Where Pop Meets Purl: Knitting,the Curation of Craft,and the Folk/Mass Culture Divide |
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| Authors: | Julie Wolfram Cox Stella Minahan |
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| Abstract: | Since the 1970s, the de‐differentiation of high and low culture has legitimized the curation of craft and popular culture. The curation of some crafts, such as quilting, has assisted in reducing art‐craft distinctions, and the exhibition of fashion and popular music has highlighted links between folk culture (e.g., stories, songs, and crafts) and mass culture. With reference to the craft of knitting, we draw on the concept of the contact zone) to show how the current breaching of museum boundaries by yarn bombers can draw further attention to inclusions and exclusions in museum curation. Just as traditional age and gender distinctions are both problematized and perpetuated in public images and press reports on knitting, we argue that discussion of new forms and new contributors to curation processes may be tempered by broader analysis of the representation of craft within popular culture. |
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