Nyoman Nuarta
Society and culture: Ways of life
Nyoman Nuarta
• Born 1953 in Bali, Indonesia• Themes
– Society, politics– Violence, militarism– Identity– Nature
• Often uses brass and copper
NuArt Sculpture Park
• Opened in 2000• Primarily exhibiting Nuarta’s work• Gallery, workshop, café etc.
Nyoman Nuarta – Sleeping Leopard, 1990, copper and brass, 100x64x43
Nyoman Nuarta – Jago Raja, 1993, copper and brass, 94x30x84 cm
Nyoman Nuarta – Rush Hour, 1992, brass and copper
Nyoman Nuarta – Rush Hour1992brass and copper
• Cyclists moving at high speed
• Leaning forward, gazing ahead
• Hair flying backwards
• Movement lines, motion blur
Nyoman Nuarta – Rush Hour1992brass and copper
• Figures get more blurred towards the back
• Breaking down into streaks of motion
• Use of wire mesh – see-through at some parts, with some frayed ends
• Creating motion blur/fading effect
• Oxidized to create blue-green colour
Nyoman Nuarta – Rush Hour1992brass and copper
• Depiction of form of transport used by locals
• Physical representation of motion, speed
• Fast pace of modern life
• Wires – metal, urban environment
• Blue-green-grey colour – coldness of fast-paced modern life?
Nyoman Nuarta – Rush Hour1992brass and copper
• What is the effect of this fast-paced life on people?
• What is their destination?
• The figures become less and less recognizable as human when we move backwards – what does that represent?
Giacomo Balla – Dynamism of a dog on a leash (Leash in motion),1912, oil on canvas
Futurism in Italy
Nyoman Nuarta – 5 Officials, 1990, copper mesh, 106x120 cm
Nyoman Nuarta – 5 Officials1990Copper mesh
• Group of figures, seemingly engaged in conversation
• No clear features on face, only gaping holes in front
• Only jacket lapels and ties are more defined
• Bodies merge into one mass
• The holes in the mesh show through more as we move downwards
Nyoman Nuarta – 5 Officials1990Copper mesh
• Figures appear hazy and blurry – like smoke
• Figures are blind?
• Insubstantial, untrustworthy? What is coming out of their mouths?
• Commenting on corruption?
Nyoman Nuarta – The Gang of Four, 1978, fiber resin, bronze electroplating
Nyoman Nuarta – The Gang of Four1978fiber resin, bronze electroplating
• Military robes and helmets
• Empty space where the bodies should be
• Lined up side by side, forming one mass
• All facing straight ahead
Nyoman Nuarta – The Gang of Four1978fiber resin, bronze electroplating
• Solidity of coats and helmets gives figures sense of weight and presence even though they are hollow
• Further emphasized by the clumping of figures and the heavy base
• Balinese Hindu belief in visible/invisible world
• Invisible energy also powerful
• Evil spirits, soullessness?
• Talking about military atrocities in Indonesia?
References
• www.nuarta.com
• http://www.legacy-project.org/index.php?artistID=118&page=artist_detail
• http://www.biei.us/photography/leisure/nuart-sculpture-park/
• http://forum.kompas.com/travel/42786-nuart-sculpture-park-n-s-p-bandung.html