Batik Nitik’s Existence in the Postmodern Era

The visual form of a work of art is something that receives a lot of attention in the postmodern era. As a result, many works of art continuously experience development and upgrades that are adjusted to the artists’ self-expression. Nitik Batik is the oldest Batik style in Yogyakarta which has significantly developed in its visual form. This study aims to examine the existence of Nitik Batik in the postmodern era using a qualitative method and phenomenology approach. The research setting is in Bantul, Yogyakarta. Data were obtained through observations, interviews, and documentation. The analysis was done through data reduction, presentation, and drawing conclusions. The findings reveal that the existence of Nitik Batik in the postmodern era throughout the years can be summed up as follows: (1) from the function perspective, it can be used by all kinds of people; (2) from the motif perspective, the Nitik style has an overall of 60 motifs; (3) an association of Batik craftspeople was formed in 2017 by a group of women and young people as the next generation to preserve the existence of Batik Nitik; (4) the geographical indication has been registered at the Directorate of Brands and Geographical Indication as Batik with technical qualities based on the type of material, weaving technique, and recognition as the oldest Batik style in Yogyakarta.