Cempaka Culture and Tourism: Ubud museums to host first ever biennale

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …”

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Ubud museums to host first ever biennale

Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Ubud | Thu, 12/10/2009 12:55 PM

Procession, by I. Ketut Tagen. Courtesy of Bali Bangkit

Three prominent museums in Ubud will host the first ever biennale of Balinese traditional painting, featuring works from masters and promising painters.

The combined collections of Neka Art Museum (NAM), Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA) and Puri Lukisan Museum are believed to form the largest repository of Balinese classical and traditional paintings.

NAM's founder, Suteja Neka, stated that the biennale had two main objectives: promoting the richness of Balinese traditional paintings as well as stimulating the current crop of Balinese artists into creating innovative works - masterpieces if possible - using traditional styles.

"For several decades, Balinese traditional paintings have been marginalized because painters, collectors and critics are all fixated on contemporary painters," he said, adding that traditional styles had reached their golden age in the 1940s before being gradually sidelined by contemporary ones.

As contemporary paintings have succeeded in taking over most of the island's art galleries, paintings using traditional styles have been pushed aside into art markets frequented by low-budget tourists.

Inspiring work: A painting by I Gusti Made Baret, the driving force behind the Pengosekan style, depicting Lord Siva riding on Nandi, a white bull. Courtesy of Bali Bangkit

Such marginalization has convinced many people, including a large number of art critics, that works in the traditional style are no longer entitled to be categorized as art forms. In their eyes, those works have degraded into mere handicraft products.

Agung Rai, an art connoisseur who collects traditional and contemporary works with equal passion, vehemently opposed such a notion.

"If an art lover is willing to dedicate his time to carefully view and absorb a Balinese traditional painting, then he will find out how captivating that work truly is," he said, adding that the esthetic beauty of traditional works was equal to that of contemporary ones.

Tjokorda Putra Sukawati, the chairman of Ratna Warta - the local foundation managing Puri Lukisan Museum, shared a similar view.

He recalled how in 1936, Ubud painters made an esthetic breakthrough under the patronage of the then Ubud king, Tjokorda Gede Agung Sukawati and his foreign friends, Walter Spies and Johan Rudolf Bonet.

"They experimented with perspectives, colors and anatomy, thus marked their separation, evolvement to be precise, from the classical styles of Balinese paintings," Sukawati said.

These young painters, who later formed the influential Pita Maha (Great Creativity) group, were the first generation of traditional style painters.

Pita Maha played a pivotal role in the birth of various styles of Balinese traditional painting, from the Sanur style to Batuan, Kapal and Singaraja.

"All these styles will feature at the biennale," Neka said, adding that Balinese traditional paintings usually consisted of very lively landscapes, with styles giving birth to numerous substyles.

"The Ubud style for instance inspired substyles such as Kutuh, Keliki, Taman, Tebesaya, Padangtegal, Pengosekan and Penestanan," Neka stressed.

Organized by Bali Bangkit, a creative alliance of collectors and critics who strive to promote and advance the culture of Bali, the biennale will feature as many as 180 paintings displayed at three different museums.

"Eighty percent of the works displayed were created by young painters from the 80s and 2000s. These painters have committed themselves to nurture and develop traditional *Balinese painting* styles," Neka added.

The rest of the paintings on display were created by the Pita Maha generation, such as larger-than-life artists Anak Agung Gede Sobrat, Kobot and Ida Bagus Made Poleng.

Oleg Tambulilingan, by Anak Agung Gede Sobrat. Courtesy of Bali Bangkit

Indonesia prominent art critic Agus Dermawan T. curated the bienalle titled "Pita Prada" (Golden Creativity) as a tribute to the influential group. The biennale will officially open Friday at NAM and will run until Jan. 11.

In the opening ceremony, the organizing committee will also launch Pita Prada, a 270-page book on the development of Balinese traditional paintings co-authored by Agus Dermawan T, Jean Couteau and Kun Adnyana.

"We will also present special awards to four painters who have showed excellent commitment and provided commendable contributions to the development of Balinese traditional painting," Neka said.

The recipients of the awards were selected by a team of judges comprising Neka, Agung Rai, Tjokorda Putra, Agus Dermawan T, Jean Couteau, Subandi Salim and Bali Bangkit chairman Jusuf Wanandi.

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