are you happy?

choose the right choice B)

awesome BATIK is awesome

Setelah bertapa, mohon doa, dan bantuan referensi (baca: google, dll.)
Akhirnya selesai juga nih tugas Essay 2000 kata nya... Share semoga bermanfaat, maaf grammar dsb. masih salah sana sini :p

the art of batik making and the future of batik

Textile design has had a long and varied history in Indonesia, shaped by such divergent factors as climate, geography, outside cultural influences and various religios. Indonesia’s rich textile heritage includes a wide variety of woven cloth as well as well-developed dye-resist techniques that include the art of batik making. Batik is the “fabled” cloth of Java because it is both mysterious and legendary. Batik is not just another pretty and colorful piece of textile. To the contrary, batik is art in the purest sense of the world, that can also be used for utilitarian purposes. Batik in its diversity of patterns, colors and textures is a reflection of our culture. From the choice of materials and designs, to the choice of colors, dyes and implements, to the choice of finishing processes and final use, hand-made batik is individualistic to the extreme. Hence, batik has always lent it-self very well to accentuate social communication and tradition, from past court attire to today’s ceremonial wear, from formal wear to street wear. This highly individualistic orientation also has allowed for very personalized creations, reflecting different people and their cultures in different areas of java, from the court in Cirebon to the ones of Surakarta and Yogyakarta, from Pekalongan on the north coast of Java to the small villages of Madura.

            Batik could well have developed simultaneously in several places in the world. Regardless of its point of origin, it is widely recognized that the batiks of java reached the highest level of refinement through the combintion of a wide design repertoire, well-developed dyeing methods and technical perfection. The dye-resist technique itself is a very old method of textile decoration. Cavemen replicated the shape of their hands by placing them on the walls of caves and blowing ash over them, which acted as the simplest form of resists, such as rice, paste on the surface of cloth made from bark and later from woven threads that were then washed with simple dyes. These early development can be considered as the art of batik in its embryonic form. True batik is distinguished from earlier formsof dye-resist by its use of wax. This gave a new flexibility and depth to the art and allowed hand-drawn batik to advance to its present level of sophistication. Working with wax improved over time as batik  makers demanded more of the medium to create more-intricately defined textile surfaces. Many reasons could be hyphotesized for the development of batik. I see batik as an alternative to textiles such as ikats and handwoven cloth that were difficult to acquire in sufficient quantity to satisfy demand. For example, batik may begun to imitate weaving patterns, when certain weavings, especially those that were part of ritual or ceremonial practices, became scarcer. Interestingly, where the weaving tradition remained strong, batik did not develop. This suggest that batik might have replaced woven cloths. Even if it was initially an imitative effort, the art took its own full and elaborate personality as people continued to search for easier ways to decorate textiles. Today, screen-printing and airbush painting have invaded the design scene and are rapidly replacing batik. The first waxed batiks must have been relatively simple and done on hand-spun and handwoven  cloth, which allowed only a rough design. The earlier batiks probably look like those still being produced on homespun near to the town of Tuban on East Java northern coast. The art of batik depended totally on the materials available. The finer cottons that were subsequently imported abroad to the north coast of Java, made it possible for the artisans to concieve new ideas. Even the batik technique using wax could itself have been received through the ports. The people living in the coastal areas have always been more innovative and entreprenurial than those living inland. They may even introduced or promoted batik, realizing that a lucrative in raw materials would result.

            To make a batik we use some material. The first material called Canting. This pen-like instrument is unique to Indonesia and forms the special features of indonesian batik techniques. Over time, two kinds of canting have been developed : canting tulis and canting cap. The use of canting tulis has undoubtedly contributed to the fine quality and beauty of line typical of indonesian hand made batik. The canting tulis consists of a hollow vessel made of brass or copper to which a spout is attached that allows hot liquid wax to flow onto the cloth. Like the tip of fountain pen, this curved spout or spout-some times as many six spouts are attached to the scoop- may vary greatly in size according to the tickness of lines to be drawn in it. The as-yet unmarked cotton cloth is drapped over a frame or rack called gawangan. Depending of the financial of the batiker, this frame can very simple, made from bamboo or wood, or it could be luxuriously decorated with a variety of ornament such as carved garlands anf gilded serpents or nagas . With his or her left hand the batikker adjust the cloth to the position he or she wants, while the right hand holds the canting. It is difficult to pin point exactly when the canting tulis came into existence. It seems logical that necessity, the mother of invention, provided this exquisite tool when a demand for finer textile design arose. The canting cap, which came into existence later, is a block or intricately laced copper wires that transfers molten hot wax onto a piece of cloth with one stamping. The second materials are wax and resins. Batik become a distinct art in java undoubtedly becouse of the availability of beeswax and variety of naturally occuring resins. Oils were also used in pre-batikking stage to prepare cloth for dye baths. The next material is dyes. The dyeing process is critical to the success of quality batik . A piece is instantly judged for the richness of its colors and the ripeness of its tone. All batik dyeing procedures use cold water techniques versus the extensive boiling method of the hot reactive-dye process. The cold dye bath allows wax to be used as a resist, and boiling water is used only in the final stage toremove the resist. To attain the desire depth of color, a wide range of additives can be used to maximize the cloth absorption.  And the last material is Cloth. Cotton woven in Indonesia was never competitivewith the quality of imported cloth. The kain kapas-the locally made cloth- probably lagged behind in mass production because of the limitations of the local back-strap loom. Another factor was the involvement of the local population in agricultureal activities. In indonesia, weaving was a secondary activity in-between working the land, whereas in india, for example, weaving was a full time home industry for more than 5000 years. Thus, the art of batik increasingly become dependent on imported cottonbecame a medium of exchange so commonly traded that prices were often quoted in lengths of the cloth. Three or four yards of cloth was worth about forty pounds of nutmeg in the 17th century. In 1824, the Dutch introduced a finer quality cotton into the colonythat enabled artisans to produce the detailed batik batik designs tha Java has become known for. The trademark of this fine cotton was the Dutch centcoin, called in Javanese tjap sen. It was made in the mills around the town of twente in Holland. In Java, the name tjap sen became synonymous with the finest quality cotton available. 

            Modern uses of batik. Batik has always been closely connected with fashion even in early court life. Western fashion required an adaptation of batik for dress design, and fashion centers of Indonesia responded quickly to these needs. not only in the fasion but also in the interior decoration. Batik has become a staple comodity. Its one –time ceremonial status has been leveled such everyday items as men’s shirts, ladies dresses cut in the western style, napkins,placemats, table cloths, wall hangings and shoe bags. Although the same techbiques of wax-resist process are used, making batik for use in furnishing required a minor revolutionin design and composition. The large amount of material used for furnishing pabrics required that be produced by the yard. New widths for cloth were introduced so were new textures. The most suitable material for upholstery,for example, was canvas, while draperies call for slightly lighter base material. These new factors- greater length, increased width, varying weight and construction of greater length, increased width, varying weight and construction of cloth- required major adaptation for the old art of wax dyeing. Patterns had to be rearranged according to the warp instead of the weft, which is the traditional way of batik. Longer yardage required repeated waxing to achieve clarity design. At first, the developments were not very smooth, but today batik furnishing-fabrics are a common phenomena. Sometime in the 1960s, perhaps influenced by development of the art of batik in Europe, the United States, Malaysia and Singapore, the design concepts of western oil painting became preeminent in batik paintings. Although the wax- resist techniques were still used, the focus of batiks moved from textile designs to naturalistic subjects. Favorites were human figures, which had been rarely usde in traditional batik composition, natural landscape scenes andlater even abstract compositions. In Singapore and Malaysia, batik became a medium for wall hangings. At first these hanging got a lukewarmly reception, but gradually their acceptance spread.

            Batiks of the future. Through history, batik has weathered many stroms. I stongly that batik has a robust future. Gone are the glorious days when artistic batik cloth was an essential item in everyday life. For street wear, the average Indonesian wears printed textiles perhaps with touches that remind people of batik. All this because large factories can produce yargade by the thousands. I predict that the midsized batik workshops will disappear completely, unable to complete with larger, more efficiently run textile manufacturers. With rising labor costs, even batik cap will probably not be prifitable anymore because the profit margins for this kind of fabric will shrink. In fact, people ultimately will prefer a screen-printed cloth with seemingly perfect batik motifs instead of batik cap with its imperfections and limited coloring. Dyes used in printed fabrics are far more colorfast than the cold-water dyes of cap batik. I also predict that only small artistic studio-type workshops producing high-quality, genuinely handmade and hand-drawn batiks will survive. These will depend on specialized commisions. And they are flexible enough andwilling to work for highly discriminating clients. Rich patrons and future art collectors will replace the tastemakers of the old days. This new form of interaction between customers and batik workshops will be the backbone and survival kit for the traditional ways of batik. Batik is still dynamic today. It is very flexible medium for effectively translating designs fromm all over the world. Sometimes the end result an entirely new sensation – a transformation of the original. With ceremonial dresses – like wedding batiks that incoporate grand traditional designs such as dodots – we should encourage the use of expensive materials. Using costly base cloth creates a kind of commercial vitality. It allows the dresses to be made again and again. Grand fashion has instant appeal. Like kimonos in Japan, which have become so expensive to make, personal ownership is beyond the financial capabilities of the mass market. By andlarge, the kimonos are rented. The high prices from the sales and rentals allow the art of kimono making to live on. The profits can be reinvested so the quality of the product can be improved constantly. The same is true of grand batik gowns. The cost of materials and the time requred to produce a single dress or gown should not be deterrents. Traditional ceremonial cloths and court costumes share several characteristic with today’s high-fashion wear. The textilesmust rely on the best production techniques, employ the finest materials and incorporate the most beautiful embellishments.

            The hands of time cannot be turned back. The social, cultural and economic milieu in which batik had been made has changed. Perhaps it is better to view batik as dynamic continuum on which its production has always responded to the climate in which its makers are living. But the new batiks of indonesia – paintings, ball gowns, and furnishing fabrics – will find their way to special niches. It is ironic to end my reflections on batik by saying that the batiks of Java, which started as ceremonial cloth worn by a precious few, now in a modern form will emerge again as a specialty product for the elite in Indonesia, as well as abroad. It will be available to those who recognize and support batik for the high and top quality this fabled cloth has brought to the world.