Title:
Joinery, joists and gender : a history of woodworking for the 21st century
Author:
Publication Date:
2022
Publication Information:
Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2022.
©2022
Physical Description:
xxvi, 368 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 26 cm
ISBN:
9780367363406
9780367363413
Abstract:
"Joinery, Joists and Gender: A Woodworking History for the 21st Century is the first publication of its kind to survey the long and rich histories of women and gender non-conforming persons who work in wood. Written for craft practitioners, design students, and readers interested in the intersections of gender and labor history- with 200 full color images both historical and contemporary- this book provides an accessible and insightful entry into the histories, practices, and lived experiences of women and non-binary makers in woodworking. In the first half the author presents a woodworking history primarily in Europe and the United States that highlights the practical and philosophical issues that have marked women's participation in the field. Research focuses on a diverse range of practitioners from Lady Yun to Adina White. This is followed by sixteen in-depth profiles of contemporary woodworkers, all of whom identify fine woodworking as their principal vocation. Through studio visits, interviews, and photographs of space and process, the book uncovers the varied practices and contributions these diverse artisans make to the understanding of wood as a medium to engage spatial, material, aesthetic, and even existential challenges. Beautifully illustrated profiles include Wendy Maruyama, one of the first women to earn an MFA in woodworking in the US; Sarah Marriage, founder of Baltimore's A Workshop of Our Own, a woodshop and educational space specifically for women and gender non-conforming makers; Yuri Kobayashi, whose sublime work blurs boundaries between the worlds of art and craft, sculpture and furniture; and Folayemi Wilson, whose work draws equally on African American history and Afrofuturism to explore and illuminate the ways that furniture and wood traditions shape social relations"--Page 4 of cover.
Contents:
Foreword / Navva Milliken -- Introduction. The exhibition ; It's the wood that makes it good ; The book ; Research methodology ; Organization ; Reference -- 1. Early histories of women in woodworking. The legacy of Lady Yun ; Public and private: Economies and social formations ; Medieval: Private versus public ; Early modern Europe: Economic transitions and the changing meaning of work ; Capitalism ; Women in-and out of-the craft guilds ; Sexual determinism and women's economic participation ; From the Industrial Revolution to the Arts and Crafts movement ; Sarah Tabitha Babbitt ; Industrial capital and the home ; A cyclopedia of woman's work: Decorative goods in the age of industry ; Philadelphia Centennial International Exhibition ; The Aesthetic movement and the Cincinnati Art Carvers ; The art and craft of resistance ; American industry ; Furniture City: Grand Rapids, Michigan ; Hight Point, North Carolina ; Postcards and the popular imagination ; The importance of self-representation: Juliette Caron -- 2. Changing educational models. Pedagogy and culture ; Educational sloyd, an introduction ; Historically Black colleges and universities: Industrial education and the Arts and Crafts movement ; Louise Brigham and the possibilities of the box ; The Russian system of industrial arts ; Manual training schools in Chicago and St. Louis ; Vocationalism and women -- 3. Shifting economies. World War I: British women enter manual fields ; Nancy Cook and Val-Kill Industries ; Between the wars ; Milwaukee Handicraft Project ; Building and repairing furniture from New Mexico to North Carolina ; The second World War: Lumberjills ; Comfort craft ; The GI Bill and the institionalization of art education ; Aileen Osborne Webb: founder, American Craft Council ; Post-war: Black Mountain College ; Mary (Molly) Gregory: builder, designer, architect, woodworker ; Joyce Rinehart Anderson: fine woodworker ; Post-war USA: A suburban dream ; Doing-it-yourself: Family Togetherness and the Suburban Ideal ; In print: Publications and media representation of woodworking ; Art and Craft: The freewheeling '60s ; Pamela Weir-Quiton: "That girl woodworker" ; Wood sculpture ; Woodworking as a woman in the 1970s: Building blocks ; Self-help and DIY ; Women in shop class ; Studio craft programs ; Craft schools ; Craft exhibitions-- 4. The American studio furniture movement. Technology and tradition: From virtuosic technique to exuberant whimsy ; Judy Kensley McKie: painter, carver, furniture maker ; Dolly Spragins: furniture maker ; The studio in studio furniture ; Theorizing craft: Postmodernism ; Cheryl R. Riley: furniture designer, artist ; Art furniture and the gallery movement ; The 1990s ; Mira Nakashima: designer, George Nakashima Woodworkers ; 'Nobody knew we existed': The Furniture Society -- 5. Contemporary profiles. Education and equity ; The economics of production in the twenty-first century ; Collaboration and community: Building community-centered spaces ; Resources and sustainability -- Maker profiles. Jennifer Anderson ; Alison Croney Moses ; Sean Desiree ; Nancy Hiller ; Katie Hudnall ; Yuri Kobayashi ; Christine Lee ; KG MacKinnon ; Kristina Madsen ; Sarah Marriage ; Wendy Maruyama ; Char Miller-King ; Yvonne Mouser ; SIOSI ; Rosanne Somerson ; Folayemi Wilson -- Illustrated glossary.
Language:
English
