Description:
Affandi (1907-1990; Cirebon, West Java) was a self-taught artist. From 1951-1956 he travelled throughout India, the United Kingdom, Holland Belgium, France, and Italy, he taught painting sculpture at the Akademi Seni Rupa Indonesia (ASRI, Indonesian Academy of Fine Arts) in Yogyakarta, Central Java. In 1973 The Museum Affandi was established on the grounds of his residence in Yogyakarta. Affandi’s highly expressionistic and dynamic works have very thick applications of paint squeezed directly from the tube with color fields smeared by hand. Awards : Piagam Anugerah Seni (Indonesia, 1969), honorary doctorate (University of Singapore, 1974), Dag Hammarskjoeld, International Peace Prize (Florence, Italy, 1997), Bintang Jasa Utama (Indonesia, 1978). Collection: East-West Center (Honolulu, Hawaii). Exhibitions: Museum of Modern Art (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1966), East-West Center (Honolulu, 1988), Festival of Indonesia (U.S.A., 1990-1992), Gate Foundation (Amsterdam, Holland , 1993), Singapore Art Museum (1994), Centre for Strategic and International Studies (Jakarta, 1996) Indonesia-Japan Friendship festival (Morioka, Tokyo, 1997), ASEAN Masterworks (Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1997-1998).

  Title : Barong And Rangda Dance
  Artist : Affandi
  Media : Oil on canvas
  Size : 100 x 185 cm
  Year : 1973
Description:
A sway-backed barong keket (protective lion-like creature) dominates the right two-thirds of this dynamic composition. The personification of evil, rangda (widow-witch), with long fangs and bulging eyes, is on the left. Together they symbolize the never ending battle between positive and negative forces of the cosmos. In ritual dance performances held in the outer courtyards of temples in Bali, they attack each other in rather violent confrontations, their long hair swirling about. A parasol is held above the barong as a sign of honor and respect. Rangda holds a white cloth her hand, a powerful weapon symbolic of her magical strength enemies to render them powerless.

 

  Title : Balinese Fishing Boats
  Artist : Affandi
  Media : Oil on canvas
  Size : 103 x 129 cm
  Year : 1975
Description:
The Kusamba area of Klungkung in southeast Bali is a dry and desolate coast. The hot sun burns down mercilessly on the bleak beach pounded by rough waves. A sway-backed sow with her piglets wander about on the deserted black sands, probably in search of food. Balinese fishermen use traditional jukung (double outrigger canoes) with crocodile-like heads, for it is believed that they can locate fish and other creatures at sea. The frightening face also scares away harmful marine forces; its eyes guide the canoe at night or in bad weather and help to ovoid dangerous coral reefs.