GALLERY

anugerahadiwarta.org

By Putu Wijaya

A new gallery has just been opened. But inside, there were not even one painting. There are only large television screens hanging on the wall. About every ten seconds in the screen appear a slide of a painting that can be examine further in a special room, just in case there is a serious buyer. “This way, every artist can have continuous exhibition. Their new works can be put on display without having to wait for another exhibition,” said the gallery owner.

In the opening of the exhibition, 100 screens can show the work of 300 artists. Each one has 50 works available. It has been predicted that the exhibition will be visited by thousands of people so the gallery had to ask the police to come, in order to avoid any complications. How wrong this prediction turned out to be. The minister who was invited to initiate the exhibition was unable to come, because he had to join the president. Only a small number of VIP came, and their absence was replaced with humongous bouquet of flowers. There were only a small number of visitors. The delicious food that was served turned out to be a waste, and had to be disposed of.

“This is evidence that people don’t want to watch slides, they want to look at the real paintings. The owner should have known the reason why so many people flew to Paris to see Monalisa, or go back and forth to Amsterdam to see directly Van Gogh’s Sun Flower. Reproductions and results can not replace real human labor. Technology can not replace people. A work of art is not something to look at, but to grasp!” a renowned gallery king criticizes the event.

After the failed opening, the gallery closed. The owner felt bitter. Many journalists came to find out, but the door just didn’t open. It turned out he had flew out of the country. A year later, the gallery was sold to another owner.

“A gallery is an oasis,” said the new owner, the gallery king who once criticized the gallery.

“Oasis always provides water for the travelers. Whether there is or there aren’t any travelers that pass by, the oasis still exists. A gallery is a long term cultural investment. Equals to other cultural objects, it is intangible. Thus the profit can not be measure with numbers. Without exaggeration, a gallery in itself is a form of dedication to the people, nation and country, because a gallery can ameliorate the image of society.”

In a press conference held in a five star hotel not long before the opening, the press swarmed him with questions.

“Is this a gallery of slides or is this a gallery of real paintings?”

“What’s the difference?”

“But you once criticize, that people want to see the real paintings instead of slides!”

“That is correct.”

“So now you are changing strategies?”

“That is correct!”

“Why?”

“Because, this is business.”

“What do you mean?”

“To do business is to gamble.”

“Then it is illegitimate?”

“Exactly.”

“That is against the law!”

“Business has a lot of challenges. Those without guts shouldn’t join.”

“Then you put yourself in danger on purpose?”

“If didn’t do that, the danger will come anyway, so why not challenge it so it will be resolved!”

“What if you went bankrupt?”

“You are wrong. What is illegal usually sold well. Am I right?! You are a journalist. Don’t be a hypocrite!”

The press laughed. The king of the gallery successfully dodged the difficult question. The atmosphere became warmer. Then the gallery reopened. This time it was astounding. Three ministers came. All the VIPs came. The visitors were countless. There were no left over dishes. In the opening night 100 paintings were sold. The event made headlines in many media.

“You are magnificent,” applaud the press that swarm the gallery king. “People said that the world is in a recession and we are amongst the poorest country, but how come many people buy paintings? Hundreds of millions were spent to buy paintings, while many people still don’t have any food on their table, and disasters happened everywhere? Isn’t this the same as teaching the people to dream, to run from reality?"

The gallery king smiled.

“That is the mystery of visual art. The art market doesn’t follow the common logics, everything is based on intuition. Lack of material wealth doesn’t mean that our soul is not wealthy! Paintings are food for the soul that is why there will always be buyers!”

A journalist made a joke about this situation.

“You are benefited by the situation. A fatal mistake made by the previous owner plus your daring act became an attraction in itself, that made this exhibition so alluring to the general public. But don’t forget, the death of about 10 painters who were part of the 300 painters supported by this gallery, is also a trigger. This is a bloody business. Will this become a trend that only after the death of a painter, then the price of his work will skyrocket?”

The gallery king laughed.

“To be honest, yes. But that doesn’t mean you can jump into conclusion that I have killed ten of my painters? Their works still belongs to their heirs, none of their work is mine. I only get commission.” A journalist suddenly asked another question.

“How much do you spend for this opening gala? “Two billions.”

“Will the commission from 100 paintings that were sold, cover for that amount?”

“No. Each of these paintings was sold for more than 50 million Rupiah. But I don’t intend to take the commission yet. I will let the painters take a full benefit out of their sold work, so that they can always be creative.”

“Then you’d suffer loss?”

The gallery owner laughed.

“My gallery doesn’t intend to acquire money, but to improve the image of our art world and our artists. An oasis can not be measured by how much money it made but by its existence. This is a long term cultural investment, a real effort to make the people more civilized.”

“Then this is an idealist project?”

“This has to be! As long as they haven’t ban being an idealist! Am I right?!” the audience who listened clapped their hands profusely.

But several months later, the gallery was closed again. The gallery king was successfully elected as a member of the legislature from a district. He now no longer has time to take care of “the food for the soul” for his people, especially not for a very long time that can be measured with numbers.

Jakarta, March 19, 2009