Cantor Art Gallery Presents "Keris/Cloth: Sacred Metal and Textile Arts of Indonesia"

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross presents "Keris/Cloth: Sacred Metal and Textile Arts of Indonesia," from Wednesday, Jan. 22 through Saturday, March 1. The exhibit will be curated by Susan Rodgers of the Sociology and Anthropology Department. An opening reception for this exhibition will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 22 from 5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. at the Cantor Art Gallery.

"Keris/Cloth" will present a rare glimpse into the rich traditions of ceremonial textiles and gold work mainly from the Minangkabau of West Sumatra in Indonesia. The exhibition is comprised of over 40 textiles ranging from Salendang (shoulder cloths), men's ceremonial waist ties and ceremonial headdress textiles. Also on display will be examples of gold and coral jewelry, a man's ceremonial Kris and other objects from the Minangkabau wedding ceremony.

Although cloth and metal form a single, interactive aesthetic set in many Indonesian societies, Indonesian ritual textiles and metal objects have rarely been brought together into the same display space. This exhibition at the Cantor Art Gallery will join cloth and metalwork together, allowing gallery-goers fuller access to Indonesian art worlds. For instance, 19th century Minangkabau gold thread textiles will be shown paired with Minangkabau daggers. Museum-goers will also be alerted to the fact that these Minangkabau cloths, in themselves, are two images in one, cloth and metal pairs.

A series of public lectures in conjunction with the exhibition will be held at the Cantor Art Gallery:

* Susan Rodgers will present "The Glowing Bride: Gender, Politics and Art in Indonesian Society - An Introduction to the Keris/Cloth Exhibition" on Wednesday, Jan. 22 from 4 p.m. - 5 p.m.

* Anne and John Summerfield will present "Creating Splendor: Fibers and Imagery in Minangkabau Ceremonial Textiles" on Thursday, Jan. 23 from 12 p.m. - 12:45 p.m. In 1999, the Summerfields curated a major exhibition of Minangkabau ceremonial textiles at the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History and edited an accompanying book, Walk in Splendor, Ceremonial Dress and the Minangkabau.

* Karl G. Heider, anthropology professor at the University of South Carolina, will present "Folk Psychology and Emotion in West Sumatra" on Wednesday, Jan. 29 from 4 p.m. - 5 p.m. * Andrew Causey, anthropology professor at Columbia College in Chicago, Ill., will present "False Starts in the Global Flow: Toba Batak Woodcarvers Transforming Their Traditions" on Wednesday, Feb. 5 from 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

Gallery walk-throughs with the curator, Susan Rodgers:

* Tuesday, Feb. 11 from 12 p.m. - 12:45 p.m. "Women Weavers in a Muslim Society: Gender and Religion in Indonesian Textile Art"

* Monday, Feb. 17 from 12 p.m. - 12:45 p.m. "Metal and Cloth as a Union of Opposites in Indonesian Art"

* Wednesday, Feb. 26 from 12 p.m. - 12:45 p.m. "From Ritual to Fashion: An Indonesian Artworld Encounters the Modern"

The hours for the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m.-5 p.m. It is located in O'Kane Hall, 1st Floor, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, Mass., 01610. Admission to the gallery is free.