Nuarta builds monument despite opposition<\/p>\n
By Jean Couteau<\/p>\n
NUSA DUA, Bali (JP): The first impression of Balinese sculptor
\nNyoman Nuarta is one of a man of strong will and self-confidence.<\/p>\n
Tall, handsome, and still young at 44, he is not a man of
\nlittle ambition. He has completed his project on Indonesia's
\nbiggest statue in Surabaya's harbor, the 30.6-meter high
\nJalesveva Jayamahe, which is 60 meters tall with the pedestal. He
\nhas now taken up a new challenge to build the world largest
\nstatue, the 140 meter Garuda Wisnu Kencana, on the Bukit
\nPeninsula of Bali.<\/p>\n
Overlooking Nusa Dua and Jimbaran from the top of the 100
\nmeters peninsula, the statue is a representation of the Hindu God
\nWisnu astride the mythological eagle Garuda, the carrier of the
\nelixir of immortality. It will be part of the 170-hectare
\n\"culturally-themed\" park inspired by Balinese culture and
\ncomplete with progressive entertainment venues, theaters, museum
\nand facilities for international cultural exchanges.<\/p>\n
Nyoman Nuarta is also a sculptor in the traditional sense of
\nthe word.<\/p>\n
How do the faces of Nyoman Nuarta, the artist and the builder,
\ncoexist with one another, and what are his aims in building such
\na monument as the Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK), in spite of
\nopposition from the ranks of Balinese traditionalist and foreign
\nconservationists? What is the logic behind the construction of a
\nmonument which is going to change the landscape and the image of
\nBali?<\/p>\n
\"By building the GWK,\" Nyoman Nuarta says, \"I am paying what I
\nthink is my debt to my place of birth. But beyond, what matters
\nmost is the fate of the island. Some would like to turn it into a
\nmuseum, thus to immobilize change. But change is going to occur
\nanyway, and if we refuse it, we lose the opportunity to utilize
\nit. In my opinion we must project ourself into the future with a
\nclear concept and resolutely adopt progress.\"<\/p>\n
\"But modernity originates from the West,\" some will say with a
\nsneer!<\/p>\n
\"So What? It does not disturb me in the least. Our task as a
\npeople, and my task as an artist, is precisely to turn this
\nmodernity into something which is really Indonesian and Balinese.
\nOtherwise history will pass us by, and we will betray our
\nartistic tradition, because we'll stop being creative.\"<\/p>\n
In the GWK, Nyoman Nuarta says \"we use the best enlargement
\ntechnology of structure and materials... which we have improved
\nand already tested in the Surabaya monument, but the theme
\nremains Balinese. There are even people who reproach me about the
\ntheme, and suggest that I build a contemporary statue instead.\"<\/p>\n
But why such a huge statue?<\/p>\n
\"Statues of Wisnu riding Garuda are found everywhere in Bali,\"
\ncomments Nyoman Nuarta. \"It is the island's most common icon. By
\nmaking it in such huge dimensions, we created a landmark monument
\nwhich will be immediately identified with Bali, which is
\nimportant from a marketing point of view.\"<\/p>\n
\"Owing to its sheer size, and its symbolic significance in
\nparticular to the Indonesians, the GWK will draw crowds and
\ngenerate revenue, thus allowing the financing for a variety of
\ncultural activities.
\nThis way we'll be able to support contemporary as well as
\ntraditional arts.\"<\/p>\n
The various venues of the project will be open to all artists
\nas participants without discrimination. The ultimate goal is to
\nhave the Balinese remain an active part of the new modern
\nculture, instead of being relegated to the role of onlookers and
\nobjects of tourism.<\/p>\n
Feeling<\/p>\n
This mode of thinking strikes a chord of confidence now found
\nthroughout much of Asia, and increasingly in Indonesia. There is
\na new feeling of national and pan-Asian pride which is the
\nreflection of the region's success in the economic arena. Instead
\nof refusing the Western legacy as in the troubled earlier years
\nof independence, modern Asians eagerly embrace its technology to
\nbetter challenge its cultural premises on an equal footing. The
\nGWK can thus be seen as a sign of Asian assertiveness.<\/p>\n
A tricky question in the midst of such optimism is whether a
\nmonument such as the GWK, essentially a Hindu symbol, can be made
\nto represent Indonesia, primarily a Moslem country.<\/p>\n
When asked this question, Nyoman Nuarta lashes back.
\n\"Westerners should stop seeing Indonesia in light of their own
\nhistory,\" he says.<\/p>\n
\"Tolerance was, in the West, the result of the painful history
\nof institutional construction. In Indonesia it is simply a part
\nof our cultural heritage. We have a long tradition of religious
\ntolerance. Most Indonesians, including the Moslems, do not scorn
\ntheir Hindu-Buddhist past. On the contrary. The Javanese, for
\nexample, know that they were Hindu until a few centuries ago, and
\nthey are proud of this past. Look, there are Garuda statues all
\nover Java, and Wisnu is found throughout the wayang tradition
\n(puppet show).<\/p>\n
Another problem is the GWK's relevance to Balinese tradition,
\nwhich emphasizes harmony, and which has never had any monumental
\narchitecture.<\/p>\n
Nyoman Nuarta insists that the GWK is culturally rooted in the
\nisland and corresponds to a need of the times: \"I know that some
\nof my critics accuse me of defacing Bali. I would never build the
\nstatue in the agricultural heartland of the island, of course
\nnot. I am a conservationist too and have selected the site
\naccordingly. It is located in a former quarry, cut into the
\ndriest, most unproductive part of the island. The GWK is actually
\ngiving value to a place which would otherwise have none. And,
\nunlike others, I am defacing neither the seashore nor the
\nricefield terraces.\"<\/p>\n
\"As for the idea that the statue is at odds with Balinese
\ntradition, that is a joke: all iconography elements of Garuda and
\nWisnu will be immediately recognizable to any Balinese. The head
\nis perhaps slightly more proportionate for reasons of balance,
\nbut I'm not being innovative, believe me. The Garuda Wisnu
\nKencana is Balinese. It owes more to Bali's genius than to mine.
\nMy personal works rest on a quite different thread of
\ninspiration. As for the size, the whole of the Bukit and Nusa Dua
\narea, is already a huge tourist resort. We are only adding to the
\nnumber of existing attractions and thus making the tourist spend
\ntheir money far and away from the villages where their numbers in
\npresence would have a negative influence on the culture.\"<\/p>\n
Some of the criticism is esthetically-based, with the fear
\nthat the GWK is opening the door to Balinese \"kitsch\" on a huge,
\nDisney-like dimension.<\/p>\n
Nuarta replies his idea is misunderstood: \"We are building a
\ntheme park of a special kind in Bali. We may have experts who are
\nusing the management principles of theme parks ... how to
\nintegrate activities and structures into a single, living entity,
\nbut to say that we are creating a Disneyland is just not true. We
\nare not going to have wayang characters dressed like Batman just
\nto make children laugh. We are not going to sell a parody of our
\ntradition. The park, I repeat, will be culturally themed, and as
\nsuch, based on Balinese concepts. As in any Balinese structure,
\nit will be divided symbolically in inferior, middle and lower
\n(nista, madya, utama) areas. Each with a corresponding range of
\nactivities.\"<\/p>\n
\"We will provide facilities for people in general as well as
\nfor intellectuals and artists. We will have museums, including
\nthe Garuda Museum, entertainment venues and foodcourts to serve
\nall patrons' needs,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Is the GWK merely a dream ? Apparently not. The building of
\nthe statue began in December in Nyoman Nuarta's studio in
\nBandung, and the corner stone will be laid in March.<\/p>\n
Will Bali, under the wings of the Garuda, be a different
\nplace? The question still remains.<\/p>",
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