Traditional art languishes for want of buyers

Retno K. Djojo ,  Contributor ,  Kamasan, Bali   |  Thu, 03/05/2009 1:51 PM  |  Surfing Bali

Kamasan painters are using brighter, more modern colors in their works of art - reds and blues - in a deviation from the more traditional colors of ochre, yellow and caramel.

But this attempt to attract tourists back to the village of painters in East Bali has not yet earned them the much-needed cash.

Kamasan artist Ketut Madya already knows the reason for the sluggish sales of his artwork. "Tourists nowadays are thriftier than ever!" he said with resignation, without looking up from his work.

Sitting at his art shop, one of about 20 that line the main road through Kamasan village in Klungkung regency, he was busy filling the rectangular cotton canvas with sketches depicting a lively battle scene.

Although he still is committed to preserving an ancient art that dates back to the 14th century, he expresses worries about the future of Kamasan-style painting, if the art fails to sell.

"Several of the 200 painters in Banjar Sanging have already switched over to other occupations," he said. Sluggish sales mean his own paintings are stacked in one corner of his art shop, still waiting for buyers.

Unlike more modern painters, who can express themselves freely, Kamasan painters follow ancient patterns promoted by the Gel-Gel dynasty of Klungkung, with the aim of perpetuating moral and ethical vales, based on the Ramayana and Mahabharata Hindu Epics.

All the figures in Kamasan paintings are pictured in wayang style, and each figure playing a role in the struggle of upholding virtue is distinguished by a particular style of dress, posture or mannerism.

Those representing virtue are usually portrayed as slender with refined features. Those of the opposite camp are more ro-bust and have belligerent facial expressions.

"Only gifted painters are able to make quality paintings," he said, adding that he had seen the works of some fellow painters who tend to overlook the importance of details, such as the angry look of a figure in a particular scene.

A Kamasan painting is also made distinct by stylish clouds, puffs of wind and flames swirling around a particular figure. A Kamasan painting can fetch between Rp 800,000 and Rp. 2 million, depending on the size and quality.

During his more than 20 years of experience in producing Kamasan paintings, Ketut has witnessed the rise and fall in the popularity of this ancient art.

Reminiscing about the past, he said the 1970s and 1980s were the best years for Kamasan painters. "Tourists arrived here every day and they fell in love with an intriguing art that has nothing comparable. They bought up Kamasan paintings in great numbers to be sold again in their home countries."

That brought prosperity to Kamasan. Now, the main road is neatly sealed with asphalt, unlike back in the early 1970s when Kamasan artists had to remain indoors, as the village road and front yards of the artists' homes were covered under a thick layer of volcanic ash following the eruption of Mt Agung in 1963.

Tourists were welcomed into the artists' homes to view or buy paintings.

After the dust was cleared and the asphalt road built, artists turned their yards into art shops to showcase their works of art.

Despite the efforts at facilitating tourist arrivals, the bombings in 2002 and 2005 meant Kamasan again became as deserted as it was following the eruption of Mt. Agung.

Sitting at his art shop facing the quiet road, Ketut Madya said, "the local tourists, mostly from Jakarta, don't buy!"

While foreign tourists who prefer to stay in Ubud have yet to be coaxed to venture beyond their secluded tourist resorts, Ketut Madya has little hope for talent scouting among the younger generation.

He still holds onto the classics of marketing that dictate that the art should sell, to have its followers, or it will be abandoned. Pointing to his son, 4th grader Onang Gde Anuerah Dwiyakmika, he said the boy is passing his time doing horoscope charts, also in wayang style. Previously the charts, measuring some 30 by 15 centimeters and priced at Rp 200,000, sold well as they largely corresponded to the western zodiac. But with no buyers, Onang's works lie waiting in his father's workshop.

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