Arts & Artists
synopsis on Arts & Crafts and list of Museums / Galleries
.// Painting
.// Stone Carving
.// Textile
.// Wood Carving
.// Museum & Galleries
Artistically, Bali is a melting pot of cultures and traditions. The
Balinese have a natural capacity for absorbing different cultural elements
and blend them with their own, to produce dynamic new hybrids. Over the
years, Bali has been the recipient of numerous influences; Chinese, Buddhist,
Indian, Hindu, Javanese, and most recently, Western. For centuries, artists
and craftsmen in Bali worked under the patronage of the priests and ruling
classes, decorating palaces and temples. The artists themselves never
signed their work and usually lived close together in artists' 'villages'.
Generally the artists did not have much room for personal expression,
as their designs followed strict aesthetic and religious guidelines.
With the arrival of European artists at the start of this century, this
soon began to change, and local artists started developing their own
individual styles.
PAINTING
Until the start of this century, the dominant form of painting was the
portrayal of Hindu epics by painters and illustrators called ‘Sangging’.
Aside from large representational paintings, the ‘Sangging’ were
also expected to decorate everything from gourds, wooden altars, bamboo
vessels, headboards for princely bed chambers and in particular to illustrate
astrological wall hangings on bark paper or cloth.
It wasn’t until the early 1900s that Western influence reached
Bali. The use of Asian symbols in the works of, amongst others, Paul
Gauguin, Toulouse Lautrec and Camille Pissaro, created a new trend for
Asian-influenced art and European painters began to move to Bali. Ubud’s
fame for art can be traced to the arrival of German painter Walter Spies
and Dutch painter Rudolf Bonnet.
There now exists a wide range of different styles, some of which are:
Ubud, Batuan, Keliki, Pengosekan and Young Artists (many of these Young
Artists are, in reality, now over 70 years old).
Ubud Style
influenced by the Western use of perspective and everyday-life
subject matter, the Ubud style is one of the most ‘Expressionist’ of
all the Balinese schools. Despite this, Ubud art still retains many traditional
features, including attention to detail and very stylized characters.
Batuan Style
Strongly Wayang based, this style involves hundreds of intricately painted
representations of Balinese life, filling every available nook and
cranny of the canvas.
Keliki Style
Keliki art is very similar to the Old Batuan Style with the one exception
being size; Keliki paintings measure 20cm by 15cm. They contain scenes
of mythical and Ramayanic characters engaged in battle, good versus
evil, on sinister backgrounds.
Pengosekan Style
From this village, on the outskirts of Ubud, a new style sprang up during
the 60’s that concentrated on just a few natural components like
birds, insects, butterflies and plants.
Wood carving, like stone carving, has traditionally featured largely
in temple and palace architecture. Immaculately carved demons and mythical
beings decorate pillars, door panels, lintels and window shutters with
the aim of protecting the buildings from evil intruders. Scenes of legendary
figures placed within floral decor set a more pleasant and educational
tone.
With the arrival of European influences, wood carving started to develop
along more innovative and commercial lines. These days whole villages
specialize in producing certain styles of work. The village of Mas, near
Ubud, is probably the best known for its carvings of female figures,
Buddhas, characters from Hindu epics and the traditional Topeng and Wayang
Wong masks.
One of the most striking things about Bali is the rich variety of cloths
and materials that are to be seen in thousands of shops throughout the
island.
However, only a small proportion of these are indigenous to Bali. The
myriad of batik clothes and sarongs available everywhere are mainly imported
from Java. Bali does, however, have a very rich textile industry of its
own. The beautiful Songket fabrics worn by performers of traditional
dance are a good example. In Songket, gold and silver threads are woven
into the cloth to create complex motifs of birds, butterflies and flowers.
Endek, or weft ikat, is another common method used in Bali. In weft
ikat weaving, the weft threads are dyed to create the design and then
woven with plain warp threads.
The least common form of weaving to be seen in Bali is the Geringsing,
or double-ikat, and it is perhaps the most sought after. This is when
both the warp and weft threads are dyed to their final designs before
being woven together. With the exception of certain areas in India and
Japan, this weaving technique can only be found in the small Bali Aga
village of Tenganan in East Bali.
Wood carving, like stone carving, has traditionally featured largely
in temple and palace architecture. Immaculately carved demons and mythical
beings decorate pillars, door panels, lintels and window shutters with
the aim of protecting the buildings from evil intruders. Scenes of legendary
figures placed within floral decor set a more pleasant and educational
tone.
With the arrival of European influences, wood carving started to develop
along more innovative and commercial lines. These days whole villages
specialize in producing certain styles of work. The village of Mas, near
Ubud, is probably the best known for its carvings of female figures,
Buddhas, characters from Hindu epics and the traditional Topeng and Wayang
Wong masks.
Denpasar
- Bali Museum - Jl. Letkol Wisnu
Open Tues. to Sun. 8.00 am - 3.00 pm
- Taman budaya Cultural Centre Jl. Nusa Indah
Open daily*, 8 am - 3 pm
Jimbaran / Nusa Dua
- Ganesha Gallery - Four Seasons Resort Bali
Open daily 10am-6pm
Sanur
- Museum Le Mayeur Jl. Hang Tuah
Open Sat. to Thurs; 8 am - 4 pm Fridays 8 am - 1.30 pm
Ubud
- Agung Rai Museum of Art Jl. Pengosekan
Open daily*, 9 am - 6 pm
- Gaya Gallery Jl. Raya Sayan
Open daily*, 9 am - 11pm
- Museum Rudana & Rudana Fine Art Gallery
Jl. Cok Rai Pudak, Peliatan
Open daily*, 9 am - 5 pm
- Neka Gallery Jl. Raya Ubud
Open daily*, 8 am -5 am
- Puri Lukisan Museum Jl. Raya Ubud
Open daily*, 8 am - 4 pm
- The Blanco Renaissance Museum Campuan,Ubud Open daily,9am-5pm.
- Genta Fine Art Gallery Jl. Raya Lodtunduh No. 1
Open daily*, 9 am - 5 pm
- Neka Art Museum Jl. Raya campuhan
Open daily*, 8 am - 5 pm
- Pengosekan Community of Artists Showroom Showroom Jl. pengosekan
Open daily*, 8 am - 4 pm
- Seniwati Gallery of Art by Women Jl. Sriwedari 2B Open daily*, 10
am - 5 pm
DANCE & DRAMA
Dance and drama have historically played an important role in Balinese
society. Through this medium, people learned about the tales of the
Ramayana, Mahabarata and other epic stories from Balinese history.
The following are brief descriptions of some of the more well-known
dance-dramas that can be seen at regular performances, throughout Bali.
Baris
This is a warrior’s dance. It is usually performed by men, either
solo or in a group of five or more.
Barong & Rangda
This is basically a story about the struggle between good and evil. Good
is personified by the Barong Keket, a strange and fun-loving creature
in the shape of a shaggy semi-lion. Evil is represented by Rangda,
a witch.
Kecak
The most famous of the Balinese dances, the Kecak, originated from the
Sanghyang dance choirs, who chant a distinctive ‘kechak-kechak’ accompaniment.
The Kecak as a dance developed in the 1930’s in the village of
Bona, where it is still performed regularly.
Legong
This dance tells the story of Princess Rangkesari who is held captive
against her will by King Lakesmi. Rangkesari’s brother, Prince
Daha, gathers an army together to rescue his sister. The Legong is
a very classical and graceful dance, always performed by prepubescent
girls, who often are as young as eight or nine years old.
Sanghyang Trance Dances
The Sanghyang Dedari is performed by two girls and is very similar in
style to the Legong. The main difference is that the girls are supposedly
untrained and can keep in perfect time with each other, even though
their eyes are firmly shut. In the Sanghyang Jaran, a boy dances around
and through a fire, riding a coconut palm hobbyhorse. This is frequently
called the ‘Fire Dance’. In both dances, a priest is always
on hand to help bring the dancers out of their state of trance at the
end of the performance.
Wayang Kulit (Shadow Puppet)
Wayang Kulit is one of the great story-telling traditions of the Javanese
and Balinese. The Wayang show normally consists of a small 4-piece
orchestra, which provides the musical accompaniment, around 60 ‘puppets’ carved
out of flat pieces of water buffalo hide and the Dalang, or Puppet-master.
Good characters normally speak in ancient ‘Kawi’ whereas
evil or coarse characters speak Balinese.
For those of you interested in learning Balinese dance, there are classes
available and viewers are welcome. Ask your hotel for details on scheduled
classes or when it may be possible to watch Dr. I Wayan Rai S. teach
at the Denpasar Institute for the Arts (ASTI).
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