Oky Rey Montha is an interesting pop-surrealist artist from Indonesia.
I already wrote a post about one of his painting “Dark Venice” here.
Oky just had a big solo show in the Galeri Canna in Jakarta. The title of the exhibition “Brigitta Queen” is referred to his new character, a mysterious girl from Moscow with her face constantly hidden behind a mask.
Here you are a gallery of photographs from the exhibition that can give you an idea of Oky Rey Montha’s visionary world:
A Giacarta non si vede un capello biondo nel raggio di miglia, invece, al Ranch Market Cafè, dove mi sono data appuntamento con Fx Harsono, ci sono diversi occidentali.
Il posto, dal look volutamente rustico/chic, si trova nella zona Kemang, una zona dove si potrebbe anche passeggiare, nei limiti che il termine “passeggiare” assume in una città trafficata come Giacarta.
Mi trovo a queste latitudini per realizzare un reportage sull’Arte Contemporanea Indonesiana.
Il giorno prima, fortemente irritata per via del collegamento internet mal funzionante che mi impediva di mandare una mail di conferma all’artista, avevo scaraventato per aria un piatto di riso nel prestigioso centro commerciale “Grand Indonesia”. Fortunatamente il mio compagno di viaggio, il fotoreporter Lucas Catalano, era corso ad interrompere le mie mani mulinanti e a tapparmi la bocca e spingermi con un calcio in bagno, prima che la polizia musulmana mi mettesse al fresco per un’eccessiva espressione di personalità.
Censori.
Alla fine la mail è passata e l’appuntamento è stato fissato.
Mi sembrava giusto cominciare la mia serie di interviste da uno dei pionieri dell’arte contemporanea indonesiana.
Fx Harsono arriva un po’ trafelato, saluta un suo amico musicista al tavolo vicino e ordina da bere.
Comincia a parlare in maniera concitata, spiegandomi con dovizia di dettagli ogni passaggio della storia indonesiana, senza dare nulla per scontato, dimostrandosi sinceramente intenzionato a diffondere la conoscenza di qualcosa che gli sta molto a cuore. Essendo uno dei portabandiera dell’arte contemporanea indonesiana, mi stupisco quando mi racconta di non essere un artista a tempo pieno, e di lavorare come professore e come graphic designer: “Mi dedico all’arte il sabato e la domenica. So che potrebbe sembrare un compromesso, ma proprio per il fatto che l’arte non costituisce il mio sostentamento posso evitare di farla piegare a compromessi.
Tutto è cominciato nel 1965. Mi è capitato di esporre anche prima, nel ’62 e nel ’63, ma ho cominciato a fare seriamente nel 1965. A quei tempi ero uno studente, ed in undici demmo vita a questo movimento chiamato New Art Movement. Quello è stato il primo momento importante nella mia vita artistica.
In these days I’m preparing the bibliography for my book about Indonesian Contemporary Art.
In the last year I have tried to read every single publication, magazine, website, brochure, article, blog post about art in Indonesia and, of course, try to speak to many people involved as possible.
These are some interesting books and catalogues that were important for me to start orientate in this world:
I just come back from Perth, Western Australia. I was there for a reportage about the local contemporary art scene.
Before leaving I wrote this list to clarify my own ideas and to see what I learnt from my mistakes.
Maybe someone else could find it useful too.
“To be an art reporter is fun, but if you don’t plan everything in the details it can be very stressing.
If you are lucky someone, maybe the magazine you collaborate with, has sent you in foreign city or country to do an amazing five pages reportage about the local art scene. If you are extra lucky maybe your magazine would be also open to pay you for that.
But you know, even Oriana Fallaci and Martha Gellhorn would have an hard time to find good assignment nowadays.
Times are tougher and tougher, especially in the field of contemporary art.
If you’re an enterprising free lance journalist or art critic you can probably decide to make a project of your own and try to sell it later to magazines and newspaper. Maybe you can even make a book out of it.
Anyways remember to plan every step in advance.
1. Focus your research
The first thing you have to do is to focus your research. Maybe you are interested just in the painting scene of that city, or just in the hipster scene, or the influence of craft on contemporary art.
Or maybe you want to have a general picture, not very specific but quite thorough.
This second kind of macro reportage is the one I personally like the most. However my tips are valid also if you are conducting a more specific research.
2. Make a previous research on the city
Have a quick look of what other people already wrote about the art scene. Don’t exaggerate, it’s better to not build preconceptions based on what other people thinks. The best thing to do is read a novel or two set in the city you are going to visit. Have a look at a very general travel guide that gives you neutral information, like Lonely Planet or something like it.
If you find some catalogues of exhibition about artists from the city that you are going to visit, try to have a look at it.
If you know someone in your own city that has a link with the place you are going to visit, talk with them, either informally or with an interview.
If these people have a link to the art world is better, but don’t undervalue the impressions of friends or acquaintances disconnected from the scene.
Two ladies in their fifties were chatting amiably in the hall of the National Gallery of Victoria.
They dressed casually, both with sandals and baggy pants. They had decided to turn their usual boring Saturday afternoon into an entertaining on, why not, a cultural walk through one of the most interesting museums of Melbourne is not a crime.
With all the National Gallery has to offer, they have been lulled by the pastel shades of the paintings of the New Impressionists, in a new exhibition called “Radiance”. They have also visited the European Masters section and the Asian Art section at the second floor and they were quite content with what they saw.
Since the two ladies don’t feel conservative at all, they felt no disdain towards a visit to the contemporary art exhibition on the ground floor.
The Italian web magazine Art a Part of Cult(ure) just published my interview to the Indonesian artist Aditya Chandra H. The interview is part of my reportage about Indonesian Contemporary Art.
Here you are the link to the interview
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Art Monthly Australia published my review of the art fair ART/JOG12 with the title “Montmartre of the east” in the Summer Issue 2012/2013.
Read More
Luogo di coordinate 0:0, probabilmente in un fumetto.
Legata ad una sedia, in mano a scagnozzi mettiamo, chessò, russo-mongoli appassionati d’arte, pronti a scazzottarmi, sono costretta a rivelare cos’è, o meglio cosa ho scoperto, di quest’arte contemporanea indonesiana.
“Ma come faccio a dirvelo maledizione santa! L’arte contemporanea non si presta a definizioni, è fluida, non deve essere ingabbiata, non può…”
Smack!
Il primo cazzotto arriva e quasi mi fa saltare i denti.
Riprova.
“Ci sono tanti artisti diversi, ognuno con la sua poetica, la sintesi, la sintesi cari signori, è depauperazione!”
Non capiscono la parola.
Gli sembra troppo scolastica.
Smack!
Te lo chiedo un’ultima volta…
“Con le buone immagino…” rispondo sputando saliva vermiglia
… cosa cercavi in Indonesia?
Naima Morelli is an arts writer and journalist specialized in contemporary art from Asia-Pacific and the MENA region.
She has written for the Financial Times, Al-Jazeera, The Art Newspaper, ArtAsiaPacific, Internazionale and Il Manifesto, among others, and she is a regular contributor to Plural Art Mag, Middle East Monitor and Middle East Eye as well as writing curatorial texts for galleries.
She is the author of three books on Southeast Asian contemporary art.
Reach out: contact [at] naimamorelli.com
