Keepers of Tradition: Art and Folk Heritage in Massachusetts (review)

Keepers of Tradition: Art and Folk Heritage in Massachusetts, exhibited at the National Heritage Museum (Lexington, Massachusetts) and curated by Maggie Holtzberg, director of heritage arts at the Massachusetts Cultural Commission, culminates eight years of fieldwork in Massachusetts. Anchored by thematic panels such as "Useful Things Made Beautiful," "Life and Work by the Sea," or "Sacred Expressions," the exhibition presents the traditional work of many Massachusetts folk artists who excel in their craft. Entering the exhibition space, the visitor is greeted by a dazzling carnival costume and by life-size "tin men." These magnificent and intriguing objects immediately signal the wide-ranging contexts that give life to these figures: celebrations of Caribbean carnival and traditions that have emerged from occupational groups such as the Local 17 Sheet Metal Workers International Association. Archie Green suggests, as the exhibition catalogue indicates (p. 31), that the latter objects serve as an outlet for creativity and affirmation of membership in a highly skilled trade—a statement that is true for many traditional occupational forms.

The general public cannot but be amazed by the extraordinary aesthetic quality and the variety of objects on display, from life-size and functional to scaled models and miniatures, in all media available in our region, from Native artists and artists whose ancestors have lived in the region for generations to more recent immigrants such as a Puerto Rican santos and vejiganto maker or Cambodian musicians and dance-costume makers settled in Lowell. In some cases, the artist's creativity has transformed an object into a work of art transcending its original function, such as Bob Brophy's "Black Duck Preening" or the sgraffito-decorated jug by Michael Burney. The always-at-play transformation from essentially functional to more decorative is the result not only of individual creativity but also of influences from parallel worlds, such as those of museums, collectors, and tourists. The exhibition features over one hundred works by seventy Massachusetts traditional artists deeply rooted in their cultural context. The curator wisely included a segment of the folk/traditional apprenticeship program that she directs at the Massachusetts Cultural Commission, reflecting the contexts and the processes that keep these traditions alive and that led to the creation of some of the pieces shown in the exhibit.

The exhibit is of high technical quality, and objects are well lit, labeled, and presented. Many of the pieces are contextualized through continuously running live-action footage on a number of screens throughout the exhibit. The exhibit is accompanied by a well-written and informative catalogue including photographs of the various pieces on display. The audio tour, produced by Acoustiguide, includes questions by fieldworkers and statements by artists. This provides for not only a more personal connection to the artists but also a window—albeit small—to fieldwork techniques and the ongoing work of folklorists in our region.

At the end of the exhibit, the visitor can take advantage of a table with reference books providing access to further reading in New England folk traditions. Cards are also available for comments about the exhibition and for suggestions for additional contacts to tradition bearers, thus potentially extending the work that gave birth to this exhibition.

The Keepers of Tradition exhibit is highly successful in its aesthetic dimensions without sacrificing the concerns that professionals in the field might have about contextualization and traditionality. Its visual impact goes a long way to dispel the usual associations made by the general public about "folk" art.

Though the exhibit is extensive in its coverage and outstanding for its display quality, I regretted the paucity of representation of at least two of the historically important communities of southeastern Massachusetts, the Franco-Americans and Cape Verdeans. Coming initially...