Go Tik Swan's 90th Birthday

Google Dooles 25.05.2021 06:00  Date: May 11, 2021 Today’s Doodle celebrates Indonesian artist Go Tik Swan, a contemporary master of the ancient art form of designing fabric with hot wax known as batik. Go Tik Swan was born on this day in 1931 in Solo, Central Java, Indonesia. He came of age frequenting his grandfather’s batik workshops, where he absorbed Javanese cultural knowledge from local craftspeople. Fascinated by his ancestry, Swan further explored his heritage by studying Javanese literature and dance at the University of Indonesia. It was during one of his college dance performances that Indonesia’s president caught wind of Swan’s family background in batik manufacturing and commissioned him to create a new batik style; one that he believed could transcend division and unite the Indonesian people. In the 1950s, Swan fulfilled the president’s request by combining regional batik techniques to introduce “Batik Indonesia.” Swan held such high reverence for his craft that he considered each piece of batik to carry philosophical meaning, even developing a motif in the 70s entitled Kembang Bangah as a love letter to his national identity. An expert in Javanese culture, he was also a master of kris and a skilled player of gamelan . He gave back so much to his heritage, the Surakarta government honored him with the noble title of Panembahan Hardjonegoro. Happy birthday, Go Tik Swan! Location: Tags: , , , , , ,