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.