Yogyakarta, the city of painters, other artists

Yogyakarta, the city of painters, other artists

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta deserves to be dubbed the city of artists as it
hosts 650 superb artists, 400 of them painters, not to mention
numerous beginners or fine art students who have yet to make a
name for themselves.

Being in the city enables one to enjoy painting or fine art
exhibitions almost every day. It's not surprising as the city
holds at least two exhibitions each week staged by art galleries,
workshops or other institutions. Some hotels also hold painting
exhibitions.

These exclude two major events involving numerous painters and
artists held by the city biennially and annually. They are the
Yogyakarta Annual Painting Exhibition during the Yogyakarta Art
Festival every June to July and the Yogyakarta Biennial Painting
Exhibition. Both events are organized by the Yogyakarta Taman
Budaya art and cultural center.

Prominent galleries that regularly hold painting or fine art
exhibitions are Cemeti Gallery, Yogyakarta Bentara Budaya, the
Yogyakarta French Cultural Center, Galeri Benda and Vredenburg
Museum.

Smaller and lesser known art galleries and workshops can be
found in almost every corner of the city.

"Most artists and painters have their own groups, mostly based
on ethnic or educational background. Those from West Sumatra
alone have a number of groups here, not to mention Yogyakarta's
Indonesian Fine Arts Institute (ISI) alumni who group themselves
based on the year they were admitted to the institute," the head
of Taman Budaya, Suprapto, told The Jakarta Post.

It is indeed such a multicultural setting that, according to
art observer and ISI curator Dwi Marianto, it has made the
ancient city what it is today.

"The condition has created a multicultural interaction that
people here feel free to interpret aesthetics," said Dwi, who is
also head of the institute's research department, adding that the
multicultural condition originated in the mid-1940s, when
Yogyakarta was the capital city of the newly independent republic
of Indonesia.

Living in such a condition, according to Dwi, could encourage
artists and painters to keep working and improving their work.
"This, in turn, influences the development of art itself because
they are not only creating art but also enriching each other's
art."

Noted batik artist Amri Yahya shared Dwi's opinion, saying
that Yogyakarta indeed provided painters and artists with a very
conducive and friendly climate in which to work.

"Artists do need a certain climate to develop their
creativity. That's what lured me here," Palembang-born Amri, who
has lived in Yogya for 45 years, said.

Painter Hadi Soesanto also said that the city's atmosphere
encouraged him to create more. He said the competition in his
field forced him to keep improving his work.

"I once returned to my hometown, Jember in East Java, but
could not find the same atmosphere as here. I finally decided to
come back and start my career as an artist here," said Hadi, who
came to Yogya in 1987 when he began studying at ISI.

The existence of ISI as well as the Yogyakarta Fine Arts High
School, to some extent, is believed to contribute to the
increasing number of painters and artists as well as to the
emergence of new art villages in the city. Nitiprayan -- which is
located near the fine arts high school -- and other surrounding
villages, are examples.

"Villages around ISI's new campus like Sewon, Bantul, seem to
be experiencing the same thing," Dwi said.

It's not surprising that many of the big names in the local
art scene grew up here. Affandi, Soedjono Kerton, Itji Tarmizi,
Djoko Pekik and Amri Yahya are but a few.