TRACING THE EXISTANCE OF SITIWINANGUN TRADITIONAL CERAMICS

• Main Author: Ahmad Rajwie, Iftikhar
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/76153
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Cultural artifacts are closely tied to human activities, representing the identity of human groups. One cultural artifact in Indonesia is traditional ceramics, which have a strong connection to the activities of a community. They are widely used in daily life, including as utensils, ritual objects, art pieces, and for various everyday functions. The relationship between traditional ceramics and society is so strong that its existence relies heavily on the community. However, cultural evolution has led to changes in practices within a culture, impacting the existence of traditional ceramics. This change has resulted in degradation. Degradation can be observed through a decrease in the number of ceramic objects created, a reduction in the variety and quality of ceramics, a decline in raw material availability like clay, and a decrease in ceramic production spaces. Additionally, there's a diminishing number of ceramic practitioners due to a lack of regeneration. These conditions can be found in several traditional ceramic centers in Indonesia, which the author focuses on studying one particular center. The chosen center of study is Sitiwinangun traditional ceramics, located in West Java. This center has distinct visual characteristics and strong cultural potential, but it has experienced the phenomenon of degraded existence. During the exploration of Sitiwinangun ceramics center, degradation becomes evident due to halted regeneration and the substitution of materials replacing ceramics for functional products. The author employs an ethnographic approach for research and an archaeological approach in creating visual works, both aimed at identifying the degradation phenomenon through the relationship between artifacts and their creators, the practitioners of Sitiwinangun traditional ceramics. The author attempts to portray the degraded existence of Sitiwinangun ceramics through an installation that displays fragments of traditional ceramic objects and images of the center's landscape. This artwork aims to raise awareness about the existence of traditional ceramics as cultural objects with potential in domains such as culture, art, economy, tourism, and academia.