Building on Batik

The Globalization of a Craft Community

Michael Hitchcock, Wiendu Nuryanti

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781138267404
• eBook ISBN: 9781351954228
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Geography
• Index: Geography

The word 'batik' is possibly of Malay origin from the word 'tik' meaning 'to drip' or 'to drop.' The term is applied to a resist dye technique invented independently in locations as diverse as Ancient Egypt, Japan and Turkestan. Batik is a remarkably flexible textile technique and is suited to small-scale methods of production, but demand from the fashion and tourism industries is increasing. This volume brings together the experiences and concerns of the international community of batik producers. It gives voice to their suggestions for ensuring that the producers of this traditional craft are integrated into its increasingly global production rather than excluded from it. Building on the work of batik designers and producers the book discusses the emergence of a global craft consciousness. Batik producers report on innovative measures taken both individually and collectively to hold their market position while commercial producers frequently annex and mass-produce traditional batik design. The book concludes with a discussion of marketing and production innovations and tourism which enable the producers of batik to maintain the integrity of their designs whilst harnessing the benefits of new commercial forms.

Part 1
Crafts, Culture and Technological Change

1 Quo Vadis Batik?

IWAN TIRTA

I have chosen the words 'quo vadis' especially because of the crisis situation which faces the traditional batiks of Indonesia today. Many of you probably remember the book and the subsequent movie by the name Quo Vadis, in which the apostle Petrus, fleeing the Imperial City of Rome from the atrocities inflicted by the Emperor Nero, encountered the Lord outside the city walls. In answer to his question 'quo vadis, Domine?', he was told to return to Rome and face the challenge.

Some parallels can be made with the crisis situation that confronts Indonesian traditional batik in the 1990s. Those who are concerned with the future and fate of traditional batik can ask the same question. Where do we go from here?

The alarming developments that have taken place since the early 1980s regarding traditional batiks but also other types of textiles in our Archipelago have made it necessary for us to re-examine or rethink the direction in which all traditional fabrics are going.

The situation is grave, but not severely so. The orange light is already flickering, so that we should be prepared when the red emergency light flashes on. I do not want to sound like an alarmist or over-pessimistic, but not enough people seem to be concerned.

Before continuing with this paper, it is important that we define again the words 'traditional Indonesian batik'. Traditional Indonesian batik is the process of surface textile decoration which uses wax as a resist. This particular resist cold dyeing technique involves the application of wax with both the canting as well as the cap or copper stamp. The main criterion is the use of wax as a resistant.

In former times batik cap was excluded from being regarded as 'true' batik, but by the 1990s it came to be regarded as hand cap batik.

When the cap method appeared in the late nineteenth century, purists were already sounding the alarm bell. Indeed the cap stamp was invented solely on the basis of commercial considerations. Not much artistry was involved in the process, although the making of the intricate copper wires on a stamp required meticulous precision and some kind of artistry. The dyeing process, of course, even in cap batik, is still done by hand. Batik cap did not manage to eliminate real hand-drawn batik, but resulted in the erosion of hand-drawn batik.

In the year 1997 we were faced with another challenge. Both hand-drawn batik and batik cap were being pushed from the scene by other forms of textile decoration, in many cases wrongly using the label 'batik'.

What are the reasons for this new crisis situation? Several factors can be pointed out as the cause. First of all, there are the internal factors. By internal we mean that these factors lie within the batik process itself. Hand-drawn batik, as we all know, is a laborious procedure taking up long hours and days. With the increasing social demands and increasing living standards of both the batik labourers and entrepreneurs, wages and costs are also on the rise.

If formerly the bulk of the batikkers were living off the land, today they are increasingly landless and have become very urbanized. Wages are relatively high and entrepreneurs constantly try to increase their profit margins. It becomes more and more expensive just to pay for the labour costs.

The use of imported dyestuffs and imported cotton, although woven and spun in Indonesia, has also added to the production costs. Thus the cost of making superfine batiks and even batik cap has become an expensive undertaking.

If cost factors are pushing traditional batiks into the realm of expensive articles, another reason for their increased price is the shortage of skilled batik workers. Due to the low wage system that prevails, many of the batik workers are moving to other more lucrative jobs, mostly in the textile and cigarette-making industries.

The government's transmigration policy of moving groups of village families to other islands of the Archipelago has also depleted the number of batikers in Central and East Java.

As a consequence of the above-mentioned factors, batik entrepreneurs have started looking for cheaper ways of producing traditional batiks. Those who are more astute are making even more drastic short cuts to this laborious process by turning to screen-prints, both hand-screen as well as machine roller prints, borrowing freely from batik patterns and motifs. In doing so, these 'enterprising' batik manufacturers, wittingly or unwittingly, are assisting in the demise of traditional batik.

A second group of factors lies outside the field or the batik industry, namely within late twentieth century Indonesian society. One could point to the eclipse of the Javanese aristocracy or, in other words, the gradual disappearance of traditional arbiters of taste (this also applies to other ethnic groups in Java). There remain few traditional standards by which batik workers and manufacturers can test their excellence or quality. As a result there is a decline of design quality, the only criterion left is their commercial value or saleability in the big cities.

Since World War II, the number of people in Indonesia has increased by millions, and many of them, especially those who do not come from the island of Java, wear batik only because it is part of the prescribed national costume for women and not because they are familiar with its meaning or connection with their own cultural values. Notions about traditional batik have become blurred. Indonesians from other island besides Java wear batik, but they rarely have any idea of its meaning or origins. They treat batik almost like any other form of clothing, devoid of any meaning. Visual attraction is the main yardstick when buying batiks

The decline of buying power of the general public is also an important factor in the decrease of saleability of traditional batik, especially the hand-drawn variety, in recent years. If clothing was one of the primary needs of the average Indonesian, today other needs have replaced it in importance. Priorities have shifted.

The documentation or preservation of traditional batik is in its infancy. This phenomenon is not restricted to the world of batik, but prevails in other fields of traditional Indonesian textiles. Not enough research is devoted to reviving or documenting old batik patterns; publications by Indonesians are scarce. Therefore neither batik workers nor batik entrepreneurs can see the highlights or masterpieces of Indonesian traditional batiks.

The obstacles are plenty. Now the crucial questions have become: where do we go from here? How do we overcome those challenges? Can they really be overcome?

If we look back to the days when traditional batik was at its zenith, we find that a piece of hand-drawn batik was an exquisite way of expressing oneself in a piece of art. Batiks were exclusive, cherished and worn only on special occasions. They were ceremonial cloths embodying a whole gamut of values. Unlike their later development, traditional batiks were neither just saleable commodities nor items of daily wear.

Batiks were traded historically, but it was not until quite late in the colonial period that they were largely turned into a commodity. The question is now: can traditional batiks still be made according to age old laborious methods?

Who makes them now and in what format? Originally, traditional batiks on the island of Java were worn: kain panjang (long cloth), sarung (tubular cloth), dodot (ceremonial cloth), selendang (scarf or shawl) and iket (head cloth). As modernization and Western education spread, the above-mentioned ways of dressing became less popular. Today we see that the number of Indonesians wearing batiks in the traditional manner has diminished sharply. Only in the interior of Java do people wear batik kain panjang as daily wear: this goes especially for the men.

Javanese men of the late twentieth century wear the Western dress of trousers and jacket. Indonesian women also increasingly wear Western style clothes; only on certain occasions do they wear traditional batiks the old way (i.e. as sarongs or kain panjang). Advisors from abroad as well as in Indonesia stress the importance of diversification, although still using the traditional process of making batiks.

Actually the diversification process had already begun in the 1950s. Batiks were already used as table linens, men's shirts, and women's casual wear for the home, but only on a small scale. The conclusion was reached that in order to survive, the traditional batiks had to be diversified; not only its products but also its basic material. So far, traditional batiks have mostly been executed on cottons, in many cases imported from Europe or Japan.

Although greatly admired for its intricate patterns and its laborious process of making batik was not seen abroad as a luxury fabric because of its basic material, cotton. In order to become a prestigious fabric in international fashion circles, batik had to use a more luxurious fabric such as silk.

While collecting samples of batik throughout Java in the 1960s, Indonesian designers encountered places where in the past silk batiks were made, such as Juwana and Lasem on the north coast of central Java. These places made silk scarves for the inter-insular batik trade with destinations like Bali and Sumatera.

The silk batik trade was interrupted and subsequently terminated by World War II. Silk batiks became a rarity, available only in antique shops, mostly on the island of Bali.

In 1962, in order to find a way of reviving silk batiks, we started with the making of silk batiks. After making many mistakes, eventually the technique of making hand-drawn batik on silk was accomplished. The main problem in making silk batik was the removal of the wax. Today, silk batiks are sold in many boutiques and shops, using mainly silk habotais and crepe de chines or satins

In an attempt to diversify traditional batiks further, experiments were made with heavier weights of cottons, mainly for furnishing fabrics. Adapting the batik process to heavier weight cottons in longer yardage than the usual kain panjang or sarong also required a bit of experimentation.

Thus, we see that in the mid-1970s the diversification process of traditional batiks was well under way. There was a proliferation of batik shirts, dresses, curtains, upholstery material, tablecloths, napkins, bags, etc. A shot in the arm was given by the former Governor of Jakarta, Ali Sadikin, who decreed that long sleeved batik shirts for men were acceptable as formal wear at receptions.

In spite of the great enthusiasm that was the result of this diversification, there were still handicaps that could not be overcome, due to batik's inherent limitations when applied to industrial use. For instance, hotels and public buildings, which at first enthusiastically embraced batik as the Indonesian fabrics that could lend that 'Indonesian' touch, discovered to their dismay that it could not meet the demand for uniformity or consistency in colour when ordered in large quantities. As for colour and rub fastness, it is important to note that batik is a way of decorating surfaces of textiles in a cold dyeing process unlike the machine coloured textiles, where the yarns are boiled in hot reactive dyestuffs.

Another way of diversification was the emergence of batik 'paintings' or wall hangings. The art of making batik painting was already well established in both Singapore and Malaysia in the late 1950s. It 'hit' Java in the early 1970s, where it has remained a fad rather than becoming an important art movement, borrowing more from Western painting that traditional batik.

Some artists, like the late Sulardjo and his brother Sumihardjo and the famous batik painter Amri Yahya, have created striking works in strong colour with both abstract and realistic subjects, while the artist Ardianto used mainly faded pastel colours. Their tradition can now be found in the numerous workshops scattered around the City of Yogyakarta of which the Tamansari or Water Castle is the most well-known location. Although this 'modern' diversification helped the batik industry to find new ways of survival, it came at the cost of sacrificing the symbolic meaning of the patterns.

Due to the new uses of batik, motifs became more diverse, with the accent on more 'naturalistic' and less meaningful patterns (for the Western-oriented fashion world, which likes flowers). In order to appreciate the factors that play an important factor in the way the art of Indonesian batik is going, we must bear in mind that the direction can be twofold. There must be a constant source and evolution of creative ideas, producing design concepts according to standards, which are continually examined, scrutinized and refined. Otherwise, products degenerate into cheap junk.

On the other hand, with the commercial side, a more utilitarian product should be encouraged too, because it will provide a livelihood for millions of people. One cannot live from art alone. This side should be developed by private production coordinators, either Indonesian or foreigners, with the assistance of good product developers in Indonesia, as well as in foreign countries. They will constantly think of modern applications for traditional products and continually upgrade the quality, because doing so results in increased revenues. Until now, there have not been enough organized ways of developing this commercial side of handicraft. People just do it on their own. If they are lucky, they hit on the right product that is sophisticated and of sufficient quality for the market. Contacts are made privately with artists showing at government organized exhibitions, but such contacts are never properly publicized. The artistic side needs protection and constant nourishing from patrons and sources of inspiration like museums, libraries, exhibitions and workshops

The Indonesian craft-worker has little against which to measure his or her talent at the moment. There is a need for highly motivated, capable and discerning men and women to exercise control, criticize and direct quality. For people who care, who will expose crafts-people to the best from the past or what will become the future by showing them examples or photographs? The talents and the skills are there, and the costs are still relatively inexpensive.

Areas like Bali and Central Java are excellent examples of places where highly artistic products can still be produced. It is a long, hard battle to make people recognize the urgency for action of adequate documentation and preservation programme. Again two directions can be taken at the same time: one is to develop and preserve the artistic side; the other is to the develop the mass market utilitarian side without sacrificing either. Indonesia has come to the crossroads and must decide quickly. In the light of everything that has been mentioned, the time has come for Indonesians to decide in which direction the art of batik is going.

There are several textile associations who concern themselves with the fate of batik, but none has taken a definite step about preservation, documentation and development of batik. There is this confusion and profusion of products sold under the name of batik, but only as a 'flag of convenience'. Mostly these consists of screen prints, machine roller prints, using traditional batik patterns and motifs.

More and more Indonesians, especially the younger generation and inhabitants of other islands of the archipelago, have no clue or only a vague idea how and what the process of traditional handmade batiks is.

Quite a number of rather unscrupulous entrepreneurs are making use of the above fact: screen-printed batiks are made of the highest quality imitating traditional vegetable dyed batiks, even to the smell of beeswax. What solutions are to be undertaken when faced with this ever growing problem? Should people just write off handmade wax processed batiks?

For at least 20 years we have advocated the need for a 'batik mark', something like the internationally known 'wool mark'. Both the producers of genuine handmade wax-process batik as well as the customers should be protected from the flood of 'pseudo-batiks' masquerading as the genuine product. A batik mark can only be effective if it is backed by legal sanctions, penalties and legislation. Until this mark has been created the erosion and destruction of traditional handmade batik will continue. Today batik has already lost its third dimensio...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Dunia Batik Conference Declaration, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 5 November 1997
• PART 1: CRAFTS, CULTURE AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE
• PART 2: TRADITIONAL BATIK
• PART 3: COMPARATIVE BATIK
• PART 4: BATIK CONSERVATION
• PART 5: VIRTUAL AND SOUVENIR BATIKS