Vincent van Gogh in JavaBruce W CarpenterJanuary 13, 2020January 13, 2020 by Bruce W CarpenterJanuary 13, 2020January 13, 202012472 Although the world’s most famous artist, Vincent van Gogh, once wrote to this brother Theo that he would like to...
Art & Intellectual Property Rights – Who Owns What?Bruce W CarpenterApril 24, 2013September 6, 2017 by Bruce W CarpenterApril 24, 2013September 6, 20170664 Although art is essentially useless (you can’t eat or drink it, it provides little shelter and makes bad clothing, and...
Earth ArtBruce W CarpenterApril 4, 2013December 20, 2019 by Bruce W CarpenterApril 4, 2013December 20, 20190750 The word Earth is synonymous both with the Globe, the third planet in our solar system, and the stuff...
True GluttonsBruce W CarpenterMarch 25, 2013September 4, 2017 by Bruce W CarpenterMarch 25, 2013September 4, 20171338 In Bali the purist embodiment of Greed, one of the most ancient and reviled of the Seven Sins, is found...
Cosmic ArtBruce W CarpenterJanuary 28, 2013December 20, 2019 by Bruce W CarpenterJanuary 28, 2013December 20, 201901154 The Sun, Moon, Planets and Stars have served as the muses of artists, musicians, poets and writers since the beginning...
Art in Bali – Future ProspectsBruce W CarpenterJanuary 15, 2013September 6, 2017 by Bruce W CarpenterJanuary 15, 2013September 6, 201701290 According to Naomi Samara, a young Indonesian artist and native of Sanur Beach, Bali, the island is brimming with young,...
Forbidden Love Part 3 – Girls Will Have FunBruce W CarpenterDecember 3, 2012September 6, 2017 by Bruce W CarpenterDecember 3, 2012September 6, 20171943 “Music melts all the separate parts of our bodies together.” Anaïs Nin, Delta of Venus, Erotica 1977. When it comes...
Art & Forbidden Fruit in Bali: Part TwoBruce W CarpenterNovember 19, 2012September 6, 2017 by Bruce W CarpenterNovember 19, 2012September 6, 20170885 The prominent role of gay expatriate artists in Bali before the Second World War must have deeply disturbed some members...
Art and Forbidden Fruit in BaliBruce W CarpenterNovember 6, 2012December 20, 2019 by Bruce W CarpenterNovember 6, 2012December 20, 201911332 Part One – Straight Men The artist needs his muse they say. The qualifications for the job are complex and...
Rudolf Bonnet – Son of a Priest from TampaksiringBruce W CarpenterOctober 9, 2012September 6, 2017 by Bruce W CarpenterOctober 9, 2012September 6, 20170706 This beautiful pastel drawing made in 1929 by the Dutch artist Rudolf Bonnet is remarkable for several reasons. Having arrived...
The Story of a Royal NecklaceBruce W CarpenterSeptember 24, 2012October 20, 2017 by Bruce W CarpenterSeptember 24, 2012October 20, 20171674 Gold, Rubies, Sapphires, Diamonds, History Encrusted with over 70 rubies from Myanmar, diamonds from Borneo and sapphires from India, and...
A Tale of IkoBruce W CarpenterSeptember 10, 2012September 6, 2017 by Bruce W CarpenterSeptember 10, 2012September 6, 201701172 “This is my earthly life, full of trouble and struggle, and many are my enemies, laughing at me…their words sharper...
Majapahit TerracottaBruce W CarpenterAugust 13, 2012September 6, 2017 by Bruce W CarpenterAugust 13, 2012September 6, 201711042 At its pinnacle in the middle of the 14th century, Truwulan, the East Javanese capital of the puissant Majapahit Empire...
Pieter Ouborg : First Modern Artist in IndonesiaBruce W CarpenterJuly 31, 2012September 6, 2017 by Bruce W CarpenterJuly 31, 2012September 6, 20171970 Wars by definition trigger immense changes that spell the collapse of the old and the ushering in of new orders,...
Auke Sonnega – Bali’s First Spiritual ArtistBruce W CarpenterJuly 16, 2012September 6, 2017 by Bruce W CarpenterJuly 16, 2012September 6, 201711242 If you happened to be one of the few tourists wandering on Jalan Kaleran, Ubud (in those days there were...
Wayan Kun Adnyana – An Up and Coming Balinese ArtistBruce W CarpenterJuly 4, 2012September 6, 2017 by Bruce W CarpenterJuly 4, 2012September 6, 20171596 The contemporary art market has always been a hazardous place populated with commercial cowboys, wannabe experts and Bohemian flotsam and...
Miguel Covarrubias’ Visual NotesBruce W CarpenterJune 18, 2012September 6, 2017 by Bruce W CarpenterJune 18, 2012September 6, 201701247 Miguel Covarrubias’ father was a Sunday painter. As a very young child, Miguel liked to sit by his father, watching...
Ashley Bickerton-Bali’s Least Known Famous ArtistBruce W CarpenterJune 8, 2012September 6, 2017 by Bruce W CarpenterJune 8, 2012September 6, 20170888 When Ashley Bickerton left New York City for Bali in 1997 he was a major star on the international arts...
The Virgin Dancers of BeluBruce W CarpenterDecember 6, 2011September 6, 2017 by Bruce W CarpenterDecember 6, 2011September 6, 20172 475 Like endangered species, magical encounters with pure and unadulterated Indonesian traditional culture have become increasingly rare events in the 21st...
Art and RevolutionBruce W CarpenterNovember 16, 2011September 24, 2017 by Bruce W CarpenterNovember 16, 2011September 24, 201701019 S. Sudjojono, 1913-1986 One of the ultimate tools of revolution is art. So, too, revolution ideas often stimulate revolutionary visuals...
The Origins of the Piggy BankBruce W CarpenterNovember 15, 2011September 6, 2017 by Bruce W CarpenterNovember 15, 2011September 6, 201702192 In the west the Piggy Bank has long been a time-honoured rite of passage, a whimsical but didactic tool for...