Contemporary Art Practices in Reviving Folk Art / Indonesian – Hungarian Case Study

Petrányi, Luca (2024) Contemporary Art Practices in Reviving Folk Art / Indonesian – Hungarian Case Study. In: P/References of Design. Cumulus conference proceedings series, 1 . Cumulus Association, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest, Budapest, pp. 303-314. ISBN 978-952-7549-02-5

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Abstract

Global tendencies in the aesthetics of art and design are led by the interests of capitalism. Globalisation expects mainstream aesthetics to be new and different, even (to use a controversial expression) we could say exotic, often borrowing motifs from local, traditional cultures. This cycle does not result in recognising and reviving certain folk arts but the opposite: positioning folk art for consumption through fast, market-based circulation. Contemporary artists, on the other hand, often face criticism when using folk art or traditional styles of handcraft techniques. The importance of local forms of knowledge represented in handcraft traditions and folk art is undeniable. However, the ways artists can use, reuse, interpret, redefine, transform, or distort such cultural heritage are unclear. As a fine artist, I work with Indonesian wax resist batik dying. I find it a personal responsibility to question how I position myself in this highly critical Western discourse. I am committed to the revival of local folk art and believe that artists need to reconsider how we can approach folk art and what kind of relationships should and can be built with local communities. Artistic attitudes can be very different: from exploitative re-exoticising to traditionalist or sensitive. I seek to explore future-oriented artistic attitudes that are free from the colonialist narratives of West-East dynamics that continue to divide us today.

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