Balinese sculpture, from mysticism to handicraft

By Putu Wirata

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): More than 100 Balinese wooden statues are on display at the Puri Lukisan Museum from Dec. 19 to Feb. 4. The exhibition, "The Legacy," is presenting the historical development of sculpting from its initial concept as a worship- connected art, through to its current concept as a handicraft.

In art villages such as Desa Mas, Desa Guang and Desa Singapadu in Gianyar regency there are skillful sculptors, and numerous art shops which are ready to market their works. Among the thousands of wood-craftsmen, there are a number of creative people who seek personal income from a variety of woodwork aside from statues. Yet, no new sculptors have emerged to challenge the past maestros such as Cokot, Ida Bagus Nyana, or Ida Bagus Tilem.

"We only display works by sculptors who are disciples of theirs or are at least influenced by those great maestros," said Rosemarie F. Oei, the consultant for Puri Lukisan Museum.

Most of the works displayed are by sculptors who were taught by Ida Bagus Tilem from Desa Mas. Ida Bagus Tilem inherited his great skill from his father, Ida Bagus Nyana.

Although the maestros of sculpting did not attend, the sculptors who did show up at the exhibition were all well- recognized for their works. Names such as I Wayan Ritug, Pande Ketut Jamprah, I Ketut Muja, I Wayan Pugeg, and I Made Sama. Made Sama is the only sculptor who has already legally claimed a patent for the originality of his works.

During the epoch of theocratic kingdoms, sculptors made statues to be worshiped or to be presented to a king. Theocratic works are presented for the gods, and therefore the theme of the statues is always of a god from their mythology. The statues made then were figures of gods such as Wisnu, Syiva, Saraswati and Durga. The masks which were considered to be prominent are the Barong, Rangda and Topeng Dalem. The statues and masks are given "life" during a sacred ceremony known as Pasupati, and later they are consecrated.

The statues and masks can not be made from any common wood. There are "sacred woods" which are compulsory and this is stated in the rules of architecture, asta kosali. For example wood from jackfruit trees is used to make a sacred statue, or pule wood to make Barong masks and Rangda masks.

Thus, it is impossible that these types of work can be displayed in the exhibition hall.

When Rudolph Bonnet and Walter Spies established the group Pita Maha with Tjokorda Gde Sukawati from Ubud Temple, they introduced a new kind of art. They taught that statues can be a work of art and do not necessarily have to be consecrated, because the statues may be a brilliant interior or exterior decoration. Thus, it is not surprising with the way tourism in Bali is expanding rapidly that Balinese sculptors not only produce statues for interior or exterior decoration, but they also mass produce Mythical Gods statues such as Syiva and Wisnu. These statues are being sold by the hundreds of Balinese art shops.

A conflict arises during the phenomena of industrializing the art because the Hindu religious leaders assume that commercializing the statues desecrates the holy values taught by the Hindu religion. But others believe all the statues made which have not been consecrated through the pasupati ceremony are not sacred. Included in The Legacy exhibition are the statues entitled Syiva Kumara by I Wayan Tuges, Saraswati by Ritug, Dharmaswami by Jamprah and Rama dan Sita by I Made Gara.

Pita Maha had a significant and deep influence. They introduced non-religious themes as objects for sculptors to make. Thus came sculptures with daily themes, such as: Kasih Sayang Ibu (Motherly Love) by Wayan Mudana and Ibu dan Anak (Mother and Children) by Made Ritug.

Meanwhile, in Ubud there came along a new type of original sculpture due to an "accident." In the year 1929, Walter Spies ordered two statues from I Tegalan from the village of Desa Blaluan, Denpasar. Spies gave a log to Tegalan and was then surprised because Tegalan did not halve the log as he ordered, but actually made the statue according to the length of the log. This style was later known as the Tegalan style. This style then developed with statues which anatomically seem "extended," or have certain organs of the body that are shortened, creating a unique reformative effect. A number of sculptors have mastered this style: Ida Bagus Nyana, Ida Bagus Glodog, Ida Bagus Taman, Ida Bagus Ketut, Roja, Doyotan, and Sondoh. Ida Bagus Nyana is the most daring through his innovation in extending a certain limb, or shortening another limb, which often results in a rather frightening statue, a statue with a somewhat surrealistic quality.

After this deformity genre of Tegalan, a revolution came about in the 1960s - 1970s led by Ida Bagus Tilem, son of Ida Bagus Nyana. In Tilem's genre, sculptors took the deformities to greater heights. Tilem totally altered the proportions and the character of the statue being made. The result is a figure which seems twisted and dismembered. Tilem also used rotten wood to further characterize his works, and purposely exposed the rotten parts of the wood. His followers were Ketut Muja, Pugeg, and so on.

The current genre of Balinese sculptors was started by Made Sama, a great sculptor who was born in Blahbatuh, Gianyar. He sculpts by using the maximum potential of the wood-base, and carves to match reality in life. From a log of wood, Made Sama is able to create a voluptuous figure who is sitting down posing as if praying. Like all Balinese traditional sculptors, Sama also uses polish to smoothen the surface of his statues. One of Made Sama's works exhibited is the Bermain Seruling (Playing the Flute).

Now, people are enthusiastically waiting for a new breakthrough in the Balinese sculpting world. Yet, the current trend seems to concentrate more on what the market demands. Thus the sculptors who merely create statues of cats, giraffes, or even the McDonald's mascot.

This type of sculpture is easy to find along the roads of Gianyar regency, aside from traditional Balinese sculptures with styles inherited from Balinese greats such as Cokot, Ida Bagus Nyana, Ida Bagus Tilem, all of whom have passed away.