Puppetry Storyline in the Painting by Rierlin

While observing the painting works of I Made Rierlin, it feels as if we are brought into a fantasy world. Why? Because the manifestation expressed is so complicated to be found within the real realm. Yes, Rierlin indeed paints based on the puppetry storyline that is closely associated with the religious and artistic life of the Hindu community in Bali. For instance, he exposed the ancient life where people put on their shirts and accessories that look so unique and alluring.

Rierlin (22) is one of the young painters from Northern Bali. This Seririt - Buleleng-born young man, is now studying at the Fine Arts Department, University of Pendidikan Ganesha Singaraja. As a matter of fact, Rierlin is not a descendant of an artist. His father is a farmer at his home village. In the meantime, his flair at painting originates in the guidance of his grandfather. When he was a child, the latter frequently took him to make drawings on the ground.
Actually, his grandfather had no good capability of painting. However, the way his grandfather led him had an impact on the mind of the little Rierlin to favour such a drawing realm. It continues up to these days.
His childhood experience is indeed not as delightful as that of others in big city obtaining full support from his parents in developing its artistic flair. Rierlin has an unpleasant experience when his father scolded him as he drew on his writing book. To his father, studying other subjects than drawing was far more advantageous for his future. However, this did not discourage him. He endeavored to draw at any place that did not annoy others. Then, drawing at dusted ground came in his major and safe choice because, other than not ruffling others, it can be erased later.
When he was at secondary school, his interest in painting was getting blazed. The subject of drawing at his school came to be his favorite activity. At that time, he even received an order to make a wayang painting for a souvenir vendor at Lovina. A painting measuring 40x50 cm was paid IDR 1,500 then. Such amount equaled to his school fee for a month. This painting activity kept him busy for over four months; however his father then warned him in order to stop making paintings and made him more concentrated on the school subject.
At senior high school, there was no the subject of fine arts but Rierlin always represented his school to participate in painting competition elsewhere. He accomplished to achieve some championships in the competitions that he joined. He even became the second winner of caricature competition and creation banner. However, at that time, he focused himself more on the activity of gamelan music at his school in order he could channel continuously his artistic flair.
As he was eager to know more about the subject of artistic realm, as soon as he graduated from senior high school he continued his study at the Department of Fine Arts, University of Pendidikan Ganesha, Singaraja. "During my study, I obtained the learning of arts," he said while adding that he was fond of painting exposing the theme of wayang storylines.
It was influenced by his past time, particularly during the childhood where his father regularly told him bedtime stories on wayang. Other than wayang storylines, he is also inspired by human activities in day-to-day life. Therefore, the style of his painting is now taking the setting of yore in the form of wayang or puppet highlighting the human life.
As a person from Northern Bali, Rierlin feels concerned with the life or artistic realm chiefly painting that seems to have not developed. He hopes that the government would set about thinking of this matter earnestly. For instance, to set up an exhibition room and invites more painters to display their works there.(BTN/Gung Man)

Woman in the Painting :
By Wayan Eka Maha Wibawa Jeni

Woman within the paintings by Eka are crucial to look at, as he described the important role they play in the day-to-day life activities. Particularly in Bali, most religious activities are carried out by women and in other daily routines like working at rice field, women also gets involved in the task categorized into the hard and stringent ones.

In the past few days, women are made a hot issue due to the case of prostitution, their fashion lifestyle or behavior within the community. And activities performed by women are more frequently highlighted than what men do. This phenomenon stimulated his creativity through painting so much that consequently the majority of his paintings are women as the source of his inspiration.
Within his paintings, Eka reveals or illustrates the male and female genitals in such a way that is away from vulgar impression. Female genital is portrayed to resemble a demon’s mouth, while the male one is a dragon. As a matter of fact, these are illustrations of human beings influenced by animalistic passion that leads to improper sexual intercourse or love affair. To implement these ideas, Eka expresses them decoratively where the entire space is filled with shapes, lines and colours.
Eka, a graduate from the Department of Fine Arts Education, Faculty of Linguistics and Arts Education University of Pendidikan Ganesha, Singaraja has liked drawing since his childhood. At the age of ten, he used to make puppet shadow play from paper. Then, such "wayang" puppets were performed in front of his friends of similar age. Additionally, he often made ogoh-ogoh (papier mâché demon) together with his friends at his home village and then carried it around the village joyously. Seemingly, this work has made him fond of artistic creativity.
Eka, whose complete name is Wayan Eka Maha Wibawa Jeni, is the first son of the couple Ketut Sidemen and Nyoman Ciri. His father is a teacher at SMA Negeri 3 Singaraja. His father extends great support to the artistic flair owned by his son, so when he graduated from junior high school he continued his study to vocational high school in Lombok (NTB). At school, he chose the department of textile.
Having completed his study, he resumed his study at the University of Pendidikan Ganesha, Singaraja to widen his artistic perspective. At this campus, other than learning about education, he also received practice on fieldwork like painting and other works of fine arts.
Amongst the many paintings by Eka, there is a tendency that he likes best the erotic matters. It’s discernible from his paintings that at all times take the woman as his subject. According to him, this happened because he often watches television or news on the concerned life of women. For instance, the woman trafficking, prostitution complexes that are being imposed a surprise inspection by officials and other news that touches the unfortunate women.
Eka completed his study at the beginning of 2006. While waiting for a vacancy of teaching staff he expects to be able to paint persistently. Even, its themes are not always the same, for instance, the ambience of undersea life. According to him, at sea lies the life of which hardness is the same as that on the land. (BTN/Gung Man)

"Love and Peace" in Painting Exhibition

Messages of peace annot only be expressed through words, but also through a spatial medium. Several creations of Balinese artists, coalesced into the Tamiang Bali group, evoked the peace through their painting works exhibited in Renon - Denpasar. ‘Love and Peace in Painting Exhibition’ is the theme exposed in conjunction with the occurrence of Peace Evocation 2006 taking place on 1-21 October.Numerous creations and styles comprising the figurative, surrealism, naturalism or others are arranged in apple-pie order at the exhibition room of the Bajra Sandhi Monument, Renon. These 16 Balinese artists scratched some 30 paintings that predominantly exposed the theme on social life along with several conflicts and complexity on canvas.
Mr. I Komang Muliartha, one of the painters, said that his participation in the current exhibition posed his sympathy for the tragedy that has killed hundreds of people. "It’s the manifestation of my sympathy as a painter for the bomb explosion by terrorists on 12 October 2002. Through this painting, I’d like to reveal the message of peace to all people for the sake of this world peace," he told Bali Travel News.
Within this activity, Muliartha exhibited three paintings unveiling the theme on the pristine and peaceful countryside of Bali. "As its theme implies, ‘Love and Peace in Painting’, I made three naturalistic paintings discovering the nature as the object. The artworks on show are greatly inspired by my personal visual experience within the social life of Balinese community," revealed the painter who was born at Blahbatuh, Gianyar. (BTN/Rai)