Susi Johnston | The Sleeping Tiger on the Island of Bali

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.

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His grandfather was a master Chula kitemaker, now Korakot Aromdee makes masterpieces of bamboo using the same fine materials and craftsmanship. His work includes large-scale sculptures, lighting, decorative accessories and architectural pieces. Read more…

Last night we went along to the opening reception for Rio Helmi’s photography exhibition, “Memories of  the Sacred” at the Amandari Resort in Sayan. It was a convivial evening, with an atmosphere of warmth and fellowship, fostered by the inimitable character of the Amandari itself, and the gracious generosity of the resort’s management and staff. More than just a GM, the Amandari’s own Liv Gussing (below), is a devoted custodian of culture, charm and community.

This kind of event is but one of the many ways that the Amandari involves itself in the varied communities of Bali. Now celebrating its 20th birthday, Amandari is hosting a series of low-key, high-content special events during October, some of them in conjunction with the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival. If last night’s event is any indication, then I anticipate fraternal, even familial feelings will prevail throughout the Amandari’s cultural calendar marking their anniversary.

Among our colleagues, confrères, co-conspirators and companions in attendance, were renaissance man Arthur Karvan, metteur en fête Eric van Bruggen of Brussels and Marrakech (below left), Honororay Consul for Italy Pino Confessa, Bali bijoutier extraordinaire Jean Francois Fichot, high-art craftsman Lou Zeldis, Peter Steenbergen of Made’s Warung, Sanur sculptress Carola Vooges, author-performer-humanitarian-cultural-concierge Rucina Ballinger, writer Wayan Juniartha, Bona the grande dame of Seminyak’s new eclectic boutique Mekong (below centre beside yours truly), and restauranteuse Karen Waddell, who said, “Rio’s great. We always commission all our photography from Rio. Whenever we used somebody else, we ended up disappointed, we gave up, and immediately called Rio.” Bamboo-blonde celeb decorator Linda Garland and her former husband, media entrepreneur Amir Rabik, made a truly touching sight as they drove off à deux, in heartwarming harmony and good spirits.

Now, coming back to “Memories of the Sacred.” The images Rio selected for this show focus on the spirit and power of ritual and celebration in Bali. But tour-brochure stock images they are not. Rio’s work here reaches deeper, touching not only on what is unique about certain aspects of Bali, but what is universal, and most profoundly human. Read more…

Previously, I posted a piece about the “Visual Encounters” exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler, juxtaposing masterpieces of modern painting with masterpieces of tribal art. It’s worth mentioning again, because Tribal Art magazine has just published their first special issue, a volume devoted to the exhibition. It’s 52 pages, full colour, with in-depth text, including a feature on curator Oliver Wick. Buy it at Tribal Art Magazine, for just $10.

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.

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…

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.

If you’re not in Paris right now, you missed it.

Parcours des Mondes is now undeniably the ultimate event on earth for non-western art or arts premier *. It takes place in Paris every September, and if you’re not there now, you missed it, because it ends tomorrow. Book now for next year.

During this extraordinary week, the galleries of Saint Germain are taken over by five dozen or so of the world’s most distinguished tribal art dealers - - those with the sharpest eye, the deepest understanding, the best sources, and the most discriminating tastes. After eight years in existence, Parcours has begun to shake the tectonic plates of the global art trade, garnering attention from the highest echelons of art cognoscenti and the media. That is as it should be.

With contemporary art looking like the painted stepsister of a dodgy derivatives investment, it’s not surprising to find timeless art that reaches deep into the roots of humanity and arises directly from those roots, maintaining its stature, and even growing it. Parcours is the proof - - ça marche. In a time when almost nothing works (including a lot of contemporary art dealers), arts premier works. And why shouldn’t it? Tribal art has always been about efficacy - - in proclaiming power, warding off disease, cultivating fertility, and establishing a place in this confusing universe. Ça definitely marche.

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The Ashmolean is rebooting. Big plans and improvements are underway, with 39 new galleries happening, to the tune of £61 million. Among them is a major new space for textiles. Textilism is officially a trend. In recent years numerous upper-echelon museums have created spaces devoted to textiles as art, notably the DeYoung in SF, among others.

The textile tale of the Ash in a nutshell: The Ash says one of its “best kept secrets is its large collection of textiles.” Just announced, £122,000 was awarded to the museum to support their forthcoming textiles gallery and allow more of the cloth in their collection to go on display. The collection numbers something over 4,000 pieces (that’s just twice my own private collection, interestingly). Download a flyer on the new textiles gallery here.

The New Ash reopens with a bash this November. If we had an invite for the opening night we would surely be there despite it being half a world away.

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.