Art Information on Iz Maglow's Bali-Art Paintings

About three million Balinese are living on this small tropical island, which is part of the "Ring of Fire" in the Indonesian archipelago. It spreads over 150 km from east to west and about 80 km from north to south. Most Balinese are Hindus and their religious rites and traditions dominate Balinese daily life till our days as well as 100 years ago. The constant thread of erupting volcanoes and earthquakes have reminds these devote people to celebrate all temple ceremonies carefully, therefore several colorful and festive decorated ceremonies take place at various places each month.

The colorful sarongs, the traditional clothing for men and women, in which the festively decorated islanders go to their frequent temple ceremonies, were one of the first inspirations for the Bali painting by Iz Maglow. Even outside solemn festivals, the Balinese create intricately braided bowls and baskets in which they plant various flowers and fragrant incense sticks to soothe the many demons of their spiritual world and delight their Hindu gods.

As in many of his Bali paintings, the women carry high sacrificial pyramids of piled fruits on their heads to the temple. While expensive ikat textiles are used for festive occasions, batik fabrics decorated in Balinese everyday life serve as the dominant item of clothing (in addition to global fashion trends and brands).

The hidden tropical paradise with the islanders, living in modesty and in harmony with their island world, has now given way to a modern destination, where most of the achievements of modern life are no longer unknown. The Balinese, however, have taken an interesting path in which they both cultivate traditional ancestral rites and integrate the benefits of modern industrialization. Those who come to Bali for the first time still love the friendliness and serenity of the Balinese people.

Today, historical photos and films convey the image of a paradisiacal past, which, however, was not always peaceful and paradisiac for the majority of the population, even in times past. The black-and-white photographs of the film Virgins of Bali from 1932 portray tropical Bali as a place of paradisiacal harmony where people live their lives in harmony with nature. The film, which until recently was shown on YuoTube, traces the beginning of a Balinese everyday life in the first section of the film and shows the carefree islanders in their daily activities.

The second part of the black and white film is dedicated to everyday market life and the coexistence of people. In the third part of the film documents the preparations and the course of a marriage ceremony. Unfortunately, this interesting documentary has been removed (temporarily) on YouTube, but many other historical film documents can still be found.

Part 1 shows under the headline: Houses and Temples Impressions of Balinese Living, Festive Ceremonies, Religion & Myths, and Balinese Dance.
Part 2 shows under the title: Modern Times paintings by people living in Bali in partly very expressive studies. Other paintings show Bali's special holiday ornaments "Umbul-Umbul".