Arts and Crafts in Indonesia
Any connoisseur is bound to be fascinated by the rich variety of Arts and Crafts
in Indonesia that has been a legacy of a myriad of influences.
Talking of visual arts in Indonesia, the country is not generally known as a
treasure trove for exquisite or timeless paintings, but it is known more for its
inimitable works of art, which are exclusive to the country.
To begin with, there are the often intricate and expressive traditional and
modern Balinese paintings. These paintings mostly concentrate on depicting the
beauty of nature, marvelous landscapes or illustrate themes from the traditional
dances. Apart from the traditional paintings, Indonesia has proved to be a
fertile ground for many internationally known painters either Indonesians or
Europeans who settled in Indonesia to pursue their creative endeavors.
Most of these are big names in the Art market and their works often fetch very
high prices. Today, Modern Indonesian painters use a wide variety of styles and
themes. Calligraphy, mostly based on the Qur'An is decorative in its special
way.
When it comes to Indonesian crafts as one of the art products, one can choose
among the various styles, patterns and designs that are employed in preparing
them, mostly inherited as a cultural legacy from their ancestors. In many ways,
the colors and forms of these crafts depict the traditional or spiritual values
of a particular tribes from certain regions. In some cases these display various
meanings related to the ethnic or particular region of origin.
Some of the popular forms of Arts and Crafts in Indonesia are batik, ikat and
songket cloth. With the popularity of batik today, it is difficult to imagine
that it was once on the brink of disappearance along with ikat, but thanks to
the efforts of former President Soeharto, who ingeniously promoted the craft by
wearing batik shirts on official occasions.
undo Culture of Indonesia