To see this painting. My first solo trip abroad.

“Attracted Hearts” by Abdul Aziz at the Neka Art Museum

In 2013, at the age of 19, I took my first solo trip abroad to Bali to visit the Neka Art Museum to see this painting(Fig. 1). When you think of Bali, you might imagine a beach resort, but that is only a part of the southern area of the island. I stayed in the city of Kuta, the artistic village of Ubud, and areas further north. My trip coincided with Galungan and Kuningan, the biggest festivals of Balinese Hinduism, and the day after the festival, groups of 50 to 100 young people were riding motorcycles recklessly all over the island.

One day, while looking for a type of artistry not found in Japan, this painting caught my eye. I was looking through a Bali guidebook. Until then, the art I had seen was mainly Japanese or Western, and I had probably never consciously appreciated Southeast Asian art. I felt that something of Bali resided in this painting, and I felt that I would understand what that was if I went there.

Although Balinese painting has been Westernized by the oil paintings and techniques brought in by German painters, the works of Abdul Aziz, the artist of this painting(Figs. 2–5), all convey the spirit of Balinese Hinduism and the resilience of the Balinese people, and I was allowed to continue viewing them even more than an hour after the museum had closed.

Among the many Balinese paintings, Abdul Aziz's works are classified as a modern painting style. It is a style that has reached its current form through various transitions, influenced by Western painters such as the German painter Walter Spies.

Even though the style is becoming Western, the resilience of his work lies in the fact that what is conveyed through the depicted figures is not so much their beauty as the high spirituality of the Balinese people, and that the expressions are based on the customs of Balinese life, which revolve around Balinese Hinduism.

This is also supported by his solid technical skills, such as the fact that the empty space is not just left over but is clearly drawn to create a meaningful atmosphere, the composition that captures that atmosphere within the frame, and his skill in depicting the natural expressions, shadows, and contrasts on the canvas.

The charm of overseas art as seen in Balinese painting

Rather than expressions based on individual concepts seen in the contemporary art that is mainstream today, these are styles commonly seen in each era within a country or region. Expressions with specific meanings in that era and cultural sphere. I feel that when I look at art with these certain characteristics, it is also the moment when I can encounter the core parts of each country and region abroad.

Before being influenced by Western painting, Bali had a traditional painting style rooted in the Kamasan style (Figure 6) that was firmly established.
Kamasan Village is located in the Klungkung Regency in southeastern Bali. It developed as decorative art for the palaces and temples of the Klungkung Kingdom, the last dynasty of Bali. It is called the Kamasan style after the ancient village of Kamasan, where it is still passed down today, but it is also known as the Wayang style.

Wayang (Figure 7) refers to a traditional Indonesian performing art, a shadow puppet play, which is also registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Wayang performances are based on Hindu stories, including the two great Indian epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The Kamasan style was created with this Wayang as a motif.

Following this Kamasan style, another traditional Balinese painting style is the Batuan style (Figure 8). Like the Kamasan style, this is also a mode of expression that blossomed and has been passed down in the village of Batuan, Bali. A characteristic of the Batuan style is that it retains forms like those of Wayang while incorporating Western perspective at various points, filling the entire canvas without leaving any gaps.

When I first saw both the Kamasan and Batuan styles without knowing anything about them, I simply perceived them as an unknown realm, a unique overseas expression with a strong religious tone.
However, after learning that Wayang was the motif, they strangely began to look beautiful when I viewed them again. The puppets used in Wayang seem to come to life and dance on the canvas.

The aforementioned "Attracted Hearts" by Abdul Aziz also feels as if it is a work where the Kamasan style, which leaves blank space, has had its Wayang puppet motifs replaced with human figures and depicted in three dimensions.

Bali-Hinduism at the root of Balinese art

In Indonesia, where the majority of the population is Muslim, Hinduism is the primary religion practiced on the island of Bali. Balinese Hinduism, a unique form of Hinduism on the island, is a faith that originated in India, gradually changed its form as it passed through the main islands of Indonesia, and then merged with the indigenous beliefs of Bali.

In Bali, life is centered around Balinese Hinduism, and many beautiful and gorgeous offerings can be seen (Figure 9). For example, the Penjor (Figure 10) are offered in front of houses during Galungan and Kuningan, one of the biggest festivals of Balinese Hinduism. Galungan is the day when the spirits of ancestors are said to return, and the Penjor serves as a dwelling place for those spirits. They are bamboo poles decorated with palm leaves and flowers, and the splendor of the decorations and the height of the bamboo demonstrate the depth of one's faith.

Since they are always set up by the day before Galungan, including the preparation period starting a few days prior, you will pass through a tunnel of Penjor on every road during the Galungan period.
On the day of Kuningan, the spirits of the ancestors leave the Penjor and return to their original places.

Another common offering seen during Galungan and Kuningan is the canang (Figs. 11–13). Canang are small vessels made of coconut or banana leaves, beautifully filled with freshly picked flowers, and are offered in various places. These are offered daily regardless of whether there is an event or not, and can be seen all over Bali.

Just as Balinese painting, which developed as decoration for royal palaces and temples, takes the Hindu worldview and deities as its main motifs, these offerings have also developed as decorations that color the daily faith of Balinese people, who are connected to the invisible world. For the Balinese people, whose lives center on Balinese Hinduism, these are part of their living space, and at the same time, from a different perspective, they are also art.

Viewing art while traveling

Viewing Balinese Hindu art was, for me at the time, a discovery of a new field of art. Balinese art was created following Hindu stories, shared the prosperity of dynasties, and has been passed down in that land ever since, continuing to color every aspect of life to this day. It is not an exhibit removed from its local context and moved to an art museum or gallery, but art that has meaning because it is there.

It was the spring of my 19th year when I went to Bali to see Abdul Aziz's "Mutual Attraction" at the Neka Art Museum. The experience of seeing this work in person was certainly moving, but more than that, the realization of the aesthetic sense and aesthetic values rooted in local life elevated my curiosity about foreign art culture to an even higher level.
Art is not only what is contained within a frame; there is beauty in the local area that is created out of necessity, depending on the way of life and thinking of that country or region. It is beauty that is a set with the historical, religious, and cultural background that led to its creation, and such context is not replaceable. There is beauty that only appears there beautifully when viewed with an understanding of that context.

If one can be moved by the beauty of art and culture, I believe one can pay respect to that country. Viewing art while traveling and the importance of doing so—the realizations I gained during this first solo trip abroad are the origin of this laboratory.

References

1. Garrett Kam, "Neka Art Museum: Paintings Inspired by Bali," Neka Art Museum, 2005
2. Luh K. Suryani, "Challenges to Balinese Culture," Social Science Journal 43, 1999
3. Masahiro Iwai, Kanako Isogai, Ryoka Ito, Misa Ihara, Fumie Okada, Satoru Kuriyama, Ayaka Takamatsu, Asako Hara, Naoyuki Hiyoshi, Ayumi Masuki, Takako Mihara, Shihori Murakami, Misato Yoshida, Sayoko Yamada, "Bali 'Galungan' and Hanamaki 'Hanamaki Festival'," Bulletin of the Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University 2(1), 2008

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