Iwan Tirta

Now into his 70s, IWAN TIRTA has been slowed a bit by age and a series of health crises in recent years. But the batik designer and raconteur has not lost his wickedly ironic take on the world around him, from decrying Rafael Nadal’s muscle shirts and wedgie-inducing capris (“He’s vulgar, tennis is supposed to be for ladies and gentlemen.”) to the dubious credentials of a publicity-hungry society doyenne. “There are so many dishonest people in Indonesia who deceive the Indonesian people,” he says at his Menteng, Central Jakarta, home. Iwan remains active, hosting guests, serving as a consultant for two upmarket Indonesian cuisine restaurants (Kembang Gula and Bunga Rampai) and traveling (he recently returned from his first trip to India). While batik is now here, there and everywhere, the man most identified with preserving and continuing its tradition is singularly unimpressed. “The problem is that the establishment still doesn’t know the difference between printed batik and the handmade one,” he says. “It’s our own mistake. They say ‘creative economy’, and that’s a contradiction. When the word economy comes into it, art flies out the door. You reduce everything to money. What we need now are good and knowledgeable patrons.”

+BOOKS
I learned to read by the age of four. As an incentive to read, my parents would offer me a train car or locomotive. I was always kind of a loner, and that is why I read. It was my window onto the world, and people are always amazed at what I know about the world. At the height of the revolution, when we were in Yogyakarta and deprived of many things, my favorite place to go was the museum library to read. I read mostly biographies today, cookbooks such as Dutch-Indonesian cookbooks, which help me with my consulting. I take my hat off to Laksmi Pamuntjak; she’s done her homework [as the author of The Jakarta Good Food Guide].

+TRAINS
The doctor told me to be careful, but I love traveling by train. From the window of a train, you get to see the other side of the landscape, including the slums. Trains have always fascinated me. The most interesting train journeys I have taken were from Rome to Milan, and the cross-Channel Express from London to Rome, in my younger days.

+PETS
I started at the age of three with a little duckling. My father, being a Muslim, didn’t like dogs, but I gradually moved on to them. I like small dogs like my pugs, ones that can be cuddled and sit in my lap. Being alone at an advanced age, I find it so reassuring and comforting to wake up in the middle of the night with a little dog snoring at my feet. They give you love unconditionally.

+FOOD AND COOKING
My parents trained their children to analyze dishes. You put a dish in front of me, and I can analyze the spices in it, so I can reproduce it exactly. When you cook, you have to concentrate on what you are doing and empty your thoughts; you cannot gossip or think evil thoughts if you want it to turn out right.

+TRAVEL
I caught the travel bug from my mother: Nothing is too far or too difficult. When you are younger, you can take your backpack and go wherever, and get your sense of adventure on three dollars a day. Now that I am older, and if I can afford it, I want to travel in comfort. Otherwise, I stay home. I like places with historical meaning. I’d still like to go to St. Petersburg.

+BEAUTIFUL THINGS
Anything that is well-made, long lasting and is made with care and love. Love is so important. Now, I make batik for myself. If someone comes along and likes it, I’ll let them have it. In the winter of my life, I realize that you cannot take it with you. I’m discarding the baggage.

+SPORTS
I’m not good with my legs, so don’t ask me about soccer. But I’m better with my hands, so I love tennis. I like to feel good for myself, and you earn the admiration of others if you do it right.

 
+Bruce Emond
Photos: Adi Wahono

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