Irianese bark paintings carve out their own style
Irianese bark paintings carve out their own style
By Yudha Kartohadiprodjo
JAKARTA (JP): From Sydney to Stockholm, Irianese primitive art
has gained its place as a modern decorative item in galleries and
living rooms.
The most popular form of Irianese art is sculpture from the
Asmat tribe, but others have actually developed into a more
modern art form.
The main appeal of Asmat sculpture comes from the crude
carving style, which has ironically also acted as a hindrance to
its development.
In the few years since the statues become popular, sculptors
from Bali and Java have succeeded in imitating the style. Now,
visitors can easily find "genuine" Asmat carvings in Jakarta art
galleries and meet the Javanese sculptor in residence.
Bark painting, another form of Irianese art, has undergone an
interesting metamorphosis.
The traditional form uses bark from the kombo'u, a tree common
in the highlands of the province. According to Samuel Kabes from
the Irian Jaya Chamber of Commerce's representative in Jakarta,
the kombo'u tree contains two layers of bark. It is the second
layer that easily peels to be turned into a canvas.
After being pounded and cleaned of sap, the bark is sun-dried
for a week. After a two-week-long processing, the bark stretches
to as large as 0.5m X 1m.
The art is mostly popular among the Asei tribespeople who live
by the Sentani Lake in Jayapura. They use a traditional means of
coloring. White is gained from pounded sea shells, red is derived
from the fruit of the areca nut or clay and black from charcoal.
Like other traditional art forms, bark painting used to be
closely related to religious practices.
"Women of higher status in the tribe used to wear painted bark
to religious ceremonies," said Samuel. Like many traditional
societies, important rites of passages such as coming of age,
birth and death are marked by the whole tribe.
Traditional painting themes are closely related to the tribe's
daily activities. Animals like fish and lizards are also believed
to have supernatural powers, with paintings occasionally serving
as homages to these forces.
The arrival of newcomers to Irian Jaya has triggered a
development in bark painting. Instilled with a better art
knowledge, these outsiders are mainly interested in the
uniqueness of kombo'u bark as a selling point.
"At an exhibition organized by the Ministry of Trade and
Industry, many buyers were interested in this new innovation,"
said Hamzah Muin.
A Makassar native who has lived in Irian Jaya for the past 30
years, Hamzah will organize a tree bark painting exhibition to
popularize the medium.
Although retaining tree bark as canvas, the modern bark
painter uses arcylic paint.
"Bark has distinct characteristics compared to a normal
canvass. At times, I need more paint," said Rizal.
Since it is still at an early developmental age, modern
painting only takes form as panoramic paintings used as
decorative art.
While the artistic value of modern bark paintings has yet to
be established, natives of Irian have questioned the motive of
such development.
"We should establish a common rule so that traditional Irian
art is not overexploited," said Samuel.
Hamzah's exhibition "Panoramic paintings on tree bark from
Irian" will be held in the lobby of Hotel Indonesia, Central
Jakarta, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 6. Thirty traditional paintings and
80 modern ones will be displayed.