This week you are reading Jules David Prown and Kenneth Haltman, editors, American Artifacts: Essays in Material Culture (East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2000). All the essays in this book are based on Jules Prown's method for looking at objects. You should respond to:
Sara Laurel Holstein, "Sewing and Sowing: Cultural Continuity in an Amish Quilt," pp. 93-108.
Daisann McLane, "Unwrapping the bwat sekre: The Secrets of a Haitian Money Box," pp. 109-128.
AND one other essay of your choice.
You should also pay careful attention to Jules Prown's article as an example of the idea of object as metaphor.
In your responses you should consider the evidence that the writer presents for his/her interpretation of the object. You should question whether the interpretation is valid. You should determine whether you think the metaphors that each author finds in each object are acceptable.
PLEASE, remember that these posts are a serious portion of this class and one means by which I will determine your ultimate grade. Stay on point and present for the class usable insights or thoughts.
11 comments:
Prown views the objects as metaphors for human experiences. He says that we subconsciously view the teapot as a female breast and that it is a metaphor for the giving of comfort and nourishment to another human being. He suggests the round shape of the base of the teapot and the pointed top on the lid resemble a womans breast. However, I feel that his analysis is bias. That is his interpretation of the teapot and not the interpretation of the person that actually used it. Someone might look at this object as resembling the shape of a baby. They could then use the baby as a metaphor for joy and warmth. The action of receiving and enjoying tea could be the same as enjoying the actions of a baby. I just feel like the shape and use of an object can be interpreted in any number of ways, it just depends on who is doing the interpreting.
The essay on Amish quilts by Holstein felt too much like a history of the Amish people. I thought the author focused on the morals and beliefs of the Amish and then loosely attached them to the shape and style of the quilt. I can see how the stability of the Amish community is represented in the sturdy shape of the quilt, but most quilts are square or rectangular. The intent of the diamond shape in the middle of the quilt, representing instability and being a metaphor for the choice of the Amish children choosing to be Amish or not, seemed a little far-fetched.
The essay on the bwat sekre was quite interesting. McLane did a good job of describing the box and giving a brief background of its purpose. However, I felt like most of this essay sounded like an act of coincidence. The materials used by the box maker were probably available and happend to be the national colors of Haiti. I'm sure the colors were the main reason for using the metal and there might have been a chance that the maker understood the words on the metal, but I would bet they didn't think about it as much as McLane did. Toward the end of the esssay McLane even states that when trying to acquire another patterned metal box, there were none available. The only boxes that were made with metal had a gold or silver finish. I believe that the maker of the Nevr Dull box chose to use that particular metal because it was available and it displayed the national colors of Haiti (which would have been a selling point to Haitians or tourists).
The essay on the late-nineteenth-century corset was very interesting. I knew very little about the corset before reading this and I am now extremely intrigued by them. Miller did a great job of explaining the three metaphors that are associated with the corset (the virgin, the harlot and the mother). The only part I had a hard time believing was when the author stated that the corset resembled a pitcher for holding milk. They were trying to link the life giving milk of a mother with the actual shape of the corset. That part seemed like too much of a stretch. This essay also seemed like a history lesson more than an investigation (which I didn't mind).
All of these essays seem rooted in metaphor, but I can't agree with all of there outcomes. It seems like most of them were created out of theories and assumptions. I would like to have seen more possible uses for the objects.
“Sewing and Sowing: Cultural Continuity in an Amish quilt”
The contradiction that takes place with the Amish quilt and its people’s idea of non-materiality is definitely a valid investigation. The Amish, a quite simple group of individuals have always been known as dull, old fashioned and religious. At least this was my first thought when coming to this essay. For this investigation, the author chose to look at a diamond style, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Amish quilt that was made between 1910 and 1915. Elements such as pattern, design, stitching, color and quality of material are all investigated to come to larger understanding of the quilt and its place in the Amish culture.
The contradiction that the author speaks of has to do with the bright colored fine material that the quilts are made of and the simple non-material tradition of the Amish. The Amish are primarily farmers with only an eighth grade education; most marriages produced more than seven children. Those children were expected to help run the family farms. Within this simple lifestyle, the quilt has come to be a symbol of fertility. The land is cultivated to produce more crops while in the bed; the woman is planted with seed to produce more “crop” to farm the land. The author even stated that in that culture if a young girl produced many quilts she would be married.
The particular quilt investigated here is traditional in every sense. The author notes that the stitching is done both by hand and machine. However, there are examples of skill and precision in the motifs of garland and rose design. The organization of geometric shapes combined with organic shapes suggests the cutting or dividing of land. This is just one of the many metaphors the author related to the quilt.
So, one might ask, is this a valid investigation with a new understanding of how the quilt played an important role in the lives of the Amish? The author has taken an object, investigated it, and found the metaphor that the quilt is a symbol of creation, cultivation, procreation and in this it has indeed become an important material item. The goal of the investigation was to understand the Amish culture, not through farming which is a traditional way of looking at the group, but through a quilt. I believe the author accomplished his goal by finally looking at the quilt as a grounding point for the family and for creation.
“Reflections on a 1923 Candle Stick Telephone” Haltman
This essay reminded me of my childhood when I would spend time at my grandmothers hardware store. A constant in the store was a black rotary dial telephone. When I returned to the memory, sensual aspects came to light. In Haltman’s essay, he examines a 1923 candlestick telephone. What I find problematic is the metaphor to human body parts. He states that certain parts such as the dial as genitals and the phone cord to anus. I feel like this goes too far or either not far enough. Can the telephone metaphorically be something more than a human body? The phone is also discussed as a metaphor of communication. The phone sits waiting for someone to speak. I do find it interesting that the phone was thought to increase communication, but with this communication, people became more isolated from each other. Depersonalization is another issue that the author investigates. As phones become more and more popular, communication became a commodity. The idea that communication was now a commodity was interesting because it touches on what is happening in modern times today with advancing technology. The author moves on to discuss style, appearance, and design. Haltman concludes that with the evolution of the telephone also came the revolution to adapt its design in the form of a woman, something that always seems to sell. He also discussed the etiquette issues concerning phone conversation.
Prown, Object as Metaphor
This essay has been the most fascinating so far. It is also the most convincing of the essays read so far. Prown uses the teapot as a metaphor for woman’s breast. This is validated by the idea that we drink warm liquid from the breast and we drink warm liquid from a teapot. He even goes so far as to look at the design of the teapot looking at it from above and noticing the strange relation to a woman’s nipple. So, from looking at the pot from the top and side we see relationships between that and the shape of the breast. It did not seem as if Prown took his speculation too far, as in some of the other essays.
“Secrets of a Haitian Money Box” McLane
Mclane’s childlike discovery of a tin box impressed his imagination. A further investigation was initiated, what kind of box is this, what is this design, what was it made for and what was it used for are a few of the questions Mclane used to find out more about this neat “toy like” box. It did not take long before he learned that it was a Haitian moneybox, but this still did not answer all his questions. The author poses to look at the box through bwat sekre, a commodity made by the use of several cultures coming together. There are four main observations, the first being an evaluatition the object through senses and emotions, then through political and economic points of view, the issue between the United States and Haiti and finally how the box resonates Haiti’s history through Vudou. The author then describes the box in exact detail. Through investigation the author discovers the nature of metal and notices that English words, not Haitian appear on the surface. Colors are associated with the colors of the national flag. After looking at economics, religion, social makeup, the box is deemed a moneybox used by Haitian women and even associated to Vudou. This is a true example of bwat sekre. Materials from the United States found its way to this third world country. Several cultures are wound up in this material object.
The boit-secre article analyzed a haitian piggy bank. The author attributed mystical powers to the design and function of the box in sync with voudou culture. the epilogue was quite interesting. the changing social and political climate has affected the construction (and arguably the overall value) of these artifacts.
The amish quilt article followed Prown's formula for object analyzation. But I think this article may demonstrate some of the problems with Prown's plan. Since Amish people made so many quilts using so many patterns, it seems hard to focus on just one of the quilts to be indicative of amish life. The author probably needs a little more material evidence to make such sweeping generalizations about Amish values. The article made sense, but seemed to be written from the beginning with a known conclusion. If this is the case, then we don't really need the object as something to study. Sometimes a pipe is just a pipe.
Sara Laurel Holstein
Sewing and Sowing: Cultural Continuity in an Amish Quilt
Holstein’s article focuses on the Amish and what she sees as a struggle to hold onto agricultural, domestic, and societal tradition. She attempts to argue that this struggle is evident within the practice of quilt making and specifically her example of an Amish quilt from the early 1900’s. She then continues by relaying some of the history of the Amish, mostly concentrating on their belief systems. I had one problem with Holstein’s article because I felt that she was relying too much on her personal opinion of “societal uncertainty” that she claims exists within Amish life. I found the comparison of the individual elements of the quilt to the farmlands and Amish traditions to be very interesting. I can agree that their daily lives could be in direct correlation to some of the decisions made by the quilt’s craftsperson. However, I think that Holstein is stretching to make a grander find when she goes on to assert a sense of strife portrayed within the quilts. I am sure that there exists a pressure for change from the outside world that is placed upon the Amish lifestyle. I do however have a hard time assuming that the women in the community are in a state of personal questioning and I doubt that this is/would be expressed within their quilt making. The quilt is a symbol of cultural heritage and often given at happier occasions, such as a wedding. Because of this I would think that the quilt would represent pride and preservation of heritage, not a feeling of uncertainty weather or not to change these beliefs. The analysis made by Holstein feels pushed, almost as if her simple findings weren’t enough so she decided to search for something more grand and wound up with information that may not be true.
Daisann McLane
Unwrapping the bwat sekre: The Secrets of a Haitian Money Box
This article had more fluidity due to the writing style of McLane. It was interesting to compare the story like description process to the more clinical descriptions found in many of the other writings. I was able to get a personal feel for the moneybox because of McLane’s approach but I am not too sure if this approach is appropriate. I could see where this method could influence personal bias, ultimately going against Prown’s reasoning for the creation of his analytical method. Although the read was interesting by the end McLane managed to provide evidence that went against her statements about the history and purpose for the bwat sekre. The color associations pointed out did reflect the history of the Haitian people but I felt that it was happenstance (pointed out by the lack of consistency in other bwat sekre). I believe that the material choice was influenced by the availability of the metal, and perhaps if McLane chose to stick with the notions of outside influence, status, power, and the effects of these on the Haitian people she would have had a more consistent result, instead we got a mix mash of many ideas none that felt complete.
Joel Pfister
A Garden in the Machine: Reading a Mid-Nineteenth Century, Two-Cylinder Parlor Stove as Cultural Text
I am not too sure what point Pfister was trying to make when concerning the stove. It seemed like he focused more on the meaning of stove’s adornment more than the actual item. Besides the decorative qualities of the stove, his focus was on literature references and some of the authors of the day. Connections were made between the literatures discussed but no point was made in doing this. I feel that Pfister was side tracked by the reference material and failed to make any findings based upon his investigation into the New England people and the stove’s place within the home. There was however a nice over view of industrial happening, changes within daily life, and a linage of heating methods. I would have liked Pfister to make a concise relation to these things and the stoves placement within these changes. I feel that this article could have been linked to the rapid changes in daily life of this era but it simply got lost within the research.
Sara Lauren Holstein
Sewing and Sowing: Cultural Continuity and the Amish Quilt
I believe the weakest reading of the Amish Quilt is of the central diamond as “a balancing unstable structure.” These quilts were wedding gifts. That means that a couple of young Amish folks have been baptized and are continuing the practice of being Amish. One could see the diamond as a stabilizer, like the triangles on a bridge and the quilt as a celebration of functional stability in practice. Does the diamond add to the strength to the design or has the maker “undermined the stability of the form?” How can we understand the geometric iconography of the design? I agree with Ben some things in the essay seem predetermined by what we “know” about the Amish.
Diasann McLane
Unwrapping the bwat sekre: The Secrets of a Haitian Money Box.
The bwat sekre is the newest object studied in these essays and is very interesting because the way it is shaped by our global economy. Information about the box is accessible because the boxes maker is here to be questioned. The writer of the essay calls the use of the Never-Dull design a “perceptive cross-cultural reading of their semiotics.” I want to know more about how the English affects the boxes meaning for the Haitian. What does the average Haitian believe about the outside world and these foreign materials?
Leslie Shannon Miller
The Many Figures of Eve: Styles of Womanhood Embodied in a Late-Nineteenth-Century Corset.
Isn’t the standard still 36”- 24”- 36”, even though the corset is no longer widely used. The corset is identifiable with today’s widespread acceptance of plastic surgery and the abundance of crash diets. Women have never stopped believing that something about their bodies different than it naturally is.
The reading of the corset as a pitcher of milk was a little bit unfounded. I believe the writer could have left that part out with no damage to the quality of the essay.
Sara Laurel Holstein, "Sewing and Sowing: Cultural Continuity in an Amish Quilt," pp. 93-108.
Sara Holstein writes of the Amish Quilt and the tension found within between worldly or secular and the way of life of the Amish which is about being other than separate from the world. Holstein does a nice job of setting up the context and giving lots of examples of the dichotomy between Amish living and worldly living, particularly in reference to the Ordnung or the unwritten behavioral laws of the Amish. Holstein compares the geometric machine sewn shapes of the quilt to the organic line quality of the hand-stitched shapes that actually bind the quilt together. This tension is interesting where the geometric make up the body of the quilt the organic more worldly stitches hold the quilt together. The color choices are interesting as well were the brighter more vibrant colors are expressions of the individual and the darker toned more conservative quilts while being less visually interesting are considered by some to be more inline with the Amish way of life. Holstein also makes and interesting comparison between the fertile beds of the Amish farms and the fertile marriage beds of procreation. Both are necessary for the continuation of their way of life.
Daisann McLane, "Unwrapping the bwat sekre: The Secrets of a Haitian Money Box," pp. 109-128.
Daisann McLane writes regarding the Bwat Sekre or the secret box of the Haitian marketplace. The Bwat sekre is filled with portent meaning McLane writes and is a mystery box important to the Haitian people. The box is constructed from first world metal scraps and wood which is in short supply in Haiti. The metal is speculated to be from the “free zones” in nearby countries. The Bwat Sekre McLane links to notions of the sacred. The word sekre and sakre are very close and share meaning in the vodou culture. Mclane goes on to speak of the red and blue colors of the metal box and compares them to colors of Ogun and St. Jacques. In Haiti red and blue are big colors. Mclane states they are representative of the people’s freedom and end of tyrannical rule. While this reading McLane might be interesting it might be a little far reaching in his analysis of the object. The sharp edges of the box might not represent the swordsman of Haitian culture, they might just be shoddily cut and made quickly to turn a buck. The colors could have been chosen for their perceived importance and they could have been the best choice of the scrap metal available.
Leslie Shannon Miller “the Many Figure of Eve: Styles of Womanhood Embodied in the Late-Nineteenth-Century Corset”
Leslie Miller introduced the topic of the corset and brings to mind the ideas of normal in the late nineteenth century. “Touch me not” upright and loose are words that come to mid from her description.
Miller touches upon the differences between appearances and actuality, between the soft look and hard touch of the corset. Miller also places special emphasis upon the dichotomy of the mother/virgin dual role embodied in the corset. Miller also raises the issue of the heaving bosom and the role of writers in this time period. Above all Miller emphasizes the role of the corset as being proper and it giving rise to upright women and its societal import. Miller does well to give plenty of supporting evidence but when the corset is compared to wheat there seems to be a disconnect.
Sewing and Sowing: Cultural Continuity in an Amish Quilt:
The article by Sara Holstein was interesting to read in that it gives a good background into the life of the Amish people. She interprets the design making of the quilts by the Amish women as metaphor for other elements within the Amish society. After reading the Prown article at the beginning of the book, this makes more sense as to her assertions and theories on the design work. Prown said that there are elements (thoughts, beliefs…) in societies that are so engraved that they manifest without a conscious thought. Holstein takes this philosophy and runs with it. A bit too much I think. She backs up her arguments with her theories such as the way the Amish hold sacred the idea of fertility in land and in people, thus this wedding gift quilt, with floral motif, evidences a desire for the new couple to be fertile. Some of the distinctions made such as the diamond pattern being a possible sign of instability within the Amish community may be a bit of a far stretch. I did find some of the theory in design work more palatable, such as the orderly border work containing elements of the design into controlled sections (this mimicking their theology). A good read, though it got wildly theoretical in places.
Unwrapping the bwat sekre: The Secrets of a Haitian Money Box:
Daisann McLane wrote one of the more interesting articles in the book here. He spok of this box his friend brought back from Haiti that he was fascinated with. Mostly he was fascinated with the connection between 3 different cultures and of the influence of the 1st world on the 3rd world society. The Bwat Sekre is in our terms a piggy bank (its functional equivilant), but in Haitian tradition it was much more. It was, according to McLane, a manifestation of voodoo beliefs in contemporary function. Voodoo does not exist within itself but rather the Gods of Voodoo and beliefs can manifest themselves in many forms and even in other religions (in the Carribean and in Louisiana it adapts itself frequently with Roman Catholicism brought here by the French). I liked the correlations made by McLane in the article about how the box of secrets or sacred box (depends on translation) can be likened to placing money in the bank deposit drop box and having the money work for you like it does in this magic box the Haitians use. He also goes into the use of the material (which I thought he got hung up on a little too much) being a bridge between the 1st world industries and the 3rd world utilization and remaking of the material into something wholly different and unique to the culture. Such as the steel drums produced in Trinidad. He discusses the use of the shapes and forms on the metal and how, they played a part in the making of the piece. Due to VooDoo beliefs, the manifestation of the Gods can be made via color. I thought he went a little far in saying that uncconcoiusly the words were chose as well. I think that was just a happy mistake. What I think is interesting is how he doesn’t reverse the idea. He focuses on the readaptation of material from the 1st world countries by the 3rd world contries into something that becomes unique to this culture, but the opposite also becomes true. In taking this bwat sekre home and placing it on his mantle or whatever… it loses its meaning and in our culture becomes something wholly different as it is now just a decoration or a conversation piece. It is no longer what it was intended to be unless it is in use as its original maker had intended. The reappropriation of material from the 3rd world into the 1st world.
Carlo Rotella; Industry, Nature, and Identity in an Iron Footbridge:
I thought I’d choose this article because it deals with bridges… something I’m quite accustom to in south Louisiana. I think this article was a lot less theoretical than most of the other articles in the book. Rotella seemed to focus mainly on the construction of the bridge in the park and the stark contrast of its construction and material to the natural beauty of the surroundings. The originall designer of the park wanted to have a bridge in this secluded area of Rock Park, in New Haven, but wanted it to be constructed of material that was more fitting with nature than the (at the time) modern industrial steel tressel bridges being used for railroads. Because of budget constraints the concil went against his recommendations and built a steel tressel, rail road style bridge for foot traffic in the park. The author goes into literature of “bridge epiphanies”. Writtings written by authors who were inspired by other bridges such as the Brooklyn Bridge. He then finds literature written in the 1970’s of people who discuss this particular bridge and they find their one epiphanies.
The bridge becomes a monument not to its material and construction but to the passage of time. The way it shows its age in its material construction or even the weathering of that construction. The marring of its surface with graffiti reflecting the cultural and value change in the surrounding society. The utility of the bridge how even in the drastically changing society can still be found to provide aid in the same activities from people one hundred years ago to now, such as people still fishing from the bridge or bird watching. Even though the society which uses the bridge now is starkly different from the one that built it, over time the bridge showed that no matter how much changes, somethings will always remain the same.
THE SPELL CHECKED VERSION! :)
Sewing and Sowing: Cultural Continuity in an Amish Quilt:
The article by Sara Holstein was interesting to read in that it gives a good background into the life of the Amish people. She interprets the design making of the quilts by the Amish women as metaphor for other elements within the Amish society. After reading the Prown article at the beginning of the book, this makes more sense as to her assertions and theories on the design work. Prown said that there are elements (thoughts, beliefs…) in societies that are so engraved that they manifest without a conscious thought. Holstein takes this philosophy and runs with it. A bit too much I think. She backs up her arguments with her theories such as the way the Amish hold sacred the idea of fertility in land and in people, thus this wedding gift quilt, with floral motif, evidences a desire for the new couple to be fertile. Some of the distinctions made such as the diamond pattern being a possible sign of instability within the Amish community may be a bit of a far stretch. I did find some of the theory in design work more palatable, such as the orderly border work containing elements of the design into controlled sections (this mimicking their theology). A good read, though it got wildly theoretical in places.
Unwrapping the bwat sekre: The Secrets of a Haitian Money Box:
Daisann McLane wrote one of the more interesting articles in the book here. He spoke of this box his friend brought back from Haiti that he was fascinated with. Mostly he was fascinated with the connection between 3 different cultures and of the influence of the 1st world on the 3rd world society. The Bwat Sekre is in our terms a piggy bank (its functional equivalent), but in Haitian tradition it was much more. It was, according to McLane, a manifestation of voodoo beliefs in contemporary function. Voodoo does not exist within itself but rather the Gods of Voodoo and beliefs can manifest themselves in many forms and even in other religions (in the Caribbean and in Louisiana it adapts itself frequently with Roman Catholicism brought here by the French). I liked the correlations made by McLane in the article about how the box of secrets or sacred box (depends on translation) can be likened to placing money in the bank deposit drop box and having the money work for you like it does in this magic box the Haitians use. He also goes into the use of the material (which I thought he got hung up on a little too much) being a bridge between the 1st world industries and the 3rd world utilization and remaking of the material into something wholly different and unique to the culture. Such as the steel drums produced in Trinidad. He discusses the use of the shapes and forms on the metal and how, they played a part in the making of the piece. Due to Voodoo beliefs, the manifestation of the Gods can be made via color. I thought he went a little far in saying that unconsciously the words were chose as well. I think that was just a happy mistake. What I think is interesting is how he doesn’t reverse the idea. He focuses on the readaptation of material from the 1st world countries by the 3rd world countries into something that becomes unique to this culture, but the opposite also becomes true. In taking this bwat sekre home and placing it on his mantle or whatever… it loses its meaning and in our culture becomes something wholly different as it is now just a decoration or a conversation piece. It is no longer what it was intended to be unless it is in use as its original maker had intended. The reappropriation of material from the 3rd world into the 1st world.
Carlo Rotella; Industry, Nature, and Identity in an Iron Footbridge:
I thought I’d choose this article because it deals with bridges… something I’m quite accustom to in south Louisiana. I think this article was a lot less theoretical than most of the other articles in the book. Rotella seemed to focus mainly on the construction of the bridge in the park and the stark contrast of its construction and material to the natural beauty of the surroundings. The original designer of the park wanted to have a bridge in this secluded area of Rock Park, in New Haven, but wanted it to be constructed of material that was more fitting with nature than the (at the time) modern industrial steel trestle bridges being used for railroads. Because of budget constraints the council went against his recommendations and built a steel trestle, rail road style bridge for foot traffic in the park. The author goes into literature of “bridge epiphanies”. Writings written by authors who were inspired by other bridges such as the Brooklyn Bridge. He then finds literature written in the 1970’s of people who discuss this particular bridge and they find their one epiphanies.
The bridge becomes a monument not to its material and construction but to the passage of time. The way it shows its age in its material construction or even the weathering of that construction. The marring of its surface with graffiti reflecting the cultural and value change in the surrounding society. The utility of the bridge how even in the drastically changing society can still be found to provide aid in the same activities from people one hundred years ago to now, such as people still fishing from the bridge or bird watching. Even though the society which uses the bridge now is starkly different from the one that built it, over time the bridge showed that no matter how much changes, some things will always remain the same.
oops. forgot to write about a third article. so i will write about the lava lamp because... i used to own the reclassic gold based yellow liquid with red wax lava lamp that they examine. i put glow in the dark stars on my lamp but never thought much past that. i took the glow stars off with a razor blade before selling the thing in a garage sale five years later. it is definitely cool to hear how other people are able to implant the object with more meaning. the idea of an iconic object is strange. sir andy silk screened this truth as poignantly and superficially as anyone. he created objects of objects. sort of like still life paintings minus the life. interestingly enough the phrase still life comes from the french: nature morte (translation: dead nature.) point, counterpoint.
this reading made the point that "the subculture is not digested, it is sublimated." i wonder where in america is the term subculture still in function? the skaters, punks, anarchists, hippies, gamers, preps, jocks, etc etc etc etc have all alloted for themselves folk pop identities. these groups all have a serious fan following. subculture is no longer important in america. a choice of subculture seems to be as readily available as a choice of shampoo. as far as identity is concerned... own nothing. and that was the attitude pre-pop post ww2 when all the folks were really broke. i danced around the question, but there wasn't a question. the author analyzed an object in a cultural syntax. i think she did a good job. i am not sure how much further i need to analyze the object she made in response to the object she analyzed. kudos, ms roberts, well done.
Jonathan Postal: American Artifacts
Sewing and Sowing by Sara Laurel Holstein
Ms Holstein takes a look at the Amish quilt. In particular one made in the form and tradition of the ones produced in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania between 1910 and 1915 (or thereabouts).
The quilt has two main elements to deal with as far as a metaphoric is concerned. There are the floral or organic patterns contained by geometric shapes reminiscent of boundaries or fences. The other is a central diamond shape contained within a square structure. Of course holding on to a form of quilt making and not deviating from it is an indication of a culture that is not comfortable with change.
The contained organic areas can be seen as a reflection of crop layouts. The crops would be the backbone of the agrarian world the Amish have cloistered themselves in. This can also be tied into fertility, which serves the binary masters of abundance of harvest and the sexual issue of randy Amish coupling on (or underneath) the quilt to restock the work force and keep their community independent.
The Diamond shape might indicate the individual precariously balancing on their faith. This would be particularly resonating for the teenaged youngster having not yet been baptized and still capable of leaving the fold. The square holding the diamond in place perhaps is the belief system and social pressure of the Amish community.
Unwrapping the bwat sekre by Daisann Mclane
I found these thoughts on the Haitian money box interesting though somewhat flawed.
I can see the box as a metaphor for the relationship between the rural, poor third world and America. The using of raw materials from the industrial complex to suit a peasant need is not new but valid just the same. The Tahitian women were happy to get T shirts from the European missionaries for modesty and use them as long as they could customize them by cutting out holes for their nipples so they could feed their children.
The religious aspect could also wash as something so ingrained as Vodou would rise to the surface given any chance. If worshipers could bend and shape Christian saints to carry their riders I’m sure a simple metal box is no problem. The colors too might please some part of the Haitian brain. It’s a reach but I’m a giving person.
Where I draw the line is that the box would sublimely designed with a cutting edge, I just don’t think so. Also he never answered a question I asked myself as a human continually in a financial struggle – how do you get the money out of the box?
Lucubrations on a Lava Lamp by Jennifer L. Roberts
The lava lamp as a metaphor for both the counter culture and establishment of the 1960’s. One thing worth thinking about right off is that a decade generally doesn’t have a seamless changing of the guard at the end of the decade. The 60’s bleed into the 70’s as the 50’s did into the 60’s.
It appears to me that the psychedelic hippy gazing at the modulating globules reflecting Mr. Leary’s take on the life stream flowing was on one side of the sixties. Whereas the suburban couple with the lamp mounted on their television watching a contained version of the Blob (I agree itself a metaphor for the communist threat) and feeling powerless because they no longer understood science were either literally of figuratively still in the 50’s. The hippy most likely wasn’t worried about much at all.
The idea about the counterculture being inside the bottle is a sound one though.
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