The Padma Resort Legian, which I thoroughly recommend for a high-end getaway, is practically littered with art. Some of it seemed like garden figures you’d find anywhere in large quantities, some was quite contemporary looking, and seemed more ‘unique’.

It all set me to musing on the nature and importance of ‘authenticity’ in art. First, anything sitting in a resort is suspect… Is it ‘real’ or not? Is it old or new? Was it made in a factory and shipped from a warehouse in response to an RFP, or was it brought forth as the unique and heartfelt collaboration between an artist, a Muse, and a stone?

I have no answers to any of those questions, and I’m not sure it matters anyway. It was all beautiful and exotic and unexpected, and even after thinking of these objects as just manufactured things like any other, I still took real pleasure in finding these sculptures all over the grounds… so that’s arty enough for me.