拍品 99
99
AFFANDI (Indonesia 1907-1990)
A Private Collection of Joseph Borkin A quick peep at the illustrious career of Joseph Borkin would provide a glimpse of the collector's ingenuity and the origin of his liaison with Indonesia, the young republic which would eventually become his adopted country. Against this backdrop, one would come to appreciate the pristine nature of this private collection that testifies both to the collector's passion and also to the profound talent of the artist. Joseph Borkin was an economist, legal scholar, educator and a fine writer who died in 1979 at the all too young age of 67. He was the author of "Impeachment" in the Encyclopedia of Britannica, author of articles on antitrust laws in the Chicago Law Review, Columbia Law Review, Duke Law Review and a contributor to the Twentieth Century Funds "The Security Markets and Stock Market Control". In addition, he taught courses on global economics and law at numerous universities. Joseph Borkin served as chief economic advisor and attorney in the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. As early as 1938, he co-authored a book on the yet unborn art of television titled, Television: The Struggle for Power that predicted, among other things, pay per view cable television and the Internet. The New York Times wrote that it was "required reading for any course devoted to the social sciences" and included it on their list of one hundred best works of the twentieth century. In 1942 he co-authored a major book on cartels, Germany's Master Plan, The Story of The Industrial Offensive which was acclaimed by the critics and grew into a huge best seller. In 1962 he wrote The Corrupt Judge that led to Joseph Borkin's unofficial title as the father of Judicial Disclosure. Because of this ground-breaking work, all American law students are required to take a course in judicial ethics before they graduate. His last two books, The Populist of Wall Street in 1968 and The Crime and Punishment of IG Farben in 1978 were also best sellers. The latter was reprinted in seven different languages after his death. Joseph Borkin's other writings on vastly diverse subjects such as the Indonesian language, O. Henry, and Shakespeare are but a small indication of his widely ranging interests. Joseph Borkin cultivated a relationship with President Sukarno in his capacity as an economic advisor and consultant to the President during the early years of Indonesia's emergence as a nation. President Sukarno, in fact, referred to him as "Indonesia's Lafayette" referencing the Frenchman who championed America's cause during their war for independence with England and without whom, as some believed that, the United States may never have been born. Joseph Borkin made numerous trips to Southeast Asia in the fifties and especially to Indonesia helping the fledgling nation to gain its footing by marshalling support within the United States Congress as well as among the American press corps. It was during this period that he, as an avid art connoisseur, met and became friends with the Indonesian artist Affandi and, over the years, became the single largest American collector of his works. The first meeting with Affandi left such an indelible impression on the collector that upon his return to the United States Joseph Borkin excitedly declared to his wife and son, "I have just met the worlds' next Van Gough". Joseph Borkin was convinced that Affandi possessed a unique talent and was the bridge that connected the best of eastern and western art. He was also certain that Asia Pacific was destined to become the next great economic and cultural center of the world. He made the family promised to keep the collection intact until after the artist had been dead for no less than fifteen years as he felt that the work of Affandi would be better appreciated after his death as it was the case with Van Gough whose brilliance was only truly understood and fully appreciated after his death. Affandi was commissioned by Mr. Borkin, among other things, to paint scenes in America and also to paint portraits of the American leaders who helped champion the cause for Indonesian independence. Thus he painted Drew Pearson who was, at the time, the most famous American newspaper columnist and radio commentator, Judge Thurman Arnold whose law firm, Arnold and Porter is one of largest and most prominent in the world today, Mr. Leo Bernstein the Washington banker, and finally Mr. Borkin himself who, during this period, was known inside and outside of government as Indonesia's best American friend in the west. Honoring the wish of Mr. Joseph Borkin as the passing of the artist in 1990 is coming to its 16th anniversary and with the passing of Mrs. Borkin in 2005, the family has decided to let Christies handles some of the finest works in the Private Collection of Mr. Joseph Borkin.
AFFANDI (Indonesia 1907-1990)

Charles River, Boston

細節
AFFANDI (Indonesia 1907-1990)
Charles River, Boston
signed and inscribed 'A_Boston' (lower left)
oil on canvas
24 x 29 7/8 in. (61 x 76 cm.)
This work is dated 1958 as stated in the exhibition catalogue Affandi in America.
展覽
Washington, D.C., The Art Society of the International Monetary Fund, Affandi In America, 11 September-19 October 1990, exhibition catalogue, (illustrated in colours).

拍品專文

"Affandi's paintings reveal an individual with a zest for life, one who marvelled at sunflowers growing in the wild, who was caught up with the drama of stormy seas and Balinese cockfights. His wanderlust propelled his many excursions overseas where the tourist in him could not but be seduced to capture the Eiffel Tower and St Mark's Cathedral in Venice. When he was not overseas, Affandi would make frequent painting excursions through the length and breadth of Java and Bali in his cherished Mitsubishi which he had painted yellow, crimson and black, the colours that appear most frequently in his paintings. Although he was by nature restless, he did not seem to be tired of the usual stock of themes - the perahu and the sea, fighting cocks, the barong, lusty pot-bellied Balinese pigs, the beggars he regularly engaged to model for him. These he visited frequently in his paintings, releasing with each revisit a fresh vigor and urgency that came from a need to satisfy what Affandi himself described as "a hunger to paint". (Joanna Lee, "Affandi - A Hunger to Paint" in 12 ASEAN ARTISTS, Balai Seni Lukis Negara 2000, the artists and authors, Kuala Lumpur, 2000, p. 12).
With Charles River, Boston, it is not a repeated subject as those mentioned in the quotation although the scene certainly allows the play of the familiar swirling cloud, the water and the boats etc. Nevertheless the freshness of the subject offers an opportunity to play with his composites. More often than not, Affandi presents his subjects in a 'right in your face' manner which implies a single perspective with a direct gaze from the artist on his subject. Interestingly, the present composition offers an open, all embracing perspective that presents the viewers with much details. The composition is embellished with the sailing boats, with the red buildings and with the velvety blue sky that is reminiscent of van Gogh's celebrated starry night. The resemblance is by no means co-incidental as both artists were expressionist par excellence and both were excellent in the distortion of conventional forms only to allow the reign of emotions.

With this composition of the St. Charles River where the characteristic swirling and deftly applied paint clearly take precedence over the subjects, thus allowing the composition to assume an immediate sense of rhythm and movement and vividly portrays a lively scene of moving wind and sailing boats on the river, with the bustling sound of the city clearly heard in the distance.

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