The folk art of Java

the long version

During the Festival of Indonesia in the United States (1990-1) there was a remarkable display of traditional art and performance. However, the emphasis in art was upon classical sculpture (pre-sixteenth century), royal court treasures, textiles, and ethnographic objects from Indonesia's Outer Islands. There was no exhibition devoted solely to the country's folk art and certainly none to that from Java. In addition, there have been very few studies, either popular or serious, by Indonesian or foreign scholars on this vital tradition. This book serves as an introduction to the folk arts of Java as determined by the Javanese themselves. It features objects associated with traditional games and toys, reverse paintings on glass that reflect Hindu-Buddhist and Islamic traditions, various representations in Javanese society of the servant-clowns in the wayang theatre, ceramics that reflect folklore and ritual, naive folk painters, traditional children's art, and such objects as roof tiles, bronze bells, brass votive figures, and village masks and puppets. The book underscores the great importance of these components of traditional material culture in both the past and present development of Indonesia, and calls for serious research and continued promotion of these arts and crafts that so strikingly reflect the creative vitality and the economic resources of the Javanese people.