Indonesian Batiks, The Textile Museum August 9-23, 2009
A Lady Found a Culture in its Cloth: Barack Obama’s Mother and Indonesian Batiks
 For two weeks only this summer, batik patterned textiles from the
collection of Ann Dunham, President Obama’s mother, will be on view at The Textile Museum.
Washingtonians and visitors to the nation’s capital will not want to miss
this unique look at the Obama family and the Southeast
Asian culture from which these fabrics originated.
The Textile
Museum is presenting the exhibition in coordination with
the Embassy of the Indonesia and co-hosting a gala event
with the embassy at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on
Saturday, August 8.
The exhibition is made possible with
the support by President Obama’s sister, Maya Soetoro
Ng, and her family.
Ann Dunham loved and collected many handcrafted objects, including textiles. As a teenager,
she wove wall hangings in earthy shades of brown and green for her own enjoyment. After marrying
Lolo Soetoro and moving to Indonesia in the 1960s with her son Barack Obama, she was naturally
drawn to the vibrant textile arts of her new home. She began to amass a collection of Javanese batiks —
fabrics patterned by using a wax-resist process — from which this exhibition is drawn. These textiles
were readily seen on city and village streets in this Southeast Asian nation at that time.
The wide variation in the batiks on view in this exhibition reflects the range of colors and
patterns that captured her imagination and provides a window into Indonesian culture. Location
and more information: The
Textile Museum, 2320 S Street, Washington, D.C. Source: TM press-release
Jozan Magazine June 5, 2009 |
