Batuan Social Realism as A Hybrid Art and A Picture of The Life of Today's Society

Abstract

                    This article examines Batuan social realism painting as a hybrid art and depiction of the life of Balinese people today. By using the paradigm of hybridity theory and postmodern aesthetic theory to gain a deep and contextual understanding of Batuan, social realism painting. The results of the study show that the Batuan social socialism painting is a hybrid art. That is, the elements of Batuan social realism painting is a mixture of global code and local code. The emergence of Batuan social realism painting is inseparable from the influence of the concept of binary opposition, consumer power, and the power of curators. Binary opposition is a dichotomous form of structure, such as top-down, forward-backward, giving rise to a dominant-dominated class. The dominant culture is superior causing the dominated class to want to adopt it. However, on the other hand, Batuan painters want to maintain their tradition. Eventually they mixed global and local cultural codes to produce hybrid art. Consumers are the owners of money so they have the power to determine the art they like, which contributes to the birth of hybrid painting. The curator has art knowledge and market knowledge so that he has the power to determine the direction of Batuan painters to create hybrid paintings. The themes of Batuan social realism painting  illustrates the life of today's society. This can be seen from various events and present-day lifestyles raised in Batuan social realism painting.