Motif Develops Following Trends

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

A woman passes through a walkway decorated with murals in Kampung Batik, Semarang, Central Java, on Wednesday (2/10/2019). Residents decorate their neighborhood to attract tourists as they shop for batik.

SURAKARTA, KOMPAS — President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has encouraged all relevant parties to preserve and develop batik creativity in order to maintain the status of Indonesian batik as a UNESCO world cultural heritage.

The call was made by President Jokowi in a speech during the commemoration of National Batik Day with the theme "Making Batik for the Country" at Puri Mangkunegaran, Surakarta, Central Java, on  Wednesday.

Also present at the event were Iriana Joko Widodo, Mufidah Jusuf Kalla, Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto, State Secretary Pratikno, and Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo.

"We are obliged to carry out the mandate by continuing to maintain the nobility of the culture and develop the creativity of Indonesian batik. It needs support from all parties to maintain UNESCO recognition," he said.

After 10 years, the UN agency in charge of education and culture, UNESCO, is reevaluating its recognition of Indonesian batik as a world cultural heritage.

KOMPAS/ERWIN EDHI PRASETYA

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (right), First Lady Ny Iriana Joko Widodo (front left) and Mufidah Yusuf Kalla (front, right) hold up their work after trying to make batik at a National Batik Day commemoration titled Batik for the Nation at Pura Mangkunegaran, Surakarta, Central Java, on Wednesday (2/10/2019). The President tried to make batik using stamps, while Iriana and Mufidah used a tool called canting. The President said that batik was increasingly used by the community to gain economic benefits.

The chairperson of the Laweyan Batik Kampoeng Development Forum in Solo, Alpha Febela Priyatmono said, it was necessary to educate the public about the differences between batik tulis (handmade batik) and fabrics with batik motifs (printed batik). Traditional handmade batik is made using a coloring process with a dyeing technique using hot wax. Therefore, printed batik is not real batik.

According to Alpha, demand for printed batik apparel  or fabric is high because the price is much lower than that of batik made using hot wax. To maintain their business, batik entrepreneurs in Laweyan also produce printed batik.

On the other hand, Novita Pujiastuti, owner of Indah Putri Batik shop, and Siti Sundari, 73, owner of Batik Sendari shop in Solo, claimed not to worry about the growing demand for printed batik. According to them, the printed batik market is very different. Traditional batik is still sought by buyers, they said.

Developing dynamically

Titiek Djoko Soemarno from the Indonesian Batik Foundation said the development of batik in all provinces was encouraging.

KOMPAS/NINO CITRA ANUGRAHANTO

Two workers from Batik Sidomukti 0.0 KM Giriloyo color Papua-inspired batik patters in Wukirsari village, Imogiri, Bantul, Yogyakarta, on Wednesday (2/10/2019).

The motifs produced these days are more diverse, including not only classic ones like kawung, parang, truntum, and besurek. Contemporary motifs are increasingly being introduced by young fashion designers and batik artisans to attract more buyers.

"This means there is a growing batik culture in the country; it\'s not stagnant. Batik can be a philosophy, method, and product that records changes in society," she said.

In the last three years, the number of new batik artisans has grown in various villages in Malang regency, East Java. Although the production volume is limited, the batik has been sold outside Java and even abroad. Batik motifs are generally malangan mask, flora, and fauna.

Participating in exhibitions and competitions as well as making new motifs are also the recipe to maintaining the batik business in Madura, said Vetrylla Prima Z, the owner of Athaya Batik Madura shop in Bangkalan.

The local government also helps in the preservation of batik. The Surabaya administration has helped six batik groups by providing training in making batik, patterns and marketing. Their products have been promoted abroad by fashion designer Oscar Lawalata.

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

A woman prepares a 100-meter-long piece of cloth to make batik during a National Batik Day celebration in Kampung Batik, Semarang, Central Java, on Wednesday (2/10/2019). Over the last several years, Semarang batik has to compete with products from other regions in Central Java, such as Lasem, Surakarta, Yogyakarta and Pekalongan.

Pamekasan Regent Badrut Tamam regularly holds training on batik, including training in marketing.

Sidoarjo Regent Saifullah has a similar initiative, such as by helping handmade batik makers in Giriloyo Batik Village in Wukirsar, Imogiri district, Bantul regency, to innovate by making and developing new motifs and new colors.

Separately, Tamakun, 36, a batik maker in Pekalongan, learned how to combine handmade batik with painting to produce unique batik. Tamakun paints animals, plants, landscapes, pictures of public figures, even folklore figures using the handmade batik method. By marketing through Facebook and Instagram, Tamakun has sold his batik products to South Korea and New Zealand.

Handmade batik entrepreneur Hermawanto, 45, and a number of other Pekalongan batik entrepreneurs have chosen to produce printed batik to survive.

(RWN/NTA/DNE/WER/ETA/NIK/NCA/XTI)