History as Art
History as Art
History as Art - History as art is history by adding elements of art and imagination to beautify writing and make history readers interested in the content (story) of the history that is conveyed.
History that contains elements of art in it is not easy because it requires someone's imagination in writing and conveying historical stories. Imagination is able to make historical facts seem more alive and more meaningful to those who read, listen or enjoy them. Therefore, in writing history, it is recommended to use beautiful, communicative, interesting language, and the contents are easy to understand.
Characteristics of History as Art
History as art has the following characteristics:
1. History Requires Intuition
In choosing a topic, historians often cannot rely on the knowledge they have. It will require social science in determining what sources to look for, as well as in interpreting the data that has been obtained. However, historians also need intuition or inspiration, namely direct and instinctive understanding during the research period. Each step requires the skill of the historian in deciding what to do. It often happens to choose an explanation, not a working science tool but intuition. In this respect, the historian works like an artist.
Often a historian or a history writer feels unable to continue his writing, especially if it is a description or depiction of events. In that state of not knowing, what is actually needed is intuition. To get intuition, historians have to work hard with the data (actually "data" because the word has a plural meaning; which comes from the Latin datum which means "gift") that is available, what can be done. This is where the historian's intuition differs from the author's intuition. Maybe the author will walk around daydreaming, but historians must remember the data.
2. History Requires Imagination
In his work, a historian or historian must be able to imagine what the historian must be able to describe or imagine historical events that occurred and what happened after those events. The imagination of a historian also has to play, for example, if he wants to understand how the guerrilla war was carried out by General Sudirman during the Second Dutch Military Aggression, he is also required to imagine rivers, mountains, forests that might be good places to hide and carry out attacks.
3. History Needs Emotions
If we look at the writing of Romantic history that took place in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, history is considered a branch of literature. As a result, writing history is equated with writing literature. This means that writing history must be with emotional involvement.
People who read historical works must be made as if they were present and witnessed the events themselves. The chronicler must empathize, must unite his feelings with the object he is studying. It is hoped that historians or historical writers can present the object as if the reader experienced the events he wrote about himself.
4. History Requires Style
Good language style does not mean flowery language style. Sometimes a broad language is more interesting. In writing history a convoluted and unsystematic style is clearly bad language. What needs to be understood is that in writing history, the description of events is like painting a naturalist. Where what is needed is the ability to write in detail an event.
For a history that is still possible using the oral history method, the details can be "created". Through questions, historical sources can be "forced" to tell the story according to the historian's wishes. By asking as many people's testimonies as possible for details, a historian will be able to avoid mistakes.
Examples of History as Art
1. Sculpture/relief in temples, such as reliefs at Borobudur Temple and Prambanan Temple, where there are beautiful carvings in the form of statues on the walls.
2. Historical novels written by Pramoedya Ananta Toer such as Just Call Me Kartini, The Beginner, and others.