EXPLORING BATIK

Last year I tried to teach myself how to knit and eventually quit in a tangle of yarn. Don't tell my mother, she still thinks I'm trying.

This year I'm limiting my exploration of textile arts to reading and watching the experts. One of my favorites is Batik, which is featured in Cooper Hewitt's exhibit, Contemporary Muslim Fashions, which you can currently explore online or through the exhibit catalog while the museum is closed to the public as a health precaution. The exhibit's section on Indonesia highlights contemporary artistry in the traditional medium of Batik, applying wax to fabric before dying to create a pattern of negative space like what is seen is this incredible caftan.

Using the indigo plant to create dye for this process dates back thousands of years and wasn't limited to Indonesia. Here is a video from the 2014 Smithsonian Folklife Festival interviewing artists practicing traditional Chinese batik techniques.

If you're interested in learning more, take a look at this book about the history of indigo dying, this collection of a notable early twentieth century collection of Indonesian Batik, and this book that explores contemporary artists using different traditional techniques from around the world including batik. 

SHOP Cooper Hewitt also has you covered, literally, if you're looking for your own piece of contemporary batik, with these beautiful cotton face masks (pictured above) by Studio One Eight Nine who won the 2020 National Design Award for Emerging Designer.

Posted by Joseph

SHOP BLOG is written by the sales associates of SHOP Cooper Hewitt, bringing their singular design expertise into the digital realm.