: Indonesian Art and Culture :

Visualize a society where spirituality and art form the cornerstones for the
foundation of life, that’s Indonesia for you. This country is predominantly
known for its strong and multicultural community and hence the injection of
modern art gives it a strong integration of dharma and religions, traditions,
western influence and other social values.

History:
As an early cradle of civilization, Indonesian art history dates back to
prehistoric times. Cave paintings dating back to 10,000 B.C. have been
discovered in Sulawesi and East Kalimantan. Evidence of spiritual art can be
traced back to 1500 B.C, during which time such artifacts as beaded bracelets
of stone, and intricately carved, wood sculptures were found. Also in Sulawesi
, sculptures from the megalithic era were found, combined with Pottery which
was developed by the Buni in West Java as far back as 400 B.C. Wood carving
began at several locations in prehistoric times and later flourished in Central
Java and Bali.

These very first artifacts, which are connected to afterlife worship, mark the
beginning of a rich history of Indonesian Art and Culture. Early Indonesian
art combined with intense spiritual expression with a respect for aesthetics,
along with Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma provided the underlying basis for
the entrance of Indonesian court art, around the 7th century A.D. Javanese
stone sculpture and architecture flourished in the 8th to the 15th centuries and
brought about such masterworks as the temple of Borobudur.
Architecture:
Indonesia has a particularly rich tradition of Hindu–Buddhist sculpture and
architecture, which was strongly influenced by India from earlier than 1st
century CE onward.

The concept of this ancient Indonesian architecture follows specific rules or

formulations that were established by Hindu Dharma and Buddhism. The
main goal was to align or sync the sthapatyas with forces of nature,
maximizing the place’s Spiritual vibration and maximizing its effectiveness
as a place of worship. This was done by aligning the mathematical calculations
with that of the cosmic and astronomical calculations. The materials used to
build the temples are usually lime stones or bricks, put together with a locking
mechanism between each stone, using mortar or a mix of vine sap and palm
sugar as the binding agent. The difference between Hinduism and Buddhism-
inspired architecture is that the former tend to be taller with pointed crowns,
while the latter uses stupas, or dome-like shapes ornaments. A lot of
remarkable structures made during this period relish in very sophisticated
design, detailed decorations and majestic reliefs.

Islamic influence started in the 15th century, where it was widely used in
Sumatra and Java. In the beginning, the mosque architecture design was
combined with the past traits of Hinduism and Buddhism, Chinese, and other
local cultures, creating the vernacular architecture of the time. The design
uses multi-tiered roofs resembling the Hindu’s Mt. Meru concepts, and towers
resembling the form of a Hindu-Buddhist temple. They even used the same
materials to achieve a look that's exotic yet timeless.

Later in the colonial period, historic kingdoms spread across the archipelago
evidently confronted some palace architectures in various places. Normally,
palace designs are based on the vernacular styles of the area in that time
period. Though based on traditional houses, the palace was designed and built
with grandeur and majesty with a touch of European elements that are much
more sophisticated and opulent, appropriate for the residence of royalty.
Sculpture:
Sculpting has been one of the most prominent visual arts in Indonesia going
all the way back to as far as megalithic era. This discipline of art is an essential
part of the Indonesian culture when it comes to Dharmik and ceremonial
purposes. Tribal art is one sculpting form that flourished within Indonesian
indigenous cultures such as Nias, Batak, Asmat, and other cultures. Masks,
shields, statues are some examples that these civilizations produced using
wood and stone as the primary materials.

From the 8th century through the 15th, when Hinduism and Buddhism greatly
influenced the Indonesian culture, the country developed a refined stone
sculpting style involves elaborate and complex elements. Detailed stone
statues of Hindu deities and intricate temple reliefs are testaments to how
skilled and talented the artists of this era were.

Stone carved statues and architectural details are seen throughout Bali. Once
destructive, lava is now a valuable construction material that is transformed
into architectural ornaments. Both expensive stone and less expensive mold-
cast concrete are carved to meet local demand in Tegaltamu, Batubulan
Sukawati, Gianyar, and Bali. The concrete is cast, and then the surface detail
is hand carved while it is still fairly soft (before it completely cures). Details
are carved after the stone is set into place. Mortar is used to attach a nose (on
the right) that fell off during carving.

Stone craftsmen do not have to look far for inspiration or resources.

Borobudur’s close proximity to the active volcano Mt Merapi promises an
abundance of natural supplies to the local stone artists, with the basic material
– andesite stone – coming from the volcano. Sculptors treat the stone for statues
with a variety of materials, including turmeric, Gambier and tea. A common
practice in stone carving also requires the addition of battery acid to enlarge
the stone’s pores before charring it with firewood and burying it in the ground
for a year prior to processing. Stone artists typically replicate ancient temple
motifs and statues of Buddha, Vishnu and others, with the length of production
varying from three days to six months. As time goes by, sculpting slowly
became almost purely aesthetic rather than for religious and ceremonial
purposes, and hence making their way to modern homes and offices.
Woodcarving:
Woodcarving is the most enduring and widespread medium for artistic
expression in Indonesia. Each Culture has its own style, and the diversity and
sophiscation of Indonesia’s woodcarvers is remarkable. In Indonesia a house
not only protects its inhabitants from the elements, but repels unwanted
spirits. Example include the horned Singa (lion) heads that protect Batak
Houses, the water buffalo representations on toraja houses sigifying
prosperity, or the serpents and magical dog carving on Dayak houses in
Kalimantan. Wood carvings also thrive in some part of Indonesia like Jepara
and Bali, producing beautiful and refined carved ornament for doors,
headrest, and décor. Java is also home to authentic Wayang and masks for
performing purposes. The Pitamaha Artist Guild was a driving force in
paintings and wood carving. Local masters included Ida Bagus Nyana, known
for originality and experimentation with mass, and Tjokot, known for finding
the inherent expressive qualities of unique pieces of wood. The village of Mas
became the center of the wood carving craft.

Objects made of wood can have spiritual, artistic and functional purposes or
elements of all three. Some of the more lovely functional objects are ironwood
stools from Kalimantan, carved bamboo containers from Sulawesi and doors
from Timor. Perhaps the most famous artistic and spiritual carvings are
masks. They are associated most with the masked dance-dramas of Java and
Bali but are also used in dances and funeral rites and ceremonies on other
islands. The preferred wood for carving is teak. Sandalwood, mahogany,
Jackfruit ebony is also used. Local woods such as Ironwood and Meranti are
widely used in Kalimantan. Belalu, a fast-growing light wood, is used in Bali.
Fragrant sandalwood from the Nusa Tenggara is available in carvings,
medicine, incense, cosmetics, prayer beads and useful items such as pens and
fans. It is usually stored in a special glass cabinet in stores and a stroll past
the cabinet will quickly acquaint people with the exotic fragrance of this
special wood.

The “Wayang Golek” (wooden puppets) of West Java is based on the same
concept. The crafts of Indonesia vary in both medium and art form. As a whole
the people are artistic by nature and express themselves on canvas, wood,
metals, clay and stone.

Many shops cater to the expats love of antiques and sell authentic antiques or
reproductions. Widely available too are new designs of furniture, utilizing old
wood. The advantage of old wood is that it is less likely to split when people
bring it back to a dry climate, as the wood has been seasoned for decades. Much
'antique' furniture available is actually new furniture that has been left in the
sun and rain for months to age the furniture.
The Congklak, or Dakon board game was brought to Indonesia by Indian or
Arab traders centuries ago. Made Congklak Board from plastic or wood, or
highly carved by court artisans, this game has been played in Indonesia for
centuries. Examples of early congklak board can be found in the National
Museum. Traditional toys can be found throughout the archipelago and forays
into the provinces will undoubtedly turn up many simple toys made by
villagers for their children. These can be purchased at local pasar, roadside
stands or near popular tourist destinations.

Leather Works:
Traditionally, “Wanyang Kulit” leather puppets are made of buffalo or goat leather.
Once the leather has been moistened and dried, a design is made on it and then the
skin is cut accordingly. This complex manufacturing process is entirely done by hand.
Puppets in Indonesia actually have two types, these leather puppets and also the golek
puppet, which has the three dimensional form. Usually the golek puppet came from
Sundanese culture. While this leather puppet was originated in the area of
Central Java province, especially in the cities like Solo, Magelang, and Yogyakarta.

Puppets have been used for centuries in Indonesia to tell the stories of the
ancient epics, the Ramayana and the Wayng Kulit Mahabarata, as well as
ancient myths. Modern stories also utilize this ancient art form for
contemporary audiences. Some expats enjoy collecting the same character by
various artisans, or all the characters in a scene or story, or just characters
that strike their fancy. Good guys, bad guys, gods, demons, nobles, giants,
clowns, princes and princesses and monkeys ... all can be found in traditional
puppet forms.
Ceramics and Pottery:
Archaeological findings suggest that earthenware started to evolve when
nomadic men settled down and discovered fire. The pinch pots might have been
the first type of pottery made. The sedentary ancient people made pinch pots
from balls of clay into which their fingers or thumbs were inserted to make
the opening.

There are essentially three different kinds of pottery: earthenware, stoneware

and porcelain. Earthenware is one of the most commonly used ceramics.
Earthenware is porous pottery, usually fired at the lowest firing temperatures
(900°-1200° Centigrade). A substantial portion of Indonesian pottery products
belong to earthenware category, particularly those produced in Lombok.
Stoneware is more durable than earthenware as it is fired at a higher
temperature (1200°-1280° Centigrade). The clay turns white, buff, gray, or red
and is glazed for aesthetic purposes. Porcelain is one of the purest forms of
ceramics. Porcelain is made from kaolin that is a type of clay formed from
decomposed granite. This form of ceramics was originally developed by
ancient Chinese potters experimenting with adding additional materials to
stoneware compositions.

Indonesian Pottery is usually unglazed and hand worked, although the wheel
is also used. It may be painted, but is often left natural. Potters around
Mojokerto, close to the original Majapahit capital, still produce terracotas, but
the best-known pottery centre on Java is just outside Yogyakarta Kasongan,
where intricate, large figurines and pots are produced. Lombok pottery is very
fashionable and has an earthy primitive look with subtle colourings. Balinese
ceramics show a stronger western influence and are more inclined to use
glazing. The traditional features of Indonesia pottery with the attractiveness
of hand-made ethnic designs are well suited to cater the market trend towards
ethnic products. As proven through a long historical record, Indonesian
potters are ready to adapt to any shift in market taste like the trend to give
pottery the effect of wood by modifying the texture of the product or adding
a relief on the surface.
Metal Works:
Popular metal crafts and weapons from from Indonesia include keris (daggers)
and swords and arrows and spears from Papua and bone blow pipes from
Kalimantan. Batik copper stamps are used in the cap production of batik and
are collected by some people. The Bronze age in Indonesia began with the
metalworking introduced from the Dongson culture in present-day Vietnam.
Bronze work peaked with the Hindu-Buddhist empires of Java and brass work
is now more common, but in the eastern islands ancient hourglass-shaped
bronze drums are still produced.

Brassware was mostly Indian and Islamic influence and fine brass vessels and
ornaments are produced in Indonesia. Some of the best workmanship is that
of the Minangkabau in Sumatera, but brassware is also produced in Java,
South Kalimantan and Sulawesi. The most important ironwork object is
knives. As well as the famous Kris, the Parang of Kalimantan are sacred
weapons used in everything from hacking through the jungle to head-hunting.
Scabbards for ceremonies parang are intricately decorated, shells and
features.

The “Kris” or Keris is a distinctive, asymmetrical dagger from Indonesia,

Malaysia and Brunei. Both weapon and spiritual object, the kris is considered
to possess magical powers. Since time immemorial no weapon has been made
renowned and revered in the Malay world as the kris. With its razor-sharp
blade, which is usually wavy, the kris was in former times the favourite
weapons of royalty and commoner alike. In the hands of a skilful exponent of
pancak silat, the Malay art of self-defense, it was, and can still be, a deadly
weapon in close combat. The blade is normally covered by a damascened
pattern called pamur or kuran depending on the composition of the metal used
to fabricate the patterns. The Kris maker believes that the pattern strengthens
the blade and makes it more lethal. Some krises like Kris Sula, which was used
in the old royal courts to execute wrongdoers, or Kris Palembang, are without
the lok. The hilt of such a kris, however, is more often than not still resembles
a bird's head.

Quite often the blade, hilt and sheath are nowadays made by three separate
craftsmen. The experts who can fashion all three as in the old days number a
mere handful in the Malay world today. The procedure of making the kris is
basically the same as in the past, the only difference being the availability of
modern tools. A piece of metal is repeatedly heated and hammered until it is
flat. The next steps involve shaping, sharpening, filing and polishing. At some
points along the process, the putting kris or shank pin, onto which the hilt is
to be fitted, is drawn out, and traces of impurities are removed from the blade.
The finished blade is then immersed in homemade vinegar for at least twenty
four hours to bring out the panmur or kurau. The hilt and sheath are usually
made of hard fine grained wood that is both durable and attractive. In Brunei
Darussalam, the two types of wood popularly used are obtained from the
kulimpapa and hasana trees. In the old days horn and ivory were rarely
employed. But lately as the kris is becoming more of a decorative object than
a weapon, the use of horn or ivory for the hilt and sheath has been more
common.

“Batik Copper Stamps” are used in the cap production of batik, which are
collected by expats. Special designs can be made at the Cap Man in
Jakarta where cap are worked into drawers and furniture as well as lazy
susans, coasters or trivets. Developed in the mid-19th century, the use of
copper stamps to apply wax in repetitive patterns enabled a higher volume of
batik production compared to the traditional method which entailed the
tedious application of wax by hand with a canting. The cap is made from thin
copper plating. The copper is cut into uniform-width strips with a simple metal
scissor. The basic outline is formed by bending the flexible strips to match the
outlines of the design on a paper pattern. Shorter strips of metal are prepared
with small cuts along one side - creating a fringe-like look along one side of the
metal. The smaller strips are set into the outline and the fringe cuts are bent
sideways to create diagonal slashes within the outline of the design. New
sections are held together by small overlapping teeth in the adjoining sides and
bent strips of copper which hold the sections together. Aluminum plating is
used to create dots. The thin strips are fringe cut on one side and each
individual cut is tampered until round and the strip is set into the outline.
While good for producing fine dots, the aluminum doesn't hold up as well as
copper. In older stamps you will often find crumbling sections are made from
aluminum, while the copper strips endure for decades.
Textiles:
Textiles became one of the crucial aspects of Indonesian cultures. Locals pride
in the long and rigorous production process that requires precision, artistic
know-how and thoroughness. The finished textile represents the society it came
from and would usually bear a specific pattern that symbolizes something
dear to the community. We can look at “Batik” as an example of the Javanese
signature textile. A Batik cloth undergoes a complex and time-consuming
process that involves hand-drawing intricate patterns.

Another example is woven fabric from Sumatra called “ikat”. It usually

contains geometric figures made using a highly advanced technique that
results in vibrant, valuable textiles.

There are Sumatran silks, glowing and rich with scarlet reds and shining golds,
and Sumbanese ikat, with rusty reds and deep blues in bold patterns. The
colorful rainbow stripes of Timorese ikat contrasts with the deeper browns and
oranges and navy blue of the ikat of the islands of Alor, Flores and Savu. Every
color can be found in the soft cotton batiks of Java - the bright colors of the
north coast cloths, especially from Cirebon and Pekalongan, and the fine
browns, whites and indigos of the court cloths of Solo and Yogyakarta. There
are glorious Javanese silk batiks as well - soft and floating, in glowing color
and design. From Bali there is a veritable explosion of color and texture - in
both traditional and totally modern design.

Weavings from the 27 provinces utilize different materials, methods, colors

and designs. Primarily formed on back looms, weeks or months are spent
creating intricate designs for everyday use or ceremonial wear. These
weavings are primarily known by the different techniques that are used to
create the distinctive designs. Special textiles are worn or exchanged in life
cycle or rights of passage ceremonies celebrating birth, circumcision, puberty,
marriage, childbearing and death. Textiles play an important role in many
traditional events and ceremonies.
Paintings:
The oldest form of painting found in Indonesia is the prehistorical cave
painting, such as the notable ones in Maros Regency. The floral design has been
considered as a part of the Indonesian culture and arts, a nod to how rich
Indonesia is with natural resources. The art of painting flourished in Bali, a
place filled with rich natural landscapes.

Balinese painting tradition starts with its classic Kamasan art, a visual
narrative that uses wayang or shadow puppets. The painting tradition itself
is known through its vigorous yet polished technique that enchants a lot of
eyes with a touch tropical design. Nowadays, Bali has turned into a painter’s
haven thanks to the depth of its culture and array of natural wonders.

There is a tradition of Balinese painting that uses narrative imagery to depict

scenes from Balinese legends and religious scripts. These classical paintings
can usually be found in Indonesian lontar or palm-leaf manuscripts and on
the ceilings of Balinese temples.

Under the influence of the Dutch colonial power, a trend toward Western style
painting emerged in the 19th century. In the Netherlands, the term
“Indonesian Painting” is often applied to the paintings produced by Dutch or
other foreign artists who lived and worked in the former Netherlands-Indies.
The most famous indigenous 19th century Indonesian painter is Raden Saleh
(1807–1877), who was also the first indigenous artist to study in Europe. His art
is heavily influenced by Romanticism. The 1920s to 1940s was a time of
growing nationalism in Indonesia. The previous period of romanticism was
not seen as a purely Indonesian movement and began to wane, and painters
began to turn to the natural world for inspiration. Some examples of
Indonesian painters during this period are the Balinese Ida Bagus Made and
the realist Basuki Abdullah. The Indonesian Painters Association (or
PERSAGI, 1938–1942) was formed during this period and established a
contemporary art philosophy that saw art as a reflection of the artist’s
individual views, as well as an expression of national cultural thoughts.
Handicrafts:
Some of the finest basketwork in Indonesia comes from Lombok. the spiral
woven using this method, while smaller receptacles topped with wooden
carvings are also popular. On Java, Tasikmalaya is a major cane-weaving
centre, often adapting baskets and vessels to modern uses with the
introduction of zips and plastic lining. The Minangkabau, centred around
Bukit Tinggi, also produce interesting palm leaf bags and purses, well the
lontar palm is used extensively in weaving on Timor, Roti and other outer
eastern islands.

The Dayak of Kalimantan produce some superbs woven basket and string
bags, and they also produce some fine beadwork which can be seen on their
baby carriers. Some of the most colourful and attrative beadwork is produced
by the Toraja of Sulawesi, and beadwork can be found throughout Nusa
Tenggara from Lombok to Timor. Small, highly prized cowrie shells are used
like beads and are found on Dayak and Lombok artefacts, though the best
application of these shells is in the Sumbanese tapestries intricately beaded
with shells.

The assimilation of Javanese culture into Hindu society gives a unique charm
to the silver handicrafts from Yogyakarta, especially the Kotagede area. These
silver handicrafts include rings, brooches, horse carts, miniature bicycles,
earrings, rickshaws, calluses, and other decorations.

The most popular area for silver crafts shopping in Yogyakarta is “Kotagede”.
Kotagede silver crafts usually feature plant, leaf, and lotus motifs. The
production of these handicrafts requires skilled craftsmanship.