Finnish American Rag Rugs: Art, Tradition and Ethnic Community
Yvonne Lockwood, Ph.D., Curator Emeritus of Folklife at Michigan State University
Material
culture is made up of tangible things crafted, shaped, altered, and
used across time and across space. It comes from one’s hands and is
shared with others in a community,
reflecting one’s learned ideas, and connecting persons and groups.
Material culture “tells” a story about its relationship to people, both
the ones that create them and the ones who use them, and to the culture
and history in which it is embedded.
In
the late 19th century Finns shared skills within their local North
American communities and regions about the production and use of
traditional material culture. Their
knowledge included weaving, knitting, spinning, woodworking,
construction, and many more skills needed to sustain their lives in new
environments. With time and subsequent generations, some of these skills
were maintained, some are only memories, some have
been lost, and some have been revived and relearned.
The
lecture examines the role material traditions play in Finnish America
today and what we can learn about Finnish American culture from objects.
It also addresses the issue
of cultural continuity. Why are some material culture traditions
maintained while others are lost? How have traditions changed in form
and function?
Yvonne R. Lockwood is Curator of Folklife at the Michigan
State University Museum and Associate Coordinator of the Michigan Traditional Arts Program. She is co-editor of the
Michigan Folklife Annual and of Michigan Folklife Reader.
She received 2012 America Folklore Society Köngäs-Maranda Award and was
selected as 2013 Lecturer of the Year (LOY) for Finlandia Foundation
National
Café
Botanique is a program within the School of Botanical Art and
Illustration and is open for everybody. The 30-40 minute talk starts at
6:30 p.m.
and is followed by a discussion. Café Botanique generally meets on
selected Wednesdays, each time with a different topic relating to Denver
Botanic Gardens’ Botanical Illustration curriculum. Pre-registration is
not required, but encouraged (required for SBAI-school credit). Suggested donation: $5.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Denver Botanic Gardens – Gates Hall
6:30 – 8 p.m.