Mondo at Biasa Artspace: This Ain’t No Party, This Ain’t No Wonderland
Nice party. Beautiful people. Harrowing canvasses. Clearly, this ain’t no fooling around, even if it did take place in Bali, the ultimate island for fooling around, art-wise and otherwise. But a wonderland, Bali is not. A rabbit hole to wonderland, this exhibition is not. We are at Biasa Artspace, Bali’s pre-eminent, credibly independent, contemporary art gallery. November 21. It’s a vernissage for the disturbingly beautiful and beautifully disturbing recent oeuvre of Bali-based painter Edmondo Zanolini (AKA Mondo), entitled “Follow the Rabbit”.
Shades of Lewis Carrolls’s rabbit? Perhaps. But this is no recreational trip into a whimsically altered state, it is a harrowing one into a raw state of naked awareness, and certainly not a wonderland by any stretch of any addled imagination. It is more Helter-Skelter than Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. Stop dreaming, says Mondo. Wonderland and the House of Horrors are one and the same. Drop the dreams and wake up. The antidote to dreams is down this rabbit hole, so follow the rabbit, if you dare. Reality is weirder than dreams ever could be.
Javanese Antique Furniture Enters the Realm of Fine Art
ICON Asian Arts (Bali) and Editions Didier Millet (Singapore) are collaborating to raise Javanese antiques to the level of fine art. The Bali gallery will host on 3 December 2009 two simultaneous events: the opening of the world premier exhibition of the Smith-Tirtoprodjo Collection of Javanese antiques; and the launch of a comprehensive illustrated book on the subject, Javanese Antique Furniture and Folk Art, published by Editions Didier Millet.
The Smith-Tirtoprodjo Collection is the most extraordinary group ever assembled of 18th and 19th century artworks in teak from the villages of Central and East Java. These masterpieces challenge preconceived ideas about Javanese art and furniture, compelling us to regard them not as mere objects of use, but as works of art in their own right. With their primitive purity, power of form, and visceral expression of humanity, these works hold their own among the most celebrated tribal art from all corners of the Indonesian archipelago.
Bali Quality Development: Alila Soori Survives in Tabanan
The Alila Soori project near Tanah Lot temple in Bali has had its challenges during development. Issues over land use (an opaque and intentionally obfuscating area of local law), and permitting (more opaque and more obfuscatory), had become a thorn in the side of the Alila development team. Well, breathe a sigh of relief. Alila is now emitting press releases heralding the imminent opening of Alila Soori, after many bumps in the road.
Known for it’s high quality, regionally appropriate and stylish properties around Southeast Asia, it seems a shame that Alila was given such a runaround on this development in Bali. While, at the same time, many horrendously mismanaged and ill-conceived developments of every stripe and type have plowed ahead unchecked.
I for one, welcome a reasonably sensitive, reasonably sustainable, and high quality new arrival like the Alila Soori in the Canggu-Seseh-Tanah Lot area. Now if only there were ways to rein in the more rapacious, quick-cash, destructive development elements at work all over the island.
Photography in Bali: Mixed Bag of Goodies at the Alila
Last night we attended the opening of a photography exhibition by a dozen or so emerging Indonesian imagemakers at the Alila Ubud. The show was a pre-event for the Bali Photography Festival 2010, (which seems to be identical with BLIPFest, but I can’t tell for sure).
The most impressive works on the wall last night were those of Muradi (above), whose original eye, technical rigor, and intrinsic involvement with his (her?) subject matter is extraordinary. The rest of the exhibition was not quite as strong, but the talents and potential are there. Bearing in mind that these are young photographers, I wasn’t surprised to see some over-obvious devotion to the global pantheon of popular imagemaking. I also sensed ambitions to get ahead in advertising. Much of the work exhibited evidenced a lack of courage, and perhaps too much concern for future commercial success.
In summation, I think these young photographers may be looking at too many magazines, when they should be looking more at the world, and with more scrutiny and an independent eye. “Toss the icons, trust your eye, and train it,” I would say.
Worth mentioning here are three other photographers in the show who had something tangible going on . . . Read more…
Photography in Bali: Imagemakers of the Future at the Alila Ubud
Come up to the Alila on Saturday for an exhibition of emerging Indonesian photographers, “Imagemakers of the Future”. It looks very interesting indeed, with about a dozen young photographers exhibiting. Their work spans a huge spectrum of styles and approaches, so this will not be a boring show by any stretch of the imagination. It’s more likely to stretch your imagination past its present limits. Read more…
Bali High in the Low Season: Three Gig Night (Gaby, Oka, Warisan)
The gay mad whirl of the Bali High Season is supposed to end in September, but it seems we’re not having any of that! Last night there were three unmissable events on our agenda, and we made it to all three.
Opera of McPhee’s “A House in Bali” Premieres in Berkeley
Tonight at 7pm an opera based on Colin McPhee’s book of memoirs, “A House in Bali,” premieres at Zellerbach Hall at the University of California in Berkeley. If you’re in the Bay Area, go. See info in yesterday’s SF Chronicle article.
I had the great pleasure and honour to see the world premiere in Ubud a few months ago, on the open stage over the lotus pond at Taman Saraswati (above). It was, in fact, a sort of dress rehearsal of a work in progress, and it was splendid. Without any expectation of anything in particular, I found myself charmed, inspired, enthralled, and took copious notes, intending to do an immediate blog post.
Audiences unfamiliar with Bali and McPhee will not fail to appreciate this unique operatic multimedia performance. Those who are familiar with Bali or McPhee will find even more to resonate with their own impressions and emotions. There’s everything here for the long-time Baliphile, and much of it strangely similar to our experience today in Bali. There are difficult building labourers, opaque banjar politics, woes, worries and scams. There is a classic love-hate relationship with Bali. There is even an annoying female anthropologist who over-analyses everything (Margaret Mead). Keep track of this opera, it will be around a while, and if you have a chance, go.
Sea Sentosa: Changing Canggu Style to “Chic”
In Bali’s burgeoning elite residential communities from Berawa westwards, options for shopping and dining are very sparse. Villa dwellers out west face a half-hour drive on the highway to hell if they want a decent meal, an evening out, or a spot of shopping. That’s all about to change, with the arrival of Sea Sentosa, a new project now under way between Batu Bolong and Batu Mejan surf beaches. Read more…
Bali Buzz: Mangovision Ripens
A posse of Bali creatives and media folk have banded together to make a television content package for high-end hotels, with fresh, locally-grown features, info and advertising. Mangovision is broadcasting in several top hotel and villa resorts on the island, with more joining all the time. The focus is decidedly up-market, and hip.
Several savvy advertisers are already on board, including the likes of Milo’s, John Hardy, Dandelion and Jean-Francois Fichot. This is THE advertising platform for elite enterprises who want to target an exclusively affluent audience. So get a slice of the action with Mangovision. But don’t do it right away, or their rates will spike before I get signed up myself.
Content includes up-to-date info on events, activities, shopping, sightseeing, nightlife, and more. Feature programs aren’t hokey infomercials or fluff either. They’ve got the Blair Brothers’ Ring of Fire series, Lawrence Blair’s more recent documentaries, and programs on culture, nature, adventure, history, the environment, and other subjects of regional interest. Previously, I fretted on this blog about the sheer volume of magazines piling up in Bali. Mangovision is an interesting alternative to mountains of glossy paper. Will we soon see a Stranger-in-Paradise videolog on Mango? I hope so.
Nice original network ID animations by Armand Pranoto, btw, who has also done work locally for The Yak Awards and Dandelion. Become a Mangovision fan on Facebook.
Best Weather Watching Site for Bali
The weather in Bali has been very disappointing lately. Lie on the beach and you’re more likely to rust than to tan. So, how to predict what’s ahead weather-wise? Ask the surfers. The surf world watches wind, waves, and barometric pressure intently, and their monitoring and predictions are spot on. Just go to super surf site, Magic Seaweed to check out Bali weather (click on “Surf Reports”). The animated pressure chart has proven highly predictive of what’s up for Bali. It’s shaded to show precipitation, and you can go forward in time to see what’s coming. Bad news – - looks like the clouds and unseasonable drizzle will stick around for a while.