A corner of a Javanese Batik Turban. Property of A. B. Lewis
CHAPTER III
THE POSSIBILITIES OF BATIK
At this time of industrial and artistic development Batik dyeing comes to offer a new field for the Arts and Crafts worker.
Today the woman of leisure, as well as the artist, wishes her individuality to be shown in both the furnishings of her home and in her own personal belongings. Batik work helps to supply both these needs. In the first wave of enthusiasm over this work, it seemed as though the need of beautiful form as well as beautiful color was lost sight of. Beautiful color can hardly be avoided with good dyes. The fascination of the color and the dye is such that the need of beautiful shapes was somewhat forgotten at first, and there was a tendency to splash on a design without much regard to beauty of shape or of line and to depend upon the color to make it attractive.
The wonderful possibilities inherent in the process were the only things that saved it in this stage from the fate of stenciling, etc. Batik will rank with the art processes that are always beautiful and in use if the requirements mentioned above are adhered to. One of the chief requirements for success in this craft is a willingness to take time for careful and exact work. A successful piece of Batik must be carefully executed to be of any permanent value. Good craftsmanship is as essential in this as it is in making a good piece of embroidery or painting.
The present American method of Batik dyeing has varied somewhat from the old Javanese. It has become simpler and more direct. Time is of very little value in Java; therefore, the native artists worked without regard for the time spent.
Specimens of Batik work were carried to Holland during the seventeenth century by the Dutch East India Company as one of the interesting products of Java. The work was neither understood nor appreciated at that time, and the lack of appreciation discouraged any further importation. Somewhat later the Dutch artists, Chris Lebeau, Eachet and Dysselhof, appreciating the beauties of this craft, studied it themselves. By their exquisite work they aroused an interest among artists. From Holland the craft spread to France, and to the alert artists of these countries we owe the increased appreciation. The work done in Europe has been applied to interior decorations rather than to costumes. This side has been left to the American designer and artist. The costumes illustrated in this volume are beautiful examples of costume designing in its broadest sense.
Both in Europe and in America considerable experimenting has been done with different kinds of tools. Various European modifications of the tjanting have been tried, but none have been received with much favor. They are, as a rule, heavy and awkward to use in comparison with the Javanese instrument. Some of the leading workers of America and Holland consider the Javanese tjanting the most desirable means of outlining, dotting, etc.