I Made Sumadiyasa: Young, promising Balinese painter

By Putu Wirata

Young Balinese painter Made Sumadiyasa has received acclaim both at home and abroad for his works. This article relates the genesis of his paintings of the past few years.

DENPASAR (JP): Two paintings exhibited at Art Asia Hong Kong in November last year, Menari dengan Singa (Dancing with a Lion, 1994) and Jalan Pembebasan (Road to Freedom, 1994), received extraordinary acclaim. The painter was I Made Sumadiyasa, 24, who is still studying at Yogyakarta's School of Fine Arts and Design.

"After 30 years, at last I can now take pride in something from Indonesia, that is, through art works by Made Sumadiyasa," said Kornie, an American-born promoter who organized Made's exhibition in Hong Kong. They carried the flag of the Neka Museum in Ubud, the first Indonesian museum to participate in the Art Asia Hong Kong exhibition.

"If you want to compete in technology, there are Germany and Japan. Indonesia, however, can rise to prominence because of its art works. I have chosen the works of Made because he is the youngest among many talented painters," said Kornie at the Neka Museum prior to his trip to Hong Kong.

Collectors showed interest in Made's paintings when they were exhibited at the Bambu Gallery owned by Wayan Suteja Neka. The works quickly fetched prices of between Rp 20 million and Rp 45 million (between US$8,602 and $17,204) a piece.

Among the many strong Balinese painters with character, Made Sumadiyasa is the youngest. The abstract concept of his works resembles the expression of the universe in Balinese culture. It is not far different from that of his predecessors, including Nyoman Erawan, Jirna and Wayan Budiana. These painters have often participated in prestigious events worldwide. Erawan's and Budiana's works were exhibited in the Festival of Indonesia in the United States in 1990 to 1991 and the Indonesian Dutch Cultural Exhibition in 1993.

"Now it is Made Sumadiyasa's turn," said Kornie.

Who is Made Sumadiyasa, the quiet young man with braided hair?

Made was born in Lalang Linggah, Tabanan in 1971. His grandfather was a priest in a temple on a small hill just outside his village. His father followed in the footsteps of his grandfather. Like other Balinese children, Made was raised in an environment full of rites and mystic beliefs. But, of course, his contact with rites is not as intense as that of his forefathers because the modern social environment has given him more rational inputs. Nonetheless, the spirit of an ancestral ritual culture radiates from his works.

Garrett Kam, an observer of Balinese fine arts and culture living in Bedahulu, Gianyar, sees those allusions in Sumadiyasa's work.

In Menari dengan Singa, Kam wrote, Made's impressive strokes remind the Balinese of the myth of an animal resembling a lion, a protective spirit in Bali. In Jalan Menuju Keabadian, Made shows the strength of inner emotions, the sediment of the ritual spirit long experienced. In this work, according to Kam, Sumadiyasa succeeded in attaining a deep visualization of the abstract world. The process of creation is colored by interruption, which shows that the search for eternity is a hard struggle.

Made, as Garrett Kam says, may not be aware of a traditional undercurrent linked to the expression in his works. He admits that his works express a number of variations. His ideas, he says, come directly from events and objects in his environment, sometimes from the mass media, including television, dialogs and polemics. It is these outward experiences which have settled in him to later become personal expressions.

His expression of the spiritual world of Balinese culture is clearly seen in these works. The majority of these works are stimulated by Balinese cultural art forms. This can be derived from the titles of such works as Lemak Legong Keraton (1993), Mahabaratha (1993), Kucing Hutan (1994), Menari dengan Singa (1994), Kemana Mereka Pergi (1994), Penari Baris (1993), Kesaktian Baris Gede, Ngerupuk (1994), Ngaben (1993), Nyala Api (1995), Jalan Menuju Keabadian (1994), and Sandhi Kala (1994).

The Balinese community, which in general still believes in mystic forces, is steeped in arts expressed by, among other things, irrational ways. What is referred to as the soul, the spirit, vibration in modern artists vocabulary, is called taksu in Balinese. Although not all agree, the composition of forms, the etching and brushing of colors by Made Sumadiyasa radiate vibration.

In Jalan Menuju Keabadian, Made paints red, green, light brown, black, white, and marine blue in a story on a cremation in a Ngaben procession in Bali. According to Balinese Hindu belief, a cremation with all the supporting offerings of the ritual is the way to eternity in the hereafter. As there is no one able to describe the hereafter from personal experience, except through meditations, myths and subconscious imaginations, people generally fantasize about a darkness where the soul is liberated. And, at the time of liberation, the soul leaves the coarse body -- in the form of a red ray -- and goes into the skies.

An attractive empiric experience on vibration is perhaps found in Made Sumadiyasa's painting entitled Sandhi Kala (Transition from dusk to evening) dating from 1994 and belonging to an unnamed collector. The owner admitted to having strange dreams and when he consulted a medicine man. The latter said to return the painting to the painter's house. It was said that after the collector did so, he could sleep soundly.

Although Made Sumadiyasa says he is not aware and does not understand the existence of magic forces in his works, in the belief of the Balinese Hindu community, Sandhi Kala is a critical and dangerous transition time from twilight to evening. Usually, at such moments, the Balinese present their offerings to Bhuta Kala (guardian of the evil world), who, according to mythology, is given the power by the god Siwa to inflict disaster on people who have violated Sandhi Kala taboos. Some of the taboos are to pass streets, quiet places, village crossroads, or in front of haunted places during this time.

Is the medicine man correct in saying that the Sandhi Kala painting is the cause of strange dreams? No proof has been established but in Balinese culture, various forms of the magic power of paintings are known. Rajah (paintings with magical powers) are used for Usadha (traditional therapy) or for Pengiwa (black magic). And the painters are experts who have studied everything on fine arts, or people who are naturally endowed with paranormal abilities. With some study, using certain magic formulae, their brush strokes can have magic power.

Made Sumadiyasa says he does not intentionally express paranormal vibrations in his works. He is a vegetarian and practices yoga diligently. Pande Wayan Suteja Neka, the sponsor for Made's participation in the Art Asia Hong Kong, confirms that Made's works are much sought after.

"In the beginning, we exhibited his works at the Neka Museum. Many people like them and have started collecting them," he said. An estimated 45,000 visitors saw the works of artists from Asia, Europe and America on exhibition in Hong Kong. "This is purely art, there is no trading," said Suteja Neka.

Surprisingly, Made Sumadiyasa's works attracted the attention of collectors. The prices paid are comparable to those for Made Wianta's works (up to Rp 100 million), Nyoman Gunarsa (up to Rp 40 million) or Arie Smit (up to Rp 76 million).

The quiet and unpretentious Made is not a productive painter. In one month, he often does only one painting, or nothing at all.

Made admits he paints according to his mood.

"Although I am not an idealist, I do not want to accept orders. In executing an order, even if I am allowed freedom, my soul would not be in the work," said Made.