Bali Arts History(click more)
Published by Unknown under Bali Arts History on 8:39 PM
Balinese
art is art of Hindu-Javanese origin that grew from the work of
artisans of the Majapahit Kingdom, with their
expansion to Bali in the late 13th
century. From the sixteenth until the twentieth centuries, the village of
Kamasan, Klungkung (East Bali), was the centre of classical Balinese art.
During the first part of the twentieth century, new varieties of Balinese art
developed. Since the late twentieth century, Ubud
and its neighboring villages established a reputation as the center of Balinese
art. Ubud and Batuan are known for their
paintings, Mas for their woodcarvings,
Celuk for gold and silver smiths, and Batubulan for their stone carvings. Covarrubias[1] describes Balinese art as, "... a highly developed, although informal Baroque folk art that combines the peasant liveliness with the refinement of classicism of Hinduistic Java, but free of the conservative prejudice and with a new vitality fired by the exuberance of the demonic spirit of the tropical primitive". Eiseman correctly pointed out that Balinese art is actually carved, painted, woven, and prepared into objects intended for everyday use rather than as object d 'art.
Celuk for gold and silver smiths, and Batubulan for their stone carvings. Covarrubias[1] describes Balinese art as, "... a highly developed, although informal Baroque folk art that combines the peasant liveliness with the refinement of classicism of Hinduistic Java, but free of the conservative prejudice and with a new vitality fired by the exuberance of the demonic spirit of the tropical primitive". Eiseman correctly pointed out that Balinese art is actually carved, painted, woven, and prepared into objects intended for everyday use rather than as object d 'art.
Recent history
Prior
to 1920s, Balinese traditional paintings were restricted to what is now known
as the Kamasan or Wayang
style. It is a visual narrative of Hindu-Javanese epics: the Ramayana and Mahabharata,
as well as a number of indigenous stories, such as the Panji narrative. These
two-dimensional drawings are traditionally drawn on cloth or bark paper
(Ulantaga paper) with natural dyes. The
coloring is limited to available natural dyes: red, ochre, black, etc. In
addition, the rendering of the figures and ornamentations must follow strictly
prescribed rules, since they are mostly produced for religious articles and
temple hangings. These paintings are produced collaboratively, and therefore
mostly anonymously. For a more complete description of the Kamasan style
painting see: The Realm of Balinese Classical Art Form
There
were many experiments with new types of art by Balinese from the late
nineteenth century onwards. These experiments were stimulated by access to new
materials (western paper and imported inks and paint), and by the 1930s, new
tourist markets stimulated many young Balinese to be involved in new types of
art.
In the
1920s, with the arrival of many western artists, Bali became an artist enclave
(as Tahiti was for Paul
Gauguin) for avant-garde artists such as Walter
Spies (German), Rudolf Bonnet (Dutch), Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur (Belgian), Arie Smit (Dutch) and Donald
Friend (Australian) in more recent years. Most of these western artists
had very little influence on the Balinese until the post-World War Two period,
although some accounts over-emphasise the western presence at the expense of
recognising Balinese creativity.
On his
first visit to Bali in 1930, the Mexican artist Miguel
Covarrubias noted that local paintings served primarily religious or
ceremonial functions. They were used as decorative cloths to be hung in temples
and important houses, or as calendars to determine children's horoscopes. Yet
within a few years, he found the art form had undergone a "liberating
revolution." Where they had once been severely restricted by subject
(mainly episodes from Hindu mythology) and style, Balinese artists began to
produce scenes from rural life. These painters had developed increasing
individuality.
This
groundbreaking period of creativity reached a peak in the late 1930s. A stream
of famous visitors, including Charlie Chaplin
and the anthropologists Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead,
encouraged the talented locals to create highly original works. During their
stay in Bali in mid-1930s, Bateson and Mead collected over 2000 paintings,
predominantly from the village of Batuan, but also from the coastal village of
Sanur. Among western artists,
Spies and Bonnet are often credited for the modernization of traditional
Balinese paintings. From the 1950s onwards Baliese artists incorporated aspects
of perspective and anatomy from these artists.[4]
More importantly, they acted as agents of change by encouraging
experimentation, and promoted departures from tradition. The result was an
explosion of individual expression that increased the rate of change in
Balinese art. The 1930s styles were consolidated in the 1950s, and in more
recent years have been given the confusing title of "modern traditional
Balinese painting". The Ubud painters, although a minority amongst the artists
working in the 1930s, became the representatives of the new style thanks to the
presence of the great artist Gusti Nyoman Lempad in that village, and to the
patronage of the traditional rulers of Ubud. The key points of the Ubud Style
included a concentration on the depiction of daily Bali life and drama; the
change of the patron of these artists from the religious temples and royal
houses to western tourists/collectors; shifting the picture composition from
multiple to single focus.[5] Despite
the adoption of modern western painting traditions by many Balinese and Indonesian painters, "modern traditional
Balinese painting" is still thriving and continues by descendants/students
of the artists of the pre-war modernist era (1928-1942). The schools of modern
traditional Balinese painting include: Ubud, Batuan, Sanur,
Young Artist and Keliki schools of painting.[5]
Fingerprint
painting
A Balinese, I Gusti Ngurah Gede Pemecutan makes his
paintings by fingerprints. If we use brush technique, we can brush it off if
needed, but the fingerprint technique should placed every dot precisely. His
fingerprint paintings have no signature, but have a lot of his fingerprints.
The fingerprint painting technique is regarded as part of the pointilism painting technique (with the brush).[6]
Modern
traditional painting
The
pre-War modernisation of Balinese art emanated from three villages: Ubud, where
Spies settled, Sanur on the southern coast, and Batuan, a traditional hub of
musicians, dancers, carvers and painters. The artists painted mostly on paper,
though canvas and board were also used. Often, the works featured repetitive
clusters of stylized foliage or waves that conveyed a sense of texture, even
perspective. Each village evolved a style of its own. Ubud artists made more
use of open spaces and emphasized human figures. Sanur paintings often featured
erotic scenes and animals, and work from Batuan was less colorful but tended to
be busier.[7]
Ubud painting
Ubud
has been the center of art for centuries, with the surrounding royal houses and
temples as the main patrons. Prior to the 1920s, traditional wayang style paintings dominated the subject matters,
although Jean Couteau[4] believes
that both secular and religious theme paintings have long been co-existing in
the form of the expression of the unity of opposites (Rwabhinneda in Balinese
belief system).
Under
the patronage of the Ubud royal family, especially Tjokorda Gde Agung Sukawati,
and with Rudolf Bonnet as a chief consultant, the Pitamaha Art Guild was
founded in 1936 as a way to professionalise Balinese painting. Its mission was
to preserve the quality of Balinese Art in the rush of tourism to Bali. The
board members of Pitamaha met regularly to select paintings submitted by its
members, and to conduct exhibitions throughout Indonesia and abroad. Pitamaha
was active until the beginning of the second world war in 1942.The subject
matters shifted from religious narration to Balinese daily life. Ubud artists
who were members to Pitamaha came from Ubud and its surrounding villages;
Pengosekan, Peliatan and Tebasaya. Among them were: Ida Bagus Made Kembeng of
the village of Tebesaya and his three sons Ida Bagus Wiri, Ida Bagus Made and Ida Bagus Belawa; Tjokorda Oka of
the royal house of Peliatan; Anak Agung Gde Sobrat,
Anak Agung Gde Meregeg, I Dewa Putu Bedil, I Dewa Nyoman Leper, Anak Agung Dana
of Padangtegal; I Gusti Ketut Kobot, I Gusti Made Baret, I Wayan Gedot, Dewa
Putu Mokoh of Pengosekan; and I Gusti Nyoman Lempad.
Artists from other areas also participated, including Pan Seken from Kamasan, I
Gusti Made Deblog from Denpasar, and some of the Sanur artists.
Pitamaha
has been by the descendents of the Ubud artists, and has now come to be
identified with the period of the 1930s. Important Ubudian Artists are Ida
Bagus Sena (nephew of Ida Bagus Made Poleng), A.A Gde Anom Sukawati (son of A.A
Raka Pudja), I Ketut Budiana, I Nyoman Kayun and I Nyoman Meja. Budiana is the
artist with the most impressive Solo-exhibition track record. His paintings are
collected by Fukuoka Museum of Arts, Bentara Budaya Jakarta, Museum Puri
Lukisan, Neka Museum and Arma Museum. Ida Bagus Sena also has developed a very
unique style and has a deep understanding of Balinese philosophy in his
paintings. Anom Sukawati is Balinese most successful colorist. I Nyoman Meja
developed a style which is closely copy by several of his students. I Nyoman
Kayun received award from Bali Bangkit in 2009.
Batuan painting
The
Batuan school of painting is practiced by artists in the village of Batuan,
which is situated 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the south of Ubud. The Batuan
artisans are gifted dancers, sculptors and painters. Leading artists of the
1930s included I Nyoman Ngendon, and a number of members of leading brahman families, including Ida Bagus Made Togog.
Other major Batuan artists from the pre-modernist era include I Dewa Nyoman
Mura (1877-1950) and I Dewa Putu Kebes (1874-1962), who were known as sanging;
traditional Wayang-style painters for temples'
ceremonial textiles.
The
western influence in Batuan did not reach the intensity it had in Ubud.[3] According to Claire
Holt, the Batuan paintings were often dark, crowded representations of
either legendary scenes or themes from daily life, but they portrayed above all
fearsome nocturnal moments when grotesque spooks, freakish animal monsters, and
witches accosted people. This is particularly true for paintings collected by
Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson during their field studies in Bali in 1936 to
1939.[3] Gradations of black to
white ink washes laid over most of the surface, so as to create an atmosphere
of darkness and gloom. In the later years, the designs covered the entire
space, which often contributed to the crowded nature of these paintings.
Among
the early Batuan artists, I Ngendon (1903-1946)
was considered the most innovative Batuan School painter.[4] Ngendon was not only a good painter, but a
shrewd business man and political activist. He encouraged and mobilized his
neighbours and friends to paint for tourist consumption. His ability in
portraiture played an important role in teaching his fellow villagers in Batuan
more than Spies and Bonnet.[4] The
major Batuan artists from this period were: I Patera (1900-1935), I Tombos (b.
1917), Ida Bagus Togog (1913-1989), Ida Bagus
Made Jatasura (1917-1946), Ida Bagus Ketut Diding (1914-1990), I Made Djata
(1920-2001), and Ida Bagus Widja (1912-1992). The spirit of the Pitamaha period
is still strong and continues by contemporary Batuan Artists such as I Made
Budi, I Wayan Bendi (b. 1950), I Ketut Murtika (b. 1952), I Made Sujendra (b.
1964), and many others. I Made Budi and I Wayan Bendi paintings capture the
influence of tourism in modern life in Bali. They place tourists with their
camera, riding a motorbike or surfing in the midst of Balinese traditional
village activities. The dichotomy of modern and traditional Balinese life are
contrasted starkly in harmony. I Ketut Murtika ( still paints the traditional
story of Mahabharata and Ramayana in a painstaking details with subdued colors.
His painting of the Wheel of Life viewed from the Balinese beliefs system shows
his mastery of local legends and painstaking attention to details.[8]
Sanur painting
Beached
Whale, Ida Bagus Nyoman Rai, Ink wash on canvas
Unlike
Ubud and Batuan which are located in the inland of Bali, Sanur is a beach
resort. Sanur was the home of the well known Belgian artist Le Mayeur de
Mepres, who lived with a Balinese wife (Ni Polok) and had a beach house in
Sanur beach.
Tourists
in 1930s came to Bali on cruise ships docked in Sanur and made side trips to
Ubud and neighboring tourist sites. Its prime location provided the Sanur
artist with ready-access to Western tourists who frequented the shop of the
Neuhaus Brothers who sold balinese souvenirs and tropical fishes. Neuhaus brothers
became the major art dealer of Sanur paintings. The beach around Sanur, full of
outriggers and open horizon, provided local artists with a visual environment
different from the Ubud and Batuan, which are located in the hinterland.The
playful atmosphere pervades the Sanur paintings, and are not dictated by the
religious iconography. It is
lighter and airy than those of Batuan and Ubud with sea creatures, erotic
scenery and wild animals drawn in rhythmic patterns; often in an Escher-like manner.[4]
Most early works were black and white ink wash on paper, but at the request of
Neuhaus, latter works were adorned with light pastel colors often added by
other artists specializing in coloring a black and white drawings. Their name
code is often found at the margin.
The
Sanur school of painting is the most stylized and decorative among all modern
Balinese Art. Major artists from Sanur are I Rundu, Ida
Bagus Nyoman Rai, I Soekaria, I Poegoeg, I Rudin, and many others. I
Rudin, who started to paint in mid-1930s, draws simple balinese dancers in the
manner of the drawings of Miguel Covarrubias.
Young Artist painting
The
development of the Young Artist School of painting is attributed to the Dutch
artist Arie Smit, a Dutch soldier who served
during the 2nd world war and decided to stay in Bali. In the early 1960s, he
came across children in the village of Penestanan
near Tjampuhan drawing on the sand. He encouraged these children to paint by
providing them with paper and paints.[4]
Their
paintings are characterized by "child-like" drawings that lacks
details and bright colors drawn with oil paint on canvas. By 1970s, it
attracted around three hundred peasant painters to produce paintings for
tourists. In 1983, the National Gallery of Malaysia
held a major exhibition on the Young Artist paintings from the collection of
Datuk Lim Chong Kit.
The
painting by I Wayan Pugur (b. 1945) shown here, was executed when he was 13
years old and was exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1964,
as part of a traveling exhibition in the United States in 1964-1965. This early
drawing, executed on paper, exhibits the use of bright colors and a balanced
composition. The drawing space is divided into three solid-color areas: dark
blue, bright yellow and magenta in between showing the influence of the Wayang
painting tradition. The leaves of the large tree with the snakes show the
juxtaposition of complementary colors. The faces of the figures were drawn with
no details, yet the snakes have eyes and long tongues.
Major
artists from the Young Artist School are I Wayan Pugur, I Ketut Soki,[9] I
Ngurah KK, I Nyoman Londo, I Ketut Tagen, M D Djaga, I Nyoman Cakra, Ni Ketut
Gampil, I Nyoman Mundik, I Wayan Regog and many others.
Keliki miniature painting
In the
1970s, miniature paintings emerged from Keliki, a small village north of Ubud,
led by a local farmer I Ketut Sana.[7]
The sizes range from as small as 2 x 3 inch to as large as 10 x 15 in. I
Ketut Sana learnt to paint from I Gusti Nyoman Sudara Lempad from Ubud and from
I Wayan Rajin from Batuan. He combined the line drawing of Lempad and the
details of the Batuan school. Every inch of the space is covered with minute
details of Balinese village life and legends drawn in ink and colored with
watercolor. The outcome is a marriage between the youthfulness of the Ubud
school and the details of the Batuan School. The Keliki artists proud with
their patience to paint minute details of every objects meticulously that
occupy the drawing space.
Illustrated
on the left is a drawing by I Lunga (c. 1995) depicting the story of Rajapala.
Rajapala is often referred to as the first Balinese voyeur or “peeping Tom.”
According to the story, Rajapala catches sight of a group of celestial nymphs
bathing in a pool. He approaches stealthily, and without their knowledge,
steals the skirt (kamben) of the prettiest, Sulaish. As her clothing contains
magical powers enabling her to fly, the nymph cannot return home. Rajapala
offers to marry her. She accepts on the condition that she will return to heaven
after the birth of a child. With time, she and Rajapala have a healthy young
son. Years pass, and one day, Sulaish accidentally discovers her clothing
hidden in the kitchen. Understanding that she has been tricked, she takes leave
of her husband and son and goes back to her heavenly abode.
Major
artists from the Keliki Artist School are Sang Ketut Mandera (Dolit), I Ketut Sana, I Wayan Surana, I Lunga, I
Wayan Nengah, I Made Ocen, I Made Widi, I Wayan Lanus, I Wayan Lodra, Ida Bagus Putra, Sang Nyoman Kardiana
(Sabuh) and many others.
Wood carving
Woodcarving
of an elderly Balinese lady (art deco style), c. 1930s
Like
the Balinese painting, Balinese wood carving underwent a similar transformation
during the 1930s and 1940s. The creative outburst emerged during this
transition period is often attributed to western influences. In 2006, an
exhibition at the Nusantara Museum, Delft, the Netherlands Leidelmeijer[10] traced the Art Deco influence on Balinese
wood carving. Leidelmeijer further conjectured that the Art Deco influence
continued well into 1970s.
During
the transition years, the Pitamaha Artist Guild was the prime mover not only
for Balinese paintings, but also for the development of modern Balinese wood
carvings. I Tagelan (1902-1935) produced an elongated carving of a Balinese
woman from a long piece of wood that was given by Walter Spies, who originally
requested him to produce two statues.
This carving is in the collection of the Puri Lukisan Museum in Ubud.
Other
masters of Balinese modernist woodcarving were: Ida Bagus Nyana, Tjokot
(1886-1971) and Ida Bagus Tilem.
Ida Bagus Nyana was known for experimenting with mass in sculpture. When
carving human characters, he shortened some parts of the body and lengthened
others, thus bringing an eerie, surreal quality to his work. At the same time
he didn't overwork the wood and adopted simple, naive themes of daily life. He
thus avoided the “baroque” trap, unlike many carvers of his day.
Tjokot
gained a reputation for exploiting the expressive quality inherent in the wood.
He would go into the forest to look for strangely shaped trunks and branches
and, changing them as little as possible, transforming them into gnarled spooks
and demonic figures.
Ida
Bagus Tilem, the son of Nyana, furthered Nyana and Tjokot's innovations both in
his working of the wood and in his choice of themes. Unlike the sculptors from the
previous generation, he was daring enough to alter the proportions of the
characters depicted in his carving. He allowed the natural deformations in the
wood to guide the form of his carving, using gnarled logs well suited for
representing twisted human bodies. He saw each deformed log or branch as a
medium for expressing human feelings. Instead of depicting myths or scenes of
daily life, Tilem took up “abstract” themes with philosophical or psychological
content: using distorted pieces of wood that are endowed with strong expressive
powers. Ida Bagus Tilem, however,
was not only an artist, but also a teacher. He trained dozens of young
sculptors from the area around the village of Mas. He taught them how to select
wood for its expressive power, and how to establish dialogue between wood and
Man that has become the mainstream of today's Balinese woodcarving.
Museums holding important Balinese painting
collection
There
are many museums throughout the world holding a significant collection of
Balinese paintings.
By: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balinese_art
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