THE UNIQUENESS OF SURABAYA'S VISUAL
ART
Visual Art 1
By Marcella 6A, Aldo 6B, Michelle 6B, and Kevin Jett 6C
INTRODUCTION
We visited two places to find out about Surabaya’s Visual Art -
Balai Pemuda and a gift shop called Gae Koen Thok. We
categorized Surabaya’s visual art into the following catergories -
Logos
Clothing
Paintings
Handcrafts
Statues
LOGOS
One form of visual art is a logo. A logo is used to
represent the identity of organizations, schools,
companies, and government agencies. Many of the
logos found in Surabaya use the icons Sura and Baya
(shark and crocodile) and the Tugu Pahlawan
monument. This makes them unique because these
two things are only found in Surabaya.
LOGO 1&2
LOGO 3&4
LOGO 5&6
LOGO 7&8
PAINTINGS
Mr. M Sochieb
MR. M SOCHIEB
One of the greatest painters in Surabaya is Mr. M.
Sochieb. The themes of his paintings are unique
because he showed the spirit and bravery of
Surabaya citizen when they fought against the Dutch
colonialist during the war on 10 November 1945. In
1965 he started his first exhibition. Every time he
has an exhibition, he starts it on 10 November to
coincide with the date of the war.
This painting shows
Surabaya’s youth climbing
Yamato Hotel ( now
Majapahit Hotel) and
tearing down blue flag of
the Dutch.
Mr. Sochieb uses this
painting to show that war
without strategy is a waste
and can cause unnecessary
death. The soldiers
ambushed the enemy and
seized the fortress.
In this painting Mr. Sochieb
wanted to show that the war
has cost human lives,
causing destruction, misery
and death.
CLOTHING
The kinds of clothes we will look at to analyse Surabaya’s visual
art are Udeng , T-Shirt, and kebaya (traditional dress)
T-SHIRT (MODERN) This is a sample of modern T-
Shirt that we found in Gae Koen
Thok. The design uses cartoon
characters that represent the
ingredients of ‘rujak cingur’,
which is a traditional salad from
Surabaya. It makes this t-shirt
unique because all of the
ingredients are drawn in cartoon
and they add smiley faces in
each of the cartoon they draw.
Captions also adds meaning.
UDENG (TRADITIONAL)
This unique hat originated from Surabaya and is called ‘ Udeng’. It shows Surabaya’s identity because of the color, design, and motif. The characteristics : • It has the typical triangle behind the
hat which make it unique and different from other traditional hats such as Jogjakarta’s and Surakarta’s hats.
• It uses only one color• It is used in formal ceremonies
which are held by Surabaya’s government.
KEBAYAThis is the traditional clothes
worn by the girls of Surabaya.
It is simple sarong unique to
Surabaya, with Batik on the
bottom and Kebaya on top. The
top they wear is made of
colorful cotton fabric and
decorated by handmade lace.
The batik motif is taken from
original motifs of Surabaya such
as the ‘Sawunggaling Motif’
(rooster). It is also influenced
by Madura’s batik which has
flowers and bird motifs.
HANDCRAFTS (SOUVENIRS)
KEY CHAINSThese key chains are souvenirs
promoting Surabaya. They use
many symbols of Surabaya and
historical events, such as
‘Semanggi’ leaves, the old
Surabaya’s logo, and the speech of
Bung Tomo (one of Surabaya’s
heroes). These are unique and
make people remember the
importance of historical building,
events, and symbols of Surabaya.
SOUVENIRS (MODERN) This is a sample of souvenirs
that to promote Surabaya. It
is a mug that uses motifs
such as the Suro and Boyo
symbols to promote
Surabaya in a uniques way.
People usually buy it to
remember their trip to
Surabaya.
WOOD HANDCRAFT
This is one of the famous
wooden handcraft in
Surabaya. Thesestarted to
become famous around 1.5
years ago. This craft has
influenced Jogja’s craft. This is
unique, showing Surabaya’s
citizens carrying out their
daily activities.
STATUES
Tugu Pahlawan, jalesvev jayamahe, Suro dan
Boyo , Joko Dolok
TUGU PAHLAWANTugu Pahlawan is a famous
monumental statue that
represents the history of
Surabaya. It shows how the
youth of Surabaya defended
their city from a Dutch attack
on 10th November 1945.
Recently this Surabaya’s icon
was used as a batik motif.
People usually go to the Tugu
Pahlawan Monument to find
out more about Surabaya ‘s
history.
JALESVEVA_JAYAMAHE
The Jaleveva Jayamahe monument is
in the port of Tanjung Perak,
Surabaya. It symbolizes the motto -
"In the sea we are glorious”. This
giving credence to Indonesia’s
maritime army that protect the
ocean territory of Indonesia. The
monument is 30.6 meters high and
was designed by Nyoman Nuarta, a
famous artists from Bali. That is why
this statue is unique.
SURO DAN BOYO
This is a very famous statue
that defines Surabaya. This
symbol has been changed 3
times over the years. Is is made
from brick, rock and cement.
You can find this in front of
Surabaya’s Zoo.. This statue is
unique because it make people
remember the legend of
Surabaya.
JOKO DOLOGA STATUE OF BUDDHA
FROM THE 13TH CENTURY.
Joko Dolog is a Buddhist statue
built in 1289 to honor the death of
King Kertanegara. It is believed to
be carried to Surabaya 300 years
ago. In front of the statue there is
a big stone with Javanese
literature containing the
inscription of Joko Dolog. It is
found on Taman Aspari Street.
This is unique because of its
historical values.
SEMANGGI BATIK SURABAYA
This is a unique batik from
Surabaya. The motif used are
Semanggi leaves and the
famous icon of Suro and Boyo
fighting. It doesn't use many
colors like Madura’s batik ,
only using one theme of
bright colors.
BATIK MANGROVEThis is a special batik motif-based on
mangroves hence called "Batik
Mangrove“. The colors that been
used are bright, like orange, yellow,
red, purple and brown. Batik
mangrove has a specific designs with
the motif of flora and fauna that live
in the mangrove ecosystem. These
include leaves, flowers, fruits, as well
as animals like fish, crabs and
shrimp. Each motif of mangrove
comes with different name.
A characteristic of this type of visual
art is the use of a small motif and it’s
repeated to form a pattern.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SURABAYA'S VISUAL
ART
ANALYZING - LALA
We didn't’t find a lot of information specific to Surabaya’s visual art. We found out that
Surabaya’s visual arts uses specific elements of art, such as one theme of color , lines
and shapes, especially wavy, straight and rectangular. Today Surabaya visual art uses
icons such as the Tugu Pahlawan monument as a symbol and surrounded by Semanggi
leaves which originally represented Surabaya.
There are contemporary painting of Surabaya’s icon such as the Suro and Boyo
statue, Tugu Pahlawan, Semanggi leaves, with the paintings mostly being abstract. Most
of Surabaya’s visual art we found in many art galleries are influenced by other’s city
culture, such as Jogjakarta and Madura. Overall, the importance of Surabaya’s visual
art is to define and show the identity of Surabaya. The number of visual art in Surabaya
is limited that is why we need to help promote visual art as an important part of
Surabaya's culture and heritage.
ANALYZING-ALDO
Surabaya’s visual art is important because it really shows the
culture of Surabaya and it can represent Surabaya to other
communities. We from out during our excursion some new
Surabaya traditions related to visual art.. For example ‘Udeng
and Semanggi’. The importance of Surabaya’s visual art is that
it can attract people to come to Surabaya to see the uniqueness
visual art in Surabaya that are different from other cities. This
will therefore help with tourism and help our economy.
ANALYZING-MICHELLE
Surabaya’s visual art is important because
preserving our visual art can prevent other cities
taking our visual art and artists and to preserve our
unique cultural identity. We should create more
visual art because it can attract many tourists and
visitors to come to Surabaya so they can remember
the beauty of Surabaya and to help with commerce.
ANALYZING - KEVIN
Surabaya’s visual art is important to me. It is
important to attract people’s attention to love
Surabaya city and know that Surabaya is rich in
cultural tradition. Surabaya’s visual art is different
from other city because of the materials that are
used. We also use many different unique symbols
such as the Suro and Boyo .
C O N C L U S I O N
Surabaya has visual art, though the forms of visual art up to now are not as many
as Bali or Jogjakarta. Through visual art, we can help promote Surabaya so our
city can be defined easily and be unique from other cities. Another importance
of Surabaya’s visual art is to have what we call a ‘city identity’, which allows us
to be proud of Surabaya. People can modify the forms of visual art not only to
make it better but also to create new symbols that represent Surabaya’s identity.
This can make people who live or visit Surabaya remember that Surabaya is the
city of Heroes, a stronghold for maritime activity including both trade and the
Indonesian Navy. Through visual art we can show that we are a unique city with
a strong cultural heritage. In the future we need to be more proactive in
promoting Surabaya to the rest of the world through visual art.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anonymous.” Joko dolog.” Online Available
http://www.eastjava.com/tourism/surabaya/joko-dolog.html
Djoko Kristiano.” Handy Craft.” Online Available
http://www.demotix.com/news/862089/miniature-handy-craft-display-surabaya#m
edia-862081
M.Sochieb.” Paintings M. Sochieb.” Online Available
http
://jawatimuran.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/peristiwa-10-november-1945-dalam-lu
kisan-karya-sochieb
/
Anonymous.”Batik Manggrove.” Online unavailable
http://produsenbatik.com/batik-mangrove.html