Feminism and Folk Art

Another terrific book by Eli Bartra, whose unique focus on contextualizing "folk art" from a feminist viewpoint has illuminated the art and lives of its often little-known makers. At home in many cultures, her careful attention to both artists and objects is an invaluable addition to the endless discussions of "high" and "low" art. -- Lucy R. Lippard, author of The Pink Glass Swan
In this innovative book, Latin American-based feminist and folklorist Eli Bartra ventures beyond her geographical comfort zone to take on a sophisticated comparative study of art and gender in Mexico, Japan, New Zealand, and Brazil. Her investigatory patchwork of four social and cultural environments—some rural, some urban—calls on specific ethnographic material in a variety of media to explore important theoretical questions, from the distinction between craft and folk art to the conception of gender. -- Sally Price, author of Co-Wives and Calabashes, Primitive Art in Civilized Places, and Paris Primitive
Eli Bartra with her recognized eye for grasping the intricate twisting of tradition, innovation, and inspiration inflected by gender, especially women’s experience, ambition, and generation, with class and necessity in works of art, creates a fascinating narrative that interprets art, folk art, and handicrafts. Her subtle and graceful analysis begins with objects (trees of Life in Mexico; woven baskets in New Zealand; lacquer products from Japan; and the rag dolls of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and quickly moves to a study of the persons who make them. The book should be read twice, once for the pleasure of the descriptive writing and once again for the refined, often understated scrutiny of these artistic case studies. -- William H. Beezley, University of Arizona