STUDIO FOTO WOODBURY & PAGE: POPULARISASI BUDAYA JAWA DALAM FOTOGRAFI KOLONIAL 1857-1908
WOODBURY & PAGE PHOTO STUDIO: POPULARIZATION JAVANESE CULTURE IN COLONIAL PHOTOGRAPHY 1857-1908
Studio Woodbury & Page berdiri di Batavia pada tahun 1857 sebagai studio foto komersial di era awal kedatangan fotografi yang memegang peranan penting dalam kondisi masyarakat Jawa pada masa itu. Karya karyanya menjadi terkenal karena bernilai artistik dan memiliki nilai dokumenter tentang kehidupan masyarakat pribumi Jawa. Para pribumi kelas bawah yang berfoto di studio foto merupakan seorang model yang dibayar oleh sang fotografer. Penggunaan para model pribumi menciptakan suatu representasi visual tentang keadaan dan kebiasaan masyarakat pribumi Jawa.
Studio foto Woodbury & Page banyak menerbitkan karyanya dalam bentuk produk fotografi. Produk fotografi sebagian besar berisi foto dari model pribumi. Selama 50 tahun studio foto Woodbury & Page secara konsisten membuat produk fotografinya tersebar luas hingga ke Eropa. Tersebarnya produk fotografi ke Eropa membuat budaya dan kondisi sosial-ekonomi masyarakat pribumi Jawa banyak diketahui oleh orang Eropa. Hal ini membuat budaya Jawa menjadi populer.
Penelitian ini membahas mengenai (1) Bagaimana awal komersialisasi fotografi di Jawa?; (2) Bagaimana perkembangan studio foto Woodbury & Page di Jawa?; (3) Bagaimana peran studio foto Woodbury & Page dalam mempopulerkan budaya Jawa kepada Eropa?. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian historis yakni heuristik, kritik sumber, interpretasi, dan historiografi. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa Studio Foto Woodbury & Page berhasil mempopulerkan Budaya Jawa kepada Eropa melalui produk fotografinya dalam bentuk carte de visite, foto kabinet, dan album foto. Budaya Jawa yang populer mayoritas adalah budaya kehidupan sehari-hari masyarakat pribumi Jawa. Populernya budaya Jawa ke Eropa berdampak pada ekonomi, sosial-budaya, dan kajian keilmuan.
Kata Kunci: Studio Foto, Woodbury & Page, Popularisasi, Budaya Jawa, Fotografi, Kolonial
Woodbury & Page Studio was established in Batavia in 1857 as a commercial photo studio in the early era of photography which played an important role in the conditions of Javanese society at that time. His works became famous because of their artistic value and documentary value about the lives of indigenous Javanese people. The lower-class indigenous people who took pictures in the photo studio were models paid by the photographer. The use of indigenous models created a visual representation of the conditions and customs of indigenous Javanese people.
The Woodbury & Page photo studio published many of its works in the form of photographic products. Most of its photographic products contained photos of native models. For 50 years, the Woodbury & Page photo studio consistently made its photographic products widely distributed to Europe. The spread of photographic products to Europe made the culture and socio-economic conditions of the native Javanese people widely known to Europeans. This made Javanese culture popular.
This study discusses (1) How did the commercialization of photography begin in Java?; (2) How did the Woodbury & Page photo studio develop in Java?; (3) What was the role of the Woodbury & Page photo studio in popularizing Javanese culture to Europe? This study uses historical research methods, namely heuristics, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The results of this study indicate that the Woodbury & Page Photo Studio succeeded in popularizing Javanese culture to Europe through its photographic products in the form of carte de visite, cabinet photos, and photo albums. The popular Javanese culture is mostly the daily life culture of the indigenous Javanese people. The popularity of Javanese culture to Europe has an impact on the economy, socio-culture, and scientific studies.
Keywords: Photo Studio, Woodbury & Page, Popularization, Javanese Culture, Photography, Colonial