Description
Art Fallen from Heaven, modern Balinese sculpture, offers a new perspective on the origin of modern Balinese sculpture in the 1930s. After the subjugation of Bali by Dutch colonial rule, the driving force for renewal was the shift of patronage by the ruling monarchs to the tourists and the western art market. This new patronage ushered Balinese woodcarvers into the world of contemporary artistic endeavors. Before, “art for art’s sake” was an unknown concept in Bali. The artists’ association Pita Maha (1936-1939) played an important role in positioning the until then unknown woodcarvers, as artists. This publication also offers a description on key developments in the post-war era 1950-2020, an annotated exhibition overview of Balinese sculpture in the years 1932–1973, an overview of the sculptors of the artists’ association Pita Maha and more than 200 illustrations of traditional and modern sculpture and historic photographs.