Shoulder cloth (slendang) c. early to mid 20th century

This shoulder cloth, or slendang, was made by an anonymous artist using an unknown medium. It’s a textile, not a painting, but the same principles apply. Look at the texture, how dense and concentrated the patterns are, made up of what appears to be red and gold thread. It looks meticulously worked, each motif carefully placed to create these fields of geometric and floral forms, so typical of weaving from this region. Imagine the hand that made it, the patience and the skill involved in realizing such a complex design! Thinking about the amount of time and attention that went into this piece, I can’t help but think about the work of artists like Liza Lou, who use repetitive mark-making to build up large scale work. This artist is unknown, but her creation has endured! Isn’t that what we all want?