Generally the artists did not have much room for personal expression, as their designs followed strict aesthetic and religious guidelines. With the arrival of European artists at the start of this century, this soon began to change, and local artists started developing their own individual styles.

Painting
Stone Carving
Wood carving
Textile/ Garment

The place synonymous with the traditional form of Balinese painting is the village of Kamasan, near Klungkung. Up until the beginning of this century, and under service of the kings of Gelgel and Klungkung, it was only natural that the painters and illustrators, called 'Sangging', should settle in this one area. As it was not uncommon for ruling families from other parts of Bali to acquire the use of a Sangging to decorate their own palaces or temples, the Kamasan style of painting quickly spread throughout the whole of Bali.

Until the start of this century, the dominant form of painting was the portrayal of Hindu epics, on 'Langse' - large narratives painted either on broad, rectangular cloths or on 'Ider-ider', which were much narrower (about 30cm wide and several meters long). Langse were placed in temples as wall hangings, or used as curtains in the palaces. Ider-Ider was hung around the roofs of temples and shrines and was used decoratively in the royal courts on festive occasions. The artists also painted on wooden boards, which were placed between rafters as ceiling friezes. Aside from large representational paintings, the 'Sangging' were also expected to decorate everything from gourds, wooden altars, bamboo vessels, and headboards for princely bedchambers and in particular to illustrate astrological wall hangings on bark paper or cloth.

The style for which the artists of Kamasan are famous is based on the East Javanese 'Wayang' art. These were basically two-dimensional, iconographic representations following strict ru les and guidelines as to how the characters should be portrayed. For example, a person's character and status can be seen from the colors used to portray them, his headdress, or even the direction in which he is facing. Noblemen always have had very refined faces, while coarse characters have large, bulging eyes and fangs. Today in Kamasan you can still find people who are dedicated to painting in the traditional 'Wayang' style. One of the most famous Kamasan artists is I Nyoman Mandra, who, aside from producing his own paintings and doing restoration work, has started a school to try and keep the Wayang tradition alive.

It wasn't until the early 1900's, that Western influence reached Bali. The use of Asian symbols in the works of, amongst others, Paul Gauguin, Toulouse Lautrec and Camille Pissaro, created a new trend for Asian-influenced art and European painters began to move to Bali. Ubud's fame for art can be traced to the arrival of German painter Walter Spies and Dutch painter Rudolf Bonnet. Together, with Indonesian artist Gede Agung Sukawati, they established the Pitamaha Group, which encouraged Balinese artists to be more expressive and less bound by tradition.

Aside from the Kamasan School of painting, there now exists a wide range of different styles. Some following characteristics have been briefly listed.

Ubud Style
Influenced by the Western use of perspective and everyday-life subject matter, the Ubud style is one of the most 'Expressionists' of all the Balinese schools. Despite this, Ubud art still retains many traditional features, including attention to detail and very stylized characters. Among the better known Ubud artists are; Anak Agung Gede Sobrat, Ida Bagus Made, I Gusti Ketut Kobot, Dewa Putu Bedil and Made Sukada.

Batuan Style
Strongly Wayang based, this style involves hundreds of intricately painted representations of Balinese life, filling every available nook and cranny of the canvas. Batuan artists like I Wayan Bendi, Ni Wayan Warti and I Made Budi, make much more of a statement about life in Bali, with subject matter that includes everything from traditional village activities to camera-toting tourists', even surfers. Earlier Batuan artists, Ida Bagus Made Togog and Ida Bagus Made Wija, dealt much more with the darker, supernatural side of life, with people depicted as extremely vulnerable to the spirits and powers of nature.

Keliki Style
Keliki art is very similar to the Old Batuan Style with the one exception being size; Keliki paintings measure 20 cm by 15 cm. They contain scenes of mythical and Ramayanic characters engaged in battle, good versus evil, on sinister backgrounds. Keliki artists also follow the tradition of the old Wayang artists in that they seldom sign their work.

Pengosekan Style
From this village, on the outskirts of Ubud, a new style sprang up during the 60's that concentrated on just a few natural components like; birds, insects, butterflies and plants. These paintings tend to be more realistic and less expressive than the Ubud style.

Young Artists
A second movement, born of European influence, occurred in the early 60's, with the arrival of Arie Smit to the village of Penestanan. With his encouragement the artists in that area started exploring the use of vivid colors and more abstract, simple forms. The paintings in this style are much more 'expressionist', with little attention to detail or perspective. Among the better known of the 'Young Artists' are I Wayan Pugur, I Ketut Tagen, I Nyoman Londo and Ketut Soki.

Stone carvings were mainly used to decorate temples and palaces and the carvers had much more leeway in their use of subject matter than the artists and illustrators. There is little difference between the iconography decorating temples and that of private buildings. Gateways represent the dividing line between the inner and outer worlds and as such are the recipients of some of the most fantastic carvings.

As well as, portraying deities and demons, the carvers included many scenes from public life and there are many temple surfaces enriched with the antics of the Dutch Colonists, including scenes of bicycles, drunken parties, car breakdowns and even aeroplanes. Bali's modern-day centre of stone carving is the village of Batubulan, situated halfway between the towns of Denpasar and Ubud, Gianyar.

Although you can see excellent examples of Balinese stone carving all over the island, the temples in the North tend to be much more creative (with the exception of Pura Puseh in Batubulan). If you plan to tour northern Bali, it is worth taking the time to visit Pura Meduwe Karang in Kubutambahan, Pura Dalem in Jagaraja and Pura Beji near Singaraja.

In order to see the work of Bali's most famous stone-carver and accomplished artist, I Gusti Nyoman Lempad, visit Pura Sagen Agung in Ubud. Bali's latest and most impressive addition to carving, and in fact the largest statue on the island, is situated in the Cultural Park of Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) on the Uluwatu Hill, South Bali.

Wood carving, like stone carving, has traditionally featured largely in temple and palace architecture with little freestanding 'sculpture' work produced commercially. Immaculately carved demons and mythical beings decorate pillars, door panels, lintels and window shutters with the aim of protecting the buildings from evil intruders. Scenes of legendary figures placed within floral decor set a more pleasant and educational tone.

When producing tools and objects for everyday use, sculptors had a much freer hand in choosing subject matter. With the arrival of European influences, woodcarving started to develop along more innovative and commercial lines.

Although there have been noteworthy carvers, for example; I Nyoman Cokot, Ida Bagus Nyana and Ketut Nongos, artistic integrity has suffered as a result of the commercial boom in the tourist industry. These days whole villages specialize in producing certain styles of work. The village of Mas, near Ubud, is probably the best known for its carvings of female figures, Buddhas, characters from Hindu epics and the traditional Topeng and Wayang Wong masks.

One of the most striking things about Bali is the rich variety of cloths and materials that are to be seen in thousands of shops throughout the island.

However, only a small proportion of these are indigenous to Bali. The myriad of batik clothes and sarongs available everywhere are mainly imported from Java. A large proportion of the woven cloths (Ikat) found in and around the Kuta/Legian area, is imported from the islands of Sumba and Flores. Bali does however, have a very rich textile industry of its own. The beautiful Songket fabrics worn by performers of traditional dance are a good example. In Songket, gold and silver threads are woven into the cloth to create complex motifs of birds, butterflies and flowers. Sometimes they use so much gold and silver that the underlying cloth is barely visible.

Endek, or weft ikat is another common method used in Bali. In weft ikat weaving, the weft threads are dyed to create the design and then woven with plain warp threads. These cloths are recognizable by their abstract designs and bright colors.

The least common form of weaving to be seen in Bali is the Geringsing, or double-ikat and it is perhaps the most sought after. This is when both the warp and weft threads are dyed to their final designs before being woven together. With the exception of certain areas in India and Japan, this weaving technique can only be found in the small Bali Aga village of Tenganan, East Bali.

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