Culture of Indonesia
Definition of culture by ICOMO:
Culture can be defined as the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterise a community, society or social group. It includes not only arts and literature, but also modes of life, the
fundamental rights of the human being, value systems, traditions and beliefs. Culture encompasses the living or contemporary characteristics and values of a community as well as those that have survived from the past.
Credits by ubudhotelsassociation, Credits by mountainelm
Balinese Painting
Balinese painting can be traced back to the 17th century where Wayang Kulit figures were incorporated into paintings. These paintings are known from being inspired by the Wayang Kulit or shadow puppet theatre. They boast vibrant and alluring colours with many similarities to the colourful puppets shown in the Wayang Kulit.
Earliest Paintings
The earliest paintings were known as Kamasan or Wayang style. The themes of the painting were mainly from the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata. In the pats, these drawings were drawn on cloth or bark paper (Ulantaga paper) with natural dyes. The colours were also limited and artists had to strictly adhere to certain rules as these paintings were mostly produced for religious articles and temple hangings.
Twentieth Century
In the early twentieth century, western artists such as German, Walter Spies, and the Dutch artist, Rudolf Bonnet moved to Ubud. The western artists had encouraged the Balinese to go outside of the box and not adhere to the rules, this lead to a new generation of Balinese artists. In 1936, Walter Spies and Rudolf Bonnet founded an association known as Pita Maha which had been devoted to the development of the arts in Ubud. However this association no longer exists because it was dismantled due to the World War two. Pita Maha had been a great influence as artists had created their own styles overtime due to the association.
From 1950s to now
A new style emerged in the 1950s due to the influence of Dutch painter, Arie Smit. These paintings were referred to as the naive or young artist’s style and became popular among tourists.
Credits to visionbaliexport
Carvings
Another common site in Bali is the beautiful carvings found almost everywhere. In the past, stone was used for carvings in temples and buildings. However, due to the nature of soft volcanic paras used in carvings of buildings, they would deteriorate overtime. The high demand by tourist for carvings let to carvers carving on wood which was more duarable.
Initially, the woodcarvers were Brahmana whom were dedicated to carving for rituals, these tradition was passed down to their sons. However because of the influences of Pita Maha, just like paintings, carvers begin to carve daily scenes. Now carvings are mass produced and sold almost everywhere on the island. A tourist would be able to get it from shops in hotel lobbies or souvenir shops in touristy areas.
Credits to balicheaphotels
Changes to painting and cravings
Unlike the olden days where few versions of similar paintings were available for sale and one had to travel to specific places for paintings, it is now widely available. Because of the mass production of both paintings and cravings, they can be easily found in tourist shops or even peddled by sellers on the roadsides. Because of the high demand of carvings, it has led to Jati', or teakwood which used to grow in forests in the north of Bali decreasing rapidly. Large portions of this wood have been wiped out by the demand for wood.
In Ubud, tourists are able to buy batik hangings which can be found in almost every shop. Paintings and cravings are now mostly created for sale. In addition Bali also exports handicrafts. These painting and cravings are in high demand because tourists perceive that these souvenirs represent the Balinese culture. They associate the Balinese culture with these mass produced objects thinking that by purchasing it, it will signify that they had visited Bali.
As an example, Sepik carvings, the souvenirs of Cannibal Tours, were originally used in ritual contexts. At the end of the 19th century, however, they were designated ‘primitive art’ by western explorers, and were seen as having objective, ‘authentic’ value by western scholars. Now they have been transformed into ‘touristic art,’ by being taken up by the tourist guidebooks to be sold to tourists.
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