Moving Subjects, Moving Objects by Svasek Maruska
Author:Svasek, Maruska.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Published: 2014-03-14T16:00:00+00:00
The Study
Researchers from different disciplines have analysed the dynamic relationship between art and emotion from various perspectives.6 Matravers, for example, writes: ‘Great art provides some of the most valuable experiences it is possible for us to have. Such experiences engage many aspects of our mental life simultaneously: filling our senses whilst at the same time making demands on our intelligence, our sympathies, and our emotions’ (Matravers 1998: 1). Mistretta has similarly noted that ‘art, in its ever-vital role in society, helps to create and stabilize/reinforce our emotional makeup, on both an individual and societal level’ (Mistretta 2001: 1). Focusing on the potential use of art practice for patients who are unable or unwilling to express themselves through language, Silver (2001) demonstrated that drawing techniques can be used as a from of treatment as they stimulate patients’ cognitive and emotional development. Commenting on contemporary psychoanalytic approaches to emotions, Jurist (2006) suggests that such theories should include a focus on subjective art experiences as these throw light on complex emotional processes.
In line with these views, this chapter attempts to critically analyse the position of traditional arts and crafts among the Karen, unravelling the emotional dynamics that inform the debate about ‘dying cultures’ and ‘the protection of cultural heritage’. Here it would be pertinent to point out that by ‘arts and crafts’, I do not mean only the fine arts but also what several scholars have called the applied or liberal arts. Personally, I prefer not to make a distinction between the two. This is because archaeological excavations worldwide have proved, time and again, that from a very early stage of the evolutionary development of humans, people have created works of art. Even today, beauty and symmetry are added to function in an attempt to make things more appealing. Moreover, the so called fine arts perform several functions, although they are not obviously visible.
This chapter is based mainly on data collected via in-depth, unstructured and sometimes directed interviews, observations, discussions and case studies. Furthermore, although most socio-cultural anthropologists tend to dislike and ignore the use of statistical analysis, I attempted to substantiate the information I gathered by collecting additional data using a simple house-to-house survey. Fieldwork was carried out in all six Karen villages of Mayabunder in November and December 2003 in an attempt to analyse the position of traditional arts and crafts in the community, and the diverse attitude of the older and younger generations towards these.
The analysis presents the contradictory views and conflicts that exist in the Karen community today with regard to arts and crafts. Undoubtedly change is an evident phenomenon and one cannot, and does not, expect any culture to freeze in time. As an outsider, I neither have the right, nor the will, to judge whose perspective is right. Selfishly, however, as an appreciator of handicrafts and artefacts, I wish every diverse form and style to stay alive so that we may be in a position to admire and enjoy these varied products which are unique examples of humanity’s ingenuity and creativity.
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