Bruneian art

Bruneian art is from the country of Brunei (broo-nay) located in southeast Asia. Its art is well known in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and the island Borneo. The art and its characteristics the artist of Brunei creates is appealing and visional for not only them but for the people viewing the master piece. Brunei's art can be anything like paintings, jewelry, and clothing. Each of the three has art and the special detail attach to it.

History

The art history of Brunei was not in common until the early 1950s, Brunei's government took a stand and support the art culture of Brunei's art. With the support, they created a building for people and artist to sell their art work and have people look at it. Each of the art that has been done on a canvas with oil type paint. As the years pass by, in 1984, the art came to a major success that it had to move in a larger place.[1]

Brunei artists

Dato Paduka Shofry bin Abdul Ghafor is a well known local artist in Brunei. Some of his artwork is displayed at the Rainforest Gallery which opened March 2014.[2] Dato is not only an artist but a manager and owner of the art gallery. One of his famous and latest artwork is called Home of Bruneian Art. Behind the art, it describes the painting of everyone's home. The painting is filled of dark, medium, light purple; burgundy; dark brown, and black oil canvas as seen in the picture below.

Another one of Dato's vibrant artwork is called Grey Sea. The grey sea has the "light and movement of the sea," according to Dato. For Dato describes the painting quoted, "As a work of art that is produced in contemporary Brunei, I perhaps can ponder that the absence of a solid object is a reflection of the state of a Bruneian psyche. The cornerstone of our way of thinking lies in the humble surrender to the spiritual and unknowable."[2]

Art of Utensils

Silver is a popular element for jewelry and utensils in Brunei. Today, silver sheets is now imported from there.[1] The silversmiths at Brunei usually make ornaments, flower vases, and gongs (metal disk with a turned rim giving a resonant note when stuck). Another popular utensil of art used is pasigupan. A pasigupan is a type of mini pot that has a mandela print for it to hold its tobacco which the image is showing below.

Silvercrafting has not only been a means of preserving family traditions but also a profitable cottage industry in Brunei.

Art and craft of weaving clothing

The skills of cloth has been passed on from generation to generation in the Brunei community. Weaving has always been one of Brunei's most time-honored arts and crafts, and the country produces fabric for making beautiful well made gowns and sarongs. "The weaving and decoration of cloth as well as wearing, display, and exchange of it, has been an important part of Bruneian culture for years (Orr 96)." From 1485 and 1524, weaving of clothing in Brunei was created. Between those years, Antonio Pigafetta visited Brunei during his exploration and while he was visiting, he saw how lovely examples the clothes were made. One of the examples Antonio saw was a Jongsarat. A jongsarat is a handmade clothing that is used for weddings and special occasions. Adding a hint of silver and gold makes the cloth really unique and one of a kind. Not only on special locations, but it can be use for wall coverings to show the decoration for home spaces.

There are two types of clothing in Brunei uses a lot and is important to them which is called the Batik and Ikat. The Batik is dyed cotton cloth decorated through a technique known as wax-resist dyeing.[1] To how the process works for Batik, the workers start with a plain piece of cotton and then carefully draw patterns with melted wax. Then, the cloth is dipped in dye. It exposes the fabric while it soaks up the color while ares covered cloth is dipped in different color. This continues until the pattern is complete. In the past, only certain of people were allowed to wear certain batik pattern and others had to wear Itak. A commoner (ordinary people) who wore a Batik pattern clothing is assigned its royalty in Brunei and Malaysia. The people who wore this type of cloth were making a cultural statement, separating themselves from the people who wore Ikat and followed a more traditional lifestyle.[1]

The Ikat is made through a similar process as to Batik, however, instead of the pattern being dyed onto finished cloth, it is created while the cloth is woven. Of how the process works, the weaver lays out the threads to the string onto to the loom, then perfectly measured their length. The thread is then later wrapped in bark and tied up tightly so that when it is dripped in the dye, the color cannot reach all the thread. The process is repeated with different dyes. The final process is all the thread is strung on the loom. Ikat patterns were often specific to certain cultural groups, and patterns were passed down from generation to generation.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 C, Josiah. "HISTORICAL TIMELINE OF THE ROYAL SULTANATE OF SULU INCLUDING RELATED EVENTS OF NEIGHBORING PEOPLES". www.seasite.niu.edu. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
  2. 1 2 "Open Brunei". Open Brunei. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
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