Dewa Putu Mokoh was the first of six children. He was born in Pengosekan, Ubud in 1936. His father, Dewa Rai Batuan, was an undagi (traditional Balinese architect) and famous gamelan musician. His mother, Gusti Niang Rai, was an expert in making lamak (decoration for offerings). Mokoh only had three years of education at the People's School (SR), equivalent to elementary school.
Mokoh began to study drawing when he was about 15. However, his desire to become a painter had troubled his heart since childhood. Unfortunately, his father strongly opposed his desire to become a painter and rather wanted him to work in the fields, husbanding ducks and cows. For his father, painting was just a waste of time and didn’t generate any income.
However the teenage Mokoh had plenty of initiative. Though he was busy working in the rice fields, he often managed to find time to play at the home of his uncles, I Gusti Ketut Kobot and I Gusti Made Baret. He loved watching and admiring them while they were painting and he also learned a lot of traditional art techniques from them: such as sketching, colour blocking, shading, highlighting, and gradation.*
Mokoh later met Rudolf Bonnet (1895-1978), a Dutch painter who had lived in Ubud since 1929. Bonnet was one of the initiators and founders of Pita Maha (1936) and the Ubud Painters’ Group (1951). Mokoh was keen to show Bonnet the drawings and paintings that he had learned to create from his uncles.
Bonnet taught Mokoh the principles of modern painting. These included techniques for color recognition, mixing colors, composition, discovering one’s own creativity, as well the principle of freedom in painting. Bonnet always suggested that Mokoh search for his own creativity rather than follow in the footsteps of Kobot and Beret who focused on traditional themes.
As a result of this contact with Bonnet, Mokoh experienced enlightenment. His confidence grew. He began to realize that good paintings did not have to have Ramayana and Mahabarata themes with complicated compositions filling the image area. Mokoh felt that the purpose of such paintings was to disguise the lack of ability of the painter to work on images.
For Mokoh, good paintings can also be based on objects around the painter, or created based on fantasy and imagination, with simple coloring techniques and image processing. A painter must dare to paint with different styles and objects, must dare to explore new possibilities.
Over time, the themes of Mokoh’s paintings became quite diverse. He painted about everyday life, flora and fauna, folklore, the world of children, fantasy, erotica, or simple things that attracted his attention.
In the context of art in Bali, Mokoh is an anomaly. By studying with Kobot and Baret, he was born into the realm of traditional painting. However, the advice of Bonnet and his friendship with Mondo opened his horizons to further develop himself in the thinking of modern art.
Personal character is very strong in Mokoh's paintings which are often considered eccentric. He was not interested in painting the decorative things that usually appeared in traditional painting. However, with gentle strokes, he swooped straight onto on the subject matter that he portrayed through humorous, innocent, and often surprising narratives.
Mokoh has broken through the Pengosekan or traditional style of painting that tends to be static and patterned. Using this ability with traditional painting techniques, he processed ideas and themes that were modern or even contemporary on his canvases. However, frequently there are no traces of traditional painting techniques to be found in his paintings. Mokoh is an innovator, a reformer, as well as a breaker of Pengosekan's style of painting.
In addition to domestic exhibitions, Mokoh's paintings have appeared in many joint exhibitions abroad, including America, Australia, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Venice. In 1995, Mokoh’s paintings were exhibited at a solo exhibition at Fukoaka Art Museum, Japan.
- The original Balinese terms are: nyeket, ngabur, ngasir, nyigar, ngontur.
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I Dewa Putu Mokoh adalah anak pertama dari enam bersaudara. Dia dilahirkan di Pengosekan, Ubud, 1936. Ayahnya, Dewa Rai Batuan, adalah seorang undagi (arsitek tradisional Bali) dan penabuh gamelan yang terkenal. Ibunya, Gusti Niang Rai, adalah ahli pembuat lamak (hiasan untuk sesajen). Mokoh hanya sempat mengenyam pendidikan selama tiga tahun di Sekolah Rakyat (SR), setingkat SD sekarang.
Mokoh mulai belajar menggambar sekitar umur 15 tahun. Namun, keinginannya menjadi pelukis telah mengusik hatinya sejak kanak-kanak. Sayangnya, sang ayah sangat keras menentang keinginan Mokoh menjadi pelukis. Ayahnya ingin Mokoh menggarap sawah, mengembalakan bebek dan sapi. Bagi ayahnya, melukis hanya membuang-buang waktu dan tidak menghasilkan uang.
Mokoh remaja tidak kehabisan akal. Di tengah kesibukan menggarap sawah, dia sering mencuri-curi waktu untuk bermain ke rumah pamannya, I Gusti Ketut Kobot dan I Gusti Made Baret. Dia senang memerhatikan dan mengagumi Kobot dan Baret ketika sedang melukis. Dari Kobot dan Baret pula Mokoh banyak belajar melukis dengan teknik tradisional, seperti nyeket, ngabur, ngasir, nyigar, ngontur, dan sebagainya.
Mokoh kemudian bertemu Rudolf Bonnet (1895-1978), pelukis Belanda yang menetap di Ubud sejak 1929. Bonnet adalah salah seorang penggagas dan pendiri Pita Maha (1936) dan Golongan Pelukis Ubud (1951). Kepada Bonnet, Mokoh rajin menunjukkan gambar atau lukisan yang dipelajarinya dari Kobot dan Baret.
Bonnet kemudian mengajari Mokoh prinsip-prinsip seni lukis modern. Antara lain teknik pengenalan warna, mencampur warna, komposisi, penggalian kreativitas, dan prinsip kebebasan dalam melukis. Bonnet selalu menyarankan agar Mokoh mencari kreasi sendiri, tidak mengikuti jejak Kobot dan Baret yang berkutat pada tema-tema tradisional.
Mokoh mengalami pencerahan. Kepercayaan dirinya semakin tumbuh. Dia mulai menyadari, lukisan yang bagus tidak harus bertema Ramayana dan Mahabarata dengan komposisi rumit memenuhi bidang gambar. Mokoh menilai, terkadang lukisan seperti itu dipakai untuk menyamarkan ketidakbecusan pelukisnya dalam mengggarap bidang gambar.
Bagi Mokoh, lukisan yang bagus juga bisa digali dari objek-objek di sekitar pelukisnya, atau dibuat berdasarkan fantasi dan imajinasi, dengan teknik pewarnaan dan pengolahan bidang gambar secara sederhana. Seorang pelukis harus berani melukis dengan gaya dan objek yang berbeda, harus berani menggali berbagai kemungkinan baru.
Seiring perjalanan waktu, tematik lukisan Mokoh menjadi sangat beragam. Dia melukis tentang kehidupan sehari-hari, flora dan fauna, cerita rakyat, dunia anak-anak, fantasi, erotika, atau hal-hal sederhana yang mengusik perhatiannya.
Dalam konteks seni rupa di Bali, Mokoh adalah sosok anomali. Dengan belajar pada Kobot dan Baret, dia sesungguhnya dilahirkan dari ranah seni lukis tradisional. Namun, petuah-petuah Bonnet dan persahabatannya dengan Mondo, membuka wawasannya untuk lebih mengembangkan diri dalam pemikiran seni rupa modern.
Karakter personal sangat kuat muncul pada lukisan-lukisan Mokoh yang seringkali dianggap nyeleneh. Dia tidak tertarik melukis hal-hal dekoratif yang biasa muncul dalam seni lukis tradisional. Namun, dengan sapuan-sapuan lembut, dia langsung menukik pada pokok persoalan (subject matter) yang disampaikannya lewat narasi-narasi yang jenaka, polos, dan seringkali mengejutkan.
Mokoh telah melakukan terobosan baru pada gaya seni lukis Pengosekan atau seni lukis tradisional yang cenderung mapan dan terpola. Dengan kemampuan menggunakan teknik seni lukis tradisional, dia mengolah gagasan dan tematik yang modern atau bahkan kontemporer pada bidang-bidang kanvasnya. Namun, jejak teknik seni lukis tradisional seringkali tidak terlihat pada lukisan-lukisannya. Mokoh adalah seorang inovator, pembaharu, sekaligus pendobrak gaya seni lukis Pengosekan.
Selain di dalam negeri, lukisan-lukisan Mokoh banyak tampil dalam pameran bersama di luar negeri, antara lain di Amerika, Australia, Denmark, Finlandia, Belanda, Jerman, Italia, Venesia. Pada 1995, lukisan-lukisan Mokoh dipamerkan secara tunggal di Fukoaka Art Museum, Jepang.
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