S. Sudjojono

Acquired directly from the artist by Lieutenant General Tjokropranolo, Governor of DKI, Jakarta 1977-1982

Private Collection, Indonesia

THIS LOT IS ACCOMPANIED BY A CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY FROM MUSEUM S.SUDJOJONO

The painting is in overall good condition. The canvas has been joint together from two pieces of cloth, with the sewing line approximately 53 cm from the bottom. The line is hidden within the composition, as it integrates with the horizon line, thus asserting that the joint canvas is part of the artist's original design. Repairs have been made to the canvas on several areas: along the right and bottom edges of the painting, on the lower middle and lower left (stones) of the bottom register, and in the middle of the first third left portion of the painting (5 spots). Examination under ultraviolet light reveals spots of retouching in general (the sky background, the roof of the hut in the middle of the painting, the cliff on the lower left and the bottom register area). Other spots are scattered throughout the surface. All retouching are apparent only upon examination under UV light. There are craquelures in general but the surface is generally smooth (no lifting of the layers and stable).
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

"Dengan segala alat dan tjara, kita pertahankanlah Tanah Air kita jg bagus ini."
("With all our tools and all our means, let us defend our beautiful Motherland.")
S. SUDJOJONO, 1965

While many adjectives could describe Sudjojono and his vast repertoire, the most fitting one may very well be "patriotic." Sudjojono's existence was inseparable from the history of Indonesia. From his early role in defining the identity of Modern Indonesian Art in the late 1930s to his Realism period, from portraits of the common people and their surroundings to historical pictorial narratives, undoubtedly Indonesia formed the heart and soul of his most important paintings. They ultimately championed causes and thoughts that he believed would contribute to the good of the country. It is in those representations where Sudjojono is most persuasive, forceful and dramatic.

Kami Present, Ibu Pertiwi (Stand Guard for Our Motherland) portrays nationalism at its strongest. Executed on a canvas measuring 176 by 300 cm, it is one of the most majestic paintings that the artist had conceived and is certainly the largest and most important one to be offered at auction to date. Depicting a sprawling vista in the background, and villagers and soldiers in the foreground, the scene is imbued with a sense of tension, suspense and drama.

The painting presents a village scene, although certainly not the picturesque kind. On the left register, the land seemed arid and a tree stump in the foreground conveys the ruins of what was once a life. Most of the activity is focused on the right register, where a group of young men were gathered, some in discussion while others acted as sentinels One of the men, who is crouching and holding a cart of supplies by the handles, wears a green shirt, khaki pants and combat boots – the uniform of a guerrilla fighter. Another man, on the extreme right, is holding a rifle. They are men who are poised for battle. Underneath the dusk sky the outline of the magnificent Prambanan Temple is surreptitiously visible in the shadows, a remembrance of a bygone era. And as the pink-tinged horizon kissed the distant hills, it highlights a line of minute figures who are likely to be refugees.

Although the present work was executed in 1965, based on its visual contents, it is likely that Sudjojono drew his inspiration from his experiences in 1948-1949. In November of 1948, he moved to the village of Bogem, which is a few kilometres to the west of Prambanan Temple. The situation then was dire; the people were poor and hungry and the country was attacked by Dutch forces who wished to regain their rule over Indonesia.  In an interview with Dr. Huyung for  Brochure Kesenian in 1949, Sudjojono expressed,

"What causes me to go to Realism? Realism for me is more reel ['real']. If someone takes Yogya, I want to fight for Yogya for reel. If I have not eaten, I must eat rice. Reel rice. If I fight for sovereignty, I want reel sovereignty. I do not want [it] symbolic. If one is not sated, it is not real. European painting , before the Renaissance, followed the realistic. 'Ism', ultimately, is just an aid for speech." (the artist cited in: Aminuddin Siregar, S. Sudjojono's Pendulum, Strategies Towards The Real – S. Sudjojono and Contemporary Indonesian Art, NUS Museum, Singapore 2008, p.75).

The Dutch aggressions against Indonesia propelled the artist to be more than a mere bystander. As written in Amir Sidharta's tome on Sudjojono, Visible Soul, "Along with about sixty students in the area, Sudjojono formed and led a guerrilla group. During the night they held join operations with the men from the military academy, and during the day, Sudjojono made small sketches of refugees and members of the military academy." (Amir Sidharta, Visible Soul, page 58). He guarded these sketches very closely, even while escaping the Second Dutch Aggression on December 19, 1948 – a journey that claimed his beloved father's life in a hostile gunfire. It was only in the 1960s Sudjojono sold 90 of these sketches to Adam Malik, when he was in dire need of funds after the sanering, a currency reform policy which converted every Rp 1000 to Rp 1 (Aminudin TH Siregar, Sang Ahli Gambar - Sketsa, Gambar & Pemikiran S. Sudjojono. Jakarta: S. Sudjojono Center, 2010, p. 93).

During this period, Sudjojono painted at least five paintings depicting the nationalism theme. From among them, Mengatur Siasat (Strategizing,1964) and Gerilya (Guerilla,1968) were prime examples. Kami Present, Ibu Pertiwi (Stand Guard For Our Motherland), was completed a year after Mengatur Siasat (Strategizing) and was in private hands for almost half a century. When it was completed in 1965, sixteen years after Indonesia's independence was endorsed by the international world, the socio-political and economic state of Indonesia faltered; foreign investment halted, inflation reached 635 percent, and there was a power struggle between the president, the army, the communist party and other political groups.  

On the cultural front, political messages were encouraged to be integrated into the works of national. "The government was directing artists towards realism (which is easily understood), the adoption of particular themes (such as paintings and stories about national heroes) and the active opposition to imperialists (1963). Prijono [who was a leading political figure who served as Minister of Education and Culture between 1957 and 1966] described, "the best works are those works that give energy, support, spiritual strength, happiness to work, self-belief, especially to the working class, the farmers and our armed forces" (Tod Jones (2005), Indonesian Cultural Policy, 1950-2003: Culture, Institutions, Government, Ph. D. Thesis: Curtin University of Technology, Perth, p. 129).  It was in this setting that Sudjojono revisited his credo, "back to realism" and produced the present work. Less overt than the other paintings in the Defence and Nationalism series, its subtlety lends it its power, poetry and realism. In many ways, it was a reminder that while defending the sovereignty of Indonesia in the late 1940s, villagers and warriors were united; what they did not have in sophisticated weaponry, they made up with valour and determination and hence were a potent force.

Although almost two decades separated these two periods, the internal political and socio-economic challenges the country faced in the sixties were neither less real nor less treacherous than the threat of the Dutch's military aggression. It eventually developed into the tragic coup attempt by the Communist Party on September 30th, 1965. It is uncertain whether Sudjojono completed the painting before or after the event took place, but it was a clear commemoration of what had been the cost of Indonesia's Independence and consequently, of what is its worth.

The words "Dengan segala alat dan tjara, kita pertahankanlah Tanah Air kita jg bagus ini. (With all our tools and all our means, let us defend our beautiful Motherland)" were inscribed along the bottom edge of the present work. Not only did it suggest unceasing patriotism, but also the great responsibility to carry the torch of nationalism into the future. President Soekarno's famous nationalism slogan was "Berikan aku 1000 anak muda maka aku akan memindahkan gunung tapi berikan aku 10 pemuda yg cinta akan tanah air maka aku akan menguncang dunia." ("Give me 1000 youths and I will move a mountain, but give me 10 men who love their nation and I will shake the world"). It was in that spirit that Sudjojono calls once again for the nation's unity in the face of adversity. Within the context of history Kami Present, Ibu Pertiwi (Stand Guard for Our Motherland) is certainly an inspiring milestone, but perhaps more importantly, in the present, it is a story about the unquenchable fire of the human spirit. Against all odds, against all blades, guns or grenades, history once again has proven that the strongest weapon is hope, faith, determination and love.