Category: Culture - Dian Kuswandini

Dian Kuswandini

Masks in motion

10/6/2010

JP/ Dian Kuswandini

Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
| Wed, 08/18/2010 8:54 AM | Feature

Buried in the plain and white Panji mask are layers of colorful stories, wisdom and treasured beauty.

A symbol of purity, the traditional mask from West Java represents the earliest phase in human life, where the newborn possesses noble traits of character connecting him or her to the Divine Spirit.

“To understand the soul of the Panji mask is to look at it and ‘read’ it using our inner side,” says mask maker Galis Agus Sunardi of the mask at the heart of Cirebon and Indramayu traditional dances. “The Panji mask carries a plethora of rich messages. Its half-closed eyes, for instance, allude to the Javanese tradition of avoiding direct eye contact with the elderly to show them respect.”

Panji is only one of countless traditional masks rich in inspiring stories. But over the years, these masks have been forgotten, as a result of their absence from many cultural events and school textbooks.

“Traditional masks aren’t popular among Indonesians because they haven’t been exposed much to the public,” says Galis, who has been dedicated to the art of mask making — both traditional and contemporary — for more than 20 years. “The government hasn’t really made any effort to promote the mask heritage to the public.

“I know some traditional mask makers [in Cirebon and Indramayu] who even changed profession because they could no longer make a living from creating masks. They became laborers — it’s heartbreaking,” he adds.

Connecting Sundanese charms

7/15/2010

The famous Peacock Dance (JP/ Ricky Yudhistira)

Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
| Mon, 07/12/2010 10:24 AM | Feature

Beyond the zest for culture, one question remains, re-inviting an ideal answer: What’s the perfect way of bringing the mishmash of traditions closer to the wider society?

Cultural enthusiasts have come with a myriad of answers that have led to places and stages, as they shared their passions through events and performances. Sharmi Ranti Wiranatakusumah and her friends are no exception, providing what they expect to be the ideal answer to engage one tradition with another — under one big umbrella.

Promoting the concept of “the past, present and future”, Sharmi and the Merah Putih Foundation are embracing the smörgåsbord of Indonesian traditions. Recently, they kicked off with the charming West Java’s Sundanese culture as their pilot project.

Just like the name of the project — “Ngeunteung Ka Lembur” (Reflecting Our Homeland) — the audience was taken in a journey to see how the Sundanese culture has evolved from time to time, and how they would survive in the future by embracing digital technology.

“There are many ways to reintroduce our arts and culture, but we seek for a strong concept that can connect them with each other so people would get deeper impression,” said Sharmi, the project’s initiator, after the event in Jakarta last week.

Watching the performance was like reading a storybook, where one chapter leads to another one. The story commenced with the parade of people dressed up like rice-field effigies (orang-orangan sawah), or bebegig in Sundanese.

‘The Dancing Peacock’: Reviving a forgotten beauty

6/26/2010

The famous Dancing Peacock batik motif - JP/ PJ Leo

Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
| Wed, 05/26/2010 8:00 AM | Feature

“I can still remember running through colorful batik cloths that were drying on the line in my backyard. I remember Mang Erus hands were stained red from dipping fabrics into dyes the whole day.”

Cultural observer Wieke Dwiharti recalled that story of her childhood in Ciamis, West Java, when batik was still part of the residents’ everyday life. From around 1965 to the 1970s, people lived so close to batik that they would either be seen wearing it, or spending their days making it.

“But as I grew up, I began to lose that scene — less and less people made batik,” says Wieke, whose father was a batik craftsman in Imbanegara village. “I would still see the batik stamps and all the other [batik making] equipment, but no one used them anymore.”

It was in the 1980s that the Ciamis batik — part of the great Priangan (Sundanese-style) batik tradition — disappeared entirely, leaving a black mark on Indonesia’s batik history. The economic crisis of the late 1970s, Wieke said, was behind the misfortune, driving many batik makers to bankruptcy. Many batik artisans, she went on, also couldn’t resist the cost-effective temptation of shifting to the “printed batik” business, where modern machines replaced batik makers.

“They shifted their business hoping they would get more money as the printed batik cloths are far cheaper than the hand-made ones,” said Wieke of the Indonesian Forum for Anthropology Studies (FKAI). “But it turned out they weren’t ready with capable human sources [to run such modern machines].”

‘Keris’ for the world

6/8/2010

A kris is decorated with the Garuda Pancasila motif

Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
| Mon, 06/07/2010 8:52 AM | Feature

Exciting developments are taking place in the world of keris or kris. The traditional dagger has been given a makeover, with kris designers letting their creative juices flow, blending the modern and traditional in an exhibition of kris at the National Gallery.

Kris enthusiasts touring the exhibition are likely to do a double take when coming across the faces of both President Barack Obama and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono engraved on one of the traditional daggers. They might also frown when hearing dangdut singer Inul Daratista inspired one of the kris designer’s creations.

But if anything, kris designers are making a statement: They are embracing a modern spirit reflecting the latest trends around us.

The Obama fever is one of them. Just like paintings can tell a thousand stories about the US president, so can the Kanjeng Kiyai Obama Pinandito Kris.

“If you look carefully, you will see the head with curly hair engraved on the lower part of the blade is actually Obama,” said renowned painter Hardi, who designed the kris. “I named it Obama Pinandito [the religious Obama] because I see him as a spiritual person.”

Unveiling the rare beauty of Batik

5/18/2010

An old Batik cloth with some western motifs - JP

Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
| Mon, 05/17/2010 8:44 AM | Feature

If you think you can only find Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel or the Pendusa God in fairytales and myths, then you’re wrong.

In Indonesia, you can also find them on the traditional batik cloths. Hard to imagine? Maybe.

The batik cloths most of us see today are the ones made recently, when the batik fever began to catch on. But if we went back dozens of years, we would find that classic batik embraced Western influences, like the Brothers Grimm’s folktales and other myths. Not only that, other foreign influences like that of the Japanese culture can also be found, unveiling the rare beauty of Indonesian batik.

These rare and exquisite batik pieces can be found in batik aficionado Tumbu Astiani Ramelan’s collection, which is now being showcased at the Textile Museum in Jakarta, in conjunction with the launch of the collector’s book — The 20th Century Batik Masterpieces.

When examining the 90 batik cloths in the exhibition, we’ll not only be dazzled visually, but also get a better idea of how batik has changed over its long history and how the art form has been influenced by political situations in the country it hails from.

The kompeni — with the afore mentioned Western flavors — for example, brings us back to the early 1900s when Indonesia was under Dutch colonial rule.

Weaving fashion with tradition

5/9/2010

Balinese designer Deni Wirawan's woven gown

Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
| Fri, 08/21/2009 11:16 AM | Life

“I truly don’t have the heart to cut woven fabrics,” says fashion designer Era Soekamto. “To lose even one centimeter of them makes me so disappointed.”

Era’s words make it plain just how precious woven fabrics are for her. And cutting woven fabrics into pieces and sewing them together into an item of clothing is not as easy for her as when she uses modern textiles.

“I know very well what it takes to make just a single piece of woven cloth: It’s such a difficult job,” says Era, whose fashionable creations have breathed new life into traditional woven textiles.

“Difficult” is perhaps an understatement. Weaving one piece of cloth can take weeks or even months. It requires patience, care and genuine creativity to make this priceless legacy.

“Woven cloths are made with taste,” says Tria Basuki, an expert in woven textiles. “People who dedicate their lives to these cloths weave with intuition — they aren’t like modern textile designers who need to make the patterns first before making their creations,” she adds.

But the process is just one part of weaving. Embedded within those colorful threads are stories and philosophies that make woven textiles more than just pieces of cloth.

Unearthing Indonesia’s forgotten heritage

12/22/2009

JP/ J. Adiguna

Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
| Fri, 12/04/2009 1:32 PM | Life

They might look like little more than old bricks and ruins, but these fortifications are the silent witnesses to the country’s centuries-old journey to independence.

Long forgotten and neglected, the forts have lost their attraction today as many of us seem to regard them merely as old constructions with little function.

Perhaps that’s true — that they can’t really function anymore — but it’s the stories embedded within their bricks that actually make them precious.

Among the stories are ones that take us back to the Java and Sumatra of 300 years ago, where fortifications were at the heart of trade conflicts and territorial fights.

These periods saw how the functions of most fortifications shifted from just trading posts equipped with storehouses, offices and residences, into bases of defense and territorial expansion.

The shift in functionality was proof of the growing power of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), which maintained strategic posts in Java and Sumatra.Urgently seeking to secure its assets, expand its territory and maintain its domination, the VOC built more fortifications, including in Bandung, West Java, in the wake of the First World War. All have a significant place in history for Indonesians, as the fortifications are the unspoken witnesses of their struggles against the Dutch in gaining independence. “We can actually learn a lot about our history from the fortifications,” says Nadia Purwestri, research coordinator for the Center for Architecture Documentation (PDA).“[However] we never realized this because we weren’t aware of their existence in the first place.”

Unearthing 'peranakan' treasures

11/15/2009

The Jakarta Post

Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Singapore
| Fri, 11/06/2009 2:46 PM | Life

"Being peranakan means. being a cultural hybrid drawing from and identifying with different racial groups."

The testimonial of Ibrahim Tahir, a Jawi peranakan, is written under the young man's self-portrait displayed on one of the walls at the peranakan Museum in Singapore. The larger-than-life-sized portrait joins dozens of others on the wall, providing a glimpse of what peranakans look like today.

So, who are the peranakans?

Exploring the first floor of the museum gives you a pretty good idea of who they are and how they evolved into an eclectic community that can only be found in Southeast Asia.

Jackie Yoong, the museum's assistant curator insists that while most people mainly associate the peranakan community to Chinese descendants, baba and nyonya, the community actually refers to other cross-cultural groups. According to her, the term "peranakan", which means "locally born", also encompasses other peranakan sub-communities like the Chitty Melaka (Malaccan Indian Hindus), the Jawi (Indian Muslims) and the Kristang (Eurasian Christians).

Batik in fresh twists

8/31/2009

The modified Kepet motif

Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
| Sat, 08/29/2009 2:20 PM | Life

Catwalks and sidewalks have both witnessed the revival of batik in the past year. Now, everybody seems to love it and be proud to wear it.

Whether it's for real batik or just fabric printed with batik patterns, batik fever just isn't going away. And with its ongoing popularity, batik is evolving, with new trends in contemporary patterns and colors.

Batik producer Lenny from Garut, West Java, for example, reveals the modified bulu hayam (chicken feathers) and kepet (hand-fan) patterns that are shrunken into smaller sizes than the traditional ones.

"The bulu hayam and kepet patterns are supposed to be bigger than these," says Lenny of Ralisha Putra Garut batik house, showing her modified batik.

"We've shrunken them following requests from our customers. They say, ‘The motifs are way too big. I don't want to look fat because of this batik'," she laughs.

After receiving other feedback from her customers, Lenny redesigned her batik to suit their tastes. She later added another new twist in her batik Garut using the motif contoh (examples of motifs) pattern, which combines various motifs in one cloth. The cloth shows motifs such as fish, flowers, geometrical patterns and parang (long machete) drawn in separate squares, with the name of each motif written under each square.

The purpose of this pattern?

"So that people can learn about our traditional patterns from just one cloth," she says at her booth during the 2009 Gelar Batik Nusantara exhibition in Jakarta.

Another batik producer, Amin from Madura, East Java, shows a new type of Madura batik with contemporary geometrical patterns combined with traditional patterns. The new batik also comes in brighter colors never seen before.

"We started to develop the patterns and colors after joining several batik exhibitions," Amin of Mutiara Pamekasan batik house says. "From there, we began to understand our customers' taste. They wanted this kind of Madura batik."

Amin does not feel bound by tradition, but he freely designs his batik in whatever motifs he wants. He does have one rule, however: His batik must always be in bright colors. Even if black is dominant, it must be combined with bright colors.

"Madura batik is known for its distinctive colors," Amin says. "I want to preserve this character, although sometimes I play with brighter colors."

Another new trend in batik is organic batik, which uses of natural dyes and fibers made from fruit peels and teakwood fibers. Unlike common batik with its strong colors, organic batik comes in soft and pale colors, like baby blue, soft pink, peach and faded brown. The colors, although not eye-catching, are distinctive and calming.

Galeri Batik Jawa from Yogyakarta one of the batik producers that started to promote this eco-friendly batik. The batik house produces the beautiful indigo batik made using the natural dye from the Indigofera tinctoria plant.

"Our concern is that batik industry has to be less pollutant," says Mayasari Sekarlaranti, or Nita, of Galeri Batik Jawa. "Therefore, we want to introduce this indigo batik to the public as eco-friendly batik."

Nita says indigo batik embraces different traditional motifs in Java, from the famous parang and kawung to animal motifs such as birds and sea creatures. If there are any new patterns in indigo batik, Nita says, it's the butterfly motif, which comes from their batik makers in Imogiri village, Yogyakarta.

"Butterfly motif can fit well with other traditional motifs," Nita says. "Besides, it's one animal that's known by all cultures, universally."

This batik house maintains the composition of traditional patterns in its jarik (sarong), but has made some changes to its shawls.

"Because shawls are smaller, we changed the composition a bit to adjust (with the size), like adding decorative border lines around it," Nita says.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/08/29/the-new-shapes-and-sizes-batik.htmls

Shades of blue

8/30/2009

JP/ Dian Kuswandini

Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
| Sat, 08/29/2009 1:12 PM | Life

One drop of indigo stains the whole pot of milk, an old proverb says. In the case of batik, one drop of indigo creates a beautiful piece of wearable art.

Ever heard of indigo batik? It’s among the latest trends in batik. With its attractive shades of blue, indigo batik deserves appreciation for its beauty — and for its environmentally friendly manufacturing process.

Now part of the organic or “eco-batik” movement, indigo batik uses the plant Indigofera tinctoria — common name true indigo — as a natural dye. The result: No more hazardous synthetic dyes that pollute our soil and water; what’s more, and even better, this natural dye acts as a natural insect repellant and any waste can be used as natural fertilizer.

“We’ve heard many times the proverb that a drop of indigo stains the whole pot of milk, right?” says Mayasari Sekarlaranti, or Nita, of Galeri Batik Jawa, which produces indigo batik.

“That proverb is very true because these Indigofera leaves create very strong blue tints that can be used for textiles. This surprises many of our customers. They say: How can a green-colored plant like Indigofera create blue tints?” she laughs.