Making art dolls of various cultures

Making art dolls of various cultures

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): Girls and boys across the world enjoy playing
with dolls. But dolls also appeal to adults as seen by the large
number of grown-up visitors at a doll exhibition held at the
Dutch Cultural Center, Erasmus Huis.

For children, dolls fulfill their emotional needs. The dolls
serve as playmates and the objects of children's affection as
well as frustration and anger. For adults, collecting dolls is a
very enchanting and popular hobby. There are thousands of doll
collectors around the world. One of the famous doll-lovers was
Queen Victoria of England who collected hundreds of dolls from
various countries. Doll collection is not only seen as a hobby
but also as a way to learn about people from a certain period and
place.

The recent doll exhibition, which ended on June 7, was mainly
intended to amuse local collectors rather than entertain children
with toy dolls. The displayed dolls were all collector items.

The exhibit featured 60 lovable creations by Dutch artist Joke
Grobben and two Indonesian artists, Siana Kristiani and Dwi
Septono.

Having been involved in the making of art dolls for more than
20 years, Grobben's works look mature and realistic. The artist
exploits both western and eastern elements in creating the dolls.

"I like to create a large variety of dolls from all parts of
the world. For example, I produced a number of dolls with Asian
characters," Grobben explained.

Most of Grobben's dolls were children with diverse facial
expressions. Grobben's European dolls were nicely dressed in both
traditional and modern costumes. Grobben gave her dolls beautiful
names. Madeleine and Linde represented typical rural European
girls. They were clad in traditional folk costumes consisting of
full, ruffled skirts, embroidered aprons, smocked-blouses and
wide waistbands laced together at the front. The artist also
displayed dolls wearing trendy dresses. Chantal, for instance,
looked so energetic wearing a short denim dress and T-shirt.
Grobben also displayed a number of outstanding works featuring
Asian and African children.

"Creating a doll is similar to producing a painting or other
art work. It is rich in imagination. I can create so many kinds
of dolls," Grobben explained.

She started her art career as a sculptor. Once, Grobben's
friend asked her to make a doll using her child as a model. Her
friend was very pleased with her work. A few years later, many
individuals and toy manufacturers in Europe and the United States
had asked her to design dolls for them. Since then her artistic
business has grown rapidly.

"In western countries, people have great appreciation of art
dolls. I see this art form is starting to grow in some Asian
countries, including Thailand and Indonesia," the artist said.

Dwi Septono, however, added that art doll making is a new
venture for Indonesian artists. "Currently, there are only a
small number of local artists who are interested in this business
because of a lack of information," said the 25-year-old
businessman turned talented doll maker.

Two years ago, Septono and his colleague Kristiani, went to
the Netherlands and met Grobben. Grobben's creations, as well as
other artists' works, impressed them. They decided to join
Grobben's workshop programs before starting their own venture
last year.

"We tried to explore Indonesian culture in creating our art
dolls. Most of the displayed dolls have typical Asian faces,"
maintained Septono.

At first, they were quite pessimistic that people would not
appreciate their works as the available art and toy dolls mostly
portray beautiful blonde or brunette girls or Barbie-like
characters. Their works, on the other hand, picture local
children's faces.

"It was a great surprise to know that both local and
international collectors really gave encouraging response. It
appears that many of them prefer to collect traditional dolls. We
currently receive bulk orders from overseas countries, " he said.

Septono and Kristiani presented dozens of dolls featuring
children from Indonesia's 27 provinces. They dressed the dolls in
lavish traditional costumes. Some dolls wore ikat woven from
Nusa Tenggara province. The others were clad in luxurious
colorful velvet with gold thread ornaments, traditional dress of
the Minangkabau clan in West Sumatra.

Each doll costs between Rp 1 million (US$500) and Rp 5 million
($2,500). "Most of the exhibit items were already sold at a good
price," added Septono.

Unfortunately, the exhibition, which displayed hi-quality art
works, wasn't as well organized. There was no catalog explaining
the displayed items or the artists's background and a lack of
promotion prevented a wider audience from enjoying this rare
exhibition.