All of the time, Nyoman is dedicating his life to culture entrepreneur and Fine Arts (sculpture). As an appreciation, ITB awarded Doctor Honoris Causa (HC) to him, directly given by Prof. Reini Wirahadikusumah (the Rector of ITB). ITB held the awarding and scientific speech at the West Hall of ITB on Saturday (3/7/2021).

The Promoter Team Head, Prof. Dr. Setiawan Sabana, explained that Nyoman Nuarta deserved the honorary degree due to his dedication, consideration of thoughts, ideas, and the development of original and basic concepts.

Nyoman Nuarta and his works are considered meaningful and beneficial for the community, the development of national culture and humanity, the development of science and technology, and the arts.

One of Nyoman’s masterpieces, Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) in Bali, proved that he was the real artist implementing the concept of culturepreneur and his approach in the realist-figurative language in the development. GWK is considered to be national pride that contains meaningful and complex arts. “The presence of GWK has shown that Indonesia can produce masterpieces for the world,” said Prof. Dr. Setiawan Sabana.

The concept of culturepreneur itself was born from the pioneering work of Nyoman Nuarta in inspiring and encouraging the spirit of artistic entrepreneurship. By empowering intellectual capital, the wealth of national cultural arts identity, the concept of culturepreneur is expected to be a step to achieve Indonesia’s economic independence.

In the development of the GWK statue, Nyoman Nuarta also created two important breakthroughs in the technique of creating art. The two important breakthroughs include the method of wire mesh welding forming and the copyright of the organic sculpture technique with scale enlargement and segmentation patterns to manufacture large-scale sculptures.

This artist figure who has held dozens of national and international exhibitions has accumulated various aspects, such as engineering, independence, socio-cultural environment, and entrepreneurship, packaged in a comprehensive ecosystem in the form of a cultural park. “He managed to realize his visionary idea and prove it to the world with his efforts,” said the promoter team.

In addition, Nyoman Nuarta also builds a new milestone that eliminates divisions and elitism in artistic activities, especially in the development of art education and teaching in Indonesia.

“Based on these comprehensive considerations, Nyoman Nuarta is very worthy of getting an Honorary Doctorate from the ITB,” explained Prof. Dr. Setiawan Sabana in the Academic Accountability Report of the Promoter Team.

The promoter team for awarding the Honorary Degree to Nyoman Nuarta are as follows:
1. Prof. Dr. Widiadnyana Merati (FTSL - ITB)
2. Prof. Dr. Rochim Suratman (FTMD - ITB, died Thursday, April 9, 2020)
3. Prof. Dr. Ir. Yahdi Zaim (FITB - ITB, Chair of the Special Committee for the awarding of an honorary doctorate to Nyoman Nuarta)
4. Prof. Dr. Dermawan Wibisono (SBM - ITB)
5. Dr. Yannes Martinus Pasaribu, M.Sn. (FSRD - ITB)
6. Dr. Andriyanto Rikrik Kumara, S.Sn., M.Sn. (Dean of FSRD - ITB)

Deliver Scientific Orations

In his oration entitled “Art as a Path to New Enthusiasm for Human Life”, Nyoman Nuarta explained the shift in the art era and the importance of considering the synergy and integration of multidisciplinary sciences for artists. “Art cannot be present alone in public. Artists must be able to embrace other disciplines so that they can provide more tangible benefits,” he stated.

Furthermore, Nyoman explained that cultural work, especially the arts, must study the technological, socio-cultural dimensions and the economic impact on the surrounding community.

“GWK has provided evidence that the limestone hill land, which until the 1980s was only useful as a mining location, has drastically changed into a tourism center in the 1990s. GWK has changed the grim face of the arid and poor limestone hills into an area that has high economic value,” continued Nyoman Nuarta in his scientific oration.

Nyoman Nuarta also introduced the term “arch sculpt”, which is the foundation of the meeting between aesthetics and pragmatic architecture. He wanted to show that technology and science, including economic considerations, it’s time to become an integrated part of an artist’s work process.

“Hopefully, what I have done will benefit the country and the nation. Hopefully, art will not only display beauty but will become a new path towards the enthusiasm of human life in the present and the future,” he concluded

Reporter: Achmad Lutfi Harjanto (Regional and City Planning, 2020)
Translator: Billy Akbar Prabowo (Metallurgical Engineering 2020)