Surfing in Bali
Bali is part of the Indonesian archipelago of 18,700 islands and lies approximately 8°C south of the equator. The majority of the population of Bali are (Balinese) Hindu, a unique mixture of Hinduism & Buddhism. The unique religion and culture of the Balinese people is one of the reasons the island remained an oasis of peace and calm throughout the chaotic times in Indonesia since the fall of the Suharto dictatorship in 1999 and has helped sustain the spirit of the island during the last few years as Bali and the Balinese people have suffered their own turbulent times of unbelievable sorrow and the resulting economic hardships.
Bali is blessed by nature with a short, hot wet season and a longer, cooler, dry season and tourists flock here all year round. Many tourists choose to arrive in the dry season - which nowadays appears to cover a longer period from April to late November. The busiest period is during the holiday season of August, which is also the coolest month on this Island of the Gods.
Contrary to popular belief, Bali’s waves were being surfed by both visiting and local surfers as early as the late 1930s and not, as popular surfing legend has it, that the island of Bali was first discovered as a great surfing destination by a group of Australian surfers. Although, when these first Australian surfers began arriving on the island of Bali in 1967 they introduced the island to the first serious surfing equipment.
While Bali may no longer be a “frontier” surf destination, it still lies at the heart of the Indonesian surfing experience and is a mandatory stopover for anyone on their first surfing trip to Indonesia. Bali is also the first and last stop for most of the surfers traveling on to some of the legendary breaks in G-Land, Lombok or Sumbawa, or the more distant areas of East Nusa Tenggara, Mentawais and North Sumatra.
Bali has traditionally been the starting point for nearly all Indonesian surfing tours. Bali boasts over 20 top quality breaks on the southwest and southeast coasts of the island and around the Bukit (Uluwatu) Peninsula. Some of these, like Padang Padang & Uluwatu, are world class barreling reef-breaks. Others range from fun waves on the beach-breaks around Kuta and Sanur to serious heavy, sucking waves.
Having so many surf options available within such a short distance to the Kuta and Legian beach area means that after your surf you can return to a plush hotel and enjoy a long, lazy meal, lounge by the pool, take a nap in an air conditioned room and watch satellite TV. Alternatively you can party at the discos each night, enjoy some of the local brew, all of which has definite appeal after spending one or two weeks on a surf charter boat, or in a very basic surf camp on Java or Sumatra. The peak of the surf season for Bali is April - October when solid swells are produced by the roaring 40’s and can be surfed on the reefs around Kuta, Uluwatu, and Nusa Dua. Unlike most other areas of Indonesia where it is all heavy reef breaks, Bali also has a lot of beach-breaks on offer which are less likely to cause a surfer of novice or intermediate ability to get injured as can happen on the larger waves on the reef-breaks.
The surf in Bali is generally not huge, but most often in the 2-6 foot range (shoulder-high to double overhead). Larger waves can occur on some of the exposed reefs, but a mellower surf break can always be found in Bali by anyone who wishes to avoid life-threatening conditions. Bali has surf breaks both the west-facing and east-facing coastlines and, because of this an offshore wind can be found somewhere on the island on any given day. Because of the number of surf breaks and the quality and consistency of the waves in Bali, it is still possible to find a many places to surf with only a small to moderate crowd.
The surf is always up on the Island of the God’s! and regardless of what country you hail from you will feel the mystique of surfing Bali’s beaches …with so many exotic locations available on the island you can choose from white sands, black sands, amazing scenery, traditional fisherman and fishing villages which all add to the unique experience that comes with Surfing Bali.
AGUNG RAI Fine Art Gallery
The paintings in this catalogue have been selected from the collection of Agung Rai. The collection as a whole, with works dating from the turn of the century to the present, gives the viewer a sense of the evolution of Balinese painting during the time, and of the range of modern Indonesian art. Comprising works representative of all styles of Balinese painting, as well as works by Western artists who encouraged and supported Balinese painters, the collection also includes paintings by Indonesian and foreigners who found, or continue to find inspiration among the Balinese.
Agung Rai has selected the works in his collection based on what he describes as a spiritual connection he feels between a painting and himself if the painting has taksu. Taksu is a Balinese word for a power that can be sensed, that can not be intentionally sought or attained through study. It can be termed divine inspiration, a gift, a kind of charisma what can be bestowed by God on an artist, dancer, musician, carver, writer, orator, or healer. Taksu is not constant, it does not necessarily remain with a person, rather it appears if the person is in an appropriate state of purity, or otherwise deemed suited for receiving a divine gift. It is because of taksu that a novice painter can produce a work of surprising power and grace.
According to Agung Rai
The concept of taksu is important to the Balinese, in fact to any artist. I do not think one can simply plan to paint a beautiful painting, a perfect painting. The issue of taksu is also one of honesty, for the artist and the viewer. An artist will follow his heart or instinct, and will not care what other people think. A painting that has a magic does not need to be elaborated upon, the painting alone speaks. A work of art that is difficult to describe in words has to be seen with the eyes and a heart that is open and not influenced by the name of the painter. In this honesty, there is a purity in the connection between the viewer and the viewed.
As a through discussion of Balinese and Indonesian arts is beyond the scope of this catalogue, the reader is referred to the books listed in the bibliography. The following descriptions of painters styles are intended as a brief introduction to the paintings in the catalogue, which were selected using several criteria. Each is what Agung Rai considers to be an exceptional work by a particular artist, is a singular example of a given period, school or style, and contributes to a broader understanding of the development of Balinese and Indonesian paintng.
The Pita Maha artist society was established in 1936 by Cokorda Gde Agung Sukawati, a royal patron of the arts in Ubud, and two European artists, the Dutch painter Rudolf Bonnet, and Walter Spies, a German. The society’s stated purpose was to support artists and craftsmen work in various media and style, who were encouraged to experiment with Western materials and theories of anatomy, and perspective. The society sought to ensure high quality works from its members, and exhibitions of the finest works were held in Indonesia and abroad. The society ceased to be active after the onset of World War II. Paintings by several Pita Maha members are included in the catalogue, among them; Ida Bagus Made noted especially for his paintings of Balinese religious and mystical themes; and Anak Agung Gde Raka Turas, whose underwater seascapes have been an inspiration for many younger painters.
Painters from the village of Batuan, south of Ubud, have been known since the 1930s for their dense, immensely detailed paintings of Balinese ceremonies, daily life, and increasingly, “modern” Bali. In the past the artists used tempera paints; since the introduction of Western artists materials, watercolors and acrylics have become popular. The paintings are produced by applying many thin layers of paint to a shaded ink drawing. The palette tends to be dark, and the composition crowded, with innumerable details and a somewhat flattened perspective. Batuan painters represented in the catalogue are Ida Bagus Widja, whose paintings of Balinese scenes encompass the sacred as well as the mundane; and I Wayan Bendi whose paintings of the collision of Balinese and Western cultures abound in entertaining, sharply observed vignettes.
In the early 1960s,Arie Smit, a Dutch-born painter, began inviting he children of Penestanan, Ubud, to come and experiment with bright oil paints in his Ubud studio. The eventually developed the Young Artists style, distinguished by the used of brilliant colors, a graphic quality in which shadow and perspective play little part, and focus on scenes and activities from every day life in Bali. I Ketut Tagen is the only Young Artist in the catalogue; he explores new ways of rendering scenes of Balinese life while remaining grounded in the Young Artists strong sense of color and design.
The painters called “academic artists” from Bali and other parts of Indonesia are, in fact, a diverse group almost all of whom share the experience of having received training at Indonesian or foreign institutes of fine arts. A number of artists who come of age before Indonesian independence was declared in 1945 never had formal instruction at art academies, but studied painting on their own. Many of them eventually become instructors at Indonesian institutions. A number of younger academic artists in the catalogue studied with the older painters whose work appears here as well. In Bali the role of the art academy is relatively minor, while in Java academic paintings is more highly developed than any indigenous or traditional styles. The academic painters have mastered Western techniques, and have studied the different modern art movements in the West; their works is often influenced by surrealism, pointillism, cubism, or abstract expressionism. Painters in Indonesia are trying to establish a clear nation of what “modern Indonesian art” is, and turn to Indonesian cultural themes for subject matter. The range of styles is extensive Among the artists are Affandi, a West Javanese whose expressionistic renderings of Balinese scenes are internationally known; Dullah, a Central Javanese recognized for his realist paintings; Nyoman Gunarsa, a Balinese who creates distinctively Balinese expressionist paintings with traditional shadow puppet motifs; Made Wianta, whose abstract pointillism sets him apart from other Indonesian painters.
Since the late 1920s, Bali has attracted Western artists as short and long term residents. Most were formally trained at European academies, and their paintings reflect many Western artistic traditions. Some of these artists have played instrumental roles in the development of Balinese painting over the years, through their support and encouragement of local artist. The contributions of Rudolf Bonnet and Arie Smit have already been mentioned. Among other European artists whose particular visions of Bali continue to be admired are Willem Gerrad Hofker, whose paintings of Balinese in traditional dress are skillfully rendered studies of drapery, light and shadow; Carel Lodewijk Dake, Jr., whose moody paintings of temples capture the atmosphere of Balinese sacred spaces; and Adrien Jean Le Mayeur, known for his languid portraits of Balinese women.
Agung Rai feels that
Art is very private matter. It depends on what is displayed, and the spiritual connection between the work and the person looking at it. People have their own opinions, they may or may not agree with my perceptions.
He would like to encourage visitors to learn about Balinese and Indonesian art, ant to allow themselves to establish the “purity in the connection” that he describes. He hopes that his collection will de considered a resource to be actively studied, rather than simply passively appreciated, and that it will be enjoyed by artists, scholars, visitors, students, and schoolchildren from Indonesia as well as from abroad.
Abby C. Ruddick, Phd
“SELECTED PAINTINGS FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE AGUNG RAI FINE ART GALLERY”
AGUNG RAI Fine Art Gallery
Peliatan, Ubud, Gianyar 80571
Bali - Indonesia
Ph. +62 361 975449, 974562
Fax: +62 361 974229
Email : info@agungraigallery.com
Morning White Water Rafting
November 3, 2008 by Admin
Filed under Water Sport
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