The Actuality of Wooden Diorama: “Seni Liping Jopajapu” for Sustaining Indonesia’s Traditional Culture

In late 1999, Bejo and Bahen, Artist Brothers from Solo, Indonesia, launched the Seni Liping Jopajapu product in the form of wooden dioramas based on the daily life of traditional Indonesian people. What distinguishes Jopajapu from the producing dioramas generally lies in the point of view of its creation process. This research aims to discover the development stages of Jopajapu, so that it can become a cultural attraction from a historical and design point of view. This topic is important to discuss because it concerns the cultural values of manners and activities of traditional Indonesian people, which are unusual as attractions and selling points. This research will be carried out with a qualitative approach that begins with a focus on understanding the diorama products in sequence and continues with Jopajapu’s analysis of product development and variations, which were studied with Mayall’s theory in 1979 and developed further by Dr. Ahadiat Joedawinata. The result of this research is a detailed study of the function and local content level of the Seni Liping Jopajapu product, in that every aspect of the material is a form of artistic expression and longing from the daily lives of traditional Indonesian people. The implications of this research will help develop innovative products that specifically raise elements of the traditional culture of the Indonesian people based on the good local content values.