Overview

Since the mid-1980s, whimsical, brightly coloured wood carvings from the Mexican state of Oaxaca have found their way into gift shops and private homes across the United States and Europe, as Western consumers seek to connect with the authenticity and tradition represented by indigenous folk arts. Ironically, however, the Oaxacan wood carvings are not a traditional folk art. Invented in the mid-20th century by non-Indian Mexican artisans for the tourist market, their appeal flows as much from intercultural miscommunication as from their intrinsic artistic merit. In this work, Michael Chibnik offers an in-depth look at the international trade in Oaxacan wood carvings, including their history, production, marketing and cultural representations. Drawing on interviews he conducted in the carving communities and among wholesalers, retailers and consumers, he follows the entire production and consumption cycle, from the harvesting of copal wood to the final purchase of the finished piece. Along the way, he describes how and why this ""invented tradition"" has been promoted as a ""Zapotec Indian"" craft and explores its similarities with other local crafts with longer histories. He also fully discusses the effects on local communities of participating in the global market, concluding that the trade in Oaxacan wood carvings is an almost paradigmatic case study of globalization

Full Product Details

9780292712485

Table of Contents

Reviews

"""It is hard for me to praise this book sufficiently... It is a major contribution to the field of Oaxacan/Mexican studies, as well as economic anthropology and the study of tourism and crafts."" Arthur Murphy, Georgia State University, coauthor of Social Inequality in Oaxaca: A History of Resistance and Change"

It is hard for me to praise this book sufficiently... It is a major contribution to the field of Oaxacan/Mexican studies, as well as economic anthropology and the study of tourism and crafts. Arthur Murphy, Georgia State University, coauthor of Social Inequality in Oaxaca: A History of Resistance and Change

Author Information

Michael Chibnik is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available