Art as Politics: Re-Crafting Identities, Tourism, and Power in Tana Toraja, Indonesia Contributor(s): Adams, Kathleen M. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0824830725 ISBN-13: 9780824830724 Publisher: University of Hawaii Press OUR PRICE: $25.65 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: August 2006 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Anthropology - Cultural & Social - History | Asia - Southeast Asia - Social Science | Ethnic Studies - Asian American Studies |
Dewey: 305.899 |
LCCN: 2006008332 |
Series: Southeast Asia: Politics, Meaning, and Memory (Paperback) |
Physical Information: 0.77" H x 6.32" W x 8.99" (0.95 lbs) 304 pages |
Themes: - Cultural Region - Southeast Asian |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Art as Politics explores the intersection of art, identity politics, and tourism in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Based on long-term ethnographic research from the 1980s to the present, the book offers a nuanced portrayal of the Sa'dan Toraja, a predominantly Christian minority group in the world's most populous Muslim country. Celebrated in anthropological and tourism literatures for their spectacular traditional houses, sculpted effigies of the dead, and pageantry-filled funeral rituals, the Toraja have entered an era of accelerated engagement with the global economy marked by on-going struggles over identity, religion, and social relations. In her engaging account, Kathleen Adams chronicles how various Toraja individuals and groups have drawn upon artistically-embellished traditional objects--as well as monumental displays, museums, UNESCO ideas about word heritage, and the World Wide Web--to shore up or realign aspects of a cultural heritage perceived to be under threat. She also considers how outsiders--be they tourists, art collectors, members of rival ethnic groups, or government officials--have appropriated and reframed Toraja art objects for their own purposes. Her account illustrates how art can serve as a catalyst in identity politics, especially in the context of tourism and social upheaval. Ultimately, this insightful work prompts readers to rethink persistent and pernicious popular assumptions--that tourism invariably brings a loss of agency to local communities or that tourist art is a compromised form of expression. Art as Politics promises to be a favorite with students and scholars of anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, ethnic relations, art, and Asian studies. |
Contributor Bio(s): Adams, Kathleen M.: - Kathleen M. Adams is professor of anthropology at Loyola University Chicago and adjunct curator at the Field Museum of Natural History. |