Two Worlds

"Art is the permanent and sublime expression of the creative power inherent in a nation's character."
–Rudolf Bonnet, 1936

August 2009 witnessed the opening of two important exhibitions - 'Archetypes' by I Made Wianta, the doyen of contemporary Balinese art, and a retrospective of the work of I Nyoman Mandra, the greatest living proponent of Balinese classical painting of the Kamasan School. While at first glance their work may appear diametrically opposed both artists are in fact bound by intriguing threads that question the meaning and direction of Balinese art and culture, albeit from opposite directions.

As implied in the rhetorical question "Who is Made Wianta?", posed during the boisterous opening at Ganesha Gallery, Four Seasons Resort Bali, no introduction is necessary for this prolific artist. It is interesting to note that at this point in his 30 year career, Wianta felt the need "to return to my roots" in a series of canvasses featuring mature variations of the cubic, linear and rectangular compositions that propelled him to fame in the 1980s. "These forms" he proclaims, "are the elemental building blocks that distinguish man from nature." His success can be measured by the glowing praise lavished by the well-known German abstract artist Peter Dittmar (who is also currently exhibiting his newest work at Gaya Fusion of Senses, Sayan) who feigned jealousy as he remarked that the recent work of both artists unwittingly appears in many ways to be moving in the same creative direction. In particular he declared the small but elegant black on black acrylic, 'Intersecting', a masterpiece.

One of the most iconic of Wianta's new works is 'Four Monuments' featuring four cubic shapes floating about against a mottled green pastel background that looks like an organic farmer's vision of fun in outer space. The cubic forms, unlike the enigmatic and opaque black monolith of Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film, Space Odyssey: 2001, are neither solid (rather their sides seem to be windows into Mondrian paintings or oil on water light shows from the Fillmore West) nor prove of the existence of intelligent life beyond earth. Instead they exude Wianta's characteristic mirth. Bordering the mysterious, they mirror the mischievous inner workings of the post-Industrial Balinese mind.

In contrast the work of Nyoman Mandra at the Griya Santrian Gallery in Sanur, is decidedly archaic. As described by Australian scholar and author, Adrian Vickers, who expertly curated the show (with the aid of mounting übermensch Thomas U. Freitag), Mandra is the greatest living adherent to a school of painting that traces its roots back to the 16th century Gelgel Dynasty. In comparison to the Wianta opening, attendees included a high percentage of antique, scholarly types normally only seen in Ubud. Wianta came, too, in deference to his main adversary for the crown of Bali's premier senior artist, Nyoman Gunarsa, who opened the show. The best dressed among an otherwise scruffy crowd goes to Bali's one and only smoking Legong, Made Wijaya who engaged in polite chitchat with fellow dancer Wayan Dibia. The evening was pleasant although elegies mourning Bali's lost legacies and the whispers of cultural philistines who dissed Kamasan paintings as passé added a schizophrenic air to the whole. Obviously they have not yet realized that by definition all art belongs to the age in which it was made.

If they had looked closer they would have noticed that although Mandra's art is a direct descendent of an old tradition, it is distinct and imbued with his own modern aesthetic. This is immediately evident by comparing his softer pastel palette and facial expressions of the mythological heroes with the dense energy of a 19th century work, painted by his grandfather, Kaki Rambug in a large work from the Malat Cycle (Langse Detail1). Other highlights include the Pelindon calendar (Pelindon) and magical black white paintings.

At a time when everyone gives lip service to the preservation of Balinese culture with little knowledge of what it is they want to protect, it is ironic to note the general lack of knowledge and appreciation of the traditional arts and their modern heirs. One of the best examples is the erroneous but often repeated claim that the Ubud painting school is traditional when it was in fact directly stimulated by tourism in the 1930s. This type of garbage is the creation of the same addled minds that often liken Galungan to Christmas. Cultural disinformation has a long history in Bali with no end in sight. Ironically the first foreign artist who came to Bali (W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp in 1904) did so to study traditional Balinese painting because he felt it offered a model of freedom that had been lost in European art. More than a century later Balinese artists both traditional and modern still continue to inspire western minds and souls.

Ganesha Gallery , Four Seasons Resort Jimbaran
T: 0361 701 010
Kamasan School
Near Kamasan Village, KlungKung