|
INTERVIEW WITH NI WAYAN SUARNITI BY LINN LANE
Why are there no women painters in the museums? Because women have no sense of color. Why are there no women painters in the museums? Because women don't want to get dirty from the painting.
These and worse were the reasons given to Mary Northmore when she asked about women artists in Bali. Mary was an English woman who married, Abdulaziz, a famous Indonesian artist. Mary was happy in Bali but she missed the friendships of women and she wanted to see their art better represented in the culture. So when she and Abdulazliz bought a larger house, she convinced him to let her turn his bachelor pad into Asia's first and only all women's gallery. Seniwati opened in June of 1991. Mary stocked it with art she found by going out into the countryside buying and bargaining for the supposedly non- existent paintings and other art by women.
This is all being told to me by Ni Wayan Suarniti who's curled up in WomanKraft's big soft chair. Her proud partner, Michael Lord, sets next to her in the straight back, filling me in on details he considers relevant. For instance, he assures me, it wasn't only the support of Wayan's brothers that got her to high school, where girls don't usually go, but the fact that her grades were always the highest of anyone's in her mountain village in Bali.
I like Wayan. Not only is she of the tribe size (elf) with which I always claim planetary affinity. She also has a hard-working back that you can just tell has done a lot of different kinds of bending in her 37years. Her hair is long and black. Her smile is quick and warm, revealing an open heart.
So Wayan leaves her family village, finishing high school, moving to Ubad. She majors in business and works in a restaurant. One day a cousin, Jeanette, comes from Hawaii. Jeanette speaks English only. Wayan, in the struggle for communication, learns a word a day. She begins working for Jeanette who eventually introduces her to Mary and Seniwati. When Jeannette inquires about her goals, Wayan says. "I know only I want to work for foreigns."
With Jeanette's and others help Wayan goes to a language foundation where she takes business, general, and conversational English. "English", she explains, "is the International language and computer is in English."
In 1993 when Jeanette had to return to the States, Wayan went to work for Mary. She had what I gather was, a sort of manager, janitorial, do whatever the hell you can, sort of position. Particularly appreciated was Wayan's computer and English skills. Wayan, for her part, was shocked to find there was "no administration at all, no records." Sometimes the gallery forgot to pay the artist. Sometimes the artist forgot that Mary had already bought the painting outright. She did this, especially in the early days, to convince families of the value of letting women paint and do other non-traditional art. This technique paid off by increasing the representation until Wayan says, "In a few years we don't need to find artists; they find us. Every month all receipts, all files, are getting bigger and bigger with new artists."
Wayan surprises Mary by getting all this into an organized system of stock records. By 1996 the gallery experienced substantial success and Wayan was given the formal title of Gallery Manager. In 1999 their reputation was enhanced further by a visit from the former President Jimmy and Roselyn Carter. About this she says, "It was a magic time." She was at Mary's recovering from an operation but she felt a strong pull to go to the gallery. Mary was skeptical so "I told her I want to pay the Internet bill" Wayan recalls. Once there she checked the phone machine, no messages but she checked it again before leaving. This time there was a message that President Jimmy Carter was coming with security. The gallery was a mess so she flew around dusting and throwing garbage into closets. “They came with many many police cars and a bus.” The couple entered with 6 stern bodyguards. They, themselves were very very friendly. The President sat in a recycled tire chair talking to Mary for one hour while Rosalyn had a tour.
Seniwati now represents 69 artists . 33 of them will be in the WomanKraft show. There is also a strong educational component for girls and women. There is a Board of Directors of 4 Balinese and 2 English women. There is a staff that Wayan claims she has taught to do everything she does except the Internet.
Hearing all this, I ask if she's ever failed at anything. "No," she says, "because I follow the flow, never dreaming, I want to do this one or that one. I do only what I really need to do."
She must have needed to go to Australia because contradicting the previous statement she goes on. "Then I thought, if I have a chance and God blesses me, the first place I want to visit is Australia." Seniwati's first invitation wasn't to Australia, though. It was to Holland and another came from New Zealand. Finally in 1998 a call came asking to send a student to Australia. "I say yes but I think why not me?" Wayan laughs, "Then they say, would you like to come too?" She went taking Pury Suriati , a disabled student artist with and learning all about the difficulties of wheel chair lifestyle.
Since then Seniwati has had shows in Hong Kong and Singapore. WomanKraft's will be their first exhibit in the U.S.. Do you want to visit this fantastic debut and are from out of town? Consider staying at Michael's Cricket Head Inn B&B on the boundary of Saguaro Desert Park. He has six accommodations priced from $85-$95. Reservations can be made at (520) 682-7126 September-April.
|
