Description: 12X9 INCHES66 PAGES CRAFTS FROM ARCTIC CANADAThe key to the nature of this exhibition is the historic need of all men to mould, shape and enhance their visual environ-ment. As the north moves closer to industrialization, creative men move closer to a means whereby they can provide an antidote to the machine.The contemporary craft movement in Canada grew out of the traditions of its native peoples and the varied cultures of the early pioneers. However, tradition alone does not mean sur-vival. There needs to be a continuing spirit which re-cycles, adapts, innovates, stimulates and searches for the individual expression of man.In the past, crafts were utilitarian, they were an essential activity in the life of the hunter, the fisherman, the carpenter, the farmer and the woman who fed and clothed her family.Today the word utilitarian can be re-defined to include the premise that aesthetic values are utilitarian and that an aesthetic experience is necessary and desirable to the well being of man.In ancient times, tapestries were created to serve as insulators on the walls of tents, and as partitions in the halls of great manor houses.They were utilitarian and they were alsodecorative. For hundreds of years stitchery and embroidery were means to make and decorate clothing and household articles. It was an important part of every young woman's education to learn to stitch and embroider traditional patterns according to the fashion of the times. In the space of one generation, three things occurred which might have buried this craft in history. The first was the invention of the machine, resulting in mass production. The next was the depression and the poverty of the 30's which made anything that didn t support physical life a luxury, and third, World War II which removed women from their homes into factories and industry.After the war with the growth of affluence and leisure, the machine was no longer a thing of awe and wonder but simply a means of creating more leisure time. I think too, we looked at ourselves in a different way. Mass production didn't satisfy all our needs, life had to be more than a ritual of living. We demanded more physical and intellectual liberty which resulted in far reaching changes in human ideas. We searched for the "unique" , the nand and heart of individual expression.Old techniques in crafts were revived and made flexible. One craft discipline nourished another in the same manner in which one culture nourishes another. It is this unselfconscious need to express individuality which we see in "Crafts from Arctic Canada"The wall hangings are rich in colour and texture. The contemporary ceramics are made by the sensitive traditional hand building techniques. The stitchery and embroidery combine ingeniously with form and composition often resulting in dense spatial arrangements. The woven tapestries and batik panels insulate us against the sterility of modern architecture. The clothing and decorative objects lift us away from the machine and intrigue us with their gentle fantasies.This collection of traditional and contemporary crafts reveals not a poverty of spirit but a statement of what I feel life should be all about.Virginia J. WattCanadian Guild of Crafts (Quebec) ORDER BEFORE 2 PM CENTRAL - SAME DAY SHIPPINGPRML244
Price: 57.5 USD
Location: Saint Paul, Minnesota
End Time: 2024-09-19T12:00:20.000Z
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Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Format: Trade Paperback
Language: English
Book Title: CRAFTS FROM ARCTIC CANADA
Author: CANADAIAN ESKIMO ARTS COUNCIL
Topic: Crafts
Country/Region of Manufacture: Canada