THE SPIRIT OF INDONESIA Introduction Indonesia is an enormous country with a complex society. This gathering of 13,677 islands invests a span of ocean greater than the width of the United States. There are over 200 languages and dialects spoken throughout the country. Highly sophisticated city dwellers and artistic communities with cultural and religious traditions well in advance of the West thousands of years ago, live under the same flag as primitive farmers and animist aspects of this archipelago nation have been largely overshadowed by recent political and economic difficulties. This exhibit provides a rare opportunity to experience the remarkable art kites and art forms which symbolize the spirit of these gentle, creative, people. These unique artifacts portray individual and group expression in a very visually and spiritually aesthetic society, where traditional and contemporary images serve as inspiration for fantastic evocations in many mediums. We have placed the kites in the cultural perspective in which they were created, with sculpture, textiles, music and dance. This culture is changing rapidly with the modernization of the region, and the intense demands of a multi-racial and increasingly cosmopolitan society. The enormous traditional kites of Bali, and the festivals created around them, are unrivalled in ritual and ceremonial significance, but are difficult to locate in the vastness of this tropical nation, and even harder to interpret. The delicate leaf kites of East Sulawesi form the basis for the development of man-made flight which is the direct antecedent of the airplane. Kites were used in fishing and hunting for centuries in West Java. And today, Indonesian kitemakers create highly stylized flying creatures from the vivid images that surround them in their evolving world. We have captured a glimpse of this disappearing world for your wonder and pleasure. It is a rare and unlikely event, a manifestation of the exotic dreams of this unusual culture. ORIGIN OF KITES THE FIRST FLYING, MACHINE The uses of kites have been many and varied , contributing greatly to mans need to extend his physical and mental reach. Apart from its religious and ceremonial significance, and as an object for divining and celebrating fertility, birth, and destiny, the kite has been a hard-working tool of mankind. It has been used for signaling over vast distances, fishing, measuring, and divining the secrets of the atmosphere. In the West, the kites major contribution was its role in the development of the airplane. Because of this significance as the first form of man-made flight, the birthplace of the kite is still under scrutiny. It has been generally accepted that the kite was first invented in China long before the beginnings of written history. Recently, however, there has been sufficient evidence to suggest that it may have originated independently in the Malay Archipelago of Indonesia. There appears to be little written evidence from the earliest times, but by the fifteenth century, kites were so well established that contests were documented in the Malay Annals, an historical documentation of life in the islands. These kites featured a wing structure that appears to be unique in form and structure. It does not fit in the established pattern of evolution that marks all other kites with their origin on China. Perhaps it was influenced by the exceptionally graceful sails of the Indonesian fishing boats. This structure apparently migrated to Malaysia and became the basis for their exquisite wau kites, beginning with the wau merak of Johore province. Many kites in the Philippines seem to have developed from this shape as well. Evidence may yet be forthcoming. Cave painting recently discovered in Muna, Indonesia, may depict kite flying in great antiquity. Photographs and carbon dating are soon follow. Possibly these ancient drawings depict kites being used in the oldest of their early activities-fishing, religion, and war; to finally evolve into art of considerable cultural significance. The tradition continues today as the work of Indonesian kitemakers often working in isolation, reflecting the great depth of art and craftsmanship that characterize artistic endeavours in this unique country. asahi-net.or.jp/~et3m-tkkw/scrap-11.html
Posted on: Fri, 25 Apr 2014 02:40:05 +0000
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