Batik

A detailed Summary of Batik

One of the major art forms in Southeast Asia is a type of dyed cloth called batik. The word batik is thought to be derived from the word "ambatik" which means "a cloth with little dots" in Indonesian. The suffix "tik" means little dot, drop, point or to make dots. Batik may also originate from the Javanese (a dialect of Indonesian native to the island of Java) word "tritik" which describes a resist process for dying where the patterns are reserved on the textiles by tying and sewing areas prior to dying, similar to tie dye techniques implemented in western textile design.

Although experts disagree about the origins of batik, samples of dye resistance patterns on cloth can be traced back 1,500 years ago to Egypt and the Middle East. Samples have also been found in Turkey, India, China, Japan and West Africa from past centuries. Although in these countries people were using the technique of dye resisting decoration on cloth, none have developed batik to the art form that is highly developed on the island of Java in Indonesia.

Although there is mention of "fabrics highly decorated" in Dutch transcripts from the 17th century, most scholars believe that the intricate Javanes

Traditionally, wax is applied to the cloth using a canting (pronounced janting). A canting is a tool with small spout that protrudes downwards copper attached to a resovouir with a wood handle . The wax must be kept at the proper temperature. A wax that is too cool will clog the spout of the canting. A wax that too hot will flow too quickly and be uncontrollable. The artisan will often blow into the spout of the canting before applying wax to the cloth in order to clear the canting of any obstructions. High demand for fine batik patterns led to the development of the cap (pronounced chop.) Each cap is a copper block that makes up a design unit. Cap are made of 1.5 cm wide copper stripes that are bent into the shape of the design. Smaller pieces of wire are used for dots. When complete, the pattern of copper strips is soldered to the handle. Through the combination of several cap, intricate designs can be reproduced exactly and quickly, leading to the development of batik factories. In factories, batik is made by hand in an assembly line process where one person is responsible for a particular step in the process. In these factories, canting are used predominantly by women, while the handling of the cap is done by men.

Batik designs are either geometric or freehand, or sometimes a combination of both. In the geometric patterns there are the Nitik, influenced by weaving designs, the Kawung, eliptical and circular designs, the Parang, square and parallel diagonal designs, the Ceplok, repetive designs. Freehand designs are the designs defined as North Coastal. Nitik incorporate both freehand and geometric designs, which are based on stylized patterns of natural forms or imitations of a woven texture. One of the oldest and most popular designs is the kawung which consists of parallel rows of ellipses. Crosses or other ornaments such as lines or dots fill the elipses. Although fundamentally geometric, ceplok can also represent abstractions and stylization of flowers, buds, seeds and even animals The diagonal designs are known as Parang. The parang motif is also found in wood carving and in gamelan instruments decoration. Forty patterns of this style have been recorded. The parang are among the most visualy striking of all batik patterns. They are considered asfortunate patterns and they produce slimmimng effect on the woman or man who is wearing it. The North Coastal designs are influenced by Arabic and Chinese merchants and more recently by the Dutch. The Chinese contribution to batik design is the influe

Some common words found in the essay are:
Sumbawa Sumatra, Java Textile, Central Javanese, Muslim Islamic, Southeast Asia, Coastal Nitik, Chinese European, Dutch Chinese, Citrifolia Skilled, Batik Indonesia's, island java, batik patterns, javanese batik, batik designs, art forms, developed island java, geometric patterns, traditional patterns, intricate designs, stylized patterns, designs kawung,

Approximate Word count = 1717
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Arts