The vital role of museum curators

By Chandra Johan

JAKARTA (JP): Following developments in other fields over the past 10 years, the world of visual arts also has grown significantly, both on the business side as well as in the discourse surrounding this world. The striking development in the business side of the visual arts is shown in the number of galleries which continue to open and the never-ending exhibitions in art centers, galleries, cultural parks, hotels and office buildings.

Along with these developments, this field of art affords the opportunity for art theoreticians and observer to become curators. Long before the term curator became popular, they were present in museums, assuming functional roles in the management of collections.

However, curators at this time were unappreciated by the art world, including academics.

In the past few years, as curators have been expected to play a more important role in art events, the profession has gained a newfound respect. Unfortunately, seemingly anyone can become a curator, even if they do not know what to do or what their responsibilities are. Art dealers, gallery owners and even the organizers of arts events feel less credible if they do not have a curator. It is small wonder that when these people hire curators with good reputations, they tend to promote the curator more than the artist.

There are always art dealers or gallery owners who do not realize the kind of "animal" curators usually are. Out of ignorance, a gallery in Central Jakarta put an advertisement in a well-known newspaper for a curator. After the advertisement had run for a long time, the gallery had received only one application. By chance the applicant was a graduate from an art school in the United States.

However, the curator merely was put on "display" by the gallery -- they advertised the fact they had a curator who graduated from abroad. The work he did was not that of an actual curator. Also, this person was somebody looking for a job not somebody who loved this work, not to mention not knowing anything about the situation of art in Indonesia. As a result the gallery collapsed, although, of course, there were other factors behind its fall.

This story is only one of many which need no further elaboration. This story also shows that most of society does not know about the existence and work of curators.

Generally, the formal work of a curator in a museum includes: identifying, interpreting, classifying and describing collections; preparing concepts and materials for temporary exhibitions and occasionally remodeling exhibitions; investigating the range of collections for data purposes, information and scientific and popular writing; giving speeches and guidance to students and visitors.

Those are the general requirements of a museum curator whose role is more educative and administrative, and thus is generally called an "information specialist".

However, with current developments in the world of visual arts, especially the development and growth of institutions like art centers and alternative spaces, the general role of museum curators can serve as a theoretical base, while the rest depends on the quality and individual insight of a curator in absorbing developments in the art world.

A good curator generally is an expert with a specific capability. In developed countries like Europe or America, a curator is not considered good if he does not know the works of the art masters of the world. Take Rembrandt's Night Watch, for example. A good curator will know the actual title of this painting is Kompi Kapten Frans Banning Cocq and Letnan Willem van Ruytenburch. They will be able to prove this is the correct title by pointing to evidence, including the chemical change in a layer of varnish in the painting which caused the surface to blacken (the painting actually shows a daylight scene). So the title Night Watch is erroneous.

Not only do good curators remember and know every object in paintings, but they also can recall the smallest of details. Not only do they know that this painting shows Captain Cocq, van Ruytenburch, troops with spears and ancient rifles, the banner bearer, a girl dressed in white and a drummer, they also know the nuances of the painting's color and texture, even the black spot on the drum.

This is why it is not easy to become a curator and why the profession deserves praise and respect. A museum curator in Australia receives a standard salary of between $32,000 and $60,000 per month. A curator in a gallery in Jakarta who graduated from abroad was paid Rp 1,500,000 a month and quit after three months.

In fact, Indonesia does not have curator who specialize in certain subjects or periods, like Julie Ewington, who is an expert in Australian Art, or Claire Stouling, who is an expert in European modern art of the l950s and l960s. The curators in Indonesia, who are few in number and young, are usually "generalists". Some broadly study Indonesian modern art, but nobody thoroughly researches certain periods of the movement.

The late Sanento Yuliman is an example of a rare curator and art critic. He thoroughly research the artist Persagi (and Sudjojono) and proved Sudjono's modernism through the visual aspects of his paintings, and compared these aspects with the ideas of his time.

Jim Supangkat, one of the country's independent curators, seems to be trying to focus his attention on contemporary Indonesian art. Beside Jim, we have Amir Sidharta (the curator of Museum Pelita Harapan), Hendro Wiyanto (independent curator), Rizki Zaelani and Asmujo Irianto (curators of Sumardja Gallery), Tubagus Andre (Nasional Gallery), Merwan Yusuf (Istiqlal Gallery), Asikin Hasan (Lontar Gallery), Suwarno Wisetrotomo (independent curator), Maman Noor (independent curator) and a few others who have focused their attention on the art of the profession.

Although these curators did not study specific periods of art in-depth -- because this kind of study does not exist in art academies in Indonesia -- they continue to expand their experience and educate themselves by attending workshops organized by foundations and art institutions. In the future, the roles these curators play will be vital to the growth of the Indonesian art world.