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