DANGEROUS BUBBLES
Written on September, 20, 2011
This article has been published in the magazine of Visual Arts Vol. 8 on November - December 2011 #51 (page 46 - 51)
BEHIND THE GAME OF ‘FRYING’ ARTWORK SO FAR DEEMED BENEFITING EVERYBODY, HARMFULNESS LURKS.
Entering the building of an international auction house visitors will generally find themselves astonished and bedazzled. In addition to its extensiveness, height and grandeur, it boasts charming, neat interior arrangement coupled with cleanness, fragrance and appropriate lighting. Then there are the security system, orderliness, information service, registration, free drinks and snacks, all well integrated. On top of everything else are the attractive displays of art objects to be auctioned, be they paintings, photographs or sculptures, contemporary, modern and traditional ones, as well as Hanji calligraphy, watches, precious stones, jewels, jadeite, various luxurious jewelry, antique ceramics, antique robes or fine wine.
If you are interested in joining an auction, the entire registration process through the point you get the bidding paddle and auction book, or perhaps you’d prefer the light and practical mini-mag/thumbnail, will only take a short time. Collectors and market players are granted pre-viewing two or three days before the auction day, and they can ask for condition report.
One day in the auction hours of contemporary painting I was among some 150 people seated or standing on the floor. Part of them had serious interest as potential bidders while some others were there just to record data. On the stage were the auctioneer and two assistants, standing, while by a side platform some fifteen operators were seated, ready to serve collectors or market players making phone bids (or absentee bids to be submitted to the auctioneer).
Then the sound made by the auctioneer’s gavel reverberated throughout the room. An art object with an estimated price of US$ 40,000 to 60,000 sold at US$ 550,000 (equals to some IDR 4.7 billion). Seeing the very item in the lot, the actual auctioning process of which did not involve bidders on the floor, it was easy to sense the ‘frying game’ vendors had played. As far as I know artist managers and auction hosts/organizers are the ones that usually play this particular ‘game’.
Experienced Indonesian collectors and market players must have been aware of such practice. So far, in international scenes buyers from Indonesia are known to have ‘a keen sense of smell’ in this regard. Yet sad things could happen to young collectors and fledgling market players and other people that succumb to the persuasion whispered by beautiful girls mesmerizing them to join in crafty auction sessions. See how in a short time an artwork increases its price like crazy, tenfold or even more, while it is only medium in terms of quality as well as the artist’s brand. The artist’s track record is still to be tested nationally and internationally and his/her work is not yet collected by art museums of the MoMA class, and he/she has never exhibits solo at reputable international galleries yet, and never as yet invited as a special invitee to the Venice Biennale for instance. So in this regard the formed price too far exceeds the ceiling of the real price of the object in question. In fact the market price or private sale price of the painting that ‘sells’ at IDR 4.7 never exceeds US$ 70,000 that is equivalent to IDR 600 million.
People forget that such unnatural instance will sooner or later generate issues and problems that finally betray craftiness. Such an event astonishes potential bidders on floor and cynical grins unfold on their faces.
Increases in the price of works of contemporary artists should be gradual in accordance with their aesthetic developments and artistic achievements: the qualities of works and their forms, the technical skills involved and the profoundness of the works, and the recognized reputations of the artists.
The artist’s manager who fries his/her artist’s works in the ‘gigantic frying pan’ (i.e. international auction houses) probably aims at setting a market price construction for the works while branding the artist as soon as possible. By ‘borrowing’ the influence of an auction house the manager heedlessly takes a shortcut, or even sets an expressway, toward millions-of-IDR pricing. However such ‘blown-up bubbles’ will not, again, easily deceive seasoned collectors and market players.
Among the numerous hazards posed by blowing up bubbles is that a price deviously or very questionably set will never get admitted. In effect when the price stays stagnant (no one wants to buy) public, market players in particular, let go the works of the artist in question, which in turn means that people are not interested in acquiring them. People may even become allergic to hearing/reading the artist’s name.
International Capitalists’ Game
As we all know many of powerful investors or international capitalists dealing in contemporary artworks and old masters come largely from among players in property and stock exchange business. Because of the crisis befalling the US and some European countries these last years, those investors and capitalists switch their attention and investment to works of art, particularly contemporary art and old masters.
Now, this is an opportunity that numerous parties do not want to miss, and they include managers of contemporary artists and ... (sorry, please guess).
Then, the one or those you refer in your guess offer themselves to work together with potential artists (meaning: their works are presumed to be wanted, even hunted at market, circulating only in some small number and the circulation is controlled, and deemed quite good and powerful while the artist’s explorative spirit is considered to be consistent enough). The operation of the system is similar to that of film industry. 1) promotion through public seminars where collectors talk about art; 2) the sending of various exploring teams comprising groups of collectors, museum directors and curators, grandchildren of certain maestros, mostly white, into bases of artists and centers of collectors. Usually those teams do not know each other, and the expats in the teams are perhaps not even aware they are being used; 3) promotion again to pose various kinds of justification (including the incorporation of theories taken from voluminous books) coupled with rumors spread all over that there is Mr. X loving the piece and the estimated hammer price is IDR four billion, and so on and so forth. So the frying is done and items are passed little by little to the auction market at some soaring price, and the profit sharing will be fifty-fifty. Because behind soaring prices reached at an auction house are layers of black curtains, it would be better for you to take a skeptical position.
Profitable yet rotting
‘Frying’ art objects at auctions is considered normal and it makes various parties happy with profits they gain. It improves the well-being of the artists whose works are ‘fried’, increases their managers’ capital, while collectors and market players who have the items in question that they acquired earlier at low prices before the frying are also happy because they can make big profit, and auction houses get much higher premium fees’.
Sarah Thornton, an observer of art from London maintains in her famous Seven Days in the Art World (New York: C.C. Morgan & Company, Inc., 2009: xi) “the contemporary art world is a loose network of overlapping subcultures held together by a belief in art”.
With that belief contemporary art community has a shared principle, or social morality, which provides a system of value concerning behavior in appreciating, consuming or selling and buying artworks. The world of contemporary art is not concerned with power but with belief in values as well as control over the belief, as power may become vulgar.
Belief in values and its control is reliable; it indicates things correctly. So controlling belief in true and upright values is the true issue in the world of contemporary art today.
So if Indonesia sees the rise of the issue of blown-up bubbles or fried artworks, through auction houses in particular, one should realize, despite the claim that such practice brings benefits to artist managers and makes collectors happy, that the harmfulness of the practice will be manifold.
Firstly, it will draw (or entrap) contemporary art community into a power conspiracy where collusion at the auction house – taking the place of belief in value and the control of the belief – will lead to artificial well-being, profit and cheerfulness, and transform the contemporary art community to a castle of sand nice to see but is not to be touched.
Secondly, it will invisibly destroy the system of value and belief amidst art community that in the end imprison the community in just the vulgar game of money. Thirdly, it will ruin the authority of art community, entrap its members in networks that ignore the issue of dignity and sensitivity thus defiling the creative life of art.
So if you want to buy artworks for collection and/or investment, in addition to your loving them, it would be better for you to first learn well about investment and how to collect. Or you could consult persons with significant experience in this, for instance owners of reputable galleries.
At the end of this essay there could be the question whether we still need to voice truth. Is it possible to erect the pillar of truth amidst a horde of lying Pinnochios ?. [hendrotan ]
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BAHAYA BOLA BOLA BUIH
Tertulis tanggal 20 September 2011
Artikel ini telah terbit di Majalah Visual Art Vol. 8 pada November - December 2011 #51 (hal. 46 -51)
DI BALIK PRAKTIK GORENG-MENGGORENG SENIRUPA YANG SELAMA INI DINILAI MENGUNTUNGKAN SEMUA PIHAK, ADA KERUGIAN DAN BAHAYANYA.
Memasuki gedung balai lelang internasional, pada umumnya pengunjung dibuat kagum dan terkesima. Sebab, selain bangunannya besar , tinggi dan anggun, penataan interiornya apik, rapi, bersih, aromanya harum, dan pencahayaan memadai. Selain itu sistem keamanan, ketertiban, pelayanan informasi, registrasi, pelayanan minuman dan kue kecil gratis, kesemuanya terpadu. Ditambah pengaturan barang seni yang akan dilelang , baik itu berupa lukisan, fotografi dan patung, yang kontemporer, post-war, modern, impressionist, tradisional; maupun kaligrafi Hanji, sampai dengan arloji, batu mulia, batu permata, jadeite aneka perhiasan mewah, keramik antik, jubah antik dan fine wine tampil menarik.
Bagi yang berminat ikut lelang, proses pendaftaran hingga mendapatkan pedel dan buku lelang atau memilih yang ringan praktis bernama mini mag / thumbnail berlangsung cepat. Bagi kolektor dan pemain pasar, bisa pre-viewing dua atau tiga hari sebelum hari H, dan bisa minta condition raport.
Pada suatu hari di jam lelang lukisan kontemporer, saya menjadi bagian dari sekitar 150-an orang yang duduk maupun berdiri di floor. Mereka adalah peminat serius atau sekedar pencatat data. Sedangkan yang di atas panggung selain auctioneer yang didampingi dua asistennya yang pada berdiri, juga ada di mimbar samping duduk sekitar 15 orang operator untuk membantu peminat (kolektor atau pemain pasar) yang berkehendak phone bids (atau absentee bids yang dititipkan pada auctioneer).
Auctioneer (juru lelang) mengetok palu, suaranya menggema memenuhi ruangan. Harga barang seni yang berestimasi US$ 40 ribu - 60 ribu terjual US$ 550 ribu (setara Rp. 4,7 milyar). Melihat barang di lot tersebut, yang proses lelangnya tidak didukung oleh peserta lelang di floor, segera muncul kecurigaan bahwa ini reka-goreng yang dilakukan vendor. Sepengetahuan saya yang “bermain” begini biasanya manajer perupa atau si empunya hajat.
Terhadap praktik seperti ini, bagi kolektor maupun pemain pasar dari Indonesia yang telah berpengalaman pasti sudah tahu. Selama ini di kancah internasional, buyer dari Indonesia dikenal memiliki “penciuman yang tajam”. Celakanya bagi kolektor muda dan pemain pasar pemula, serta mereka yang “hanyut” oleh pembisik cantik jelita. ada saja yang tersihir permainan lelang seperti itu. Khususnya karya yang dalam waktu singkat meroket gila-gilaan, bisa sepuluh kali lipat bahkan lebih, sedangkan mutu karya dan brand perupanya berkelas medium. Perupanya belum teruji track recordnya secara nasional apalagi internasional, dalam arti karyanya belum di koleksi museum sekelas MoMA; belum pernah pameran tunggal di galeri internasional; belum terundang sebagai peserta primer (special invitation) di Venice Biennale misalnya. Jadi harga yang terbentuk / dibentuk jauh melewati batas nilai riil karya. Selama ini harga pasar maupun di privat sale-nya lukisan perupa yang “laku” Rp.4,7 milyar itu, tak pernah lebih dari US$ 70.000, setara Rp. 600 juta.
Mereka lupa, bahwa hal di luar kewajaran ini, cepat atau lambat akan melahirkan persoalan-persoalan baru, yang pada akhirnya akan ketahuan belangnya. Peristiwa tersebut membuat para peserta lelang di floor terheran-heran, lalu menyunggingkan senyum sinis.
Harusnya, peningkatan harga karya perupa kontemporer, berjenjang mengikuti perkembangan estetika dan pencapaian artistik : mutu karya, kualitas bentuk-capaian, kemahiran teknis dan kedalaman gagasan disertai visi pemikirannya, juga catatan reputasi (perupa) yang telah terbangun.
Mungkin manajer yang menggoreng karya perupa di “wajan raksasa” (balai lelang internasional) bertujuan ingin membentuk kontruksi harga pasar bagi karya perupa bersangkutan, seraya membranding perupanya dalam waktu sesingkat-singkatnya. Dengan “meminjam” pengaruh atau daya influence sebuah balai lelang dia nekad mengambil jalan pintas bahkan membentuk jalan tol ke harga milyaran rupiah. Namun “penggelembungan bola-bola buih” seperti itu, sekali lagi, tetap tidak akan mudah mengecoh pengamatan para kolektor dan pemain pasar yang berpengalaman.
Satu di antara banyaknya bahaya penggelembungan bola-bola buih itu, harga yang terbentuk secara awu-awu atau sangat mencurigakan, sampai kapanpun tidak akan memperoleh pengakuan. Imbasnya, ketika harga – harga itu stagnant (macet tidak ada pembeli) maka publik, khususnya pemain pasar pun, melepas karya perupa tergoreng, yang dampak lanjutannya adalah karya – karya perupa tersebut tidak diminati publik lagi; Bahkan mendengar / membaca namanya pun, orang akan alergi.
Permainan Kapitalis Internasional
Seperti kita ketahui bersama, para pemodal kuat atau kapitalis internasional yang bermain di barang seni kontemporer dan old master, banyak yang berasal dari pemain di bidang properti, dan pasar modal. Lantaran berbagai krisis yang melanda negeri Paman Sam dan beberapa Negara di Eropa beberapa tahun ini, maka pemodal dan kapitalis itu mengalihkan uang dan perhatiannya ke investasi barang seni, khususnya karya seni kontemporer dan old master.
Nah, kesempatan ini tidak disia-siakan oleh berbagai pihak, mulai dari manajer perupa kontemporer dan … (silakan ditebak, siapa).
Peluang emas ini oleh siapa yang Anda tebak itu ditawarkan kerjasamanya kepada seniman atau perupa yang potensial ( baca : menurut mereka karyanya diminati bahkan diburu oleh pasar, jumlah edarnya masih sedikit dan terkendali, kualitas karya cukup bagus, kuat, dan semangat eksplorasi perupanya cukup konsisten). Sistem kerja mereka tak ubahnya seperti industri perfilman, berskenario rapi : 1) Didahului promosi lewat seminar di ruang publik bertema kolektor berbicara tentang seni. 2) Mengirim beberapa tim penjelajah , semuanya bule, terdiri dari rombongan kolektor, direktur museum berikut kuratornya, cucu cicit maestro, masuk ke daerah basis perupa dan sentra kolektor. Pada umumnya antar tim tidak saling mengenal, bahkan mungkin bule-bule itupun tidak sadar kalau dimanfaatkan oleh sebuah sistem. 3) Promosi dengan beragam alasan pembenaran, termasuk menggunakan teori-teori yang diambil dari buku setebal bantal, ditambah info bocoran bisik bisik yang didengungkan kesana- kemari bahwa telah ada si anu yang suka dan diperkirakan hamer pricenya Rp. 4 miliar., 4) Saatnya digoreng dan dilepas berangsur ke pasar lelang dengan harga “langit” dengan pembagiannya 50 : 50. Oleh karena latar belakang harga langit yang tercapai di balai lelang ini adalah tirai hitam yang berlapis, maka sebaiknya Anda tidak mengagumi apalagi mempercayainya.
Untung, tapi Membusukkan
Menggoreng barang senirupa di ajang lelang dinilai sudah lumrah dan membuat berbagai pihak happy karena untung. Perupa yang karyanya berhasil digoreng, kekayaannya meningkat ; manajernya kian bermodal; kolektor dan pemain pasar tadinya membeli murah berhasil meraup untung banyak, balai lelang mendapat fee premium jauh lebih tinggi angkanya.
Pengamat seni rupa dari London, Inggris, Sarah Thornton, dalam bukunya yang terkenal, Seven Days in the Art World (New York: C.C. Morgan & Company, Inc., 2009: xi) menyatakan, dunia seni rupa kontemporer adalah sebuah jaringan kerja kawanan bersama yang bebas-lepas dalam masyarakat khusus yang saling melingkupi dan yang dierat-satukan oleh kepercayaan kepada seni rupa.
Dengan kepercayaan tersebut, maka masyarakat seni rupa kontemporer memiliki azas bersama atau moralitas sosial sebagai sistem nilai atas perilaku dan tindak-tanduk mereka dalam mengapresiasi dan mengonsumsi atau menjual dan membeli karya seni rupa. Bahwa dunia seni rupa kontemporer bukanlah perkara kekuasaan, melainkan perkara kepercayaan atas nilai dan kontrolnya pada kepercayaan tersebut, karena kekuasaan bisa menjadi vulgar.
Sedangkan kepercayaan pada nilai dan kontrolnya lebih bijak, lebih menunjukkan sesuatu dengan tepat. Maka kontrol atas kepercayaan pada nilai yang benar dan jujur merupakan sebenar-benarnya perkara di dunia seni rupa kontemporer saat ini.
Dengan demikian, jika di Indonesia pun kemudian muncul persoalan penggelembungan bola-bola buih atau menggoreng karya seni rupa, utamanya lewat balai lelang, sekalipun ini diklaim menyejahterakan perupa, menguntungkan manajer perupa, dan menggembirakan kolektor—maka harus disadari bahwa persoalan itu bakal mendatangkan kerugian yang berlapis-lapis.
Kerugian kesatu, persoalan itu akan menghela (kalau bukan menjebak) masyarakat seni rupa kontemporer dalam konspirasi kekuasaan di mana perbuatan kolusi di dalam balai lelang—menggantikan kepercayaan atas nilai dan kontrolnya pada kepercayaan tersebut—yang berujung pada kesejahteraan, keuntungan, dan kegembiraan yang semu, dan akan mengalih-ubah dunia seni rupa kontemporer serupa istana pasir yang enak dipandang, namun jangan ( atau tidak boleh ) disentuh.
Kerugian kedua, akan merusak sistem nilai dan kepercayaan di tengah masyarakat seni rupa yang akhirnya memenjarakan mereka pada semata permainan uang yang kasar. Dan akan memerangkap mereka dalam jaringan-kerja yang lupa untuk bermartabat dan tak mau berperasaan sehingga membusukkan kehidupan kreatif seni rupa.
Karena itu kalau ingin membeli karya seni untuk di koleksi maupun investasi selain karena suka sebaiknya Anda mempelajari terlebih dulu ilmu investasi dan ilmu mengoleksi, atau konsultasi pada mereka-mereka yang pengalaman, misalnya saja pemilik galeri yang bereputasi baik.
Di penghujung tulisan ini mungkin akan timbul pertanyaan masih perlukah kebenaran disuarakan ? mungkinkah tonggak kebenaran bisa ditegakan ditengah kerumunan pinokio ?. [hendrotan]
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