File puptcrit/puptcrit.0905, message 384


From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Mathieu_Ren=E9?= <creaturiste-AT-primus.ca>
To: <puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org>
Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 20:15:51 -0400
Subject: [Puptcrit] Indonesia, the inspiring!


I just had a wonderfully inspiring visit from a colleague who went on an 
inspiring trip to Indonesia recently. She bought a few puppets and brought 
back lots of information about them.

She works in my neighborhood, so after work today, she brought some puppets 
to my place, so that I could see them up close. Wow!

I had only seen photos of Wayang Kulit (shadow puppets). I had seen some low 
quality wayang goleks (carved wood rod puppets) in antique shops, but none 
of them looked very interesting. As in every field, there are many levels of 
quality.

The wayang kulits she bought were wonderfully detailed, so insanely 
intricate.
I was surprised to learn they were made from water buffalo hide, bones, and 
horns.
She was told that these probably come from the buffaloes that get sacrificed 
to honore the recently dead. The meat is distributed to those present at the 
ceremony, so nothing is wasted.

The black horns are carved and can even be heat sheaped, to make the rods, 
which are lightweight and strong. The inks are made from the available 
materials. Two examples she could tell me: black was made with powdered 
volcanic rocks, green was made from some plant extract.
She was told the colors were lightfast.

She even bought an unpainted Wayang Kulit, to be able to compare with the 
painted ones.
Both are beautiful in their own way. I was surprised to see that even when 
heavily painted, the wayang kulit's colors show though with the light, 
although subdued.

Even though she was told the quality she was buying for both puppet types 
was for tourists, they are still impressive in looks and functionality. So 
simple are the joints.
The Wayang Goleck arms were made with a braided cord for the upper part, and 
sculpted wood for the forearm and hand, in one piece. The puppet separates 
in three parts, so is easy to store in a more compact format. Her puppets 
were a bit rough on the inside, so the head turning movement was a bit 
staggery, but a light sanding with a fine sandpaper will certainly solve 
that in no time.

The loose cord link between the hand and its rod looks flimsy and a bit 
"neglected" at first, but proves to be very smooth and versatile in 
movement, and very sturdy.
Why mess with a good thing that made its proof for hundreds, if not 
thousands of years?

She paid 50$ for each wayang kulit.

She paid 15$ for each wayang golek. She regrets not buying more goleks on 
the spot, because when she got back there 30 minutes later, she learned that 
her purchase of three goleks was enough money for the artisan to close shop 
for the week. She was leaving the next day.
So, even though it looks insanely cheap for us for such an amount of work 
(the wooden heads are very very fine), the currency differences make it so 
that to them, it's a big amount. No guilt, everyone's happy.

I am filled with inspiration from this visit, and grateful to my colleague 
for taking the time for the sharing. It went both ways, she hadn't seen my 
work in person for a few years, and we talked shop.
I'm invited to her place, to see the rest of her travel acquisitions, which 
should be arriving soon, since she mailed them to herself, from Indonesia.









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