Ubud museum revives Pitat Maha school

Ubud museum revives Pitat Maha school

By I Wayan Juniartha

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Puri Lukisan, a downtown Ubud museum with
a collection of Balinese classical paintings and sculptures, is
holding its fifth annual exhibition until Sept. 17. This year the
exhibition is emotionally charged in a deeper way than in
previous years.

"The exhibition features the works of painters who are
directly and even indirectly related to Pita Maha," said Tjokorda
Gde Putra Sukawati, chairman of Ratna Wartha, the foundation that
manages the museum.

Pita Maha is an organization of artists in Ubud that was
active in arts and culture activities in the 1930s and 1940s. It
enjoys an important position in the history of Balinese art
development. The organization has played a substantial role in
the renovation of Balinese paintings and in the emergence of
maestros such as I Gusti Nyoman Lempad, Kobot, Sobrat and Ida
Bagus Made Polang. The group was initiated by the Dutch painter
Rudolf Bonnet and the King of Ubud, Tjokorda Gde Agung Sukawati.

"At the time, my father, Tjokorda Gde Agung Sukawati, and
Rudolf Bonnet saw that Balinese art had become a commercial
commodity and many of our art works were taken abroad. There were
fears that the best works would just disappear.

"There was also a need to improve the capabilities of artists
without leaving out their Balinese identity," Tjokorda said.

In 1940 the organization had 140 members. They were not
limited to Ubud artists, with individuals coming from Samur and
further afield. Painters, sculptors and silversmiths were grouped
in the organization.

"Pita Maha was active in introducing Balinese arts and culture
through arts exhibitions and theater performances in Batavia
(Jakarta), Yogyakarta, Medan, Palembang, The Hague, Amsterdam and
London," he said.

However, Pita Maha's most important activity was the weekly
discussions held on Saturdays at the residence of either Bonnet
or Tjokorda Gde Agung Sukawati. These meetings provided an
opportunity for artists to show their works, to hold debates and
to gain information from fellow artists and from Bonnet himself.
They recognized not only Bonnet as their guru, but also the
German painter Walter Spies.

At the outbreak of World War II, Spies and Bonnet had to leave
Bali and the situation was not conducive for Pita Maha to
continue its activities.

In 1953, Rudolf Bonnet, this time with Tjokorda Gde Agung
Sukawati's sons, including Tjokorda Gde Putra Sukawati, and other
members of Ubud's nobility, established Ratna Wartha, a
foundation with the aim of safeguarding and conserving classical
and traditional Balinese art works. In 1954 the foundation began
building the Puri Lukisan museum.

"That's why one feels that the exhibition this time has a
different emotional aspect ... Moreover, on the opening day of
the exhibition on July 17, we lost a Balinese master of
traditional painting with the death of Ida Bagus Made Poleng.
There are fears we might not have other such maestros," said
Tjokorda.

Anak Agung Gde Ngurah Muning, the exhibition's curator, has
observed that many young painters are tempted by the tourist
dollar. He said handicraft painting as tourist souvenirs attracts
the younger generation.

"The objective of this exhibition is a desire to separate art
works and handicraft. We hope that young painters will not
hastily enter the handicraft business," he said.

The Pita Maha school's technique and themes, true to the
Balinese traditional painting technique, understandably leave
younger painters champing at the bit. The traditional painting
technique requires at least four stages: ngorten (sketching),
ngabur (applying black and white colors), nyawi (accentuating
lines) and nyenter (applying colors). In addition, the
application of colors sometimes is a step that requires
repeating.

"Young painters are often impatient to color leaves up to
three times. Finally they only do it twice. The painting then
looks coarse. The theme of Balinese paintings is highly
philosophical. Young painters have difficulty achieving it. I
often tell them that painting is actually the desire to paint
what is in our soul. If the soul cannot be expressed, it is
better not to paint. Do some other work," said Anak Agung Gde
Ngurah Muning.

From January 1999, the curator undertook a four-month tour
seeking out painters who were loyal to the techniques,
compositions and themes of the Pita Maha school.

The exhibition's consultant, Rosemarie F. Oei, explained that
the paintings sought were those with links, direct and indirect,
to paintings in the Pita Maha style. She said they mainly
selected those who had studied with Pita Maha members.

"In this exhibition we wish to present the Balinese
traditional concept of teacher-student, in which the transmission
of knowledge from teacher to student is based on familial
feelings (learning usually takes place at the teacher's home),
love, and openness. There is no technique or other matter kept
secret by the teacher toward his students, because the teachers
are aware that knowledge is a blessing from the invisible world
(niskala) and they only have a duty to pass the blessing on to
the students," she said.

Fifty painters were located, but works by only 36 of them
could be displayed in the exhibition. Some of the painters such
as Anak Agung Gde Raka Pudja, I Wayan Gedot, I Ketut Kenur, I
Gusti Made Kwandji and Mangku Wayan Nomer were former students of
Pita Maha members. Others, like I Ketut Dana and I Wayan Dana
Wirawan, only studied with students of Pita Maha members.

"Painters whose paintings are not on display have indeed no
more works because they have been sold. A painter sold a painting
of his to buy a Feroza (jeep-type Daihatsu automobile). Another
painting changed hands because Galungan, the Hindu feast day, was
approaching," said Tjokorda Gde Putra Sukawati.

The works by the new generation of Pita Maha painters clearly
show that the transmission of knowledge of the Pita Maha artists
is not broken. The concern that the school will be extinct can be
temporarily shelved.

I Gusti Nyoman Sudara Lempad, a grandson of I Gusti Nyoman
Lempad, for example, has not only inherited his grandfather's
artistic talent but also the latter's technique, style and
themes.

The majority of the 63 paintings on exhibition still explore
wayang and folk stories, art performances and Balinese community
life from the past, favorite themes with Pita Maha members.

It does not mean that the new generation does not explore new
territory. Anak Agung Gde Anom Sukawati's work titled Tari Baris
(Baris Dance) and Jauk, and I Ketut Sudana's painting titled Kali
Sengara (Sengara River) are relevant examples. Apart from sharper
and more conspicuous coloring, the two paintings only depict four
or five human figures. This is different from the general
tendency of Balinese traditional painting to present as many
people as possible on the canvas, sometimes even a kampong.
People, buildings and flora and fauna are favored images, as is
often seen on traditional Balinese paintings with the ngaben
(cremation) theme.

"The choice of presenting only a few figures allows the
perspective to become clearer and sharper. Additionally, their
paintings are more dynamic. The anatomy and movements are not
rigid. The colors are richer and more daring," Rosemarie F. Oei
said.

The current exhibition is apparently not an undertaking to
remember things of the past. The endeavor aims at reviving a
Balinese art tradition, the characteristics of which are an
openness toward renovation and change, while loyally guarding its
Balinese identity.