Native art in the public eye: The affirmation of tradition.

Format:

Book

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Fair, Susan Wilhite.

Contributor:

University of Pennsylvania.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Folklore.

Art.

0357.

0358.

Penn dissertations--Folklore and folklife.

Folklore and folklife--Penn dissertations.

Local Subjects:

Penn dissertations--Folklore and folklife.

Folklore and folklife--Penn dissertations.

0357.

0358.

Physical Description:

398 pages

Contained In:

Dissertation Abstracts International 55-06A.

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

text file

Summary:

The examination of the concept of tradition, defined in a number of ways by scholars, forms a foundation for certain social sciences, particularly Folklore. Tradition is a complex of dynamic acts and attitudes which results in oral and written products as well as material culture. It is a process, not a product, which is sometimes used to perpetuate certain goals. Tradition is sometimes a hegemonic device constructed outside of small scale societies, which raises issues regarding the politics of culture.

The context of this information is the Alaskan Percent for Art exhibition Tradition, Innovation, Continuity. The curating of public exhibitions often has political overtones. Native artists have often been dismissed as anonymous, and they are often categorized from outside as either contemporary or traditional. The material culture they produce is defined likewise as fine art, Native, art, folk art, market art, tourist art and in other ways.

Native artists from a variety of groups constantly reshape their traditions. Art production requires individual expression, the mentorship and influence of others, the intervention of memory, and basic economic necessity. The rules for making certain types of objects or for using particular materials often change. Some Native artists do not separate the search for materials and subsequent art production from their survival narratives; others emphasize the relationship of objects to place and to history, with context the most important consideration. Tradition as expressed through objects can be seen as a non-linguistic aspect of communication.

Methods of transmitting tradition may be oblique, direct, or intermittent. The role of the individual and the expression of individual genius are key components in the transmission process. Traditional learning involves extended family roles, gender relations, apprenticeship, proximity, and productive stimulation. Other influences include the effects of boarding school and the demands of the non-Native art market. Data gathered from these artists results in a specialized ethnography of a particular small group, Alaska Native artists, within the larger context of Alaska Native peoples.

Notes:

Thesis (Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife) -- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, 1994.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-06, Section: A, page: 1652.

Local Notes:

School code: 0175.

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.