Tracing batik's threads across the North Coast of Java<\/p>\n
Fabric of Enchantment: Batik from the North Coast of Java,
\na catalog published in conjunction with the exhibition at the Los
\nAngeles County Museum of Art, Oct. 31, 1996 - Jan. 26, 1997.<\/p>\n
Copublished by Los Angeles Museum of Art, Los Angeles, and
\nWeatherhill Inc., New York, 1996.<\/p>\n
240 pp.<\/p>\n
Rp 165,000.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Photojournalist Inger McCabe Elliott found her
\nworld in the late 1960s was all black and white: black and white
\nwere the soldiers dying in Southeast Asia, black and white was
\nthe death of Robert Kennedy, and the same grim hues \"colored\" so
\nmany other tumultuous events of those years.<\/p>\n
It was in this mood that she first discovered some beautiful
\ncolored cloth in a curio shop in Hong Kong. These were the
\ncolorful batik of the pasisir, the north coast of Java.<\/p>\n
A whole new world opened up for her but she did not only
\nbecome a passionate collector. She used these designs to create
\nnew possibilities, such as printing them for cloth used in
\nupholstery and drapery. She also did research on the
\ngeographical, cultural and historical context of this fabric,
\nwith the results published in 1984 in the book Batik: Fabled
\nCloth of Java.<\/p>\n
In 1991 she found a home for her collection at the Los Angeles
\nCounty Museum of Art. In 1996, the museum organized an exhibition
\nof the collection, which ran from Oct. 31, 1996 through Jan. 26,
\n1997. Fabric of Enchantment, the catalog for the exhibit, is 240
\npages hardbound, unusually large if compared to Indonesian
\nequivalents.<\/p>\n
One does not have to be an expert to know there are numerous
\ntypes of batik. There are differences in material, such as cotton
\nand silk, and recently synthetic materials, as well as linen and
\nwool. There are differences in technique, such as the hand-drawn,
\nprinted (cap) or a mixture of the two. There is the printed
\nmaterial, similar to ordinary material only using traditional
\nbatik designs. However, it takes an expert's eye to differentiate
\nbetween the batik originating from different regions and an even
\nmore discerning knowledge to distinguish between works of
\ndifferent batik artists. This book may enable the viewer to
\nunderstand and appreciate the batik from the north coast of Java.<\/p>\n
To achieve this, Peter Carey a historian from Trinity College,
\nOxford, contributed a short but interesting essay about the
\ncultural history of that region. The pasisir was the meeting
\nplace for travelers, merchants and men of religion from the far-
\nflung corners of the Orient long before the arrival of the
\nEuropeans.<\/p>\n
Java had long been renowned for its riches, the product of a
\nbountiful climate. Prominent among its products were rice and
\ntimber. Rice was consumed in Java and was also traded for spices
\nin eastern Indonesia. Timber was mainly used to support a
\nflourishing shipbuilding industry along the north coast.<\/p>\n
Intermarriage of these foreigners with local women produced
\nfemale offspring of fabled beauty. Some of them became nyai
\n(mistresses) to the Europeans, thus spawning an Eurasian
\ncommunity. These women preferred to dress themselves in batik.<\/p>\n
According to Rens Heringa, an authority on batik and clothing,
\npasisir batik workshops were commonly run by persons of mixed
\nIndonesian-Chinese, Indonesian-European and Indonesian-Arab
\ndescent. It formed part of a recent development of the batik
\ntradition. Traditionally, mainly cloths with red and blue
\ndecorations were produced in the home and cottage industry.<\/p>\n
Catering to the preferences of the middle and upper strata
\namong a population of mixed ethnic origin, these colorful pieces
\nwere created and came into full bloom after the synthetic dyes
\nwere invented towards the end of the 19th century. Heringa
\nelaborates on the clothing traditions and the symbols used as
\ndecorations. Clothing and jewelry, she says, were the sole
\nproperty of the women. The possession of a hoard of batik cloth
\nand jewelry, easy to pack and easy to pawn, was insurance against
\ntimes of need for most women.<\/p>\n
Harmen Veldhuisen, the author of the book Batik Belanda,
\nfocused his essay on the entrepreneurs of batik, mostly women,
\nwho sometimes had to resort to batik to make a living after their
\nhusbands died or left them. One of them, E. van Zuylen, became
\nfamed for her designs and her signature was often faked by other
\nentrepreneurs. Veldhuisen also traces the history of batik from a
\nhome craft into an industry.<\/p>\n
The largest part of this catalog, descriptions of the cloths
\non exhibit, is written by Heringa and Veldhuisen together. Each
\npiece is described and the possible maker and wearer mentioned if
\nit can be determined from extant evidence. Besides batik or
\nclothing, the collection also includes a fair amount of
\nceremonial cloths.<\/p>\n
A glossary on the different terms in several languages is
\nincluded as well as three appendixes. The first two are on the
\ndesign format and stylistic variations of the kain panjang (the
\nlong piece) and the sarong (the tubular form), whereas the third
\ndiscusses materials and techniques.<\/p>\n
The book is beautifully illustrated, but the colors are kept
\nrather pale compared to the actual batik, probably in an attempt
\nto emphasize the antiquity of the pieces. One should also accept
\nthe fact that although the text is very comprehensive, the pieces
\nare limited to the collection of Ms. McCabe Elliot, and do not
\ninclude pieces manufactured in Indonesia today.<\/p>\n
-- Myra Sidharta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tracing-batiks-threads-across-the-north-coast-of-java-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }