Three artists portray President in pop art paintings
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Painter Hardi, who in 1978 rocked the Indonesian art world with a portrait of himself as the third president, has collaborated with a digitalist and a photographer to create 21 neo-pop art paintings of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
The works, along with about a dozen of Hardi's own paintings, are on display at the Nikko Hotel on Jl. Thamrin in Central Jakarta from Feb. 17 to Feb. 21. The artists call the exhibition The New Age of Indonesian Leaders.
Hardi, digitalist Ganden and SBY's personal photographer Abror Rizki call their works neo-pop art because they were created by digitally manipulating photographs printed on canvas, after which Hardi provided the finishing touches with an oil brush.
Some of the digital works of Abror and Ganden were exhibited last year during the presidential campaign. Hardi, who went to the exhibition, saw the digital works and decided he wanted to collaborate with the young artists.
"And here they are, I call them neo-pop art," he said.
The works portray SBY campaigning, during the election, in the winning moments of the election and afterward. Some of the works also show Jusuf Kalla.
"If SBY came here, I'm sure he would buy some of the paintings," Hardi said with a smile.
Besides SBY and Kalla, Hardi is also displaying works portraying Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu and Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, businessman-cum-politician Arifin Panigoro and the State Minister for State Enterprises Sugiharto, who opened the exhibition.
In fact, Sugiharto bought the first painting sold for his personal collection.
"The prices start at Rp 40 million (US$4,400)," Hardi said.
It could be a savvy way to sell paintings, if all these top officials and figures had the time to drop by the exhibition.
It seems that Hardi was inspired by photographers who go to graduation ceremonies and snap photos of random people and then try and sell the pictures to the people as they leave the building.
That trick might work for Rp 5,000 pictures, but for Rp 40 million paintings? We'll see.