Abstract

This paper examines professionally handmade pottery through the lens of use in material culture, specifically focusing on the particular characteristics of the interaction between objects and users in consumers’ homes in an attempt to examine what is communicated through the use of professionally handmade pottery ware. My study points to evidence that through their consumption and use of professionally handmade pottery and the cultivation of home aesthetics, consumers communicate solidarity with makers and their choices. Consumers’ perceptions of the maker as an ideal other and the residual effects of their interactions with the maker on the interactions with the artifact at home are rarely addressed by theories that generalize the value of contemporary craft in Western culture. The study, which is rooted in my fieldwork, stands in contrast to the abundance of theoretical studies on craft consumption and representation in museum collections and souvenir stores.

Presenters

Orly Nezer
Coordinator, The International Programs Office, The David Yellin College for Education, Israel

Details

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation in a Themed Session

Theme

Collections

KEYWORDS

Craft Users, Existential Authenticity, Souvenirs at museum stores

Digital Media

Videos