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Introduction and Acknowledgements

This book began as a conversation with Eric Oey many years ago, in which he suggested that I write a book on Balinese art. I have worked closely with Balinese artists since 1978, in particular with I Nyoman Mandra of Kamasan and Ida Bagus Made Togog of Batuan, when I was living in their villages between late 1978 and the end of 1983. It has taken many years to assemble the resources to produce this book, although in the meantime I have written another one (unpublished) on the painting of Sanur village, and several other studies on Balinese and Indonesian cultural history that deal with matters related to painting. An important part of the development of this book has been the support and friendship of Leo Haks, with whom I have worked closely since the 1990s. Over the last decade, I have also had the pleasure of conversations and collaboration with Thomas Freitag. Parts of this book have been adapted from earlier publications, but most is new work, produced as part of a project to document Balinese art in its social context, with funding by the Australian Research Council (ARC), the Australian Museum, the Singapore Batuan Collection and the University of Sydney. A website providing a virtual museum of Balinese painting will also be produced as part of this project.

As will be clear to the viewer, this book is about Balinese paintings and drawings, although for convenience I use the term ‘painting’ as shorthand for the variety of works produced with pen and brush on cloth, paper, wood and other media. I seek to trace the various social and cultural influences that have shaped Balinese painting, from its roots in ancient Javanese Hinduism to the forces of global change that Bali experiences first and foremost through the tourist industry. I have put particular emphasis on the importance of patronage and markets, since while not all artists discussed here paint for profit, many have been pushed in certain directions by the need to feed and house themselves and their families.

There have been a number of general accounts of Balinese painting, but most of these are short, out of print and limited in their selection of works.¹ Other publications have concentrated on specific collections or periods.² In approaching the writing, I faced the dilemmas all writers of art history face, especially the problem of which works to include. I have chosen what I regard as some of the great works of Balinese painting, since earlier publications have featured works of uneven quality, and thus done the art no great service. My aim has been an analysis ‘centred outside any one culturally bound discourse which establishes a series of phenomena and analytical methods which cross differing historical contexts’, but I fear that in order to lay out basic events, I have often reverted to ‘a straight narrative description into which some critical debates are inserted’.³

The research for this book has mainly been a long process of interaction with Balinese artists. The list of interviews at the end of the book is by no means definitive. It lists the longer conversations I have had with the individuals mentioned, but I have met many artists and others concerned with the arts in Bali in various studios, at exhibitions and other social events, and all have contributed to my understanding of Balinese art.

Credits

The ARC Linkage project team have all provided commentary on the book and related materials, and special thanks go to them—Peter Worsley, Steven Hayes, James Watson, Safrina Tristiawati, Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan, Susan Gilligan, Bruce Granquist and Siobhan Campbell—as well as partner staff at the Australian Museum, especially Stan Florek, Les Christidis, Vinod Daniel and Paul Monaghan. Ida Bagus Putra Adnyana provided photographs.

Hildred Geertz shared her own research in Batuan since the 1980s, as well as her material from the Bateson-Mead archives, and provided important comments on the draft of this book, as did my colleague John Clark.

Particular thanks go to those artists and their families who welcomed me into their homes with great hospitality, especially I Nyoman Mandra and his family. Sadly, many of those with whom I have worked are no longer with us. Advice, commentary, materials and support on issues to do with Balinese art has come from Philippe Augier of the Pasifika Museum, Barbara Bicego, Koos van Brakel, Fransje Brinkgreve, Georges Breguet, Putu Budiastra, Bruce Carpenter, Linda Connor, Thomas Cooper, Jean Couteau, John Darling, Nyoman Darma Putra, Steve Diamond, Thomas Freitag, Nyoman Gunarsa, Leo Haks, Richard Hassell, Koes Karnadi, Rio Helmi, Chris Hill, H. I. R. Hinzler, Angela Hobart, Mark Hobart, Pienke Kal, Fiona Kerlough, Horst Jordt, M. Dwi Marianto, Robyn Maxwell, Suteja Neka and his family, Arend de Roever, Melanie van Olffen, Agung Rai and the staff at ARMA, Raechelle Rubinstein, Amir Sidharta, Helena Spanjaard, Putu Sutawijaya, David Stuart-Fox, Soemantri Widagdo and Made Wijaya.

I Gusti Nyoman Lempad, Ubud, Ni Bawang Decorated by the Birds of the Forest, c. 1935, Potjweyd Collection, Museum für Völkerkunde, Vienna, VO130916.

Important materials came from the estate of Anthony Forge, with special thanks to Cecelia Ng. Other special thanks go to those museums and individuals who have supplied images and copyright permission, besides those mentioned above, including the American Museum of Natural History, the National Gallery of Australia, Lois Bateson, the Berlin Ethnographic Museum, Dinas Kebudyaan Bali, the Honolulu Museum of Art, Rob Lemelson, the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Museum Puri Lukisan, especially Dayu Widyastuti and Pak Muning, the Rijksmuseum for Ethnography in Leiden University Library, the Tonyraka Gallery in Ubud, the Seniwati Gallery, Ida Bagus Gede Siddharta Putra and the Griya Santrian Gallery, the OHD Museum Magelang, Jasdeep Sandhu and his staff at Gajah Gallery in Singapore, the Tropenmuseum, the Vienna Kunst Historisches Museum, the World Museum at Rotterdam, and the Walter Spies Society (German and Dutch branches).

Spelling

All spelling has been modernized, i.e. I do not use the ‘oe’ for ‘u’ of the Dutch period, nor ‘tj’ for ‘c’; ‘dj’ for ‘j’ and ‘j’ for ‘y’ of the pre-1972 Indonesian spelling system. Balinese names and words follow the standard established by the officially sponsored Kamus Bali-Indonesia, so that the silent ‘e’ is spelt out, as in ‘Ketut’, which might otherwise be spelt ‘Ktut’ (although it should be noted that dictionaries are inconsistent in their application of this principle).

Abbreviations

AM: Australian Museum AMNH: American Museum of Natural History

ARMA: Agung Rai Museum of Art

BKI: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land en Volkenkunde

KIT: Tropical Institute and Museum, Amsterdam

KITLV: Royal Institute of Linguistics and Anthropology

NEM: National Ethnographic Museum, Leiden

RIMA: Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs

Ida Bagus Sodang, Sanur, Bathing People and Animals, 1937, coloured ink drawing on paper, 35 x 56.5 cm, Bonnet Collection, National Museum of Ethnography, RMV 135-60.

Rudolf Bonnet, Temptation of Arjuna, 1953, pastel on paper, 88 x 74 cm, Neka Art Museum (photo Gustra).