Annemarie works to enhance batik<\/p>\n
By Linda Owens<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Step inside Cemara 6 Gallery in Central Jakarta,
\nand you'll swear you've walked right into a palace reception
\nhall.<\/p>\n
The glow of bright, mosaic-like colors stud nearly every
\nsquare inch of wall space while the German-born Annemarie
\nKipar's enthusiasm leaps out in sparks and flashes, exactly like
\nher jeweled batik tapestries currently on display here.<\/p>\n
The best term to describe Annemarie is \"renaissance woman\".
\nHer academic background is impressive in itself: French
\nLiterature at Lausanne, English Literature at Cambridge and Art
\nHistory at Berkeley. Before sojourning to Bali three years ago,
\nshe designed, built and operated the famous \"Annemarie's\", an
\nelegant San Francisco restaurant featuring French cuisine.<\/p>\n
Planning to write a book, she settled in Ubud, and soon
\ndiscovered Indonesia's rich batik tradition. She began to collect
\nantique pieces from Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Pekalongan, Cirebon,
\nLasem, and Indramayu, among others. The fact that the batik
\ndesigners not only created an object to delight the eye through
\nharmonious composition of shapes and colors, but also endowed
\nthem with motifs conveying messages closely related to their own
\nphilosophy of life fascinated her.<\/p>\n
Some of these motifs were traditionally associated with
\nspecific occasions, such as weddings, childbirth, or funerals,
\nand others for specific purposes, like warding off danger or
\nrestoring a sick person to health. Still others, however, simply
\nexpressed the sheer beauty of flowers, birds and butterflies.<\/p>\n
Annemarie began to cut and piece together sections of antique
\nand new batik and composed them into wall tapestries, standing
\nscreens, bed covers and kimonos. What sets her art apart is the
\nway she enhances its beauty with beads, sequins and stones from
\nher vast collection. Some shapes she merely outlines or accents,
\nwhile others are filled with densely packed rows of sewn-on
\nbaubles, giving them dimension and creating new patterns.
\nOccasionally she adds highlights of gold or silver paint.<\/p>\n
Though some of her pieces are quite heavily encrusted, she
\nsays it is never her intention to overpower the batik, but to
\nenhance its beauty. Some of the pieces are so old, she says, it's
\nhard to bring herself to cut them sometimes and therefore does it
\nwith reverence. Some pieces she keeps whole, obviously sensing
\nthe symbolic significance they contain. The symbolism is what she
\nwishes to bring to life with her art.<\/p>\n
Annemarie claims her ability at needlework is something she
\nlearned at her mother's knee. Recalling her childhood in World
\nWar II Dresden, she reminisced about how her mother once took a
\ndiscarded jacket, embellished it with beadwork and lined it with
\nrun silk stockings, transforming it from a scratchy postman's
\nuniform into a fantastic coat of many colors for her.<\/p>\n
Gustav Klimt<\/p>\n
The centuries-old artform has taken on a unique and personal
\ninterpretation in Annemarie's hands. Her work recalls the
\nshimmering, iridescent colors and intricate detail of the
\nsymbolist painter Gustav Klimt, from whom she says she gained
\ninspiration.<\/p>\n
Indonesia in general, and batik in particular, have always
\nwelcomed new influences and interpretations. Throughout history,
\nIndonesia's strategic location has occasioned a lively exchange
\nin a variety of goods and ideas from abroad. Foreign art and
\nculture, from Chinese-Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Islam have
\ninfluenced and fused with the indigenous cultures, resulting in
\nnew works of art with their own unique beauty.<\/p>\n
Annemarie admits she has learned a great deal about Asian
\nsense of color, form, and detail from the many expert beaders who
\nhave helped her works take shape. She rarely gives them specific
\ndirections as to how a particular piece of batik should be
\nworked. The result, she says, though different from color choices
\nshe might come up with, are often surprisingly pleasant. Over
\ntime, she has come to implicitly trust their work and owes a
\nmeasure of her success to them. The tapestries she beads herself
\nare quite different from those of her Indonesian counterparts.
\nBoth are sumptuous, yet Annemarie's palette is more subdued and
\nelegant than the sometimes wild, yet strangely congruous color
\nmixtures that emerge in her collaborative works.<\/p>\n
Although the writing project that originally brought Annemarie
\nto Indonesia is nearing completion, she just may have begun on a
\nnew endeavor that will absorb her far into the future.<\/p>\n
Her next idea is beaded batik sarongs. If the minor problem of
\nbeads popping off when you sit down can be solved, she says they
\njust might catch on. One gets the definite sense that with her
\ncreativity and determination, she'll find a way.<\/p>\n
Annemarie Kipar's jeweled batik tapestries will be on display
\nat Cemara 6 Gallery Cafe through Sept. 10. The public is invited
\nto attend an open house, and meet the artist herself, at the
\ngallery on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 7:00 p.m.<\/p>",
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