Author: Michael Chibnik
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292782667
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 308
Book Description
Since the mid-1980s, whimsical, brightly colored wood carvings from the Mexican state of Oaxaca have found their way into gift shops and private homes across the United States and Europe, as Western consumers seek to connect with the authenticity and tradition represented by indigenous folk arts. Ironically, however, the Oaxacan wood carvings are not a traditional folk art. Invented in the mid-twentieth century by non-Indian Mexican artisans for the tourist market, their appeal flows as much from intercultural miscommunication as from their intrinsic artistic merit. In this beautifully illustrated book, Michael Chibnik offers the first in-depth look at the international trade in Oaxacan wood carvings, including their history, production, marketing, and cultural representations. Drawing on interviews he conducted in the carving communities and among wholesalers, retailers, and consumers, he follows the entire production and consumption cycle, from the harvesting of copal wood to the final purchase of the finished piece. Along the way, he describes how and why this "invented tradition" has been promoted as a "Zapotec Indian" craft and explores its similarities with other local crafts with longer histories. He also fully discusses the effects on local communities of participating in the global market, concluding that the trade in Oaxacan wood carvings is an almost paradigmatic case study of globalization.
The Artisan Market
Author: Emma Macdonald
Publisher: Watkins Media Limited
ISBN: 1848991428
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 428
Book Description
Everyone can enjoy the fruits of their labors with Artisan Preserving, the seminal book on canning, which provides a one-stop resource. Whether you have foraged hedgerows, picked produce from your own vegetable garden or allotment, or searched out the best seasonal buys in the supermarket or market, this book contains more than 100 delicious recipes for preserving fruit and vegetables, meat or fish. Emma Macdonald gives clear and comprehensive instructions for curing, drying, pickling, bottling/canning, crystalizing and jellying; as well as recipes for all kinds of jams, jellies, pickles, chutneys, relishes, cordials, fruit liqueurs, sauces, confits and terrines, fruit curds, cheeses and butters, and dried fruits and vegetables. Every classic is covered, including: gravlax, confit chicken, candied peel, quince cheese, elderflower cordial, mint jelly, onion marmalade, mango chutney, sloe gin, raspberry jam and piccalilli. There are many others, some of them centuries old, many of them with a modern twist, such as Banana and Date Chutney and Grapefruit and Elderflower Marmalade. Emma also includes expert tips on troubleshooting and information on all the equipment you will need. Pick up your cheesecloths and straining funnel and get preserving!
Publisher: Watkins Media Limited
ISBN: 1848991428
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 428
Book Description
Everyone can enjoy the fruits of their labors with Artisan Preserving, the seminal book on canning, which provides a one-stop resource. Whether you have foraged hedgerows, picked produce from your own vegetable garden or allotment, or searched out the best seasonal buys in the supermarket or market, this book contains more than 100 delicious recipes for preserving fruit and vegetables, meat or fish. Emma Macdonald gives clear and comprehensive instructions for curing, drying, pickling, bottling/canning, crystalizing and jellying; as well as recipes for all kinds of jams, jellies, pickles, chutneys, relishes, cordials, fruit liqueurs, sauces, confits and terrines, fruit curds, cheeses and butters, and dried fruits and vegetables. Every classic is covered, including: gravlax, confit chicken, candied peel, quince cheese, elderflower cordial, mint jelly, onion marmalade, mango chutney, sloe gin, raspberry jam and piccalilli. There are many others, some of them centuries old, many of them with a modern twist, such as Banana and Date Chutney and Grapefruit and Elderflower Marmalade. Emma also includes expert tips on troubleshooting and information on all the equipment you will need. Pick up your cheesecloths and straining funnel and get preserving!
Artisans and Cooperatives
Author: Kimberly M. Grimes
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
ISBN: 9780816520510
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
With new markets opening up for goods produced by artisans from all parts of the world, craft commercialization and craft industries have become key components of local economies. Now with the emergence of the Fair Trade movement and public opposition to sweatshop labor, many people are demanding that artisans in third world countries not be exploited for their labor. Bringing together case studies from the Americas and Asia, this timely collection of articles addresses the interplay among subsistence activities, craft production, and the global market. It contributes to current debates on economic inequality by offering practical examples of the political, economic, and cultural issues surrounding artisan production as an expressive vehicle of ethnic and gender identity. Striking a balance between economic and ethnographic analyses, the contributors observe what has worked and what hasn't in a range of craft cooperatives and show how some artisans have expanded their entrepreneurial role by marketing crafts in addition to producing them. Among the topics discussed are the accommodation of craft traditions in the global market, fair trade issues, and the emerging role of the anthropologist as a proactive agent for artisan groups. As the gap between rich and poor widens, the fate of subsistence economies seems more and more uncertain. The artisans in this book show that people can and do employ innovative opportunities to develop their talents, and in the process strengthen their ethnic identities. Contents Introduction: Facing the Challenges of Artisan Production in the Global Market / Kimberly M. Grimes and B. Lynne Milgram Democratizing International Production and Trade: North American Alternative Trading Organizations / Kimberly M. Grimes Building on Local Strengths: Nepalese Fair Trade Textiles / Rachel MacHenry "That They Be in the Middle, Lord": Women, Weaving, and Cultural Survival in Highland Chiapas, Mexico / Christine E. Eber The International Craft Market: A Double-Edged Sword for Guatemalan Maya Women / Martha Lynd Of Women, Hope, and Angels: Fair Trade and Artisan Production in a Squatter Settlement in Guatemala City / Brenda Rosenbaum Reorganizing Textile Production for the Global Market: WomenÕs Craft Cooperatives in Ifugao, Upland Philippines / B. Lynne Milgram Textile Production in Rural Oaxaca, Mexico, and the Complexities of the Global Market for Handmade Crafts / Jeffrey H. Cohen "Part-Time for Pin Money": The Legacy of Navajo WomenÕs Craft Production / Kathy MÕCloskey The Hard Sell: Anthropologists as Brokers of Crafts in the Global Marketplace / Andrew Causey Postscript: To Market, To Market / June Nash
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
ISBN: 9780816520510
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
With new markets opening up for goods produced by artisans from all parts of the world, craft commercialization and craft industries have become key components of local economies. Now with the emergence of the Fair Trade movement and public opposition to sweatshop labor, many people are demanding that artisans in third world countries not be exploited for their labor. Bringing together case studies from the Americas and Asia, this timely collection of articles addresses the interplay among subsistence activities, craft production, and the global market. It contributes to current debates on economic inequality by offering practical examples of the political, economic, and cultural issues surrounding artisan production as an expressive vehicle of ethnic and gender identity. Striking a balance between economic and ethnographic analyses, the contributors observe what has worked and what hasn't in a range of craft cooperatives and show how some artisans have expanded their entrepreneurial role by marketing crafts in addition to producing them. Among the topics discussed are the accommodation of craft traditions in the global market, fair trade issues, and the emerging role of the anthropologist as a proactive agent for artisan groups. As the gap between rich and poor widens, the fate of subsistence economies seems more and more uncertain. The artisans in this book show that people can and do employ innovative opportunities to develop their talents, and in the process strengthen their ethnic identities. Contents Introduction: Facing the Challenges of Artisan Production in the Global Market / Kimberly M. Grimes and B. Lynne Milgram Democratizing International Production and Trade: North American Alternative Trading Organizations / Kimberly M. Grimes Building on Local Strengths: Nepalese Fair Trade Textiles / Rachel MacHenry "That They Be in the Middle, Lord": Women, Weaving, and Cultural Survival in Highland Chiapas, Mexico / Christine E. Eber The International Craft Market: A Double-Edged Sword for Guatemalan Maya Women / Martha Lynd Of Women, Hope, and Angels: Fair Trade and Artisan Production in a Squatter Settlement in Guatemala City / Brenda Rosenbaum Reorganizing Textile Production for the Global Market: WomenÕs Craft Cooperatives in Ifugao, Upland Philippines / B. Lynne Milgram Textile Production in Rural Oaxaca, Mexico, and the Complexities of the Global Market for Handmade Crafts / Jeffrey H. Cohen "Part-Time for Pin Money": The Legacy of Navajo WomenÕs Craft Production / Kathy MÕCloskey The Hard Sell: Anthropologists as Brokers of Crafts in the Global Marketplace / Andrew Causey Postscript: To Market, To Market / June Nash
Crafts in the World Market
Author: June C. Nash
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438414145
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
The growing exchange of traditional craft objects in world markets has had a profound impact on the lives of the women and men who produce them. These essays describe how the flow of goods from the industrial centers of the world to the colonies in earlier centuries is now met by a reverse flow as consumers seek the exotic and unique objects of handicraft production in Third World countries. The book explores the paradox of how artisans continue to create traditional objects, yet new sources of wealth and intensified production are transforming their traditional lifeways in areas such as the Oaxaca Valley, the Yucatan, Highland Chiapas, and Guatemala.
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438414145
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
The growing exchange of traditional craft objects in world markets has had a profound impact on the lives of the women and men who produce them. These essays describe how the flow of goods from the industrial centers of the world to the colonies in earlier centuries is now met by a reverse flow as consumers seek the exotic and unique objects of handicraft production in Third World countries. The book explores the paradox of how artisans continue to create traditional objects, yet new sources of wealth and intensified production are transforming their traditional lifeways in areas such as the Oaxaca Valley, the Yucatan, Highland Chiapas, and Guatemala.
New World Sourdough
Author: Bryan Ford
Publisher: Quarry Books
ISBN: 1631598716
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 163
Book Description
Best-selling cookbook New World Sourdough offers an inviting, nontraditional approach to baking delicious, inventive sourdough breads at home. Learn how to make a sourdough starter, basic breads, as well as other innovative baked goods from start to finish with Bryan Ford, Instagram star (@artisanbryan) and host of The Artisan’s Kitchen on Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network. With less emphasis on perfecting crumb structure or obsessive temperature monitoring, Bryan focuses on the tips and techniques he’s developed in his own practice, inspired by his Honduran roots and New Orleans upbringing, to ensure your success and a good return on your time and effort. Bryan’s recipes include step-by-step instructions and photographs of all of the mixing, shaping, and baking techniques you’ll need to know, with special attention paid to developing flavor as well as your own instincts. New World Sourdough offers practical, accessible techniques and enticing, creative recipes you’ll want to return to again and again, like: Pan de Coco Ciabatta Pretzel Buns Challah Focaccia Pizza dough Cuban Muffins Pita Bread Flour Tortillas Queen Cake Straightforward and unintimidating, New World Sourdough will get you started with your starter and then inspire you to keep experimenting and expanding your repertoire.
Publisher: Quarry Books
ISBN: 1631598716
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 163
Book Description
Best-selling cookbook New World Sourdough offers an inviting, nontraditional approach to baking delicious, inventive sourdough breads at home. Learn how to make a sourdough starter, basic breads, as well as other innovative baked goods from start to finish with Bryan Ford, Instagram star (@artisanbryan) and host of The Artisan’s Kitchen on Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network. With less emphasis on perfecting crumb structure or obsessive temperature monitoring, Bryan focuses on the tips and techniques he’s developed in his own practice, inspired by his Honduran roots and New Orleans upbringing, to ensure your success and a good return on your time and effort. Bryan’s recipes include step-by-step instructions and photographs of all of the mixing, shaping, and baking techniques you’ll need to know, with special attention paid to developing flavor as well as your own instincts. New World Sourdough offers practical, accessible techniques and enticing, creative recipes you’ll want to return to again and again, like: Pan de Coco Ciabatta Pretzel Buns Challah Focaccia Pizza dough Cuban Muffins Pita Bread Flour Tortillas Queen Cake Straightforward and unintimidating, New World Sourdough will get you started with your starter and then inspire you to keep experimenting and expanding your repertoire.
Return of the Artisan
Author: Grant McCracken
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1982143983
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Book Description
Discover the evolution of the artisanal movement from the fringes of the 1970s to the spike of domesticity—home-cooking, gardening, and DIY crafting—caused by COVID-19 and what it means for the future of work and American culture. In the 1950s, America was a world of immaculate grocery stores, brightly packaged consumer goods, relentless big brand advertising, homes that were much too clean, and diets so rich in salt, sugar, fat, and preservatives you nearly have a heart attack just thinking of them. And while this approach made a great fortune for large consumer packaged goods companies it has been detrimental to American’s overall health and wellbeing. Then, towards the end of the 20th century, Alice Waters and other pioneers figured out how to market natural, handmade, small-batch products to the American consumer again—and the rest is history. Now, we are in the third wave of a revolution. Thanks to COVID-19, millions of Americans went from being consumers of artisanal goods to being producers. People in the mainstream are baking bread, keeping bees, growing vegetables, and even raising chickens. Gardens are flourishing, workshops are growing, and sewing machines are whirring. Thousands have left the cities for the countryside, and if their companies don’t require it, they might never return. Return of the Artisan is a collection of stories and interviews with artisanal businesses across America including family farms and collectives. This book explores their business models, their motivations, and explores how you can join them by turning your own hobby or passion into your work. Whether you want to make this a profession or simply enjoy providing artisanal goods to your family and friends, this book is a must-have for navigating the ups and downs of the latest artisanal revolution.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1982143983
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Book Description
Discover the evolution of the artisanal movement from the fringes of the 1970s to the spike of domesticity—home-cooking, gardening, and DIY crafting—caused by COVID-19 and what it means for the future of work and American culture. In the 1950s, America was a world of immaculate grocery stores, brightly packaged consumer goods, relentless big brand advertising, homes that were much too clean, and diets so rich in salt, sugar, fat, and preservatives you nearly have a heart attack just thinking of them. And while this approach made a great fortune for large consumer packaged goods companies it has been detrimental to American’s overall health and wellbeing. Then, towards the end of the 20th century, Alice Waters and other pioneers figured out how to market natural, handmade, small-batch products to the American consumer again—and the rest is history. Now, we are in the third wave of a revolution. Thanks to COVID-19, millions of Americans went from being consumers of artisanal goods to being producers. People in the mainstream are baking bread, keeping bees, growing vegetables, and even raising chickens. Gardens are flourishing, workshops are growing, and sewing machines are whirring. Thousands have left the cities for the countryside, and if their companies don’t require it, they might never return. Return of the Artisan is a collection of stories and interviews with artisanal businesses across America including family farms and collectives. This book explores their business models, their motivations, and explores how you can join them by turning your own hobby or passion into your work. Whether you want to make this a profession or simply enjoy providing artisanal goods to your family and friends, this book is a must-have for navigating the ups and downs of the latest artisanal revolution.
Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking
Author: Gianaclis Caldwell
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1603583335
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 371
Book Description
The key to becoming a successful artisan cheesemaker is to develop the intuition essential for problem solving and developing unique styles of cheeses. There are an increasing number of books on the market about making cheese, but none approaches the intricacies of cheesemaking science alongside considerations for preparing each type of cheese variety in as much detail as Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking. Indeed, this book fills a big hole in the market. Beginner guides leave you wanting more content and explanation of process, while recipe-based cookbooks often fail to dig deeper into the science, and therefore don’t allow for a truly intuitive cheesemaker to develop. Acclaimed cheesemaker Gianaclis Caldwell has written the book she wishes existed when she was starting out. Every serious home-scale artisan cheesemaker—even those just beginning to experiment—will want this book as their bible to take them from their first quick mozzarella to a French mimolette, and ultimately to designing their own unique cheeses. This comprehensive and user-friendly guide thoroughly explains the art and science that allow milk to be transformed into epicurean masterpieces. Caldwell offers a deep look at the history, science, culture, and art of making artisan cheese on a small scale, and includes detailed information on equipment and setting up a home-scale operation. A large part of the book includes extensive process-based recipes dictating not only the hard numbers, but also the concepts behind each style of cheese and everything you want to know about affinage (aging) and using oils, brushes, waxes, infusions, and other creative aging and flavoring techniques. Also included are beautiful photographs, profiles of other cheesemakers, and in-depth appendices for quick reference in the preparation and aging room. Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking will also prove an invaluable resource for those with, or thinking of starting, a small-scale creamery. Let Gianaclis Caldwell be your mentor, guide, and cheering section as you follow the pathway to a mastery of cheesemaking. For the avid home hobbyist to the serious commercial artisan, Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking is an irreplaceable resource.
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1603583335
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 371
Book Description
The key to becoming a successful artisan cheesemaker is to develop the intuition essential for problem solving and developing unique styles of cheeses. There are an increasing number of books on the market about making cheese, but none approaches the intricacies of cheesemaking science alongside considerations for preparing each type of cheese variety in as much detail as Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking. Indeed, this book fills a big hole in the market. Beginner guides leave you wanting more content and explanation of process, while recipe-based cookbooks often fail to dig deeper into the science, and therefore don’t allow for a truly intuitive cheesemaker to develop. Acclaimed cheesemaker Gianaclis Caldwell has written the book she wishes existed when she was starting out. Every serious home-scale artisan cheesemaker—even those just beginning to experiment—will want this book as their bible to take them from their first quick mozzarella to a French mimolette, and ultimately to designing their own unique cheeses. This comprehensive and user-friendly guide thoroughly explains the art and science that allow milk to be transformed into epicurean masterpieces. Caldwell offers a deep look at the history, science, culture, and art of making artisan cheese on a small scale, and includes detailed information on equipment and setting up a home-scale operation. A large part of the book includes extensive process-based recipes dictating not only the hard numbers, but also the concepts behind each style of cheese and everything you want to know about affinage (aging) and using oils, brushes, waxes, infusions, and other creative aging and flavoring techniques. Also included are beautiful photographs, profiles of other cheesemakers, and in-depth appendices for quick reference in the preparation and aging room. Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking will also prove an invaluable resource for those with, or thinking of starting, a small-scale creamery. Let Gianaclis Caldwell be your mentor, guide, and cheering section as you follow the pathway to a mastery of cheesemaking. For the avid home hobbyist to the serious commercial artisan, Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking is an irreplaceable resource.
Markets of New England
Author: Christine Chitnis
Publisher: Little Bookroom
ISBN: 9781892145963
Category : Craft festivals
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Christine Chitnis has crisscrossed New England discovering farmers markets and crafts markets, and in this book fifty of the most vibrant, unique and thriving events in the region are described and lavishly photographed.
Publisher: Little Bookroom
ISBN: 9781892145963
Category : Craft festivals
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Christine Chitnis has crisscrossed New England discovering farmers markets and crafts markets, and in this book fifty of the most vibrant, unique and thriving events in the region are described and lavishly photographed.
Artisans and Fair Trade
Author: Mary A. Littrell
Publisher: Kumarian Press
ISBN: 1565493788
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
* Addresses the cultural conditions under which artisan work provides a feasible income alternative to other employment options * Offers a methodology for assessing the socio-economic impacts of fair trade artisan work After agriculture and tourism, artisan work provides the next most significant source of income in many developing countries. Yet because of its image as a soft or frivolous industry, some politicians and development professionals question whether the handcraft sector is worthy of investment. An opposing view holds that the creation of sustainable employment opportunities for poor people and a positive alternative to mass production outweighs the costs. Until now, the debate has been hampered by a lack of industry data. The apparel group MarketPlace: Handwork of India serves as the perfect case study to provide this missing information. Like many fair trade companies, it has dual goals: to generate income in the global marketplace and foster the empowerment of the low-income workers who run and staff the business. In conducting interviews with MarketPlace’s artisans, managers, and founders, Littrell and Dickson produced an in-depth socio-economic audit of the group over time. The result, Artisans and Fair Trade, provides a quantitatively and qualitatively illuminating study of fair trade impacts and a methodology that is sure to inform current assessment practices in social entrepreneurship and business social responsibility.
Publisher: Kumarian Press
ISBN: 1565493788
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
* Addresses the cultural conditions under which artisan work provides a feasible income alternative to other employment options * Offers a methodology for assessing the socio-economic impacts of fair trade artisan work After agriculture and tourism, artisan work provides the next most significant source of income in many developing countries. Yet because of its image as a soft or frivolous industry, some politicians and development professionals question whether the handcraft sector is worthy of investment. An opposing view holds that the creation of sustainable employment opportunities for poor people and a positive alternative to mass production outweighs the costs. Until now, the debate has been hampered by a lack of industry data. The apparel group MarketPlace: Handwork of India serves as the perfect case study to provide this missing information. Like many fair trade companies, it has dual goals: to generate income in the global marketplace and foster the empowerment of the low-income workers who run and staff the business. In conducting interviews with MarketPlace’s artisans, managers, and founders, Littrell and Dickson produced an in-depth socio-economic audit of the group over time. The result, Artisans and Fair Trade, provides a quantitatively and qualitatively illuminating study of fair trade impacts and a methodology that is sure to inform current assessment practices in social entrepreneurship and business social responsibility.
Fast, Easy, and In Cash
Author: Jason Antrosio
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022630261X
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 243
Book Description
What happens to skilled craftsmen when global trade brings cheap mass-produced goods to market? Economic anthropologists have been wondering and worrying about the fate of artisans and their crafts for decades. In "Fast, Easy, and In Cash," veteran ethnographers Jason Antrosio and Rudi Colloredo-Mansfeld show how disruptive to local economies global capitalism has been, but they also shed light on what it takes to survive as an artisan amid intense competition. Using lively and often surprising examples from collaborative research in Ecuador and Columbia, they describe the time-tested tactics small-batch producers have used to sustain their livelihoods and foster distinctively indigenous forms of capitalism. Antrosio and Colloredo-Mansfeld explain that their stories can teach us not just how to make money in uncertain economic environments but also how to turn work into a socially-conscious activity while defending and expanding local economies. This is a clear-eyed account of how people can successfully respond to the disruptions of global capitalism that will be welcomed by economic anthropologists and anyone else concerned with building sustainable economic communities in neoliberalism s wake."
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022630261X
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 243
Book Description
What happens to skilled craftsmen when global trade brings cheap mass-produced goods to market? Economic anthropologists have been wondering and worrying about the fate of artisans and their crafts for decades. In "Fast, Easy, and In Cash," veteran ethnographers Jason Antrosio and Rudi Colloredo-Mansfeld show how disruptive to local economies global capitalism has been, but they also shed light on what it takes to survive as an artisan amid intense competition. Using lively and often surprising examples from collaborative research in Ecuador and Columbia, they describe the time-tested tactics small-batch producers have used to sustain their livelihoods and foster distinctively indigenous forms of capitalism. Antrosio and Colloredo-Mansfeld explain that their stories can teach us not just how to make money in uncertain economic environments but also how to turn work into a socially-conscious activity while defending and expanding local economies. This is a clear-eyed account of how people can successfully respond to the disruptions of global capitalism that will be welcomed by economic anthropologists and anyone else concerned with building sustainable economic communities in neoliberalism s wake."
Crafting Tradition
Author: Michael Chibnik
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292782667
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 308
Book Description
Since the mid-1980s, whimsical, brightly colored wood carvings from the Mexican state of Oaxaca have found their way into gift shops and private homes across the United States and Europe, as Western consumers seek to connect with the authenticity and tradition represented by indigenous folk arts. Ironically, however, the Oaxacan wood carvings are not a traditional folk art. Invented in the mid-twentieth century by non-Indian Mexican artisans for the tourist market, their appeal flows as much from intercultural miscommunication as from their intrinsic artistic merit. In this beautifully illustrated book, Michael Chibnik offers the first in-depth look at the international trade in Oaxacan wood carvings, including their history, production, marketing, and cultural representations. Drawing on interviews he conducted in the carving communities and among wholesalers, retailers, and consumers, he follows the entire production and consumption cycle, from the harvesting of copal wood to the final purchase of the finished piece. Along the way, he describes how and why this "invented tradition" has been promoted as a "Zapotec Indian" craft and explores its similarities with other local crafts with longer histories. He also fully discusses the effects on local communities of participating in the global market, concluding that the trade in Oaxacan wood carvings is an almost paradigmatic case study of globalization.
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292782667
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 308
Book Description
Since the mid-1980s, whimsical, brightly colored wood carvings from the Mexican state of Oaxaca have found their way into gift shops and private homes across the United States and Europe, as Western consumers seek to connect with the authenticity and tradition represented by indigenous folk arts. Ironically, however, the Oaxacan wood carvings are not a traditional folk art. Invented in the mid-twentieth century by non-Indian Mexican artisans for the tourist market, their appeal flows as much from intercultural miscommunication as from their intrinsic artistic merit. In this beautifully illustrated book, Michael Chibnik offers the first in-depth look at the international trade in Oaxacan wood carvings, including their history, production, marketing, and cultural representations. Drawing on interviews he conducted in the carving communities and among wholesalers, retailers, and consumers, he follows the entire production and consumption cycle, from the harvesting of copal wood to the final purchase of the finished piece. Along the way, he describes how and why this "invented tradition" has been promoted as a "Zapotec Indian" craft and explores its similarities with other local crafts with longer histories. He also fully discusses the effects on local communities of participating in the global market, concluding that the trade in Oaxacan wood carvings is an almost paradigmatic case study of globalization.