TRADITIONAL CRAFT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: LIVING FOSSIL OR LIVING ART by Rod Ewins (original) (raw)
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VISUAL DIALOGUES: TRADITIONAL ART FORMS AS COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN BATTICALOA
This research, titled "Visual Dialogues: Traditional Art Forms as Communication Tools in Batticaloa," investigates the enduring significance of traditional art forms in the cultural landscape of Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. Traditional art forms such as painting, sculpture, and crafts are not merely creative expressions but are deeply embedded with cultural narratives, historical legacies, and collective memories. The study employs a multidisciplinary approach, integrating ethnographic insights, artistic interpretations, and community perspectives, to explore how these art forms function as powerful tools for storytelling, cultural preservation, and the dissemination of indigenous knowledge. Key findings highlight the rich symbolic meanings and communicative functions of traditional visual arts, which serve as repositories of cultural heritage and expressions of collective identity. These art forms play a crucial role in fostering social cohesion, intergenerational dialogue, and community resilience. The research also examines the impact of globalization and modernization on traditional art practices, identifying both challenges and opportunities for local artisans and cultural practitioners. Through extensive fieldwork, content analysis, and community engagement, this study underscores the importance of sustaining and promoting traditional art forms in contemporary society. It advocates for sustainable cultural policies and community-led initiatives to preserve Batticaloa's artistic heritage. By highlighting the dynamic evolution and transformative potential of traditional art forms, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of their role in enriching Batticaloa's cultural ecosystem and promoting a vibrant, inclusive cultural identity.
Journal of New Zealand and Pacific Studies, 2022
The imposition of names […] across the Moana," writes Hūfanga 'Ōkusitino Māhina on page 43 of Crafting Aotearoa, "has been highly problematic". None of the terms applied by early European explorers to the waters between New Guinea in the West and Rapanui in the East (e.g., Spanish Lake, Pacific Ocean, Oceania) properly describes them. The book renames the region Moana Oceania yet cannot avoid similar problems when describing aesthetic practices of making. Terms like art, arts, crafts, toi, tufunga/tufuga, faiva or nimamea'a-taken from four of the 13 languages in the book-all point to artefacts, practices, histories, hierarchies, knowledges and relationships deemed to be the same in some sense, or at least related. <...> The book is complex, fascinating, monumentally informative, and sometimes problematic. The latter seems unavoidable, and its lack of conceptual clarity may be related to a still widespread helplessness when faced with the task of classifying the artefacts of ‘the Other’. This, a societal condition, is not the responsibility of the editors, though perhaps a firmer stand on positionality, engaging the world views they are committed to articulate more recognisably, could have been more productive than attempting to produce a unified voice throughout the main chapters. With the benefit of hindsight, Chitham seems to have come to a similar conclusion (Objectspace & Norwegian Crafts, 2020, p. 20:05), but that might have been more difficult to discern in real-time. This is small fry, though, given the scale of the task they have collectively taken on: “terms like ‘art’ or ‘craft’ and the typical objects that they can accommodate need to be shaken up – and perhaps even be replaced entirely” (p. 12). The result is not only a formidable reference book, but one that exposes the status quo and the staggering amount of work still to do until there is an ‘us’ in ‘our terms’. The book’s conceptual gaps and fissures may even be its greatest contribution to the ongoing ‘crafting Aotearoa’ project: they allow others to enter the debate and articulate different parts from their perspectives.
Social Dimensions of Technical Choice in Kalinga Ceramic Traditions
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth cen turies material culture studies formed the foundation of cultural anthropological re search in North America. Although museum anthropology is now subordinate to academic anthropology, material culture studies were a central force behind the establishment of ma jor museum collections and the employment of anthropologists throughout North Amer ica until the middle of this century (Miller I987:IIo-II2; Pfaffenberger I992; Wright I996:8I-8S). This material culture focus in North American anthropology also shaped the development of early culture theory: cul ture areas, theories of style, and models of dif fusion and migration were all conceptualized through a material culture lens. With the Boasian shift toward historical particularism, interest in material culture studies by cultural anthropologists waned. For many decades that followed, material culture studies were relegated to the research domains of "primi tive" art and...
Museum Anthropology Review, 2015
World Art: An Introduction to the Art in Artefacts. Ben Burt. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013. 253 pp. * Reviewed by Jennifer Wagelie Two recent publications grapple with how the history of disciplines like anthropology and art history, as well as the history of colonization, influenced contemporary scholarship and museum practice. In turn, they ask how do we best represent, include, and incorporate indigenous points of view into scholarship and museum practice. Ben Burt's World Art: An Introduction to the Art in Artefacts, asks readers to define the meaning of art and then wonders if that definition matters. Burt, a curator at the British Museum, along with Lissant Bolton, a keeper at the same institution, serve as the co-editors of The Things We Value: Culture and History in the Solomon Islands. It is the product of the five-year Melanesian Art project of the British Museum and the University of Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, London. 1 While implicit in the title The Things We Value, the definition of value is at the root of both works. World Art: An Introduction to the Art in Artefacts, is a primer to better understanding the roots of the term, "World Art," and the effects that the methodologies of art history and anthropology have had on our understandings of cultures outside our own. As a term, world art means everything and nothing all at once. As an anthropologist, Burt attempts to help us make sense of this complicated notion and begins by asking the reader, "what do we mean by 'art,' and does it matter?" The book is divided into three parts, "Western Perspectives," "Cross-Cultural Perspectives," and "Artistic Globalization." Through chapters that explore the historical roots of Classical, Oriental, Primitive, and Prehistoric Art, part one introduces the reader to the origin of the word art and lays the groundwork for better understanding the difficulty of defining the term. Part two then takes that baseline knowledge and examines form, symbols, iconography, and performance using examples from South America, the Pacific, and the Northwest Coast and what characterizes artifacts from these areas that can be described as "art." Part three concludes by examining how Western institutions and scholarly disciplines have brought world art together, and what the reaction has been. Overall, World Art would function well in any survey course that is examining a discipline globally, particularly art history, where it would make a fine companion to a traditional survey textbook. Its organization is superb in giving brief overviews of each chapter that are followed by discussion questions and lists of bibliographic resources that will build and expand on what has been discussed in the previous pages. That said, there are some curious bits about the book,
2010
This thesis examines the elaborate cycle of mortuary rituals practised by the people of the Anir islands in southern New Ireland, Papua New Guinea, as well as the forms of art that are produced within the processes of their actualisation. Focusing on the relationship between ritual and art, the thesis engages in a critical dialogue with recent theories about ritual and art which form current approaches developed in anthropology, performance studies and aesthetics in art history. Within this framework, it examines the socio-political, the conceptual and aesthetic significance and power of Anir rituals. The contents of the ritual cycle and the various elements it comprises, are explored on the basis of a practice-oriented approach that shows that the durability and resilience of Anir ritual rest on the flexibility of its structure, which brings to light the creativity of a people within the practice of ritual. The efficacy and persuasiveness of Anir commemorative rituals hinge substantially on the ceremonial exchanges they comprise, and on the presentation of special men's house songs, mask performances and dances. Functioning as media of multi-layered communication and aesthetic expression, these components of ritual set a complex process in motion which is determined by an intricate interplay of intellectual, affective and sensual aspects. Thus these elements not only imbue Anir rituals with power and meaning, but also enable and facilitate social reproduction. Anthropological approaches that foreground practice and agency are combined with a performance-oriented focus and an examination of aesthetic experience that is grounded in art history and aesthetics. Seemingly opposing perspectives-subjectfocused and object-focused-are linked in an analysis of form and content in order to provide greater insight into the complexities of ritual and artistic practice. i Contents List of maps iii List of tables iii List of illustrations iii Preface xi Acknowledgements xiii Writing up a Ph.D. is, in the end, a rather solitary experience, at the same time it is a project in which one receives support in many different ways from many different people without whom the work would probably not have progressed to the end. I would like to start by expressing my gratitude to those who introduced me to anthropology and roused my interest in Oceania in general, and Melanesia in specific. These include, first and foremost, Prof. emeritus Meinhard Schuster who opened the door for me to do research and still continues to show great interest in my work, and Dr. Christian Kaufmann-former curator for Oceania at the Museum der Kulturen Basel-who decisively shaped my view on Pacific art and still is a source of intellectual stimulation. From being my boss at the museum he has become a cherished colleague and an ever-reliable wellspring of support. After working for several years at the Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Basel, where I am grateful to Prof. Dr. Brigit Obrist, I was able to spend ten months at the Centre for Cross-Cultural Research of the Australian National University in Canberra. In terms of writing up my thesis this was one of the most productive periods. I am deeply grateful to Prof. Dr. Howard Morphy for inviting me to come to Canberra and wish to thank him and the entire academic and administrative staff for the time I spent there in a truly inspiring atmosphere. Prof. em. Michael Young provided me with wonderful accommodation in Australia by letting me stay in his house, and Regina Knapp was a great flat mate during this time. Unfortunately I saw no chance of finishing my Ph.D. at the University of Basel. Thanks to Prof. Dr. Steven Hooper I found a new academic home at the Sainsbury Research Unit at the University of East Anglia. Since my arrival in Norwich in 2007 I have come to highly appreciate this institution-it had been on my 'hit list' already for a long time-for its lively cross-disciplinary and intellectually stimulating ambience and collegiality, its facilities and the wonderfully helpful staff. I would like to thank Dr. Joshua Bell who was an enthusiastic and positively critical supervisor until he moved on to the Smithsonian in Washington. A great deal of gratitude I owe to Steven Hooper. He not only supported my 'venture' back into the museum field to curate the Visual Encounters exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler, he also did much to get me back on track and provided the best supervision one could wish for when I had to intercalate again, this time for compassionate reasons. In the 'museum world' I am grateful to Dr. Michael Gunn, National Gallery of Australia, Dr. Philippe Peltier, Museé du quai Branly, and Dr. Markus Schindlbeck, xiv Ethnologisches Museum Berlin for asking me to participate in their large, multi-venue exhibition project on the arts of New Ireland and for all the inspiring discussions about New Ireland arts and culture we had in this context. In Papua New Guinea I am indebted for the support I received with regard to acquiring the research visas and for providing me with assistance and affiliation. I particularly would like to thank the following persons and institutions in Port Moresby: Jim Robins and the National Research Institute; Linus Digim 'Rina, Head of Anthropology, and the University of Papua New Guinea; Don Niles and Julie To'Liman-Turalir of the Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies; at the Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery I am grateful to Soroi M. Eoe (then director), Sebastian Haraha and John Dop. My thanks also go the New Ireland Provincial Administration, then under Moses Makis, for supporting my research in their province. In Kavieng I am grateful to Noah Lurang and the staff of the New Ireland Tourism Bureau as well as all the people at the Peter Torot Centre who filled my stays there with pleasure. In Namatanai Fr. Leon Weisenberger and the sisters of the Catholic Mission Namatanai welcomed me and provided me with accommodation and an almost always working telephone and fax. No dissertation could be completed without a 'nourishing', patient and reassuring network of family and friends; the ones I owe most to are, of course, my parents, Erika and Jürgen, who never lost faith in my work, and my partner Nigel. He has been a pillar of strength and a haven of encouragement, support and advice; he not only put up with all my moods, but also visited me in the field twice, regularly commented on the work in progress and did the proofreading -I thank him with deeply felt love. My sister Heike, her husband Gregory and their sons Cameron and Karl were always around when I needed them for a bit of change and distraction. Over the years, in many different ways and through all ups and downs,
Craft and the archive: Museum collections and memory in a Balinese village
craft + design enquiry
This paper examines the different forms of indigenous agency embodied in a museum collection and identifies personal relationships as a constructive platform from which to understand objects in collections of material culture. Specifically, it describes the results of a field investigation to gather Balinese responses to the Forge Collection of Balinese Art at the Australian Museum. This approach reflects the broadening vision in museum practice and scholarship over the last decades, recognising that most museum institutions describe themselves as the custodians or guardians of collections and seek to engage with the indigenous communities that produced them. Most people in the village of Kamasan in East Bali, Indonesia, have recollections of the late collector and anthropologist Anthony Forge, given that only 40 years has passed since he lived in the village with his family. This paper relates some general responses to his collecting project before considering the complex and productive relationship between Forge and the artist Mangku Mura. Not only is it apparent that the relationship between artist and anthropologistcollector had implications for the material form of art produced in the village, and subsequently housed in the museum collection, it shows that traditional artists produce their art in defiance of conventional understandings of 'traditional' art. While this paper is an occasion to reflect on the applicability of a particular field methodology and approach to other cultural collections, it also points to the wider implications for interpreting 'traditional' practices by opening up to debate ideas about timelessness and originality in the context of changing social relations. 1 The research was made possible with a postgraduate scholarship funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage Project between the University of Sydney and the Australian Museum, 'Understanding Balinese painting: collections, narratives, aesthetics and society'. 2 The term 'source communities' refers to: 'groups in the past when artefacts were collected, as well as to their descendants today. These terms have most often been used to refer to indigenous peoples in the Americas and the Pacific, but apply to every cultural group from whom museums have collected: local people, diaspora, and immigrant communities, religious groups, settlers, and indigenous peoples' (Peers & Brown 2003: 2).