Comprehensive outlook of Balinese art on display
Comprehensive outlook of Balinese art on display
By Amir Sidharta
JAKARTA (JP): Continuity and Change are themes often used in
the discussion of Indonesian art. As early as 1967, Claire Holt
wrote about Indonesian art in the context of continuity and
change. More recently, the 1990 publication of Modern Indonesian
Art, prepared in conjunction with the Festival of Indonesia,
discussed Three Generations of Tradition and Change. Many other
scholars have also used similar themes in their presentations on
Balinese art.
The Contemporary Balinese Art exhibition, currently on show at
the National Museum in Central Jakarta in conjunction with the
larger Contemporary Art of the Non-Aligned Countries exhibition,
is also tediously entitled Continuity and Change.
In the past, exhibitions and publications on Balinese art have
been conceived by curators associated with one particular
gallery, and the Suteja Neka has been the driving force in
promoting Balinese art both locally and internationally. The Art
of Bali exhibit at the East-West Center in Honolulu in 1988 and
the Paintings of Bali show at the Nusa Dua Beach Hotel in 1988-
1989 displayed works from the Neka collections. The From Ritual
to Romance exhibit at Singapore's National Museum last year
presented some works from collections from Singapore, but the
bulk of the exhibit came from the Neka collections. In addition
were works from the collection of Jusuf Wanandi -- a major patron
of Neka's venture.
Other galleries such as the Agung Rai Gallery and Rudana
Gallery have also represented Bali abroad. Meanwhile, newer
galleries such as Nyoman Sumertha's Gallery has emerged in the
international scene.
By contrast, in the Bali exhibit currently on show at the
National Museum, principal curator Dr. A.A.M. Djelantik was able
to draw from a variety of sources. Dr. Djelantik is a special
instructor of esthetics at the Denpasar Institute of Arts (STSI)
and author of the Oxford University publication of Balinese
Painting, published in 1986. The works exhibited in this show are
not limited to one particular gallery, but researched and
collected from several galleries, including the major galleries
of Neka, Agung Rai and Rudana, as well as from the collections of
the Bali Art Center, private collections and Jakarta's National
Museum. The exhibit is co-managed by Tubagus Sukmana from the
National Museum.
Comprehensive view
No new or outstanding interpretations come out of the exhibit.
However, having access to the best collections in the country,
the curator has managed to stage a more comprehensive view of
Balinese art, compared to exhibitions held in the past.
The painting section of the exhibit is divided into seven
stylistic categories: Kamasan style, Pita Maha, Post Pita Maha,
Young Artist, Community Artist, Independent Artist and Academics.
However, no clear spatial distinction has been made to
differentiate the different styles. At certain points, the
division is intentionally left rather ambiguous.
The show begins with a discussion of the traditional wayang
style of Kamasan, not as a unified entity, but showing different
styles and media. The first painting, Mandagiri , is a depiction
covering four rows of wooden planks. Then, the more familiar
Kamasan paintings by Mangku Mura are presented. After the viewers
have seen the Balinese examples, a Javanese Panji fragment from
the National Museum is shown as a possible origin of the Balinese
wayang style. Finally, another typical Kamasan painting by Nyoman
Mandra concludes this section.
Opposite the Kamasan Style paintings are those of the Pita
Maha Style. These include impressive works by painters Ida Bagus
Made, Dew Putu BedilI Gusti Ketut Kobot and I Gusti Nyoman
Lempad. Works by lesser known artists, such as Nyoman Leper and
Nyoman Menur, were taken from the collections of the National
Museum and the Bali Art Center. Some works seem to have come from
Agung Rai's most recent acquisitions of Balinese paintings dating
between 1940 and 1960. An anonymous work about the Abduction of
Sita is of particular interest.
On the reverse side of the panel, is what the curator calls
Post Pita Maha, which includes the famed Batuan miniatures of I
Made Budi and I Wayan Bendi.
Birds in foliage, works typical of the Pengosekan Community of
Artists, are shown in another section. While most of the
paintings indeed show that the influence of the community is
indeed prevalent, variations on the theme also exist. While most
of the paintings came from the collection of Rudana, one work of
the same theme but notably different in technique comes from the
collection of painter Chusin Setiadikara. The painting, entitled
Flora Fauna, shows a crisp, poster-like depiction of birds in a
colorful natural environment. Painted by I Made Supartha from
Singapadu (a village about six kilometers from the Artist
Community of Pengosekan), it is likely that the work was perhaps
influenced by the Pengosekan artists, especially in terms of
genre. However, it is clear that the artist has managed to steer
the idyllic Pengosekan technique to a bolder direction.
The exhibition continues with a presentation of works by the
Young Artists of Penestanan, including the paintings of Cakra,
Ngurah K.K. and Soki. In the middle of the paintings, a painting
by Arie Smit, father of the Young Artists' movement, is also
displayed to show the inspiration behind the works of the
Penestanan artists.
More expressive
Around the corner, works by Tagen and Pugur from the National
Museum collection and a charming little vignette by Nodia present
a more expressive style. It is unclear where exactly the two
artists come from, but Ubud is inscribed on their paintings to
designate the vicinity in which they work. These two Ubud artists
reduce human figures into minimally defined blocks of color,
without any indication of eyes and mouth. Albeit less refined,
these works seem to have a more emotional energy than the other
typical works of the Young Artists.
Painter Nodia, whose inscription indicates his origins as
Tanah Lot, might also have been influenced by the Penestanan
artists. While the forms he uses are even more simple than Tagen
and Pugur, his work is even wilder in composition and color.
The most impressive works, however, are placed at the very end
of the hall. I Gusti Made Deblog's Envoy Hanuman presents the
monkey general Hanuman running amok at Alengka, after he delivers
Rama's message to King Rahvana. Rather than placing Hanuman in an
idealized graphic composition, Deblog has chosen to set him in a
local Balinese surrounding, complete with the pura and shrines
around it, shaded by a large banyan tree. Standing over the
corpse of a dead giant, the long strands of the banyan tree's
aerial roots and bamboo spears scattered around him obstruct his
movements.
Next to it is a grotesque painting of the struggle between
Black and White by I Wayan Miarta. This wild work shows two
figures entangled in a totally chaotic environment of animals and
insects. Out of one figure, pours out a cacophony of insects.
Roaches, fish and other creatures fill the entire space of the
painting. This artist's works may have influenced Ketut Budiana
-- another painter of grotesque subject matters. Budiana's works
are displayed next to Miarta's although the former is categorized
as an academic.
The works of academic painters such as Nyoman Gunarsa, Made
Wianta, Nyoman Tusan and Nyoman Erawan are placed in the back of
the Museum's northern wing along with works of sculpture. By so
doing, the academic works are spatially and perhaps also
interpretively separated from the more traditional works.
Collected from several different galleries and collections,
the exhibit is much more comprehensive than other exhibits of
Balinese art. It presents substantial diversity within the
preconceived categories.
Weaknesses
To be sure, the exhibit also has many weaknesses. While it is
able to present Arie Smit's paintings to show his influence on
the Young Artists, none of Bonnet's work, not to mention Walter
Spies's work, is presented as a source of inspiration for the
Pita Maha artists.
In many instances, dates are not included in the labels,
making it impossible for the viewers to determine which painting
come first. It is also hard to figure out who influenced who in
the show. The lack of dates has also enabled the curators to get
away with placing works dating from the 1960s to 1994 in the
category of Pita Maha, which actually dates back to the 1940s.
It is clear that there are still some problems with the
classification of the art works. When did Pita Maha end?
Answering this would answer why the term Post Pita Maha used. Why
is Young Artists distinguished from Community Artists? Isn't
Penestanan also a community? Should the distinction be according
to region: Ubud, Batuan, Pengosekan, Penestanan, and so forth, as
has been done in many other exhibits?
If, because it was held in conjunction with the Non-Aligned
Movement exhibition, the exhibit was meant to present Balinese
art that has developed on its own, much more effort was needed in
its preparation. However, just like the main exhibit of
Contemporary art, there continues to be a great need to be
inclusive in Indonesia's sensitive community. For now we can only
remain patient and eagerly await even better shows about Balinese
art.
The Contemporary Balinese Art exhibit, Continuity and Change
will be held until June 30, 1995 at the National Museum in
Central Jakarta.