Walter Spies' works on show at Jakarta's Wisma Seni Rupa<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): J'ai deux amours: Paris et mon pays (I have two
\nloves: Paris and my country), says a popular song. For German
\nartist Walter Spies (1895-1942), the lyrics would have read Ich
\nhabe zwei Liebe: Bali und mein land (I have two loves: Bali and
\nmy country).<\/p>\n
Having spent half of his life in Indonesia, Spies was
\nvirtually unknown in Germany or elsewhere in Europe. Thanks to
\nDutch Hans Rhodius who, with John Darling, wrote a book called
\nWalter Spies and Balinese Art, the works and life of Spies have
\nstarted to receive due appreciation. In Indonesia, for example, a
\ndocumentary film has been made and will be released in the near
\nfuture.<\/p>\n
The Goethe Institut Jakarta in cooperation with the Ministry
\nof Education will exhibit Walter Spies' paintings in
\ncommemoration of Indonesia's 50th independence anniversary and
\nSpies' 100th birthday. The exhibition, called Walter Spies in
\nIndonesia, will open today at Wisma Seni Rupa, Gambir, Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Born in Moscow, Sept. 15, 1895, Spies, whose family were
\ndiplomats, was fed up with life in Europe after World War I.
\nUnder the spell of Gauguin's experiences, he nurtured fantasies
\nabout life on a remote Pacific island. So he signed up to work on
\na cargo ship, the Hamburg, which finally took him to Batavia, the
\nold name of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
September, 1923: after his arrival in Batavia he went to
\nBandung where he found employment as a pianist in a silent movie
\ntheater.<\/p>\n
Later, wanting to see more of the country, he traveled to
\nYogyakarta armed with a letter of recommendation from his old
\nfriend in Holland, conductor Schoonderbeek, for the Dutch singer
\nMaria Sitsen who needed a pianist.<\/p>\n
\"Spies' life changed the moment Sitsen took him to a grand
\nreception at the royal palace of the Sultan of Yogyakarta,\" said
\npresident of the Walter Spies Foundation in Bali, A.A.M.
\nDjelantik.<\/p>\n
The sultan, who was impressed by the unusual attention Spies
\npaid to Javanese dance and music, invited Spies to return to his
\npalace the next day and offered him a job as a conductor of his
\nEuropean music ensemble.<\/p>\n
Excited, Spies accepted the offer and worked in the royal
\npalace for three years. During his stay there he acquired a
\nthorough knowledge of Javanese music.<\/p>\n
His knowledge of Javanese music, and later Balinese, resulted
\nin the transcript of 20 Javanese and eight Balinese music pieces.
\nUnfortunately almost all of them have been lost. Only years
\nlater, Javanese and Balinese music expert Colin McPhee, building
\non the only transcript left from Spies, resumed this tedious work
\nand created two beautiful compositions.<\/p>\n
At a festival held in the royal palace, Spies met Cokorda Raka
\nSukawati of Ubud, Bali, who invited him to spend his holiday in
\nUbud. In 1925, Spies went to Bali for the first time and
\nimmediately fell in love with the island. In 1927, he decided to
\nstay in Bali for the rest of his life and there built a Balinese
\nhouse of his own in Campuan, Ubud.<\/p>\n
Local culture<\/p>\n
He instantly blended with the local culture, made friends and
\nfinally jointly established, with Dutch painter Rudolf Bonnet and
\nCokorda, artists' cooperative Pita Maha which aimed to develop
\nthe arts in Ubud and its surrounding villages.<\/p>\n
The existence of Pita Maha is said to have transformed Ubud
\ninto the arts center we know it as today.<\/p>\n
\"Pita Maha was not an ordinary cooperative. It set artistic
\nstandards to which painters and sculptors voluntarily adhere. It
\nwas also crucial for the promotion and marketing of their
\nproducts,\" said Djelantik.<\/p>\n
Bali also cast its magic spell on Spies' paintings. It was in
\nBali he achieved the ultimate realization of his aesthetic self.
\nWhat he found there came close to his ideal of man and nature in
\nharmony, and after his intense studies of Balinese life, art and
\nculture, his paintings started to display his particular style of
\nmagic realism.<\/p>\n
His deep understanding of Bali and its people was reflected in
\nhis paintings which increasingly assumed the same closeness that
\nthe Balinese feel between themselves and nature, which included
\nnot only forms from the real world but also the unseen world.
\nThis idea is clearly manifested in his paintings, in which, in
\naddition to idealistic romanticism, elements of deep mystique and
\nmagic surrealism become apparent. His paintings Wasserlandschaft
\n(1933) and Die Landschaft und ihre Kinder (1939) show those
\ncharacteristics.<\/p>\n
There was also a mutual exchange of influence between Spies
\nand Balinese painters. Spies was greatly influenced by Balinese
\nculture and some Balinese painters were influenced by his
\npainting technique.<\/p>\n
Spies was a complete artist. He was a painter, musician and
\nchoreographer.<\/p>\n
Due to his close contact with local dancers and musicians,
\nSpies was directly involved with many performing groups.<\/p>\n
\"He helped local artists transform ancient ritualistic and
\nclassical dance forms into choreographic productions suitable for
\nshowing before tourists,\" said Djelantik.<\/p>\n
He choreographed the spirited Kecak dance which was previously
\na ritualistic dance. Later, Balinese dancers incorporated an
\nepisode from Ramayana into it, and thus gave birth to the Kecak
\ndance that we know today.<\/p>\n
In cooperation with artists of Singapadu village, another non-
\nritual dance called Barong was also created. This version has
\nalso become a daily performance which attracts tourists.<\/p>\n
Spies was also a guide and a promoter of Bali's beauty and
\ncultural richness. He was the expert on Bali whom foreign
\nvisitors wanting to know more about Bali would seek out. Barbara
\nHutton and Charlie Chaplin were among the many celebrities who
\nstayed at his house in Ubud. He also assisted Baron von Plessen
\nwho made the film Die Insel der Diamonen in Bali. He provided
\ndata and photographic material for Beryl de Zoete's work Dance
\nand Drama in Bali and he gave advice to writer Vicky Baum for her
\nbook Liebe und Tod auf Bali.<\/p>\n
In 1939, Spies was imprisoned on charges of homosexuality. As
\nan act of protest, his friends performed a small orchestral
\nconcert in front of his cell in Surabaya. He was later moved to
\nSumatra. When World War II broke out, as a German detainee, Spies
\nwas sent to India by the Japanese in 1942. The ship which
\ntransported Spies and many German detainees was bombed and Spies
\nwas among those killed.<\/p>\n
The exhibition, which will last until Sept. 24, will feature
\n10 original paintings by Spies, four of which are displayed by
\ncourtesy of the Presidential Palace. There will also be 17
\npaintings of Balinese artists whose techniques obviously show
\nSpies' influence. (als)<\/p>",
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