Nyoman Nuarta

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