Between art and artifact : archaeological replicas and cultural production in Oaxaca, Mexico / Ronda L. Brulotte.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brulotte, Ronda L.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Art objects--Mexico--Oaxaca Valley--Reproduction.

Art objects.

Cultural property--Mexico--Oaxaca Valley.

Cultural property.

Indian art--Mexico--Oaxaca Valley.

Indian art.

Indian wood-carving--Mexico--Oaxaca Valley.

Indian wood-carving.

Indians of Mexico--Material culture--Mexico--Oaxaca Valley.

Indians of Mexico.

Oaxaca Valley (Mexico)--Antiquities--Reproduction.

Oaxaca Valley (Mexico).

Oaxaca Valley (Mexico)--Antiquities.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (236 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Oaxaca is internationally renowned for its marketplaces and archaeological sites where tourists can buy inexpensive folk art, including replicas of archaeological treasures. Archaeologists, art historians, and museum professionals sometimes discredit this trade in “fakes” that occasionally make their way to the auction block as antiquities. Others argue that these souvenirs represent a long cultural tradition of woodcarving or clay sculpting and are “genuine” artifacts of artisanal practices that have been passed from generation to generation, allowing community members to preserve their cultural practices and make a living. Exploring the intriguing question of authenticity and its relationship to cultural forms in Oaxaca and throughout southern Mexico, Between Art and Artifact confronts an important issue that has implications well beyond the commercial realm. Demonstrating that identity politics lies at the heart of the controversy, Ronda Brulotte provides a nuanced inquiry into what it means to present “authentic” cultural production in a state where indigenous ethnicity is part of an awkward social and racial classification system. Emphasizing the world-famous woodcarvers of Arrazola and the replica purveyors who come from the same community, Brulotte presents the ironies of an ideology that extols regional identity but shuns its artifacts as “forgeries.” Her work makes us question the authority of archaeological discourse in the face of local communities who may often see things differently. A departure from the dialogue that seeks to prove or disprove “authenticity,” Between Art and Artifact reveals itself as a commentary on the arguments themselves, and what the controversy can teach us about our shifting definitions of authority and authorship.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

CHAPTER ONE. Introduction: Between Art and Artifact

CHAPTER TWO. A Wood-Carving Community

CHAPTER THREE. Arrazola’s Other Craft

CHAPTER FOUR. Crafting the Past in the Present

CHAPTER FIVE. Replicating Authenticity, Authenticating Replicas

CHAPTER SIX. Replicas and the Ambiguity of Race and Indigeneity

CHAPTER SEVEN. Why Fake Jaguar Gods Matter

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-292-73780-7

OCLC:

794672971