2013 Travel Dispatch #25 (Statuary in Bali)

I think Bali may have one of the most artistic cultures I've ever encountered. Art, design, decoration and care in arrangement are evident everywhere. There is more public art on display than I've ever seen anywhere. Part of it is because there are so many temples and the temples are all minor to major works of art themselves. In this post, instead of focusing on the big pictures, I'm looking at some of the smaller pieces that work together to make up the whole.

The shot above is a detail of one the many large statues located at major intersections in the area. They are all different and all very elaborately designed and crafted. Here are front and back views of the same statue.

Maybe a bit over the top for some people's taste, but it is art and in Bali it's writ large.

We saw it and felt it everywhere we went. We were greeted by it when we walked into our room and were greeted by these pieces that shared our room with us.

A couple of stone carvings on the steps of temples near us.

Different neighborhoods in Ubud had their own artistic specialties. Some were doing painting, some wood carving, some ceramics, some jewelry, etc. Whole neighborhoods devoted primarily to making art. It's part of their tradition. But it's a tradition that sadly is being lost. Many talented Balinese artists are finding that they make better money doing other things than they can get from their art products and have stopped making art. We had several different people independently make this claim and they are saddened by it but don't know what to do about it.

Not all temple figures are stone. Here's one that's carved from wood. 

We saw shops filled with wonderful carvings. A lot of schlock, of course, but a lot of nice work too.

The above piece is life sized and has a wonderful "feel" to it. It felt like it could easily just begin moving and stand right up. We were at the Louvre earlier today, and this had as nice a feeling about it as some of the pieces in the galleries there.

More examples of temple carvings and a shot of some of the "tourist" art offered at one of the street markets.

I conclude today's post on Balinese statuary with a shot of one of the figures that was perhaps the most prominent of all -- a carving of the Hindu god Ganesh.

One more post to come from the material collected in Bali and then it will be on to Paris. We did the Louvre and some walking today and I must say this is one very easy city to take pictures in. I'll try to be discriminating when I get around to choosing examples. The way things are going, I may be home before then anyway.

Photography by Burdette