ChapterPDF Available

Creativity, Place, and Commodities: The Making of Public Economies in Andean Apparel Industries.

Authors:
... With increasing sales and ExpoFeria traffic, storefronts became more substantial. In Otavalo, we have documented "creativity in moderation" (Colloredo-Mansfeld, Antrosio, & Jones, 2011), in which producers do not bet everything on one design, or immediately copy what seems to be trendy. New trends emerge and take hold, but at a moderate pace. ...
Article
Full-text available
Thomas Friedman (referencing Harvard economist Lawrence Katz) declared that the economic future for the United States meant that “everyone today has to be an artisan” (The New York Times, October 23, 2010). But what does it mean to be an artisan in a globalized world? This article suggests that artisan economies may involve high levels of risk and excess, frustrating the search for economic justice and more equitable opportunities. Fieldwork with peasant agriculturists in southwestern Colombia and textile artisans in northern Ecuador challenges the stereotypes of conservative, risk-averse peasants or of traditional, low-output artisans. Rather, risk-maximization and excessive behavior is widespread, and may be vital for maintaining the system. The chance at windfall profits encourages small-scale production, making it seem worth persevering through adverse conditions. At times when traditional calculations of toil and expenditure make agriculture or artisanry seem like wasted effort, excessive display of winnings can provide motivation to continue. In booms and busts in the northern Andes, peasants and artisans have built an infrastructure of excess: overbuilt streetscapes, overcapacity in workshops, lost economic diversity, and production shifted to niche markets. To participate in a global economy, this is the meaning of “everyone today has to be an artisan.”
Article
This chapter analyzes local notions of authenticity drawing on ethnographic data collected during thirteen months of fieldwork in the rural village of Quinua, Peru. The author highlights how local ceramic artisans conceived of authenticity, which, it is argued, is encapsulated by local terms and material practices surrounding the concept of artesano verdadero. Artisans in Quinua share, borrow, and even “steal” designs from others. Within this context, artisans persistently evaluated each other based on these practices. Ultimately, the narratives artisans tell themselves and others about who they are, and are not, as artisans, thereby put forth claims about who counts and who does not as an artisan. This chapter shows that to be a “true” and thus successful artisan, one must strike a delicate balance of maintaining control over his or her craft and cultural heritage while engaging fickle markets.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.