AGUNG RAI MUSEUM OF ART (ARMA)

It might be interesting to know what people really expect when they visit a museum, while others do not want at all to spend time there. I don’t know of others, but for me it’s one of the cheapest ways to see and enjoy various precious and rare collections that even money can’t buy, albeit only visually and for a very short period of time. Taking photos of those collections is definitely quite amusing for me. I will easily lose 40% of my enthusiasm for walking around a museum when taking photos is prohibited.

There might be certain security concerns or copyright issues when photos of a museum’s collections and the inner parts of the building are published in the internet, as they can be used by thieves as guide to break to the compound and take away those precious collections. Commercial artists, at the request of traders, may also copy the rare designs and sell them for profit.

On the other hand, those photos may also attract people to visit the museum, without paying a penny for the promotion. More visitors means more fund would be available to cover the maintenance of the museum. Well, I guess the museum curators should know what are best for their museums.

A few months back I got a chance to visit The Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), one of the must see museums in Bali. ARMA was built on four acres of beautifully landscape grounds, completed in 27 December 1989 and officially opened on 9 June 1996. The museum is administered by the ARMA Foundation.

It is founded on principles that reflect the philosophy of its founder, Agung Rai, which includes an intense love for art, for the preservation of art and sharing it with the community.

The permanent exhibition of paintings by Balinese, Indonesian and foreign artists includes the collection of the ARMA Foundation and work on loan from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Agung Rai. The paintings range from traditional to contemporary including the following

Right after the check post, where you need to pay entrance fee, visitors can find a shop selling books related to arts and Balinese arts souvenirs.

Visitors were seen walking towards Bale Daja (3300 square meters), one of the two main buildings on this vast green compound full of shady trees and beautiful flowers.

A black and white photo of the late Dr. A.A. Madé Djelantik was exhibited in the museum along with some of his paintings, next to the works of Walter Spies, a Russian-born German primitivist painter who in 1923 came to Java, stayed first in Yogyakarta and then in Ubud starting in 1927. He is often credited with attracting the attention of Western cultural figures to Balinese culture and art.

Dr. A.A. Madé Djelantik was the Honorary President of the Walter Spies Society Germany.

There are both temporary and permanent exhibition of paintings and installation works by Indonesian and foreign artists. The paintings range from traditional to contemporary such as classical Kamasan painting on tree bark by Batuan artist of the 1930′s and 1940′s, and the work of the 19th century Javanese legendary artist Raden Saleh Syarif Bustaman, works by Balinese masters such as I Gusti Nyoman Lempad, Ida Bagus Made, Anak Agung Gde Sobrat and I Gusti Made Deblong, and works of foreign artist who lived in Bali such as Walter Spies, Willem Gerald Hofker, Rudolf Bonnet, Adrien Jean Le Mayeur de Merpres and Willem Dooijwaard.