Artistic expression seems to be an important part of almost every aspect of Balinese life. Yet it was a German, Walter Spies (1895-1942), who in many ways saved Balinese art from decline, or at least gave it a new direction and much of the vitality it retains today.
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Picture courtesy of
Ross Taylor
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The notion of art for its own sake was unfathomable to the Balinese culture Spies found when he arrived in Ubud in 1927. They thought of art as a tool, as practical, or as a past time; but they did not think of art as art. Spies is credited with raising the art of Bali to new levels during his 14 years on the island and with focusing world attention on the art of Bali. He played a profound role in the development of a school of painting in Ubud -- a school which became one of the leading attractions in Bali. Ironically, the Balinese considered painting to be among the lowest art forms before Spies arrived.
He had a great influence on the local painters like Soberat or Anak Agung Gede Meregeg and many others.
Spies was eventually joined on Bali by Rudolf Bonnet (a Dutch artist). Balinese painters had traditionally used only natural colors; Spies and Bonnet introduced a wider range of hues to their pallets. They also taught Western techniques, encouraged their students to venture outside tradition subjects for Balinese painting, and introduced brushes and canvas to the students. What Spies and Bonnet did not do was introduce the concept of inovation or experimentation to Balinese art. Balinese artist I Gusti Nyoman Lempad (1862-1978) had begun doing that already before Spies arrived.
It should be noted that while Spies' biggest contributions to Bali were in the area of painting, he also made artistic contributions Balinese dance.
Spies' personal life at times got more attention than his art. Dutch authorities arrested Spies on December 31, 1938 as part of a crackdown on homosexuals. Spies was charged with committing sodomy with a minor. He was not released from prison until September 1939. A year later he was arrested again, this time for simply being German; Spies was sent to a prison in Sumatra after Germany invaded the Netherlands at the outset of WWII. In 1942 he died in Ceylon when a transport ship carrying prisoners was hit by a Japanese bomb.
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