From Domestic to Public: Representation of Working Women in Damar Kurung Painting

Abstract

Among the handicrafts of leather, brass, and plait in Gresik, there is the traditional Damar Kurung handicraft which is currently extinct. Damar Kurung is a traditional handicraft shaped like a rectangular lantern, decorated with paintings on the socio-cultural conditions of Gresik on each side. The Damar Kurung painting can be grouped into several themes, one of which is the theme of social activities which shows the economic activity of the Gresik population. Both male and female residents of Gresik participate in advancing the regional economy. This research is qualitative research with an interpretive descriptive approach, in which the data of Damar Kurung paintings are analyzed using Roland Barthes semiotics to reveal connotative meanings, denotation to the mythical level. Based on the analysis, the research results: (1) Javanese women's work is centered from within/the domestic area (family/household) to the public area. (2) Criticism of the myth of the Konco Wingking in the context of working Javanese women. (3) Javanese women who work always try to maintain the balance of the Jagad Gede and the Jagad Cilik as a form of devotion to God and fellow humans.