Grandmaster I Wayan Tangguh

Grandmaster I Wayan Tangguh

I should not miss a meeting with the great master of mask making, my friend Kardita tells me and leads me to I Wayan Tangguh's house. A great meeting that I will always remember. Master I Wayan Tangguh has been a mask maker all his life and teaches art to his Balinese pupils, all from the highest Brahmin caste. Its processing technique is somewhat reminiscent of the production of Nang Yai, the Thai art form of shadow figures. Buffalo leather is carefully tanned, finely and artistically punched and then painted and gilded. These leather works of art then serve as additional decorations on the masks made of wood or metal.
Hours become minutes when I watch the master at work and without hesitation Kardita leads me into his work rooms. Countless works of art, some of them here in this report. If you consider that there is usually a few hundred hours of work in every magnificent work, I see the result of thousands of hours and a whole life.