JP/18/KAMASA

JP/18/KAMASA

Aging painter keeps Kamasan style alive

Tri Vivi Suryani
Contributor/Denpasar

Ni Made Suciarmi, one of the oldest female painters in Banjar
Sangging, Kamasan village, Klungkung, east Bali, works
meticulously on a canvas, drawing two-dimensional wayang shadow
puppet figures in a painting style known as Kamasan.

Her home has become a kind of art gallery and workshop for
dozens of students, both locally and from overseas.

Banjar Sangging, a few kilometers south of the central
intersection in Klungkung, has been a haven for painters who
worked by appointment to the then Puri Klungkung Royal family.

The distinguished artists produce paintings, banners, flags
and wall hangings for a variety of ritual and traditional
ceremonies, collectively known as work produced in the Kamasan
painting style.

This village, whose hundreds of residents gained their
artistic talent from their ancestors, has faithfully preserved
the centuries-old Kamasan style, despite a flood of external
artistic influences.

Kamasan paintings, especially lower-quality examples, are now
sold in every art market and gallery. However, the most refined
examples can still be viewed on the ceilings of the Kerta Gosa
building, part of Klungkung Palace.

The Kamasan style

In a Kamasan painting, the initial line drawing is made in
black Chinese ink, the most important phase to the Balinese, and
this is produced by the master. Subsequent processes, including
coloring, are usually passed on to close members of the family or
assistants.

The subjects of the paintings are mostly derived from wayang
stories taken from the famous Indian Mahabharata and Ramayana
epics.

Suciarmi is a rarity: She is one of few female painters to
have mastered the Kamasan style.

While her male colleagues enjoyed freedom and acceptance from
a patriarchal Balinese society, Suciarmi had to fight for her
place in the male-dominated Balinese art world.

Born in October, 1932, Suciarmi faced difficulties initially.
Painting was considered taboo for a Balinese woman. There was no
way that a woman could pursue a career in the art world as she
was supposed to confine herself to domestic tasks such as taking
care of children, breeding cattle and chickens and doing other
household cores.

Unable to resist her desire to paint, the young Suciarmi went
to the backyard of her family home and began drawing her favorite
figures from wayang stories on the ground.

"That was my first canvas," she said. Nobody in the family
knew that Suciarmi possessed extraordinary painting skills,
comparable to those of male painters in the village.

"I was frightened that if my parents found out, they would get
so angry at me," she said. Despite her parents' objections,
Suciarmi continued to draw.

She kept listening to the stories told by her uncle Nyoman
Mireg, a puppetmaster. She was always astonished by the beautiful
wayang figures used by her uncle.

Nevertheless, being born to a well-educated and art-conscious
family did not automatically open doors for her into the art
world.

Her father, Ketut Sulaya, was a teacher, painter, and an
expert on lontar palm inscriptions, while her mother, Made Rata,
was a traditional textile weaver.

For the Balinese, lontar inscriptions are regarded as the main
sources of knowledge in the field of religion, customary law,
culture and tradition, literature, medicine, social regulations
and other matters.

Despite her father's expertise in the field, Suciarmi, like
other Balinese women, was not allowed to learn to read lontar.

Being unable to learn lontar did not discourage young
Suciarmi. She went to her puppetmaster uncle, and learned the
philosophy of wayang stories and figures from him.

Astonishing drawing skill

When she had reached the third grade at school, her teacher
Ketut Rubug, a master painter, noticed her remarkable drawing
skill. He was amazed by a near-perfect painting titled Arjuna
Bertapa, (Meditating Arjuna). The teacher asked Suciarmi's
parents to allow their talented daughter to pursue a career as a
painter.

Suciarmi later joined the art community. Painting was her
utmost desire. As a devout Hindu, Suciarmi always prayed for the
blessing of the Almighty before she drew a line on her canvas.

"One day, I forgot to pray, I could not even remember the
objects that had previously come into my mind. They were all
gone," Suciarmi recalled.

Young Suciarmi was a multitalented girl. In addition to her
devotion to painting, she was also an accomplished traditional
Balinese dancer, silver carver and maker of offerings.
leave gap

With her artistic talents, Suciarmi survived the hardest
period between the l940s-50s during the Japanese occupation and
Independence period.

During the Japanese occupation period, Kamasan painters
suffered the most. They stopped producing art pieces since no
materials were available at that time.

In order to survive, Suciarmi frequently performed at Puri
Klungkung. She mesmerized royal families and their guests with
her dancing skills. Suciarmi also supported her husband, I Made
Lemon, in producing silver bowls and other silver utensils.

She is renowned also as a master in carving.

After Indonesia gained its independence, Suciarmi continued
painting. Her first exhibition was held during the opening of
Bali Art Center in Denpasar in 1975. At that time, Bali had only
a few female painters and her work caught the attention of the
audience.

She flourished in the art world. Collectors and art-lovers
began to eye her distinguished works. Through her art, Suciarmi
was able to travel the world displaying her paintings in several
galleries and art centers in the United States, Germany,
Australia, Canada and Singapore.

Keeping Kamasan alive

As she is aging now, Suciarmi finds herself unable to fully
dedicate her time to painting. "I usually start working at 8 p.m.
to 10 p.m. I am old now and I am running out of energy," she
said.

It takes her a month to finish a 125 cm by 120 cm painting,
something she previously finished in around one or two weeks.

Among her favorite works is Sira Panji Amalat Rasmin, a
painting she made while looking after her youngest children.

"Many collectors wanted to buy this but I simply made a copy
of it rather than sell the original. It was a memorable work for
us," she smiled.

"I'm not ambitious now. I work for fun and for my spiritual
well-being. If I can sell a painting, the money will go to my
grandchildren," she laughed happily.

Suciarmi is now the happy mother of six adult children who
have already given her dozens of grandchildren.

Her six children Putu Arniti, Made Ardanta, Nyoman Yulinarmi,
Ni Ketut Manik, Ni Wayan Mariani and I Made Gunadi have already
pursued their own careers. Nobody followed in their mother's
footsteps.

"My fourth daughter, Ni Ketut Manik, had a similar talent and
exhibited some of her work. In the end, however, she preferred to
become a policewoman," Suciarmi said.

"I have never ask my children to follow me. They have their
own choices and are now happy with their lives. I am very proud
of that," she smiled.

Suciarmi feels secure because many members of her extended
family are now in the painting business, which means that the
Kamasan style will remain alive and regeneration has occurred
naturally and smoothly.