A Measure of the Earth
The Cole-Ware Collection of American Baskets
Published on 30. October 2013
Book
Hardback
192 pages
978-1-4696-1528-8 (ISBN)
Description
A Measure of the Earth provides an unparalleled window into an overlooked corner of recent American history: the traditional basketry revival of the past fifty years. Steve Cole and Martha Ware amassed a remarkable collection using the most stringent guidelines: baskets made from undyed domestic materials that have been harvested by the maker. An essay by Nicholas Bell details the longstanding use of traditional fibres such as black ash and white oak, willow and sweetgrass, and the perseverance of a select few to claim these elements -- the land itself -- for the enrichment of daily life. As they trek through woods, fields, farm, and shore in the quest for the right ingredients for a basket, these men and women cultivate an enviable knowledge of the land. Each basket crafted from this knowledge provides not only evidence of this connection to place, but also a measure of the earth.
Drawing on conversations with the basketmakers from across the country and reproducing many of their documentary photographs, Bell offers an intimate glimpse of their lifeways, motivations, and hopes. Lavish illustrations of every basket in the exhibition convey the humble, tactile beauty of these functional vessels.
Distributed for the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Drawing on conversations with the basketmakers from across the country and reproducing many of their documentary photographs, Bell offers an intimate glimpse of their lifeways, motivations, and hopes. Lavish illustrations of every basket in the exhibition convey the humble, tactile beauty of these functional vessels.
Distributed for the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
More details
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Chapel Hill
United States
Edition type
New edition
Dimensions
Height: 279 mm
Width: 241 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
800 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4696-1528-8 (9781469615288)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Nicholas R. Bell is The Fleur and Charles Bresler Curator of American Craft and Decorative Art, Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, USA.
Henry Glassie,College Professor Emeritus at Indiana University, USA, has written many books, three of which -- Passing the Time in Ballymenone, The Spirit of Folk Art, and Turkish Traditional Art Today -- were named notable books of the year by the New York Times. He has won many awards for his work, including the award for a lifetime of scholarly achievement from the American Folklore Society and the Haskins Prize of the American Council of Learned Societies for a distinctive career of humanistic scholarship.
Henry Glassie,College Professor Emeritus at Indiana University, USA, has written many books, three of which -- Passing the Time in Ballymenone, The Spirit of Folk Art, and Turkish Traditional Art Today -- were named notable books of the year by the New York Times. He has won many awards for his work, including the award for a lifetime of scholarly achievement from the American Folklore Society and the Haskins Prize of the American Council of Learned Societies for a distinctive career of humanistic scholarship.