IWAN TIRTA (1960-2000) - THE COMMODIFICATION OF BATIK: BROKERING PAST AS PRESENT & THE RE-IMAGINATION OF “INDONESIAN PERSONALITY” A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY DANIELL-ROBERT G. KÜHR IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DR. JOANNE B. EICHER, ADVISER, DR. MARILYN R. DELONG, CO-ADVISER OCTOBER 2012 © Daniell-Robert Kühr 2012 i Acknowledgments Success in completing this dissertation happened because of my partner, Jim's, unfailing support. I am indebted to him for his patient acceptance of my petulant idiosyncrasies. Dr. Barbara Heinemann guided me through this unchartered intellectual exercise. She provided comical relief when I faced my self-inflicted verbal nun-sense. Dr. Heidi Boehlke’s advice steered me towards focusing on Javanese culture. She shared important literature, pointing out the relevance of my Indo experience to this research. My achievement was possible because of Dr. Joanne Eicher’s continued tacit and unrelenting support. Dr. Eicher recognized the merits of my critical thinking, which persistently approached such endeavors by thinking outside of the box. My classwork for Dr. Marilyn DeLong reinforced my intellectual inclinations to unravel the Gordian’s Knot of ambiguity. Her syllabus reinforced my delight in penetrating textuality for its text. Such was the case when tackling aesthetics, which presented its own set of difficulties. Dr. Barbara Martinson’s classwork expanded my understanding of the cultural basis of aesthetics. Dr. David Shupe coached me since my early graduate student days. He was my academic confessor and educated me about influential intellectual traditions. Dr. DonnaMae Gustafson helped me with strengthening the internal logic of my document. Dr. M.C. Ricklefs was generous to glance through my raw written material, clarifying historical details. Dr. Suzanne Manness editorial skills prepared this document to meet stringent APA formatting guidelines. Charleen Klarquist's deft negotiating skills salvaged unforeseen hurdles throughout my graduate school career. Finally, I am indebted to my sister, Astrid Higgins, for her unwavering support at critical stages throughout my life. To all, thank you, for this privilege in fulfilling a much needed and long desired experience for this Aesthetic Gesture! ii Dedication He is fascinated by character; but his natural bent is to reveal it in a mythopoeic or symbolic or metaphorical, and not realistic, manner (‘it is…improbabilities of character that matter’). Martin Seymour Smith, Mayor of Casterbridge: Introduction Thomas Hardy (1978) To Jimmie iii Abstract During the decades of 1960 to 2000, the name, Iwan Tirta (1935-2010), was synonymous with batik. Batik gained wide international audience because of increase of scholarship on batik and a proliferation of how-to manuals on batiking. Batiking and surface patterning became associated with populations emerging on the islands of the Malay Archipelago. Batik technical skills reached an unprecedented level on the island of Java resulting with superbly decorated cloths. Under official status of an Indonesian state in 1945, batik cultural position and its trajectory changed under President Sukarno (1945-1968). This study focuses on Iwan Tirta's as de facto cultural arbiter under political aegis of President Suharto (1968-1998). Orde Baru (New Order) (Boehlke, 1992, 2008) politics under Suharto secured batik's emblematic position in representing Indonesia and its cultural heritage. Batik has become a visible descriptor for Indonesian cultural sense and sensibilities. This research seeks to determine Iwan Tirta's relationship with batik. It seeks how he understands it conceptually and how he interprets his understanding into his commodities. An extensive body of written text spanning nearly four decades discloses Iwan Tirta's views about batik. The text serves as a source for his claims made about batik, but evaluated against his sartorial constructions. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................... i Dedication ................................................................................................................................. ii Abstract .....................................................................................................................................iii Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures........................................................................................................................... vii Preface ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................................................. 6 Background ......................................................................................................................... 6 Research Question ............................................................................................................... 8 The Merits of This Research ............................................................................................... 13 Who is Iwan Tirta? ............................................................................................................. 28 Organization of Dissertation ............................................................................................... 34 Chapter 2: Literature Review .................................................................................................... 36 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 36 Theoretical Foundations of Anderson (2006) and Foster (1991) .......................................... 38 Overview of Historical Writings ......................................................................................... 56 A Review of Boehlke's Literature ....................................................................................... 62 A Review of K.R.T. Hardjonagoro Literature ...................................................................... 67 Chapter 3: Methodology ........................................................................................................... 73 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 73 Data.................................................................................................................................... 73 Written Text ................................................................................................................. 73 Primary Sources of Written Text ............................................................................ 74 v Secondary Sources of Written Text ........................................................................ 78 Tertiary Sources of Written Text ............................................................................ 79 Visual Text ......................................................................................................................... 79 ABC-1993 (DeLong 1987, 1998) Analysis ................................................................... 81 Method ......................................................................................................................... 84 Reading of Texts .................................................................................................... 84 Chapter 4: "Indonesia" – Facts and Factual Fiction .................................................................... 91 Chapter 5: "Java:" The Real "Indonesia" ................................................................................. 134 Chapter 6: Incarnations of Batik Orde Lama and Batik Orde Baru ........................................... 169 Chapter 7: Analysis ................................................................................................................. 200 ABC-1993 – Simply a Flat Surface Area ........................................................................... 202 Line – Its Pictorial Power ........................................................................................... 203 A Slice From a Fashion Show – Its Deconstruction ........................................................... 206 The Source for Pictorial Logic .................................................................................... 206 Setting the Stage ......................................................................................................... 207 Apparel-Body-Construct (ABC) ................................................................................. 208 Surface Modifiers ................................................................................................. 210 Lived-Experiences ............................................................................................................ 214 Lived-space ................................................................................................................ 214 Lived-time.................................................................................................................. 217 Lived-community ......................................................................................................