Thinking the Work of Craft as City’s Identity Case Study: Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Abstract

Art in public spaces is often associated with fine art, sculptures in particular. The association changes along with the development of visual art, as happens in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. There are innumerable artistic and cultural novelties and happenings in Yogyakarta that it is known as the city of culture. One of the novelties is the utilization of craft work as the art in the city's strategic public spaces. Evidently this change incites various reactions since it never happened before. Craft art was associated with the small, practical, functional, and mass-produced objects placed indoor. With this significant change, it can be said that craft has highly developed. Therefore, it becomes an interesting object to study. Evidently craft products can exist in Yogyakarta public spaces and it can be an icon as well as the city identity. This is a qualitative research with interdisciplinary approach. This analysis of the craft in Yogyakarta public spaces is based on the craft, aesthetic, public art, expansion theory, and sociology of art. This paper describes the changes in craft that it occupies Yogyakarta public spaces. The phenomenon of such changes provides a new dimension in enhancing knowledge in the craft domain.

Keywords: Craft, Public Art, City, Yogyakarta

DOI: 10.7176/ADS/76-10

Publication date:September 30^th 2019