Exhibiting Modernity and Indonesian Vernacular Architecture: Hybrid Architecture at Pasar Gambir of Batavia, the 1931 Paris International Colonial Exhibition and Taman Mini Indonesia Indah

201 Pages·2016·8.9 MB·English

by  Yulia Nurliani Lukito (auth.)

Exhibiting Modernity and Indonesian
Vernacular Architecture
Yulia Nurliani Lukito
Exhibiting Modernity
and Indonesian
Vernacular Architecture
Hybrid Architecture at Pasar
Gambir of Batavia, the 1931 Paris
International Colonial Exhibition
and Taman Mini Indonesia Indah
Yulia Nurliani Lukito
Jakarta, Indonesia
ISBN 978-3-658-11604-0 ISBN 978-3-658-11605-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-658-11605-7

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015952645

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Abstract

Exhibiting Modernity and Indonesian Vernacular Architecture:
Hybrid Architecture at Pasar Gambir of Batavia, the 1931 Paris
International Colonial Exhibition and Taman Mini Indonesia
Indah

The beginning of the twentieth century in the Dutch East Indies or nowadays
Indonesia has some characteristics of a development of technology and a consumer
society, and an expansion and cultural ascendancy of the middle class that lead to
the idea of progress and modernity. This dissertation investigates a series of colonial
exhibitions held both in the colony and in the colonizing country that used
Indonesia vernacular architecture as their basic idea. Using three exhibitions as
platforms – Pasar Gambir of Batavia between the 1920s-1930s, the 1931
International Colonial Exhibition in Paris, and the modern ethnographic park of
Taman Mini Indonesia Indah – this dissertation aims to investigate the
interconnection among exhibitions, and the construction of culture by the
authorities at that time. Underlying ideas of these exhibitions were a way to gain
profit and to spread consumerism, a desire to shape public through culture, an
intention to express the authorities’ connection to modernity and an effort to show
off power. I argue that exhibitions offer an opportunity for their visitors to exercise
different cultural and social relations, and to have their own ideas of modernity
presented at the exhibitions. Moreover, colonial exhibitions held in the colony had
contributed to the creation of localized modernity and space of encounter between
the colonizer and the colonized. In each exhibition, hybrid architecture that
combined both indigenous and modern architecture became a successful way in
conveying the intention of organizers and in connecting visitors to modernity as
well as to Indonesian culture.
Pasar Gambir of Batavia was a laboratory of modernity for the colony, and an
important stage in modernizing and negotiating cultural and social conditions in the
colony. Hybrid architecture presented at Pasar Gambir became a lingua franca that
was meant to unite diverse conditions of the society and bridge the gap between the
ruler and the ruled. The use of Indonesia vernacular architecture such as Balinese
architecture for the Dutch pavilion at the 1931 colonial exhibition in Paris showed a
displacing image of indigenous architecture and became a moment when the Indies
heritages played a role in marking colonial territory. Taman Mini Indonesia Indah
vi Abstract

attempted to suppress the Dutch construction of the Indies culture and gave a way
to the making of an official ‘authentic’ culture. Through the use of hybrid site and
architecture, Taman Mini claimed back the spiritual realm of Indonesian culture that
was told by the Dutch as inappropriate without their mediation.
Through analysis of the images of Indonesian vernacular architecture at three
different sites and times, this dissertation concludes that modernity in the colony
was not solely the result of the authorities, rather it was an ongoing process
modified by visitors of exhibitions. In the process of staging modernity and
consuming it, local audiences create their own understanding of modernity away
from the script written by the authorities. Finally, it is Indonesian vernacular
architecture that serves as a valuable source and an experiential means through
which modernity and local identities are shaped.
In the name of the God Almighty,
I dedicate this book to my loving children Bima and Aurelia,
and my supportive husband Lukito Priyambodo.
Acknowledgement

This book would not have been possible without the enduring support of many
people and institutions. I would like to express my utmost gratitude to my
dissertation supervisor at RWTH Aachen University, Univ.-Prof. Axel Sowa, for his
excellent encouragement, criticism, and for challenging many of my ideas. He
constantly pushed me to engage with local materials, and to connect exhibitions
with their displayed architecture and modernity toward a bigger picture. I would like
to thank Prof. Henk Schulte Nordholt who directed me to valuable sources for
colonial exhibitions and the Dutch late colonial period in Indonesia. I am grateful to
very kind researchers at KITLV Dr. Marieke Bloembergen who gave some insights
in dealing with some sources related to Paris colonial exhibition, and Dr. Tom
Hoogervorst who helped me to find Sino-Malay literature on Pasar Gambir. I
would also like to thank Prof. Gunawan Tjahjono for reading some parts of my
dissertation and his inspiring thoughts on Indonesia vernacular architecture.
I would like to thank Ariane Wilson for reading some chapters at early stages
and her company to explore libraries and archives in Paris, Lutz Robbers for his
time reading and correcting my writings, Jonas Többen and Juliane Seehawer for
helping me with images and maps, and Doris Mangartz for assisting me with
administrative works. My former student in Indonesia, Nabila, helped me
conducting a field research in Jakarta. In the last stage, this dissertation benefited
from immaculate language editing from Mary-Joan Blümich. Although many people
have helped me with their insightful ideas and critique, I bear the sole
responsibilities for all the mistakes made in the dissertation.
I acknowledge generous supports of the Department of Architecture Theory
RWTH Aachen University and the Department of Architecture University of
Indonesia. The DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) gave financial
support through the time period of my doctoral study. Numerous libraries and
archives generously allowed me to use their resources: RWTH Bibliothek, the
Bibliothèque nationale de France, the library of the Institut National d’Histoire de
l’Art (INHA) Paris, the Leiden University Library, the library of the Royal Institute
of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) Leiden, the library of
Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde Leiden, the Tropenmuseum Amsterdam, the Nationaal
Museum van Wereldculturen, the library and the archive of the Netherlands
Architecture Institute (NAI) Rotterdam. In Jakarta I benefited from the library
resources of National Archive Indonesia (ANRI), the National Library of
Indonesia, the Ministry of Public Works, and the library of Taman Mini Indonesia
Indah.
x Acknowledgement

I cannot thank enough my family who has always been there for me, and their
unconditional love, care and tolerance have been an indispensable source of
spiritual support. Each member of Keluarga Srengseng and Condet in Jakarta
supports me in their own possible ways. My two wonderful children, Bima and
Aurelia, become sources of inspiration, motivation and energy to finish my works. I
will never forget our study time together and their sincere curiosity of my works
that keep me highly motivated. Finally this project could not have been possible
without an endless support of my husband, Lukito Priyambodo, who was there at
every stage to encourage me. His faith in my project and me surpasses mine.
Table of Contents

Abstract .................................................................................................................................. v
Acknowledgment ................................................................................................................. ix
Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ xi
List of Figures .................................................................................................................... xiii
1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 1
2. Pasar Gambir of Batavia: Hybrid Architecture and Space of Encounter
for the Indies People ................................................................................ 17
2.1. Pasar Gambir as the Liveliest Colonial Exhibition in Batavia ..................... 20
2.1.1. Pasar Gambir in the King’s Square ....................................................... 21
2.1.2. A Blend of a Pasar and a Fair: the Beginning of Negotiation at
Pasar Gambir ........................................................................................... 26
2.1.3. The Organizer of Pasar Gambir ........................................................... 27
2.2. The Hybrid Architecture of Pasar Gambir ..................................................... 29
2.2.1. The Plan of Pasar Gambir .................................................................... 31
2.2.2. The Gate to Pasar Gambir .................................................................... 35
2.2.3. The Pavilion of Pasar Gambir: the Power of Hybrid Architecture 38
2.2.4. Pasar Gambir Fair as an Open Experimental Platform of Hybrid
Architecture ............................................................................................. 41
2.2.5. Hybridity in the Making of Pasar Gambir .......................................... 43
2.3. Pasar Gambir and the Experience of Modernity .......................................... 48
2.3.1. Urban Modernity in Batavia ................................................................... 50
2.3.2. Electric Lighting and Advertisement as Sign of Modernity in
Pasar Gambir ............................................................................................ 54
2.4. Space of Encounter in Pasar Gambir .............................................................. 56
2.5. The Reception of Pasar Gambir’s Visitors ..................................................... 58
2.6. Pasar Gambir in Indonesian and Sino-Malay Literature ............................. 62
2.7. Pasar Gambir and the Gaze: Celebrating Colonial Modernity and
Defining the ‘Self’ ............................................................................................... 66
3. The Dutch Pavilion at the 1931 International Colonial Exhibition in
Paris: Contrasting Authenticity and Modernity ...................................... 69
3.1. The Last International Colonial Exhibition and the Narrative of
Progress ................................................................................................................ 71
3.2. The Layout of the Exhibition and the National Pavilions ........................... 74