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Arts and Artists 31 July 2006, 17:49:50 (200 clicks)   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'. PAINTINGUntil 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. STONE CARVINGWood 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. TEXTILEOne 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 CARVINGWood 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. MUSEUMS & GALLERIES
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