#TITLE_ALTERNATIVE#

• Main Author: SOBUR (NIM 27098001), ABDUL
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/6987
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Within the Indonesian art tradition, the existence of decorative art that manifests itself through many media expressions is relatively quite dominant compared to other forms of traditional art. Their various forms of manifestation are used as a leitmotif to express their aesthetic and symbolic value springing from their genuine cosmological culture.<p>Therefore their existence in the modern secular lifestyle of the people still shows the role and function of traditional decorative art as an aesthetic expression. It also shows the wealth of the culture and the main characteristic original of Indonesian traditional art.<p>The social structural changes which happened throughout Indonesian society as the result of the development of the Western capitalist influences, on the one hand have encouraged economic development as the result of the increasing activities of the craftsmen doing their business. But on the other hand, if examined closely, the increase of the craft industry in Cirebon is still mainly for the purpose of local market consumption. Not many of the craft works are highly competitive commodities that can sell well internationally.<p>They lack the competitive advantage that can help them excel in free market competition. This is a general conclusion based on comprehensive observation and practice. The booming of the craft industry in Indonesia does not show the quality that is needed to serve as the basis for Indonesian culture and economic strength in the globalization era.<p>An holistic understanding of every aspect is needed to produce highly competitive craft works. This can be achieved through developing the system of production, such as product idea, product concep and product image. All of them must manifest themselves in a unique and distinct product: a modern craftwork. To achieve this we can always learn from traditional art values which always show that they are unique and have stood the test of time as products that have inner value. The field study that has been conducted in traditional Cirebon carving and batik art is the first step to a more comprehensive study of the reality of their decorative arts' existence in order to have the aesthetic reference that can be utilized to manifest themselves in new forms. That study is the means to identify and retrace the values of traditional decorative art in order to preserve the national cultural heritage so that they can be developed and put forward as the main added value of today's craft products.