I Wayan Candra: A Monster Of An Art ( Wasti Atmodjo, Contributor, Denpasar)

The current heated discussion about Bali’s ogoh-ogoh will never be complete without mention of industry leader I Wayan Candra. Ogoh-ogoh, giant puppets depicting a Balinese demon called Bhuta Kala, are usually paraded in the thousands across the island on the eve of Nyepi, the last day of the Balinese calendar, when no work is done. But not on this year’s Nyepi, which falls on March 26: Fear of the heated political climate as the legislative elections draw near has led to the village chiefs forbidding Balinese from making ogoh-ogoh or walking in processions.

Wayan Candra, 57, has been making ogoh-ogoh in his workshop and studio since the 1970s, for rituals and just for display, with customers ranging from traditional village councils to hotels.

“This year I still have orders for ogoh-ogoh, but I’m not as busy as I was in previous years,” said Candra.

An ogoh-ogoh is different from a statue because it is made to be moved, Candra said; making one is a complete art form.

“It includes the artistic displays of dancing, karawitan [gamelan music and singing accompanied by a gamelan] and puppetry.”

Hindu communities, especially in Bali, he explained, carry out yadnya (holy sacrifices), in which the symbolism links art and ritual. The ogoh-ogoh culture was born out of the tawur kesanga (pecauran or cleansing ritual) on the eve of Nyepi.

“Consequently ogoh-ogoh is a cultural expression,” he said. “If they are made especially for a
ritual there has to be an ablution procession.”

The special Nyepi ogoh-ogoh interpret the abstract shapes from bhuta kala, also known as dark energy, which are aspects of Creation that help balance the universe. Its form is intended to terrify as a reflection of its negative character.

Candra said ogoh-ogoh started to be well known after they were included in a parade during the 1990 Bali Art Festival. At that time a competition was held, which Candra’s ogoh-ogoh called Dwara Pala won. That same year he was the winner in the Statuary Art Festival held at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah

Many communities then began to make ogoh-ogoh with terrifying faces. It is not unusual to use the face of a modern leader, but most are depicted as evil characters from the puppet world.

Candra said they had evolved over the years. In the 1950s, ogoh-ogoh took on the features of various animals and were made from farm produce such as rice and fruit, and were not related to Nyepi.

From the 1980s, Nyepi ogoh-ogoh were made simply using materials such as bamboo, dried rice stalks and old cement bags. In the 1990s, the materials and techniques improved as makers paid more attention to anatomy, and used feathers and ornaments to embellish the figures. They also began to add mechanical equipment.

Candra said that in the lead-up to Nyepi, groups – particularly young men – in every community were kept busy making ogoh-ogoh, each group developing its own ideas. “That’s an extraordinary thing, the development of the creativity of young people,” he said. “Ogoh-ogoh are works of art and culture. The works of all artists, whoever they are, are artistic. And the artistic works are always pleasing.”

This creativity, he said, had nothing to do with politics. “This is extremely sad,” he said, “The ogoh-ogoh are being eliminated only because some people are frightened without reason. I thought the community could separate the issues of religion and tradition from politics. This has emasculated the communities’ creativity”.

Candra became an ogoh-ogoh artist because of a combination of his natural talent, his hobby and his education at the Fine Arts Faculty of Udayana University.

He has been an artist since he was young although he did not come from an artist family, except for one grandfather. “So that talent was actually inherited. Apart from that I also believe there is a pawisik or guidance from Sang Hyang Widi [God].”

He found his fate in his safety – in his extended family on his father’s side, seven accidents resulted in the deaths of six people.

“I’m the only one who is safe, so I get comfort from that. I even had a friend who was possessed by a spirit and which told him to enter the art world, including making ogoh-ogoh,” he said.

“It’s like a miracle that I am able to make ogoh-ogoh in the ways that I can imagine.”

Candra has no shortage of ideas, drawing on life experience, reading and discussions.

The prices for the demons go up to hundreds of thousands of rupiah. In the lead-up to Nyepi, orders flood in, for both full statues and certain parts such as masks, arms or frames.

Candra is also an expert in making coffins for ngaben (cremation ceremonies), barong (dance mask), various statues and kites.

“That’s why we never lack orders and sometimes we have even been overwhelmed with work.”
His other talents include playing the gamelan and puppeteering. And all his skills have been passed down to his five children.

“There are those who can be a puppeteer, a megamel [a player of gamelan music and Balinese dance], and now quite unexpectedly we have a generation that can make handicrafts like ogoh-ogoh,” he explained.

(The Jakarta Post , Mon, 03/16/2009)