Research on Walter Spies

Research on Walter Spies

I have been doing research on Walter Spies, a painter of German nationality, to make a documentary film on this cultural man.

When he arrived Indonesia in 1923, Walter Spies lived in Bandung and Yogyakarta, before he lived permanently in Campuhan, Ubud, Bali. In Bandung he worked as a pianist in a silent movie theater.

At the end of 1923 he moved to Yogyakarta, and early the following year he became a musician in the Yogyakarta Sultanate.

Spies took part in a painting exhibition in Surabaya. In 1927 he moved to Bali. Here Spies and the Balinese artists were influencing each other.

When World War II broke out Spies was arrested by the Dutch and detained in Ngawi, Central Java, and was later moved to Kotatjane (North Sumatra). He died in a ship used for transporting German detainees, on the way to Sri Lanka from Padang (West Sumatra). The ship sank after being bombed by a Japanese air force plane.

Any information about Walter Spies' life in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Bali, Ngawi, Kotatjane and Padang would be very useful for my research.

I greatly appreciate any help in this matter. Please contact me at the following address: Amir Sidharta, Prapanca Raya 27, Jakarta 12160, Phone: (021) 7222456, Fax: 724-7883.

AMIR SIDHARTA

Jakarta