Armando Siahaan

Danish art conservationists Torsten Hvas, left, and Martin Bernsted.

Danish Art Conservationists Bring New Life to Balinese Paintings

The first time Martin Bernsted and Torsten Hvas flew from Denmark to Bali was in 2003. Aside from the divine beaches and the stunning sunrises, Bernsted and Hvas were there for the art scene, and they both brought a passion for paintings with them.

A visit to Puri Lukisan Museum— one of the oldest museums in Ubud, the island’s center of art and culture — was revelatory, but not in a good way.

“We were in state of shock about the condition [of the paintings],” Bernsted said.

Some of the paintings had small holes and tears. Some had been damaged by the damp, with mold loosening the paintings from their stretchers. Some had been damaged by spider bites or gecko feces.

Bernsted, a professional art conservator who studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and currently works for the National Museum of Denmark, immediately thought something should be done to preserve the paintings.

Hvas, Bernsted’s colleague and a self-described “cultural entrepreneur,” said, “The paintings that we saw were world-class art pieces. But compared to paintings we’ve seen in Europe and the US, the artifacts on display suffered from so many different sorts of damage it was unbelievable.”

Soemantri Widagdo, one of Puri Lukisan Museum’s art curators, said: “Due to the tropical conditions and our inadequate efforts — due to a lack of funding — many of the paintings suffer from mold and insect damage, as well as vandalism.”

Soemantri also said most of the museum staff lacked the knowledge and skills for art conservation.

Bernsted and Hvas thought that with their combined expertise they could help. But aside from simply restoring the paintings, they also wanted to transfer their expertise to local museum staff and artists.

In 2004 they met with Tjokorda Gde Putra Sukawati, the eldest of the three princes of Ubud and chairman of Puri Lukisan Museum, who gave his strong support to the idea.

In April 2007 the Danish duo did an assessment of all the works exhibited at the museum. The assessment included damage evaluation, photo documentation and recording information about the climate.

The first art conservation training took place at the museum in January the following year. Nine participants were chosen, four museum staff and five Balinese artists. Ten of the most damaged art pieces were selected for the students to practice restoration techniques on.

The workshops were designed to cover three main elements. The first element was museology, which includes theoretical approaches, such as understanding the impact of things like daily maintenance, daily handling of the artwork and public admittance.

Second, prophylactic preservation is the practical form of museology, which includes proper techniques for re-stretching canvases, using specialized equipment and mending damage such as holes and tears in canvases.

“The general idea is that we can do almost any kind of repair, but it is better to prevent damage from occurring in the first place,” Bernsted said.

The last element is climate control, which is especially crucial in a tropical country like Indonesia. Bernsted said climate control was mainly a matter of preventing damage from light, moisture and heat with the correct use of dehumidifiers and air-conditioners.

“In Indonesia it is a very difficult matter, because it uses a lot of resources,” Bernsted said. “Any methods to stabilize the climate in the museum rooms that are low cost and low technology are very important.”

I Wayan Sumadi, 41, has been working at Puri Lukisan Museum since 1995. He said that he once attended a workshop on conservation and restoration techniques at Denpasar’s Bali Museum, but it was only theoretical and didn’t cover any practical techniques.

“Martin and Torsten taught us [practical techniques] and brought the actual equipment. This kind of workshop never existed before,” Sumadi said.

“After they taught us, we — the museum staff — are more confident about trying to fix damaged paintings.”

Sumadi said art conservation in museums was particularly important because “the artworks will be there for a long time — they’re not there to be sold.”

Soemantri said the workshops had been very beneficial for the museum, which has since managed to restore about 30 paintings. “The workshops will serve our community for years to come. They’ve provided a longer life to our collection,” he said

While Bernsted and Hvas have received some funding for their work from Danish organizations, including MSActionAid Denmark and the Danish Center for Culture and Development, they have also established their own company to raise money. The company, the Southeast Asian Art Conservation Center, provides professional conservation services to private collectors.

“We will use the money to cover our expenses, but more importantly to pay for the staff education and to buy additional equipment needed for the workshops,” Hvas said.

He said that the goals he and Bernsted have are to enable local museums to continue art conservation on their own; to promote a more responsible attitude from Indonesian museums toward taking care of their artifacts; and “for Indonesia as a country to use the rich cultural heritage and talents of the younger generation more actively.”

Your View

See Result