more andesite at Mt. Kelud.

Unfortunately, the supply of this stone in Blitar is also
dwindling. The mud belched out by Mount Kelud has buried the
andesite stone usually found on the surface. So, now they go to
Ponorogo and Pacitan in search of this stone.

As they travel further to collect the stone, the sculptors
face increasing expenses. Nevertheless, they are not deterred and
continue sculpting.