Bali: Tales from the Past and Present

Although a part of Indonesia where Islamic culture is predominant, Bali, which is a well-known resort, is host to some unique developments of Hinduism mixed with indigenous beliefs and customs. This island’ s unique traditional culture still vividly illuminates every aspect of local life from festivals to day-to-day activities in Bali.

In reality, the conservation and revitalization of Balinese traditional culture began to take place during the time of Dutch domination. In the early 20th century, Bali entered a period of socio-political turmoil under the Dutch domination and a series of natural disasters which the people in Bali took as signs of gods’ wrath. Thus they became more active in performing ceremonies and theaters for placating the gods and purifying of the　island. By contrast, the Dutch government apprehended this phenomenon as Balinese long-held tradition. They advanced the protection of their culture along with disaster recovery effort and promoted tourism in Bali, by calling Bali as “the Last Paradise on Earth.”

This movement resulted in bringing many artists from Euro-America countries into Bali in the 1930s and　consequently triggered Balinese music, dance, and art to transform under the influence of Western modern culture. The central figure behind this transformation was Walter Spies, a Garman painter-cum-musician. His teaching and guidance accelerated the birth of the presently widely-known “Balinese painting.” From that point, the formulation of a new Balinese tradition began to take place.

The late 1980s saw further great changes to Balinese art. While I Dewa Putu Mokoh started his career with the typical “Balinese paining” style, he moved on to capture the everyday life of Balinese people with his unique perspective. His style differed from the conventional “Balinese painting” that depicted gods and spirits as the main subject and densely filled every corner of space on canvas. Later on, contemporary painting which is distant from the “Balinese painting” also appeared on the art scene in Bali.

This exhibition includes various Balinese paintings such as a traditional piece used for Balinese Hinduism ceremonies and at court, and the work by I Dewa Putu Mokoh, which brought innovation to the “Balinese painting.” We hope that you will find “the tales of Bali from the past to present” through the transformation of subjects and styles seen between the works in this exhibition.

Kamasan Style Painting
Kamasan style painting has the longest history among Balinese paintings and its origin can be found in Balinese court painting in the 14th century. It was made primarily for ceremonial and decorative purpose at temple and court. “Kamasan” is the name of the village where the painters came from.
Kamasan style painting is characterized by at representation of scenes and gods from Hindu epic or folktales such as “Ramayana” and “Mahabharata” using line drawings. The painting is also referred as “Wayang style” because of its at depiction of some motifs in the painting such as gods, mountain, and plants, copied after “Wayang Kulit” or the shadow play. This style of the painting still continues to be created today.

Spies and “Balinese Painting”
In 1928, Walter Spies (1895-1942) , a Garman painter- cum-musician , settled in Ubud, Bali. Since then, he played a leading role in the modernization and commercialization of the entire Balinese arts,such as painting, music, dance, etc., under support from the royal family. In the eld of ne art, he founded the Pita Maha Artists Cooperative in 1936 and instructed Western style modern painting to Balinese painters. At the same time, Spies was actively involved in art criticism , introduction and sales of local artists’ works to the West.
This movement toward modernization gave birth to the “Balinese painting” as we imagine today. “Balinese painting” depicts Balinese ceremonies, landscapes, and everyday scenes within the dense use of space and di ers vastly from the Kamasan.

Pengosekan Style Painting
In the 1970s, I Dewa Putu Mokoh and Batuan, his younger brother , formed the“Pengosekan Community of Artists” to build up a network of village painters. Known for their paintings of nature in Bali, rather than religious subjects, the community had many painters who excelled at painting plants and birds, as in the case of I Dewa Putu Sena and Wayang Darsana. By its unique motifs andexpression, their paintings came to be known as Pengosekan style painting.

I Dewa Putu Mokoh (1934-2010)
Born in Pengosekan village, Bali, Mokoh learned “Bali painting” from two painters, both his uncle. Known by his works as early as in his 20s , he became a key player in the formation of an artist community in the 1970s.
After 1989, being encouraged by his encounter with Western style nude gures and Mondo, an Italian photographer, Mokoh began to explore subject matters and styles di erent from before. Avoiding the usual subjects commonly seen in “Balinese painting,” Mokoh began to nd his themes instead in the scenes of everyday life of the Balinese, the life cycle of sex, childbirth to aging, and also human body. Infused with a touch of humor, uniquely nonchalant, and yet heartwarming world of Mokoh’ s art went far beyond the conventional framework of the “Balinese painting.”

Contemporary Expression
With artists experimenting with new approaches to subject matter, artistic language, and materials, contemporary art in Southeast Asian countries in the 1980s became more multifaceted. This development also had its effect in Balinese art. The finely-detailed “Balinese paining” as well as Balinese artists with a fresh perspective on painting, such as I Dewa Putu Mokoh, drew international attention. Moreover, some Balinese artists distancing themselves from the established “Balinese painting” emerged around this time, working in accordance with the trends of Indonesian comtemporary art, such as Chusin Setiadikara.
Today, a new generation of young artists is emerging. They employ various materials and expressions based on the Balinese tradition including the “ Balinese painting” to comtemplate contemporary issues.

* Budi Agung Kusuwara, an emerging young artist from Bali is one of the participants in the FAAM’ s Artist in Residence Program (Period of stay: 16 May to 24 July, 2012). His works will be on display from 21 July to 6 August, 2012.