Papadimitriou: No short-cut in painting

Lila Fitri Aly, Contributor, Jakarta

Unlike business in general, the sale of rare paintings by a collector leaves behind a feeling of loss and sadness for having to give up irreplaceable works of art.

This emotional bond is at least felt by Alex Papadimitriou, 77, who owns a private gallery in Menteng, Central Jakarta and is perhaps the oldest surviving collector in the country.

"I feel sad and something is lost when I have to give up my favorite pieces, but that's how business goes: Selling and buying," admitted Papadimitriou, whose collection dates back to the 1950s when he worked with the Indonesian embassy in Brazil.

Born in Palembang, South Sumatra, Papadimitriou had a German grandfather, who worked as a geologist in the South Sumatran capital and married a Japanese woman. Their daughter then married a Greek man and the couple produced the multi-ethnic Papadimitriou.

After spending 10 years in Germany from the age of four, Papadimitriou lived in Indonesia from 1938 to 1946 and in Brazil to serve the Indonesian embassy during the period of 1946-1958. He has remained in the country since 1958.

When he was in charge of organizing the second biennial fine arts exhibition in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1952, he began to make friends with noted painter Affandi and other artists, before finally being involved in the painting business as a collector.

Relying more on quality, Papadimitriou was scorned and seen as a loony 50 years ago as he made his first selection of pictures, which were then not so expensive. Later, when this business was booming he was considered a smart entrepreneur, which he denied because he claimed to have been motivated by his appreciation for works of art like his father and grandfather.

Most of his collection comprises the works of senior artists like Affandi, Hendra Gunawan and S. Sudjojono, which contain what he described as some substance, though he declined to mention the number so far held.

"Paintings without substance have no value, while this substance is hard to define and explain. Only one's feelings can tell," he said. Such serious pictures have strong force of communication regardless of their techniques, which may vary from one artist to another.

This quality, according to Papadimitriou, can be achieved through a lot of practice, much like violinists or pianists. He cited Mochtar Apin as an example, who paints daily from six to eight in the morning. The older and more experienced a painter is, the broader his or her horizons will be, like the late Affandi.

Papadimitriou secured the works directly from the artists instead of third parties in order to avoid fake pieces. Even if he got it from others, they were recommended by the painters themselves. He grouped collectors into lovers of the art and seekers of a status symbol.

"Sadly, those who gather pictures as a status symbol are apt to be deceived by profiteers for their lack of knowledge of genuine products, and such deception takes place all over the world," he pointed out.

As such phonies are usually duplicates of classic paintings highly demanded on the market, Papadimitriou suggested that collectors should make a lot of observation, reading and discussion about this subject, plus relevant painting history.

"Painters have their typical characteristics and what they produce are like different types of handwriting. Diamonds can be chemically tested while masterpieces demand buyers to beware fakes," he advised.

Papadimitriou, however, has collected none of the works of younger painters apparently due to their different paradigm resulting from the age gap. Only those 10 years younger or older than him are tolerated, though he can appreciate the achievements and prospects of some of the younger artists.

Yet, he expressed regret that some younger painters paid no heed to quality when they get big orders, while actually they should concentrate with their full spirit in order to produce works that have communicative power.

Though some maestros can work fast like Affandi once demonstrated, their concepts have settled down for two to three months.

"In the painting world there is no short-cut, and the class of such works are established by their own history, which may take two to three decades," Papadimitriou added.