Shadow Puppet Transmedia as Created by Subandi Giyanto: An Ethnographic Study Perspective

Abstract

Subandi Giyanto is an artist pursuing his interest in puppetry since his very young age. His works have continued to morph through various forms and the media used have been also diverse because Giyanto has been motivated in exploiting and experimenting with his creation. Starting from Yogyakarta's leather puppets to decorative canvas painting, he innovatively responds to development of the arts. This study focuses on the artist’s creative process and the preservation of leather puppets he does. The method used is qualitatively descriptive with Spradley's ethnographic approach. Data were gathered from informants as the initial key to data exploration through observation, interview, and documentation. Then, they were analyzed by using Spradley's ethnographic approach to describe the structural history of the various forms of Giyanto's works from then on. This research revels (1) the influence of Giyanto's educational and social background in each of his works, (2) the metaphorical creative process employed from the beginning of his career to the present, and (3) the development of the artist’s work in industry 4.0.