Thinking back on our work with Pinterest, that sort of
“virtual collection” relates to more traditional consumption/production for
girls by my estimation in that it presents many objects of low art. The recipes, handmade clothing and
crafts, along with fantastic decorations, and beautiful photography make low
art tangible and reflect our everyday lives. The traditional productions are reflected as many of the
recipes are organic, and many of the crafts made, are made from affordable, accessible
items.
This is not all of Pinterest, of course. Interestingly, is that one can find a
handmade traditional cotton Mexican wedding dress, posted alongside a $1500.00
cotton dress sold in New York City at a vintage specialty store. However, the high fashion, high priced
items on Pinterest are often a reflection, or mimicry/re-visitation of the
traditional products produced and consumed by females.
These new media spaces offer new opportunities for girls, as
there is global access. The low
arts taught at home by mom, by grandma, or by teachers and neighbors used to be
all that a girl was exposed to.
However, the web offers blogs and websites that give step-by-step instructions
on how to create, or modify. There
are a number of YouTube videos that expose girls on varying ways to modify
their t-shirts, creating shirts and tanks from men’s shirts. There are instructions on how to dye
Kerr mason jars, etc. We are no
longer only exposed, as women to the skills of our local community, but we can
now make bread that is made by a family in Germany, because the recipe and
instructions are on the web.
Interesting to me, is that I have not stopped producing items
within my home, like food or handcrafted items. I have only modified by integrating new techniques, new
ideas, and have ordered products online, like beads which need to be
shipped. The love and need within
the home and community to have the handcrafted products for both production and
consumption (both serving soul and body) has not changed – just the fascinating
ways by which girls are now learning to do it.
I agree that the internet can facilitate home production. I still feel a difference in my brain when I look up a recipe online instead of a cookbook. My daughters may never own cookbooks.
ReplyDeleteI prefer the term handicrafts to low arts, or folk art maybe.
Hi Colleen! I struggled with the term "low art" also, but learned in a Women's Studies course that the use of "low" was not necessarily negative. One of the artists, Kara Walker, helped me to see that the mediums used in the "low art" area gained the title, but not the value or craftsmanship behind the art itself. I do like the terms handicrafts and folk art also. However, did spend time getting used to using "low art," in academia.
ReplyDeleteI definitely feel the need to print each great recipe I find and place it in a notebook, rather than just bookmarking it on my computer. There's something fantastic about having that worn recipe with butter spots, or cinnamon smudges, isn't it?