Charm of simple Bali paintings on display

Charm of simple Bali paintings on display

By Aendra H. Medita

JAKARTA (JP): Balinese art is indeed a source of admiration.
It develops like continuously flowing water. The paintings are
rich in contemplation. They do not just offer patterns and forms;
they provide a fresh impression of and a new discourse on the
manifestation of a tribute to what takes place in the painters'
environment as well as in the public space and dynamism. It is
this quality that presents itself in the strength of the Balinese
paintings now being displayed at Bentara Budaya Jakarta, in an
exhibition running from Sept. 15 through to Oct. 1.

The fifty-eight Balinese painters in the exhibition display
works involving a variety of themes and motifs: nature, villages,
traditional rites, rice harvests, shadow puppet shows, the animal
kingdom and so forth. Over 170 paintings now occupy the
exhibition rooms on two floors of the building. The strong point
of all these paintings is their diversity, which demonstrates the
characteristics of each painter without losing any of the strong
Balinese esthetic value.

The symbols that the painters put into their works bring forth
their vigor and vitality. Other forms imply sublimity rooted in a
profound aura so that the works can strongly voice the essence
the painters wish to feature in their paintings.

The painters come from Batuan, Kamasan, Pangosekan, Sanur,
Pelitan and Ubud. In his introduction to the Balinese Painters
exhibition, Ipong Purnama Sidhi, chairman of BBJ's management,
writes that the presence of these painters in the exhibition may
be viewed as the realization of a big dream to present all art
forces and potentials in the post-Pita Maha period beyond
academic works.

So, the exhibition is an obvious endeavor to expose the
development of Balinese art in the period after the era of Pita
Maha, a grand image built up by world-renowned painters like
Walter Spies, Rudolf Bonnet and Cokrada Gde Agung Sukowati and
recorded as a special entry in the annals of Balinese art. It was
an era that produced such unforgettable names in Balinese
painting as Ida Bagus Made Poleng and Anak Agung Gede Sobrat.

The most important impression that one will take away from the
ongoing exhibition is that the simplicity of these Balinese
paintings is charmingly admirable, in addition, of course, to the
elements of beauty, exoticism and satirical humor as well as the
shocking power of forms and uniqueness frequently present in
these paintings.

Take, for example, the works of I Wayan Asta: Kera Main Basket
(Monkeys Playing Basketball), Kera Main Golf (Monkeys Playing
Golf) and Konser Kera (Monkeys' Concert). Clearly showing that
the painter would like to say a lot of things, the paintings have
a fresh modernist theme, a satire that Asta has packaged in his
esthetics. Asta must admit, though, that his Balinese-style
painting technique is still strongly visible so that the dominant
images in his paintings are still within the uniquely Balinese
context. This is especially the case with his dynamic lines which
are based on his naturally experienced journeys.

The sublime quality of other works is seen in I Made Tubuh's
painting, Pemutaran Mendera Giri I and II (Showing of Mendera
Giri I and II), which dwells on a sharply explored ritual theme
and brings forth an essential wisdom and even power short of
simplicity. The same goes for Baratayudha and Cerita Calonarang
(Calonarang Tale) by I Made Djata. Meanwhile, three painters, I
Ketut Soki, I Wayan Sinteg and I Made Tjokra, who is a student of
Arie Smit, have presented Bali in the metaphorical Balinese
nature. Their paintings, such as Panen Padi (Rice Harvest), are
rich in contrasting colors and therefore lend greater prominence
to the beautiful nature of Bali.

Another painter, I Dewa Putu Mokoh, thanks to his adventures,
has based his works on an everyday perspective. Mokoh presents
slightly naive decorative patterns as well as unique figures like
in his Penyanyi Karaoke (Karaoke singer). In this painting he
slightly reproaches the coquettishness of a singer by showing her
in her garish dress and highlighting her flirtatious style. Then
there are Nyoman Daging and Nyoman Kayun, who are both strong at
magical values and daily life. Some paintings show punchy shadow
puppet patterns, these being the works of, among others, Kondra,
Ni Made Suciarmi and a few others.

This exhibition is indeed a tribute which may depict a
significant maturity in the post-Pita-Maha period. It is both a
tribute and a space of some importance in the history of art in
Bali, in particular, and in Indonesia, in general. The paintings
may be taken as a mirror reflecting the condition of both Bali
and Indonesia, a signal that the depictions or symbols in these
works do not simply present themselves but that they produce
constructive images. It is not wrong, therefore, to consider
Balinese art as an inexhaustible spring, which will gush forth
water as long as the world exists.