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.