IS A BLACK HOLE REALLY

IS A BLACK HOLE REALLY IMMINENT OVER INDONESIAN CONTEMPORARY ART MARKET?

The ART TALK event initiated by hendrotan took place at Padma Resort Bali in Legian on Sunday, February 19, 2012. Some thirty persons were present, comprising various elements of stakeholders of art, which include contemporary artists, collectors, curators, art galleries, media specializing on art, art institute lecturers, thinkers of art, publishers, and art lovers from various ‘enclaves’ of art in Bali, Jakarta, Surabaya and Yogyakarta. Clockwise are hendrotan, Cipyanto, Made Djirna, Ines Couteau, Kun Adnyana, Wahyudin, Chusin, Mangu Putra, Teguh Wibisana, I G Nyoman Widnyana, Yusuf Susilo Hartono, Jean Couteau, Agus Cahaya, Dayu Biasa Gallery and a friend, Koes Karnadi and wife, Putu Rabin and wife, Junaedi and wife, Tjandra Winata, Vivi D and several other figures whose names we didn’t have the chance to write down.

As it went this ‘art talk’ seemed to be more appropriately called ‘Focus Group Discussion’ (FGD) that is somewhat fashionable lately. In the spacious ballroom of the hotel the participants were seated as if surrounding an arena, meaning that they were able to see each other, and in fact each of them had their turn to speak out. The focus group discussion went four hours from 03:00 pm, with the interruption of a tea break, ended formally with a dinner but to be followed still by additional one-hour spontaneous informal discussion at the coffee shop.

During the formal discussion Hardiman the moderator encouraged the participants to answer two major questions: 1) What is, actually, the “black hole” of the Indonesian art market; 2) How to cope with the “black hole” so to revitalize the Indonesian contemporary art market that has been inert recently? hendrotan who was given the opportunity to open the discussion gave explanation about the theme of the talk. He said that the ”black hole” was here meant to refer to “the unfavorable condition” that’s been pulling the Indonesian contemporary art market into it. Stakeholders of Indonesian art need to work together to identify the causes of the condition and find likely solutions of them. They include the need for “injected fresh money” that is expected to come from young collectors and fresh market players.

“Black Hole”: What is it?

Black hole is not the end of the world; it is just an interval in the life cycle of a contemporary art market. Its concrete form is market’s lethargy. A lot of senior collectors are not interested in collecting works of contemporary art, or not able to do it, any longer. They find that in terms of price, relatively newcomer artists approach masters (Affandi and Soedjojono for example). It makes collectors, particularly in Bali, apathetic. Some of them even make the shift from art to property business (Cipyanto, Rabin, Tjandra). Beginning last year (as Dayu from Biasa Gallery admitted), it’s been hard to sell works of some Indonesian artists whose names were eminent to art market. It is in this respect that stakeholders of Indonesian art have the obligation to maintain conditions for the favorableness of the market (Junaedi).

Yet one could say that a black hole might indeed mean a “small doomsday” and a “big doomsday”. It is a small doomsday with respect to the life cycle of an individual artist: emerging, vanishing or surviving. Yet the black hole is a big doomsday in the sense of the protracted inertia in the realm of contemporary art currently. Exhibitions attract only few people to visit and transactions are rare; among the reasons for this condition are market misconduct and the “cooking game” in hyping artists and their works (as Chusin mentioned).  One basic issue is that until today we do not have yet any “rule of the game” set and institutionalized by the common consent of Indonesian art’s stakeholders (Yusuf Susilo Hartono).

Failing to agree with the others Jean Couteau asserted he didn’t see such hole. In fact during the past ten years the global scene has seen changes in creativity marked by, among some other things, the emergence of iconic themes. In the macroeconomic scene a crisis took place in 2008, triggered from the USA, and reached Europe to effect in uncertainty in many respects. Yet it didn’t affect Indonesia’s economy seriously. If there was/is indeed a black hole perhaps it is because Indonesian art (collectors in particular) is not prepared to respond to developments taking place in the global scene. The point is, contemporary art doesn’t tend to explore beauty as do old masters. Instead it serves as an instrument to deal with social questions, which classic collectors probably don’t find it easy to understand.

As Wahyudin, a curator, sees it, the condition of Indonesian art market “being in black hole” doesn’t seem consistent with what prevails in the regional market, particularly India and Turkey now flourishing. The moderator then offered a more to-the-point question on what is really going on with artists, galleries, curators, critics, collectors, market players, auction houses and the media in Indonesia.

To Cope with “Black Hole”: Some Ideas

Participants imparted their opinions in accordance with their different fields. Despite the moderator’s attempt to establish some clear focus of the discussion, until the end of the discussion those opinions remained discrete units. So it was up to the individual participants to draw some connecting line then make their own conclusions.

Cipyanto made the appeal for going “back to basics”. A senior collector who in the meantime stops collecting, for the reason of extremely high prices of artwork today, he seemed to be inspired by the senior collector Oei Hong Djien (OHD) who is about to exhibit five masters (Affandi, Hendra Gunawan, S. Soedjojono,  Widayat , and Sudibyo) under the heading of “back to basics”. To avoid being dragged into the black hole, collectors need to rely on “feeling” just the way artists (painters) do in working.

Wahyudin remarked that OHD’s attempt to appeal for “going back to basics” represents the drive to restore the structure of art and, while doing so, ask contemporary art to reconsider the pricing of its products. He reminded that the price of a Damien Hirst couldn’t exceed a Van Gogh piece; however, in Indonesia the price of works of young artists can surpass those of Fadjar Sidik’s and Affandi’s, for example.

With regard to “back to basics” Chusin proposed self-examination along a list of questions to be answered by all involved. He based it on his conclusion that the years 2000 – 2010 mark a “decadent era” in Indonesian art. In that era, he said, many were learning to know what contemporary art with its industrial face is. He had the sense that a lot of artists were strained and bewildered in entering market that often required sacrifices in terms of ethics and morals. Concerning what went on in market, artists found practices that were at odds with their ways of thinking; i.e. that a high price was regarded as necessarily implying a painting’s high value. Yet inexpensive paintings may be of great value. Then they asked, in today’s contemporary world, “What is price?”  And must artists step into market?

Mangu Putra joined in by saying that for artists to be able to survive today, they should at least focus on their own ideas, ways and tracks. They don’t need to turn their heads to the right and left lest they fall. In Djirna’s formulation, it is “to paint with enjoyment and to pick themes that one really loves”. Djirna’s remark sounded somewhat diplomatic to the other participants’ ears as they knew that there was the time in Djirna’s career when his works had been so hyped that the price went rocketing only to collapse later. Anyway, Djirna tried to stand up again and succeeded in doing so (his all-out exploration has won him excellent achievements).

So what can galleries do to keep art from falling into the black hole? In his capacity as a gallery manager, hendrotan, Emmitan CA Gallery’s owner, emphasized how important it is for galleries in Indonesia to discover new talents for the sake of developing Indonesian contemporary art. As previously said, hendrotan held that to revitalize Indonesian contemporary art market fresh money is called for and it was expected to come from young collectors and fresh market-players. Therefore hendrotan hoped that young collectors and fresh market-players would not be preyed in the business; they should be prevented from withdrawing from the market  because of some bad experience. In addition, hendrotan strongly hoped that art dealers, galleries and especially senior collectors would not just say ‘yes’ and join in the giddy celebration of superficial high-pricing achievements.

While there can be different purposes in acquiring art works, Teguh Wibisana maintained that today making investments is the motive. Therefore collectors will be hunting for high-quality goods sold at lower prices than they are ‘out there’. He quoted the painting exhibition of Mangu at BBJ (2004). The prices of Mangu’s works there were around IDR 30 million while “out there” they could reach IDR 70 – 80 million. Because collectors felt they had the chance to make big profits out of that, they all generously gave their appreciation and compliments. “It is true that Mangu and Chusin didn’t take part in enjoying the last boom, but when the price of contemporary art collapses in market, the prices of their works remain steady in market,” he said.

The question is whether it is possible to stir up the Indonesian contemporary art market that has been lethargic for long; or is it now necessary to have artists correct the prices of their works? In hendrotan’s opinion such correction or lowering of price is not a desirable solution since it will generate even bigger problems and place artists and galleries in difficult positions. When what applies for basic commodities also applies for works of contemporary art, the “market” will no longer believe the values and attitudes of artists and art galleries (including their philosophy and morals). Who, then, should be responsible to collectors and market players already buying the goods at its original price level before the correction? Doesn’t pricing works of art have its rules? (hendrotan’s writing on his blog entitled “Price Validation...”). hendrotan went on by saying that branded items of fashion industry such as Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Patek Philippe and Rolex wrist watches never know “correction of prices” in their history when faced with a lethargic period in market. At the most, what’s done is producing second or third quality products to sell at some lower prices. Yet it is unlikely do such thing in connection with the production of art in all its genuineness. So amid the lethargic condition of art market artists are supposed to perform more serious exploration in order to achieve some quality of products that are irresistible in every artistic feature and even capable of turning the established standard upside down, and, also, at the same time, determinedly shun the persuasion of spurious pricing at auctions.

A curator and academician from Bali, Kun Adnyana, and a curator from Yogyakarta, Wahyudin, turned back the pages to find that before the current “curator’s era” Indonesian art knew a “competition era”.  National and regional competitions like Philip Morris Indonesia Art Award/ Philip Morris Art Award were effective in revealing new talents that later vitalized both discourse on art and art market. Looking into Indonesian artists’ biographies we may immediately realize that a great number of them are Philip Morris Art Award winners, finalists and competitors, and they have maintained their existence as artists. It therefore seems that for revitalizing the Indonesian art market through the introduction of new talents, such competition needs to be run again.

Considering the actual situation Yusuf Susilo Hartono emphasized the need for an institution of stakeholders of art to define certain rules for all to observe. Then the institution will have to ensure the observance of them. As things are today, the “game” called Indonesian art is running without judges! (ysh). March, 1, 2012

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APAKAH BENAR LUBANG HITAM MENDEKATI

PASAR SENIRUPA KONTEMPORER INDONESIA?

ART TALK yang digagas oleh hendrotan ini berlangsung di Padma Resort Bali di Legian, hari Minggu, tanggal 19 Februari 2012. Dihadiri oleh  30-an orang, terdiri dari berbagai unsur pemangku kepentingan senirupa : para perupa kontemporer, kolektor, kurator, galeris, media senirupa,  dosen senirupa dari beberapa perguruan tinggi seni, pemikir senirupa, publisher hingga pecinta seni, dari berbagai kantong senirupa : Bali, Jakarta, Surabaya dan Yogyakarta. Mereka itu (searah jarum jam) hendrotan, Cipyanto, Made Djirna,  Ines Couteau, Kun Adnyana, Wahyudin, Chusin, Mangu Putra, Teguh Wibisana, I G Nyoman Widnyana, Yusuf Susilo Hartono, Jean Couteau, Agus Cahaya, Dayu Biasa Gallery dan rekan, Koes Karnadi dan istri, Putu Rabin dan istri, Junaedi dan istri, Tjandra Winata, drg. Vivi D  dan beberapa tokoh lain yang tidak sempat kami catat namanya.

Dalam pelaksanaannya, art talk ini lebih tepat kemudian disebut sebagai Focus Group Discussion (FGD) yang sedang ngetren belakangan ini, di Ballroom hotel yang luas , para peserta duduk melingkar (tepatnya segi empat), sehingga satu peserta dengan lainnya bisa saling melihat, dan masing-masing orang secara bergiliran mengeluarkan pendapat. FGD yang berlangsung selama 4 jam, mulai pukul 15.00 wita diselingi tea break dan diakhiri makan malam, dan diskusi spontanias (tambahan) selama satu jam di coffee shop.

Selama berlangsung art talk atau FGD tersebut,  Hardiman sebagai moderator, mengajak peserta untuk menjawab dua hal besar : 1) Apa sebenarnya “lubang hitam” dalam pasar senirupa Indonesia itu, 2) Bagaimana mengatasi “lubang hitam”  itu agar pasar senirupa kontemporer yang lesu ( sangat ) beberapa waktu belakangan ini bisa bergairah kembali ? hendrotan yang diberi kesempatan membuka acara ini menjelaskan sekitar tema, bahwa lubang hitam dimaksud adalah sebuah kiasan atas “situasi buruk yang menyedot” pasar senirupa kontemporer Indonesia sehingga lesu beberapa waktu belakangan ini. Situasi ini tentu saja perlu dicari sebab dan solusinya secara bersama. Salah satu diantaranya adanya perlunya “kucuran dana segar”, yang diharapkan bisa datang dari kolektor muda dan pemain pasar pemula.

Apa Sebenarnya “Lubang Hitam”?

Lubang hitam bukan sebuah kiamat, namun siklus saja dalam sebuah perputaran kehidupan pasar senirupa kontemporer. Bentuk konkritnya kondisi pasar lesu. Banyak kolektor senior tidak mau dan tidak mampu mengoleksi karya senirupa kontemporer lagi. Perupa yang belum cukup jam terbangnya, harganya langsung gila-gilaan,  yang mendekati harga karya para pendekar (Affandi, Soejojono, dan lain-lain). Sehingga para kolektor, terutama di Bali, menjadi apatis. Bahkan terjadi tren pindah haluan ke property. (Cipyanto, Rabin,Tjandra). Sejak tahun lalu (diakui Dayu dari Galeri Biasa),  sulit menjual beberapa perupa Indonesia yang namanya pernah ngetren di pasar. Disitulah, pemangku senirupa berkewajiban harus menjaga kondisi pasar agar tetap kondusif (Junaedi).

Lubang hitam dimaknai sebagai “kiamat kecil” dan “kiamat besar”. Kiamat kecil, adalah siklus kehidupan masing-masing pelukis : muncul, hilang dari peredaran atau tetap bertahan. Lubang hitam dalam arti kiamat besar, adalah situasi kelesuan pasar yang bekepanjangan dalam ranah senirupa kontemporer belakangan ini : pameran sepi pengunjung, sepi transaksi antara lain akibat tingkah laku pasar yang salah, dan perilaku goreng menggoreng (seperti diungkapkan Chusin).  Persoalan mendasar adalah sampai hari ini kita belum punya aturan main yang bisa dipahami dan disepakati bersama oleh pemangku senirupa Indonesia dan dilembagakan  (Yusuf Susilo Hartono).

Berbeda dengan yang lain, Jean Couteau justru mengaku tidak melihat lubang itu. Memang dalam sepuluh tahun terakhir ini, secara global sedang terjadi perubahan kreativitas, salah satunya ditunjukkan oleh munculnya tema-tema ikonik. Dalam situasi makro ekonomi, memang tahun 2008 terjadi krisis yang dipicu dari Amerika Serikat sehingga  melanda Eropa, berdampak ketidak pastian dalam banyak hal. Akan tetapi tidak sampai menggoyahkan perekonomian Indonesia.  Kalaupun ada lubang hitam, mungkin senirupa (khususnya kolektor) Indonesia, tidak siap merespon perkembangan global. Sebab, senirupa kontemporer tidak cenderung mengekplorasi keindahan pada karya old master, akan tetapi sebagai alat untuk pertanyaan-pertanyaan sosial, yang mungkin tidak mudah dipahami kolektor-kolektor klasik.

Di mata kurator Wahyudin, situasi pasar senirupa Indonesia “dalam lubang hitam itu” tidak nyambung dengan apa yang terjadi di pasar regional, khususnya India dan Turki, yang kini sedang booming. Sehingga moderator mempertajam dengan pertanyaan sesunguhnya ada apa dengan perupa, galeri, kurator, kritikus, kolektor, pemain pasar, balai lelang hingga media di Indonesia.

Bagaimana Cara Mengatasi “Lubang Hitam” : Beberapa Pemikiran

Masing-masing peserta mengemukakan pandangannya sesuai dengan bidang yang ditekuninya. Moderator sudah mencoba mempertajam, akan tetapi hingga FGD berakhir, pendapat itu masih terasa berdiri sendiri-sendiri. Sehingga para peserta, dituntut untuk menarik benang merah sendiri-sendiri jika ingin mengambil kesimpulan.

Cipyanto mengajak kita “back to basic”. Kolektor senior yang sementara berhenti mengoleksi, lantaran harga terlalu tinggi, rupanya mengambil inspirasi dari kolektor senior Oei Hong Djien (OHD) yang hendak memamerkan karya 5 Pendekar (Affandi, Hendra Gunawan, S.Soedjojono,  Widayat , Sudibyo) bertajuk sama “back to basic”. Untuk tidak terseret ke lubang hitam, kolektor harus berpegang pada “rasa” seperti juga seorang perupa (pelukis) yang berkarya berdasar pada rasa.

Wahyudin mengomentari, upaya “back to basic” OHD dengan pameran pelukis-lukis brand name itu, adalah upaya mengembalikan struktur seni rupa pada tempatnya. Sekaligus mengajak senirupa kontemporer menalar kembali harganya.  Ia memberi contoh kalau harga Damien Hirst tidak bisa melampau Van Gogh, sedangkan disini perupa muda harganya bisa melampai  Fadjar Sidik, Affandi, misalnya.

Dalam konteks “back to basic” itu, Chusin mengajak kita mawas diri dengan sejumlah pertanyaan menarik, setelah ia memiliki simpulan bahwa pada tahun 2000 – 2010 disebutnya sebagai era dekadensi dalam senirupa Indonesia. Pada era itu banyak pihak sedang belajar apa itu senirupa kontemporer, yang berwajah industri.  ia mensinyalir banyak seniman tegang dan bingung dalam memasuki pasar, yang terkadang mengorbankan etika dan moral. Dalam pratik pasar, ia melihat praktik yang tidak sejalan dengan pikirannya, bahwa harga mahal identik dengan nilai lukisan. Padahal value yang bagus, bisa saja terletak pada lukisan yang murah. Lalu ia bertanya, di zaman kontemporer  “harga itu apa?”  Dan haruskah seniman masuk pasar?

Mangu Putra menambahkan, agar perupa bisa bertahan pada saat ini, paling tidak apa yang ia praktikkan sendiri adalah konsen pada ide, dan fokus pada jalan sendiri. Tidak perlu menoleh kanan-kiri karena bisa jatuh. Keasyikan itu, dalam bahasa Djirna adalah melukis dengan senang dan memilih tema yang ia senangi. Kita tahu, ungkapan diplomatis itu, karena para seperta tahu, bahwa dalam kariernya di senirupa, Djirna pernah merasakan digoreng di pasar hingga menjulang, namun akhirnya jatuh, dan mencoba bangkit kembali….dan dia berhasil dan sukses ( tercatat karena Djirna bereksplorasi all out dan pencapaiannya bagus sekali ).

Lalu apa yang bisa diperbuat galeri untuk menghindarkan senirupa  pada lubang hitam ??? Dalam kapasitasnya sebagai pengelola galeri, hendrotan, pemilik Emmitan CA Gallery menekankan perlunya galeri di Tanah Air menemukan bibit – bibit perupa muda, untuk kepentingan berkembangnya  senirupa kontemporer Indonesia. Seperti telah ditekankan di depan, kata hendrotan untuk membangkitkan pasar senirupa kontemporer dari kelesuannya dibutuhkan masuknya dana segar bagi peredaran keuangan dan itu diharapkan datang dari kolektor muda dan pemain pasar pemula karena itu hendrotan berharap kolektor muda dan pemain pasar pemula tidak dijadikan mangsa penggoreng agar mereka tidak jera memasuki ranah pasar dan berharap sangat pada art dealer, galeri dan khususnya kolektor senior untuk tidak mengAmini atau ikut bergembira ria pada pencapaian harga gorengan.

Tujuan orang untuk mengoleksi, memang beragam. Akan tetapi pada saat ini, tujuan orang mengoleksi ditegaskan Teguh Wibisana adalah untuk investasi. Oleh karena untuk investasi, maka kolektor akan berburu barang bagus, dengan harga dibawah yang ada di luar. Ia memberi contoh mengapa pameran lukisan Mangu di BBJ ( th. 2004 ) laku keras, karena harganya waktu hanya Rp 30 jutaan, sedangkan harga di luaran sudah mencapai Rp.70 juta-Rp.80 juta. Karena kolektor merasa mendapat untung, maka semua kolektor memuji-muji. “ Mangu dan Chusin, memang saat booming tidak menikmati, tapi setelah terjadi kehancuran harga pasar lukisan kontemporer, harga karya mereka tetap valid dan kuat dipasar” katanya.

Pertanyaannya, apakah mungkin untuk mendongkrak kelesuan pasar senirupa kontemporer Indonesia yang berkepanjangan ini atau diperlukan seniman (perupa pada umumnya) melakukan koreksi harga ?  ?  ?  Menurut hendrotan koreksi atau penurunan harga bukan merupakan solusi pilihan, sebab akan menimbulkan masalah lain yang lebih besar dan akan menyulitkan posisi perupa dan galeri, bilamana dilakukan juga pada harga karya senirupa kontemporer layaknya macam komoditi sandang pangan maka akan berdampak “pasar” tidak mempercayai lagi pada nilai dan sikap si perupa maupun galeri ( termasuk flosofi kontrol dan moralnya ), kalau model ini berketerusan--terus siapa yang bertanggung jawab kepada kolektor dan pemain pasar yang membeli sebelumnya dengan harga asli ( sebelum dikoreksi ) ? karena menentukan harga karya kan sudah ada aturannya ( tulisan hendrotan di Blognya “ Validasi harga….” ) hendrotan melanjutkan barang fashion industri bermerk seperti Hermes, Louis Vuitton, arloji Patek Philippe dan Rolex pun tidak memiliki sejarah koreksi harga pada saat pasar lesu, paling yang dilakukan membuat second atau third quality product untuk harga yang agak murahan, perlakuan begini kan  tidak bisa disamakan dalam karya senirupa yang hakiki, karena itu dalam kondisi pasar lesu, perupa selain bereksplorasi kian serius hingga mencapai kualitas karya yang menggedor seluruh indra artistik dan bahkan menjungkir--balikan kebakuan juga harus tegas menolak rayuan lelang untuk penggorengan.

Kurator / akademisi dari Bali Kun Adnyana dan kurator dari Yogyakarta Wahyudin, menengok masa lampau bahwa sebelum era kurator, seni rupa Indonesia pernah berada pada era kompetisi. Maka kompetisi-kompetisi nasional maupun regional semacam Philip Morris Indonesia Art Award/ Philip Morris Art Award nyata bahwa berhasil melahirkan bibit-bibit baru yang kelak menyegarkan wacana dan pasar. Dan kalau kita simak biografi seniman Indonesia, jebolan Philip Morris Art Award itu banyak sekali, yang masih eksis sampai sekarang. Maka untuk menggairahkan kembali pasar, dengan munculnya bibit-bibit baru, kompetisi semacam ini perlu dipacu kembali.

Dalam situasi seperti itu Yusuf Susilo hartono mendesak perlunya ada lembaga para pemangku kepentingan senirupa, untuk menyusun aturan main yang bisa dipakai pegangan bersama. Lalu lembaga ini bertugas mengawal dan mengawasinya jika terjadi pelanggaran. Jangan seperti sekarang, “permainan” senirupa Indonesia berlangsung tanpa wasit! (ysh). 1 maret 2012