Go Tik Swan, batik guru from Solo<\/p>\n
Bambang M, Contributor, Surakarta<\/p>\n
In the Spirit of Indonesia, a book published by the Indonesian
\nBatik Foundation, Go Tik Swan is referred to as \"the most
\nrespected batik artist from Java\".<\/p>\n
\"He is the guru for batik experts all over the world and he is
\nalso the teacher of the writers of this book,\" Joop Ave, the
\nformer minister of tourism, post and telecommunications, wrote in
\nthe book's overleaf.<\/p>\n
The guru of batik experts from all over the world? That
\nstatement may sound exaggerated, but the 71-year-old guru, whose
\nfull name is Kanjeng Raden Temenggung Hardjonagoro Go Tik Swan,
\ndeserves the commendation.<\/p>\n
Go Tik Swan said a person could never be a really good batik
\nartist unless he or she was an expert in Javanese culture.<\/p>\n
\"People who can dance traditional Javanese dances are
\ngenerally good learners of the art of batik,\" said the Chinese-
\nIndonesian, who is well-versed in Javanese culture and considers
\nbatik his mainstay.<\/p>\n
In his backyard in Kratonan, Surakarta is a bamboo building
\nthat he uses as his batik workshop. There, a number of old women
\nare busy at work.<\/p>\n
His creations have found their way into the collections of
\nvarious museums in Australia and Europe. Among his masterpieces
\nis one called the Batik Parang Mega Kusuma, which he dedicated to
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri when she was vice president.<\/p>\n
Go Tik Swan is well-known as a seasoned batik designer. His
\nstyle is in fact a mixture of the colorful motifs from the north
\npart of Central Java and the sogan motifs of Central Java's south
\narea.<\/p>\n
Sogan is a batik coloring technique in which only the colors
\nof the wax are used and nothing else.<\/p>\n
Etty Soeliantoro Soelaiman, the chief of the local batikmakers
\nassociation, Sekar Jagad, said that Go Tik Swan was one of
\nIndonesia's most respected creators of motifs.<\/p>\n
Go Tik Swan attributed his role in batik to Megawati's father,
\nfirst president Sukarno, who wanted him to help preserve the
\nvarious ethnic batik motifs from the different parts of Java.<\/p>\n
The artist met Sukarno at the time he was studying Javanese
\nliterature at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta. In 1954
\nSukarno attended the university's anniversary party and Go Tik
\nSwan performed a Javanese dance called the Gambir Anom, which
\nmade a deep impression on the president.<\/p>\n
\"When my name was mentioned, Bung Karno (as Sukarno is
\naffectionately called) was very impressed because the dancer was
\nChinese,\" he recalled.<\/p>\n
Sukarno met him backstage and there their friendship began.
\nThe president asked him to help organize the monthly Javanese
\nshadow puppet play (wayang) once a month at the State Palace.<\/p>\n
Later, Sukarno learned that Go Tik Swan came from a rich batik
\nfamily in Surakarta.<\/p>\n
One day, Sukarno asked Go Tik Swan to make him a batik which
\nwas \"typically Indonesian\", and that he could proudly show off to
\nhis foreign guests.<\/p>\n
Go Tik Swan had no reason to refuse the request of the
\nstatesman he admired the most.<\/p>\n
\"It was like a sacred mandate that I had to do,\" said the
\nartist, who was born in Surakarta on May 11, 1931.<\/p>\n
Although he was well-educated, Go Tik Swan did not go the
\ntechnical route to fulfill the president's assignment by doing
\nlibrary research on Indonesian batik. He went instead to northern
\nJava's batik centers, such as Tuban, Demak, Cirebon and Kudus.<\/p>\n
At every town he visited, Go Tik Swan not only observed the
\narts, but also looked for spiritual guidance by meditating in
\nsacred places, such as the Great Mosque of Demak, the tomb of
\nSunan Bonang in Tuban and the tomb of Sunan Gunung Jati in
\nCirebon.<\/p>\n
His spiritual journey for typical Indonesian batik led him
\nnowhere.<\/p>\n
Then in 1955, he met with Tjan Tjoe Sien, an expert in
\nJavanese culture, who invited him to Bali. There they stayed at
\nthe home of Walter Spies, a Dutch painter in Campuran village,
\nUbud.<\/p>\n
Every night, Go Tik Swan meditated in a cave near the Dutch
\nartist's residence.<\/p>\n
\"One night while they were sitting on the verandah, I saw the
\nfull moon fall down on me and explode. Strangely, I was the only
\none who experienced it,\" he said.<\/p>\n
So he went home the next morning, feeling confident that the
\nconcept for the typical Indonesian batik that president Sukarno
\nordered had formed in his mind.<\/p>\n
\"In 1970, my account was written down by Veldhuizen, a Dutch
\nbatik expert in his book Blomen van Het Heelal,\" said Go Tik
\nSwan.<\/p>\n
Go Tik Swan maintains his relationship with the Sukarno
\nfamily. When he celebrated his 70th birthday, Hartini, one of the
\nwives of Sukarno, gave him a photograph of her and Sukarno, and
\nMegawati gave him a crystal glass.<\/p>\n
For his dedication to batik, he received the Budaya Bhakti
\nUpradana award in 1993 from the Central Java provincial
\ngovernment. The Surakata palace bestowed on him the royal
\nhonorific title of Kanjeng Raden Temenggung (KRT) Hardjonagoro.<\/p>\n
Batik is not his only area of expertise. He is also well-
\nversed in Javanese culture, especially the history of the kris,
\narchitecture and archaeology.<\/p>\n
In his early years, he learned batik from the artists working
\nfor his parents' batik company. From them, he also learned the
\nJavanese dances.<\/p>\n
In recognition of his contributions to Javanese culture and
\nbatik, he was named a member of the Surakarta Institute of Arts'
\n(STSI) board of experts.<\/p>\n
In this way, he has become an important source of information
\nfor both local and foreign experts on batik and Javanese culture
\nin general.<\/p>\n
As an archeological enthusiast, he fashioned his house after a
\nmuseum, with antiques placed in all the rooms. In 1985, he
\ndonated 45 ancient statues from his collection to the government,
\nknowing that these artifacts should be under the government's
\nprotection.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/go-tik-swan-batik-guru-from-solo-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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