Susi Johnston | The Sleeping Tiger on the Island of Bali
Royal Cremation in Ubud
The royal cremation in Ubud yesterday was the biggest ever, and the best publicised. A media centre was set up for the event, marshalled by Edelman PR Indopacific. I think this must be the first cremation in Bali to have its own publicists and press office. And its own blog, too. The wires picked up the story and images, and the New York Times did a big feature, which I feel is the best piece (for mass consumption) yet written about this event.
Image © 2008 Imp Winartho (detail of original)
The Yak Awards 2008
Saturday night we went to the Yak Magazine’s annual Yak Awards party at KuDeTa. It was fantastic fun with free flowing Moet, and vodka shots sloshing out of an ice sculpture at the oyster bar. Trays and trays of kinky canapes kept the usual Seminyak crazies from drinking on an empty stomach. Among the slew of Ubudians in attendance, I found painter Jason Monet with a plastic cat around his neck and a busted leg. Bruno wore all white with ancient chalcedony round his neck. This sartorial splendour made him a bit of a hag-magnet and he spent most of the evening beating off old new agers and trying to get back to the bar.
Pantai Lima Preview Party
Friday evening we were at a sneak preview party at Pantai Lima, a collection of five luxury villas on the beach in Pererenan. Mary Justice, Bali’s PR whizz kid, pulled off this publicity coup with aplomb despite the unfinished state of the villas. She was looking distinctly piratical on the night, sporting a black eye patch (above, with Sophie Digby of The Yak). It wasn’t a fashion statement, however. She just had urgent eye surgery in Singapore. How MJ managed to do so much with so little is a mystery to me.
Meditate on This
All is Buddha. Each form, each particle is a Buddha. One form is all Buddhas. All forms, all particles, are all Buddhas. All forms, sounds, scents, feelings, and phenomena are also like this, each filling all fields. - Pai-chang
This great truth can now be made manifest on your walls, affordably. Alchemy Collections of Seattle offers these sandstone tiles to order, with an all over relief pattern of many, many Buddhas. These commercial quality tiles measure 25 x 40 cm, are made of 80% natural quartz and 20% resin, and retail at $30 each. Buddhacious.
We Dig Kundig
Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen is one of my favourite architecture firms. So of course I am delighted that OSKA partner, Tom Kundig has won the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award 2008 in the architecture category. Bravo, Tom. His work and that of his partners and associates in this Seattle-based firm has been applauded by Seattleites for decades. Now the wide world is discovering OSKA. And Tom even got to visit the Whitehouse recently in connection with the award.
Inside story: I once worked as an intern for Olson/Walker. (That was the old OSKA. Call it OSKA v.1.0.) Their office was in the historic Pike Place Market building, and they had a life-size fibreglass horse in the reception area. I was deeply inspired by the place, the energy, the people, the workstyle, and their work. OSKA is a trove of talent. I wonder if the horse is still with them?
Better Than Bling: Pyu Gold
The Pyu Empire was a network of city-states which held power in what is now Burma, from the 3rd to the 9th century AD. The Pyu were Buddhists, and had a rich material culture which left behind, among other things, a wealth of gold beads and jewelry. The armlet above is among the more remarkable Pyu pieces on the market. Its flower and seed forms (characteristic Pyu motifs), are beautifully formed and the overall effect of the piece is graceful and elegant despite its hefty weight.
Ancient jewelry like this is so beyond bling. Today’s big-name statement jewelry seems soulless in comparison to excavated masterpieces with over a millenium of history. This Pyu armlet was featured in the catalog of the Brussels Oriental Art Fair (BOAF) in June, offered by Bruno Piazza, who deals in ancient ornament with a particular penchant for Pyu gold. (He’s my partner, by the way, and yes, I did get a chance to wear this bracelet once and it felt divine.)
Find Textile Info at Warp Speed
Find out about textiles fast. The Arthur D. Jenkins Library at the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C. has a fantastic online resource called “Textile Muse“. It’s a search system for going through the library’s archives to find publications and visual material related to textiles of the world. Not only does the search site work great, it looks great, too. No need to pore over bibliographies from conferences and dealer websites, just ask the Textile Muse.
Your Coffee Table Wants This Tome
My friend and colleague, Bruce Carpenter just co-wrote a fine tome on the art of the Batak of North Sumatra, with Achim Sibeth, a leading scholar of Batak culture. The photographs are very good, and the collection which was the basis of the book is extraordinary in its breadth and quality. Bruce Carpenter is a remarkably diligent fellow, who studies, collects, advises and writes about the arts of the Indonesian archipelago with almost maniaical fervour.
Interior Design, As It Should Be
One of our favourite interior design firms is Douglas Durkin Design. Douglas and his partner in the firm, Greg Elich, are two of the smartest, most honest and most genuinely talented designers out there. Specialising in high end residential work, the firm has grown exponentially since it was founded, exclusively by word of mouth. Their work is impeccable, tasteful, client-focused (not ego-focused), and it’s all about Quality with a very large Q. No smoke and mirrors here, dear. Would never fly in Dubai. Or Vegas. So if it’s Swarovski tap handles and ruched pelmets you’re wanting, look elsewhere.
I’m Talking to a Jade Circle
I’m giving a lecture to the “Jade Circle” of the San Francisco Asian Art Museum on the 15th of July in my Ubud gallery. Donors who make significant financial contributions to the museum are granted membership in the “Jade Circle” which comes with a wealth of special privileges and programs. One of them is their upcoming trip to Bali, accompanied by museum experts. I will be making a presentation to the group on Balinese textiles, entitled “Diversity and Insularity: The cultural threads of Balinese textile traditions.” If you would like an outline with images from the presentation, contact me.