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Djie
Tjianan and the Art "Revenge"
September 10, 2003
Efix Mulyadi | KOMPAS
It all began with offended feelings. The prejudice that modern or contemporary
art cannot grow outside the established area within the mainstream art
has been very strong. Indonesia, of course, is included among the "underdeveloped"
countries and is mainly ignored.
"It makes me want to prove that such prejudice is simply not right,"
says Djie Tjianan, the Chairman of the CP Foundation. The foundation he
leads is currently holding the CP Open Biennale - where he is the
executive producer. The biennale is taking place from September 4 to October
3, 2003, at the National Gallery in Jakarta.
The month-long event includes, among others, an exhibition, a symposium,
and a seminar. It has attracted a wide audience. Displayed in the biennale
are 200 works including paintings, sculptures, photography, installation
works, video art, and multimedia works. One fifth of the 128 contributing
artists are from abroad - artists from a total of ten countries are
involved in the biennale.
Around 2000 people attended the opening event, coming from various levels
and groups of the society, from the business people to the professionals.
Never again can a "serious" art event, and an art exhibition
at that, attract so many people. Moreover, while the government used to
hold such big events, this particular biennale is privately conducted,
and practically non-profit.
Djie Tjianan admits that he had been shocked when during the preparation
of the biennale, a bomb exploded at the JW Marriott, Jakarta. However,
he feels supported by I Gede Ardika, Indonesia's Minister for Culture
and Tourism. "Tell people that you have met me and tell them that
the effect of the bomb is not as bad as reported," Tjianan quotes
the minister. The artists turn out to have nerves of steel: all the invited
artists still attend the biennale.
They stay not in five-star hotels as they usually do when invited by
organizers of international art events. "We promise each other
not to demand special treatments when invited to each of our events. Such
artists with the caliber of Heri Dono's, when going out of their
studios, must be paid so much in dollars per day. Not to mention the expense
for the hotels, airplanes, and the huge fee. We won't be able to
do that, and it means that the poor Asian countries won't be able
to hold any art events," explains curator Jim Supangkat.
Tjianan adds, "High caliber artist like Gu Wenda, for example,
is willing to come to Jakarta, and is not paid with the usual professional
fee - how is that possible? The key is, well, friendly acquaintance,
and the artist is willing to help the biennale to exist."
With such approaches, the first CP Open Biennale is able to proceed smoothly.
Tjianan declines to say the amount of money involved to hold the event
and refuses to comment on the news circulating among artists that states
the number of up to around Rp 1.5 billion. He only says that CP Foundation
is not alone in this endeavor; there are other sponsors such as Bank Indonesia,
the UBS, and other supporters. He says, "There have been many friends
who contribute this and that." Another result of a "friendly
acquaintance" is a café that opens alongside the biennale,
managed by QB World Books.
"Honestly, my colleagues and I were afraid to imagine that it
would grow this big," Tjianan says.
Together with Jim Supangkat, Tjianan founded the CP Foundation in 2001,
with the aim to widen the world's art platform, which will foster
the formation of democratic and pluralistic principles. Before that, he
established the Artspace in Washington DC, USA, with the aim to bring
the contemporary Indonesian art works to the world.
Several exhibitions have been held in the Artspace, displaying works
or artists such as Sunaryo, Chusin, Entang, and Nyoman Nuarta, along with
works from Latin American and Iranian artists.
"Some visitors even came three times to see Chusin's works.
To me, that is already comforting as it means that Indonesia is not ignored.
But this is only in a small scale. Furthermore, I realize that with Artspace,
it isn't possible to 'knock on the American door.'
No one will pay attention. Therefore, when Jim Supangkat suggested to
form a big forum such as the biennale, which will embrace Asia so that
we will work together, I was enthusiastic," Tjianan explains.
***
Apparently Tjianan has been working wholeheartedly and totally to realize
his dream of putting Jakarta on the art world's map, alongside
Beijing, Fukuoka, Queensland, and other renowned cities. At the last night
of the biennale preparation before the opening, he stayed up until around
5.30 a.m. at the gallery, accompanied by the painter Chusin, among others.
Before the biennale took place, Tjianan flew to many art festivals to
be familiar with the playing field, meeting the movers and shakers of
the art community. "Clearly, networks and friends play a big part,"
he says.
To operate CP Foundation, he employs ten people, which became 50 when
holding the biennale. "We must keep it small and simple so that
we can be strong and flexible," Tjianan explains.
Such managerial principle is also applied in operating his other business,
one that provides the daily cash. He saw that VCD players could be cheaply
bought and the need for entertainment was high, while local cinemas were
not competitive enough.
He then founded PT Video Ezy Internasional that provides the renting
of videos - or in practice VCDs nowadays - in 2000, by buying
the franchise right from Australia. The company now has already 110 outlets
in Jakarta and environs, and in many other towns and cities in Indonesia.
He has only 40 employees.
Such fast growth was attained after initial difficulties. In the first
six months, he only owned ten outlets. Still he stayed, as he believed
it was going to be successful. He says, "In 2000, there were many
unused lots. I asked the owners to share; I would be the supplier of the
videos. They, in turn, would be responsible for the interior furnishing
and the salary for the shopkeeper. This was in principle a low cost and
low risk business."
He has also founded PT Cinekom, a business to transfer movies for the
cinemas or television-station to those for home-viewing purposes. Naturally,
he buys the right to do that. One of the movies he bought was Petualangan
Sherina [Sherina's Adventure, a highly popular movie for children - translator's
note]. He is now working on a collaboration with Prima Entertainment that
produces FTV [short for Film Television, movie productions aimed for television
stations - translator's note]. For this enterprise, he needs
only 15 employees.
"We subcontract the works that are not related to our core business,
so that our organization stays lean," he says.
When he founded a property management business in Washington, DC, in
1992, he asked two colleagues of his. Here he also applied such principle:
small, but agile. He chose to work in the US because he felt familiar
with the country: he took his bachelor degree in 1982 Ð 1985 in business
management, at the University of Texas, Austin. He then spends a lot of
time in Uncle Sam's land.
Born in Bandung, June 30, 1961, Djie Tjianan admits of being in love
with art, although he only started collecting art works 15 years ago.
His passion lies in the contemporary art, with works from artists such
as Sunaryo, Chusin, or Nyoman Nuarta.
The husband of Febe Wirjadi and father of three children (Kristie, Vicky,
and Marco) admits that he wants to see the biennale he is fostering grow
strong. "If we ask artists from abroad to participate and they
directly say yes, then and only then can we feel relieved," he
says.
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