0 For art and artists?

The plan for a space dedicated specifically to Indonesian art at this year’s Art Stage Singapore did not sound on the surface like it should have triggered controversy. But that is exactly what fair director Lorenzo Rudolf did, for his announcement included the news that artists would be exhibiting without gallery representation, defying art fair convention. Instead, Art Stage would be taking a 50 percent commission on works sold. Rudolf said he was approached by a group of local artists who had suggested the exhibition. 

“The world is becoming more and more decentralized. That means the interest from everywhere is increasing — also in the emerging markets — and that’s exactly the situation when these artists came and asked me, ‘Help us do something’,” Rudolf told The Jakarta Post. Yet some Indonesian galleries did not take kindly to the fact that Art Stage was communicating directly with artists, opting not to participate in the fair. Nine Indonesian galleries attended in 2012, this year only four. 

Biantoro Santoso, director of Jakarta’s Nadi Gallery — which exhibited adjacent to the Indonesian Pavilion — said the issue was when the decision to create the space was made and who was invited. “We had already received the response that we were accepted [to the fair], then the Indonesian Pavilion concept emerged. The organizers already knew which galleries were joining the fair, which artists were being brought by which galleries … But the pavilion idea had a lot of overlap with the artists who were being brought by the galleries, as they were also invited to join the Indonesian Pavilion.” 

The problem was with Indonesia’s galleries, Rudolf said, noting that participation in international art fairs had declined over the years and there wasn’t a solid gallery structure in the country. But Biantoro told the Post, “In all countries there are [galleries] that are good and others that are not so good … Don’t lump them all together so that the impression is there are no good Indonesian galleries.” The country’s art scene may just not suit the Western model, Rudolf suggested in a relativist turn. 

“The structure is not like that here. It’s different. We have to think in other ways.” One example of such is the annual ArtJog in Yogyakarta, now going into its sixth year and deemed a successful artist-centered art fair that works without galleries. Rudolf was brought on as an advisor in 2012. “What is the role of an art fair? Is it to sell some space to some galleries, to sell some square meters? Or is it to promote art? In my understanding it’s the second one and not the first,” he said. 

Is this tempest then an example of local methods clashing with a Western model? Is it the result of poor infrastructure unable to meet international standards? Is it about Indonesian galleries being bypassed in order to garner profits? Or is it merely about showcasing the incredible art Indonesia has to offer? Whatever one might think, the artists in attendance at the fair were enthusiastic, and Indonesia — whether the art scene or another matter — remains as dynamic and potentially divisive as ever.

source : the jakarta post