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UC Riverside Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Title
The Power of "Visual Movement:" Re-shaping and Re-affirming Religious Practices in Modern
Balinese Paintings
Permalink
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7mf4v5pd
Author
Light, Astara Claire
Publication Date
2015
Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
RIVERSIDE
The Power of "Visual Movement:"
Re-shaping and Re-affirming Religious Practices in Modern Balinese Paintings
A Thesis submitted in partial satisfaction
of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts
in
Art History
by
Astara Claire Light
August 2015
Thesis Committee:
Dr. Jeanette Kohl, Chairperson
Dr. Christina Schwenkel
Dr. J.P. Park
Dr. Sarita Echavez See
Copyright by
Astara Claire Light
2015
The Thesis of Astara Claire Light is approved:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Committee Chairperson
University of California, Riverside
Acknowledgements
This thesis would never have been possible without the extensive guidance and
encouragement from my thesis advisers and co-chairs, Drs. Christina Schwenkel and
Jeanette Kohl. I would like to thank Dr. Kohl for her meticulous input on Art Historical
questions and approaches that strengthened my research direction and arguments. I also
want to thank Dr. Schwenkel for encouraging my ideas from an early stage and helping
me broaden and sharpen my research approach. I am very grateful to my Art History
thesis committee members, Drs. Sarita Echavez See, and J.P. Park for their advice on
different components and questions for my thesis project; their direction has been
invaluable. Additionally, I want to thank my Southeast Asian Studies comprehensive
exam committee members Drs. Mariam Lam, Muhamad Ali, and Sarita Echavez See;
their help and feedback on diverse approaches and research ideas has improved my work
and been academically inspiring.
I would also like to extend my thanks and gratitude to each of the individuals I
was able to interview this past summer of 2014 for their patience and willingness to
answer my questions. Dr. Soemantri Widagdo at the Puri Lukisan Museum was very
generous with his time and supportive of my research ideas. I am also grateful to I Ketut
Madra and his son Made Berata for taking the time to answer my questions about
Madra’s work and background in painting. Other individuals who were also very helpful
in answering questions during my summer research include Agung Rai, founder of the
Agung Rai Museum of Art, Muhammad Bundhowi at the Rudana Museum. In addition to
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this, Anak Agung Ngurah Muning at the Puri Lukisan Museum was very helpful in
sharing his extensive experience with Balinese art. Finally I would like to thank the
artists I Wayan Ariana and I Wayan Gama at the Keliki style school of I Wayan Gama
for their time in answering my many questions.
Additionally, I would like to thank other faculty at the University of California,
Riverside, for their assistance and feedback on topics and writings related to my research.
In particular Dr. Hendrick Maier helped me tremendously with Indonesian language
training; I also feel fortunate to have worked with Drs. Deborah Wong and David Biggs
in Southeast Asian Studies. Additionally I want to thank Dr. Sally Ness for her generosity
in answering questions and encouraging my academic pursuits. In the History of Art
Department I am grateful for the feedback I received related to my research in courses
with Drs. Susan Laxton, Malcolm Baker, and Jason Weems. And I would like to thank
Alesha Jeanette whose personal guidance and organization have made it possible for me
to complete this degree. Finally, I want to thank my fellow graduate students in the Art
History and Southeast Asian Studies Departments for sharing experiences and advice and
for inspiring me to become a better researcher and academic.
In addition to this, I would like to express my thanks for the funding I received
from the Graduate Dean’s Master’s Thesis Research Grant at the University of
California, Riverside. This award was a tremendous funding support for my two-week
research period in the summer of 2014. During this time I conducted interviews, visited
museums, and attended artistic and performance related events. All of these experiences
were invaluable for gaining a better understanding of the artistic and cultural environment
v
in Bali. I am also very appreciative of the funding I received from the Fulbright-Hays
Fellowship in conjunction with the Consortium of the Teaching of Indonesian, which
allowed me to travel to Indonesia and learn more about the language and culture as well
as continue with my research in Bali afterward.
I would like to especially thank my friend Inten Sari Korngiebal for being my
dance teacher, and for first introducing and explaining Balinese culture to me from her
personal perspective and experience in 2006. I am grateful as well for my friend and
colleague, Lisa DeLance for all her personal support and academic assistance in reading
and listening to my ideas. Finally, I would like to thank my family members, Catherine
Hess, Daniel Cheeseman, and Sharlyn Romaine for their continuous moral support and
encouragement that helped me stay positive and strong during this process.
vi
ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS
The Power of "Visual Movement:"
Re-shaping and Re-affirming Religious Practices in Modern Balinese Paintings
by
Astara Claire Light
Master of Arts, Graduate Program in Art History
University of California, Riverside, August 2015
Dr. Jeanette Kohl, Chairperson
This thesis examines specific works from a range of styles, and contrasts the images
to understand different types and degrees of “visual movement.” The Balinese painters
Ida Bagus Made, I Ketut Madra, Anak Agung Gde Anom Sukawati, and I Gusti Nyoman
Mirdiana merge new artistic methods and techniques with Hindu subject matter to create
paintings with embedded symbolism. Their innovative methods are used to depict Hindu
characters and narratives in a fluid and dynamic manner to represent physical or bodily
motion in a painting. The Balinese-Hindu figure in motion that emerges in these works
demonstrates an interlinked web amongst visual and performance forms. Most notable is
the dual role of painting, shadow puppet-theater, and dance as “narrative” media; this
shared function reveals an interconnection of art forms that is particularly relevant to
Balinese culture. The Balinese have retained cultural and religious identities, which find a
strong expression in Balinese art.
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Further examining the history of Balinese painting and dance reveals that artistic
innovations and shifts in style are an ongoing process that often coincides with cultural
exchanges with European painters, as well as touristic and national issues. Ultimately the
production of paintings demonstrates that Balinese artists actively appropriated new
techniques and materials to create distinctive and personal images. Balinese art forms
reflect practices and beliefs. In this way, specific paintings present a visual account and
representation of Balinese identities that are isolated amidst the religious and political
climate of Indonesia. Artistic developments in Hindu-themed paintings demonstrate that
individual artists are interpreting and representing similar Hindu stories and themes as
earlier “traditional” paintings with visual twists, such as “visual movement,” that
continually reinvent and re-affirm their beliefs.
viii
Table of Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..1
Chapter 1…………………………………………………………………………………14
Artistic Developments and Cultural Interactions in Balinese Painting
Chapter 2…………………………………………………………………………………51
Balinese Performative Figures in Motion: Development, Functions, and Forms of
Expression
Chapter 3…………………………………………………………………………………83
Movement and Meaning: The Significance of Visual Motion to Balinese-Hindu Culture
and Identity
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...…105
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………107
Figures…………………………………………………………………………………..114
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