Indonesia—India, GWK Masterpiece Unites Nyoman Nuarta with PM Modi and President Jokowi

Bandung (Atnews)—Nyoman Nuarta, the initiator of Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) won the Padma Award 2018 for the Padma Shri category from the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind.

 

At the reception, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and Indian Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu, were also present at the Indian Presidential Palace, on Monday (April 2, 2018).

 

Nuarta, who is known as a Maestro of Indonesian Fine Arts figure from Bali, also received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa (HC) as a culturepreneur in the Field of Fine Arts (sculpture) in the 101st Anniversary of Engineering Education in Indonesia (PTTI) at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

 

The works of Nyoman Nuarta in implementing the culturepreneur concept and approach in the language of a realist-figurative form in the development of the GWK Culture Park masterpiece in Bali is evidence of his real contribution to the field of fine arts which is a source of pride for the Indonesian people.

 

The presence of GWK has shown that Indonesia can produce masterpieces for the world. Moreover, the G20 Summit gala dinner was successfully held and attended by world leaders who used Balinese endek weaving at GWK Badung, on Tuesday (Nov 15).

 

The G20 Presidency meeting was attended by 20 member countries of G20, 9 invited countries as well as 14 international institutions. In total, there were 26 heads of state who attended in person, namely 17 heads of state from G20 member countries and 9 invited heads of state outside the G20 member countries. From the G20 countries who attended in person were 1) the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo; 2) President of the United States, Joe Biden; 3) President of China, Xi Jinping; 4) President of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol; 5) Australian President, Anthony Albanese; 6) President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa; 7) French President, Emmanuel Macron; 8) President of Argentina, Alberto Ángel Fernández; 9) President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan; 10) President of the European Council, Charles Michel; 11) Prime Minister of India, Narendra Damodardas Modi; 12) Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz; 13) Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida; 14) Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Pierre James Trudeau; 15) British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak; 16) Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni; 17) Crown Prince of the King of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul Al-Saud; 18) Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov; 19) Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Carlos Alberto França; and 20) Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon.

 

Aside from the G20 member countries, the G20 Presidency Meeting was also attended by invitees from 9 heads of state, namely: 1) Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen; 2) Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez; 3) President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame; 4) President of Suriname, Chandrikapersad Santokhi; 5) President of Senegal, Macky Sall; 6) President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan; 7) Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Long; 8) Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte; as well as 9) The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Fiji, Inoke Kubuabola.

 

In addition, there were 14 leaders of international institutions or organizations, namely 1) President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Masatsugu Asakawa; 2) Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Klaus Martin Schwab; 3) President of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser; 4) Director General of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Gilbert F. Houngbo; 5) President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach; 6) Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; 7) President of the World Bank Group, David Malpass; 8) President of the European Council, Charles Michel; 9) UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres; 10) Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva; 11) Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Mathias Cormann; 12) Chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), Klaas Knot; 13) Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adanom Ghebreyesus; as well as 14) FIFA President, Gianni Infantitino.

 

Nuarta hoped that relations between Indonesia and India will improve. “Before I met our President, Mr. Joko Widodo, I first met the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi,” said Nuarta, who also received the Chevalier dans le Ordre des Arts et Lettres award, a prestigious award in the arts and literature having been provided by the French Government in Bandung, on Sunday (Nov 27).

 

Moreover, he was once invited to the Presidential Palace of India to fulfill an invitation in order to be awarded the Padma Sri, one of the highest honors for civilians. Even, the award was received for the first time by a citizen outside India.

 

“And he (PM Modi—Ed) told me that he would soon be going to Indonesia for a meeting with our President, Mr. Jokowi. After arriving in Jakarta, I was invited to have a dinner at the Merdeka Palace and the next day he wanted to see my work in the form of Arjuna Wijaya statue. In front of National Monument was the first time I met up face to face as well as for the first time getting to know Mr. Jokowi,” Nuarta told Atnews.

 

He also added at NuArt Sculpture Park Bandung that PM Modi had ever predicted that the economy of India and Indonesia would remain good even though the big countries would experience setbacks.

 

He also admired the leadership of PM Modi, especially in the series of G20 Summit officially ending on Wednesday (Nov 16). At the closing session of the G20 Summit at the Apurva Kempinski Hotel, Badung, Bali, President Joko Widodo handed over the reins of the G20 Presidency to India that will hold the G20 Presidency in 2023.

 

Furthermore, the G20 Summit 2023 will take the theme of G20 Presidency of India, One Earth, One Family, One Future. India will continue the various initiatives produced during the leadership of Indonesia this year, as contained in the Bali Leaders Declaration.

 

The G20 Presidency of Indonesia taking the theme Recover Together, Recover Stronger is expected to provide sustainable protection for the environment and food security.

 

“I heard from the son of my Indian friend that Mr. Narendra Modi was busy telling stories to his colleagues where he is proud that he knows the creator of GWK,” said Nuarta enthusiastically considering that GWK masterpiece is physically a representation of ethnic Indonesian works having existed since the days of the kingdom.

 

The copper material for the manufacture of the Garuda Wisnu statue required 3,000 tons of copper which is equivalent to 2.5 hectares of copper plates. The statue itself is also the largest and most unique statue made by human because it combines art, technology and science.

 

Such kind of statue is very popular and produced by Balinese craftsmen as souvenirs from various materials with different sizes. As consequence, the statue has become very famous throughout the world.

 

The statue is very compact and elegant and has a symbolic meaning of Lord Vishnu as the caretaker of the universe or ecosystem. Similarly, it is rooted in symbolic values ​​from the story on the journey of Vishnu riding on the Garuda to Amrita (true virtue).

 

Vishnu as a symbol of the power of the preserver of the universe, the guardian of the balance of the ecosystem, is now a savior from the condition of global ecosystem imbalance which is getting worse as a result of mistakes caused by human civilizations that ignore environmental problems.

 

Meanwhile, Garuda is the vehicle of Lord Vishnu which symbolizes selfless dedication towards a better and nobler life. The relevance needing to be upheld in this modern era, Garuda as the vehicle of Lord Vishnu symbolizes a selfless dedication that goes on endlessly until the final goal is achieved.

 

In the series of human civilizations in this and the next century, the dilemmatic condition seems to be getting worse colored by various conflicts of interest.

 

Considering the anxiety of the current mankind due to the problem of disruption of ecosystems, the worsening of human relations, the weakening of the meaning of harmony in life, Garuda Wisnu can be used as a warning symbol for current human civilization.

 

The 121-meter tall statue inaugurated by President Joko Widodo in the GWK Cultural Park area, Bukit Ungasan, Badung District, Bali, on Saturday (Sep 22, 2018) received special appreciation from PM Modi. “To that end, he (PM Modi—Ed) tried to find me while I was in Bandung,” he added.

 

GWK had been chosen for the second time to host an international event. The first one was only a few days after the inauguration in 2018, where it was selected to host the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank (WB) event and now hosts the G20. Of course, it is proud. “Previously, I prayed in order that the G20 event would run successfully,” he wrote.

 

However, what determines the selection of GWK is not only the large statue of GWK, but also the design of the GWK complex.

 

“We designed it in such a way that the guests of heads of state must be safe and easy to secure. This had also been considered from the beginning when we designed the GWK Complex, so that a sense of security was created and processed the limestone area into a wonderful attraction. Now, I name it the LAND ART,” he concluded. (GAB/ART/RUT/001)