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The Art of Indonesia: Tales from the Shadow World, 1990

This captivating documentary about the rituals, myths, and traditions of Indonesia incorporates Old Javanese poetry, sculpture, and music alongside performances by traditional artists and healers.
This article is part of From the Vaults, a series that shines a light on the Museum’s audiovisual archive.

A captivating documentary about the rituals, myths, and traditions of Indonesia. Written and directed by Andrea Simon, this beautiful film incorporates Old Javanese poetry, sculpture, and music alongside performances by traditional artists and healers. Features exceptional footage of Borobudur, a Buddhist temple from the ninth century, and Prambanan, an important Hindu temple. Cinematography by Jerry Pantzer.

As part of The Met’s 150th anniversary in 2020, each month we will release three to four films from the Museum’s extensive moving-image archive, which comprises over 1,500 films, both made and collected by the Museum, from the 1920s onward. This includes rarely seen artist profiles and documentaries, as well as process films about art-making techniques and behind-the-scenes footage of the Museum.

New films every week: https://www.metmuseum.org/150/from-the-vaults

Learn more about the series here: https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/now-at-the-met/2020/from-the-vaults-film-archive

Subscribe for new content from The Met: https://www.youtube.com/user/metmuseum?sub_confirmation=1

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