"Homemade" or "Handmade" have lost meaning in our "information age." We buy the cheapest, easiest, fastest thing on the market. I fear the unique handmade object has been lost. The recent creation of etsy.com, crafting "meet up" circles, and blogs about handmade objects have created a space for the international artisan of our future. I am interested in this resurgence of craft culture and what this says about our world.
To begin this study, I will attend craft meet ups and interview different artisans and artists in New York. I will document this new artistic grassroots culture through photography, film, and the written word. I will look at the different aspects of high art and low art as they are defined by art history and, as a means of comparison, how we see them today. While this topic is not specifically gendered, I will be looking at the history of women and crafting and if that has changed. Through this research on crafting, I will also look at how this new culture as shaped a new American identity. At the end of this documentation period I will produce a documentary film, to be entered into a variety of film festivals. I will also curate and organize an interactive exhibit with photographs and handmade works.
To complete this project, I have devised and organized a plan. For two weeks, I will interview artisans in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island. I will interview Corris Little and Diana Gonzalez, two organizers of craft meetup groups, about their involvement with crafting. After these interviews, I will attend “meet ups” to capture footage and interview more people involved with this craft culture. Etsy.com has a meetup circle every Monday night and the Brooklynkraft Haus has frequent meetings that I will attend. With this knowledge, I will then attend craft fairs in the tri state area to meet more people interested in this way of life. The first craft fair I will document will be in Farmingdale, NY on February 28, 2010. I will also interview, and do some local traveling with, an independent jewler as she tries to make a living with her craft. I will then spend two weeks editing and organizing the documentary film and one week to organize an interactive exhibit.
With this knowledge, I would then like to continue this research in Cagli, Italy. For decades, this little town in Le Marche hosts an open market every Wednesday in the summer. Vendors come out to sell clothing, sunglasses, toys, etc. There are also many women who come to sell their jewelry, ceramics, and baked goods. I am interested to see how this handmade movement has taken root in Italy. Has this sense of homemade and handmade always been present? Is this a phenomenon of big cities and not small towns? Is this arts and crafts way of life gendered in Italy?
I have organized a plan in Italy to carry out my research. First, I will interview some of the local people about the history of the market. Mario Carnali has lived in Cagli, Italy for fifty years and writes for the local newspaper. He and his wife will provide historical information about the towns relationship to the market and handmade goods. I will then meet with Patricia Carnali, a ferequent shopper of the market, in her homoeopathic store to talk about the goods sold every Wednesday. I will interview Guidita Leoni and Domenico Leoni, two young residents of Cagli, about the handmade culture in Cagli. I will then attend the Market every Wednesday for three weeks to film and photograph the environment. There I will meet more local people and interview actual stall owners. I would also like to interview the owners of the ceramic shop in town. They import many of their handmade goods. I would be curious to know how they fair on a Wednesday at the market. The questions I will ask many Americans in the craft world in Brooklyn are the questions I will ask the people of Cagli.
I am a Masters student in Art History, Theory, and Criticism at Stony Brook University. The conception of “high art” and “low art” has always interested me. Why are arts and crafts not considered as important as a Picasso or a Pollock? The interactive museum exhibit would juxtapose these different concepts of art. The artisan – the human hand’s influence on a purposeful art object is very different from our conception of modern art. What does this say about our American culture? With this recent interest in crafting, I think Americans are shaping a new sense of pride in their country. I am interested to see what crafters have to say about their new culture and our changing concept of what it means to be American. I would be honored to receive this grant so I can help to document the exciting changes going on in our country today. I thank you for your time in looking over my proposal and I look forward to hearing from you.
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