Bali: Art, Ritual, Performance (hardcover)

A tiny Indonesian island surrounded by powerful neighbors, Bali echoes in our imagination much more than its size might suggest. Indeed, it is one of the best-known places in Southeast Asia — celebrated as an exotic locale and a honeymoon paradise — although most of us know very little about why it has gained this reputation.

"Bali is not harmonious, homogenous, and static ... it is — and has long been — the home of many competing strands of thought and many different ways of being Balinese," scholar Degung Santikarma has written. “It is an ever-changing mosaic, shifting its design to meet new ideas imported from outside."

The catalogue explores elements of the cultural lives of the Balinese, focusing on the intersections of art, ritual and performance. With close examination of 130 exceptional objects drawn from international museum collections, the authors shed light on the ways that art, ritual and performance intersect within the seamless fabric of Balinese life.

Additional information:

• Author: Natasha Reichle
• Size: 10" x 12"
• Pages: 376
• Hardcover

Publication: 2011