Balinese art and culture....from the sublime to the ridiculous

Tuesday 27th September

Day Two of the Conference was intriguing inspiring and challenging. Elaine's take on science and vocation was a new perspective for many of us. Catherine înspired us to think we could all reinvent ourselves whilst Sue M. had us all pondering on our personal branding: a totally new concept for many!  Jan challenged us to consider all aspects of unfinished business while Sue H. made us face up to the daunting task of managing death gracefully.  To cap it off Anne brought us up to date, and reminded us of our legal responsibilities.

Lots of conversations and considerable thinking followed these fascinating topics.

After yet another delightful lunch we headed off for an afternoon of Balinese 'culcha'.

First it was off to the Museum Rudana located in a large traditional building set in the middle of rice fields. The airy building housed a mixture of traditional Balinese art and some intriguing contemporary pieces,  including a huge canvas that appeared to be a painting of 8 penises!! A series of beautiful and vibrant dancing girls was one of the highlights for me,  but everyone seemed to find something that fascinated them.  At one point Karin and I found ourselves drawn to a painting of two girls dressed in aqua and jade. ..Then we realized we were dressed in exactly the same colours .

We were all fascinated by a huge earth coloured, very detailed canvas covering an entire wall which, on closer inspection, included the bombing of the twin towers, the Bali bombings and Osama bin Laden!! The collision of traditional Balinese  art with contemporary events was confronting.

After a quick drink and toilet stop (why does it take so long for so many women to go to the loo? ) we piled on the bus and headed for ARMA. I do love an acronym but I seem to have totally forgotten what this stands for!

Set in lush gardens with fruit trees, ancient statues - and even some man made beehives - the location was lovely. More traditional art and a range of pieces to enjoy. Some more fascinating art to peruse slowly.another time. ...and another drink. ..and another toilet stop. .. and we were on our way to the madhouse that is the Antonio Blanco gallery.

His art propped a frame of interesting reactions like:  is this pornography or art? Was he crazy or what?
He was a Spanish artist who feel in love with a Balinese dancer who then became his model. His art was displayed in a very ornate colorful building which he designed, which matched the'over-the-top' style of his art. His considerable artistic talent wasn't limited to the actual artwork as many of the collage frames expressed his creativity too. He seemed to favour women with large breasts in suggestive poses as his favourite subject. His work included Salvador Dali and Michael Jackson so he really had diverse tastes. No photos allowed so you can't see his work to judge for yourselves!
But before we even entered the Gallery the first surprise was a number of huge exotic birds perched on rails at head height and completely tame! There was an immediate separation in the group: those with bird phobias and those who loved birds, and were desperate to have them perched all over them. One huge macaw seemed less popular probably due to the huge size of its beak!! The choice included a black cockatoo, a white cockatoo and some very large parrots, all of whom seemed very content to climb all over people

After another drink (!) we piled on the bus and parted ways, some into town for shopping and dinner, some for a swim back at Kamandalu, some to their rooms to work on unfinished conference presentations. ..and some to get an early night!

We all needed to get plenty of sleep as we were headed for an even busier day on the morrow.

Your tired but happy correspondent

Dianne