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Show George Aposhian learned from his father to weave the intricate and colorful designs that are characteristic of Armenian rugs. A member of one of several families ofrugmakers who emigrated to Utah during the early 1900s, George has taught these designs and techniques to his children, insuring that his exquisite, old-world art form will not be lost, (photo: C. Edison) Before widespread industrialization, the production of handmade crafts was much more common than in today's highly technological society. Goods for everyday use around the home or the farm were not readily available and required local or home production. Yet in the process of producing the items needed to feed, clothe and shelter their families, people often moved "beyond necessity," creating objects that were not simply utilitarian but decorative as well. Using locally available materials and working within the aesthetic traditions dictated by their own cultural groups, these earlier artists created objects of usefulness and beauty. Today, although our sophisticated communication and transportation systems give us access to goods from around the world, there are many who, out of habit or tradition, continue to create handmade objects for everyday use. Their creations are generally not one-of-a-kind items produced to sell in art galleries and boutiques, nor are they born of skills learned from art classes, books or hobby-store kits. Rather, these artists add beauty to their lives by employing the skills handed down from their elders and held in common with other members of their community to produce items that are of use and significance within that group. Although the purpose for creating traditional crafts may vary among Salt Lake's folk and ethnic artists, they hold in common a concern with maintaining their own cultural inheritance and preserving it for generations to come. For some, these traditional skills represent a full- or part-time occupation. Several local saddlemakers, stone-carvers and metal workers are among those who have learned to make a living by working in family-owned shops or by apprenticing with a master of traditional craft. For others, like the many women who learned to quilt in family or community groups and now sell their quilts at outlets like the Mormon Handicraft shop, the production of traditional crafts provides occasional, supplemental income. For still other groups, like the recently arrived Hmong refugees from Laos, the production and sale of traditional crafts provide both economic support and assistance in the process of acculturation as they learn how to function in a new society. But for most folk and ethnic artists, traditional crafts are produced for personal use or as gifts for friends and family. During pioneer times, women saved every scrap of worn-out or left-over fabric to make quilts to keep their families warm or rag rugs to cover the floors of their homes. Men cut the hides of animals into strips and braided them into rawhide reins or bridles. On winter evenings, they used their pocket knives to whittle rattles from firewood for their children. Using the materials on hand, these folk artists created items for domestic use just as many of today's quilters, rugmakers, braiders and whittlers do. But today's traditional artists have the option of purchasing commercially produced goods rather than producing them at home. Why, then, do they continue to produce their art? The answer seems to lie in the value that the artists place in maintaining their cultural traditions-for themselves and for their communities. Many craft traditions are closely connected to holidays. For example, items made from paper, like pinatas, paper flowers and confetti-filled egg shells with paper tails called cascarones, are traditional craft forms made for special Mexican celebrations. Pysanky, an intricate process of decorating Easter eggs that involves applying successive layers of wax-resistant dyes, is a traditional art still important to families of Ukrainian descent. Still other forms are closely tied to ceremonial events, such as making costumes for traditional and fancy dancing by Salt Lake's Native American population and the production of accessories made from feathers and flowers by local Polynesian musicians and dancers. Many artists maintain other decorative skills "to keep the tradition alive" or as a visible reminder of their cultural or ethnic identity. The intricate designs of Chinese papercutting that once produced decorative paper blinds for Chinese homes, or the beautiful shapes created by Japanese origami, or the forms that appear as a needle converts white thread into Armenian lace can remind their makers of who they are and where they-or their parents-came from. Some ethnic art forms have become more stylized over the centuries as they've been passed along from one generation to the next or as schools were started to train new artists. This is true of some Oriental traditions like Japanese flower arranging, as well as of many European arts like German woodcarving, Bulgarian pottery or decorative painting from many European traditions. Indeed, various styles and "schools" of these arts have grown up in their countries of origin, with subtle differences developing over the years between one school and another. Once transplanted to America, however, these arts become emblems of their cultures, and the differences become less meaningful. As continuing traditions, crafts have a here-and-now vitality, especially because they are so often used as gifts. As material objects, they can be passed along from one generation to the next, as in families where Grandma undertakes a quilt for every grandchild's wedding. Appropriately, many Salt Lake Valley homes have these traditional objects resting side by side, greatgrandfather's homemade flail next to a contemporary carved wooden figure, or quilts from several generations spread carefully on a bed or folded in a closet. They are the tangible evidence of our common heritage. Foodways In contrast to crafts, music and dance, which rely mainly on the work of talented, highly skilled individuals who have spent thousands of hours developing their abilities, foodways are common to everyone. By "foodways," we mean the whole range of activities connected with getting food, storing it, preparing it, serving it-and eating it. In the United States, regional differences often create a great variety of traditional art forms within one ethnic group. Anastacio Castillo, who grew up in Texas, has brought to Utah the fine tradition o/conjunto music that is common in his hometown of Austin, (photo: C. Edison) Food is the most vital of human needs, and it is the aspect of ethnic heritage that is usually maintained the longest and given up with the most reluctance. Like holiday customs and furniture arrangement within the home, food seems to have a basic, essential quality to it that provokes the deepest kind of affection and care. For most of us, food is equated with kitchen, motherhood, warmth, and family, as well as with community celebrations and the major events in our lives. After all, special foods are important parts of every family and community event, from holiday celebrations to baptisms, birthdays, weddings and funerals. page 10 |