Furniture Design Commons^™

Maa’: An Analysis From The May Weber Ethnographic Study Collection, Claire T. Chilla

Department of Anthropology

An analysis of Maa’ textiles from Sulawesi Indonesia. Discusses both the artistic symbolism, possible physical creation, and the spiritual connection of the textile for the Torajans. Informs through the lens of globalization, colonization, and funerary practices from the country of origin.

Repair Rolodex: Exchanges, Changes, And Patchwork Parables, Ethan Howard

Masters Theses

This book is an index of nine exchanges with strangers whom I met online through email Listservs or by word of mouth. In these transactions, I offered to repair broken things for a trade-in-kind payment. Through the brief relationship between owner and designer, each interaction suggests that an object is almost never entirely obsolete despite its perceived obsolescence.

At the core of these trades is a grassroots protest of the landfill and a critique of our global capitalist commerce system. The apparent desire for and nature of these trades demonstrates that stories make our objects meaningful. Each interplay studies peoples’ …

Downey, John Michael, B. 1951 (Fa 1350), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1350. Folklife project titled "Antiques" by John Michael Downey for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University. Project includes an illustrated paper about the acquisition and use of antiques collected by friends and family members in DeKalb and Haralson counties in Georgia, Warren County, Kentucky and Rockingham County, Virginia. Survey sheets may include brief description of antique’s origin, use, sample of handwoven coverlet, color photo, illustration, text classification, and bibliographic source.

Rediscovering Brazil: The Marajoara Style In Modernist Art And Design, Alyson Brandes

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

During the Portuguese rule of Dom Pedro II until 1889, through the years of the First Brazilian Republic (1889-1930) and into the First Vargas Regime (1930-1945), Brazil struggled to solidify a strong national identity that would finally unify the country and legitimize its rich cultural heritage. The discovery and excavation of Marajó Island in the 1870s provided evidence of a great, ancient civilization, and inspired Brazilian Art Deco and early Modernist artists. Polychrome ceramic urns, vessels, and tangas (female pubic covers) were among the most abundant archaeological finds, many with zoomorphic and geometric motifs that show the cultural importance of …

Rizer, Michael C. (Fa 1186), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1186. Student paper titled “Early Toy Making” in which Michael Rizer interviews two sets of couples, the Barnes and the McKees, regarding their crafting ability as it relatesto miniature, hand-carved furniture. Rizer offers a brief description of each toy maker and details the various types of materials, models, and carving techniques used in the creation of the miniatures. Included in the paper are color photographs of the craftsmen and women along with pictures of their wooden furniture pieces and one reel-to-reel audio tape of interviews conducted by Rizer.

Rains, B. Mickey, B. 1952 (Fa 1178), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1178. Student folk studies project titled “The Crafting of Hickory Bottomed Chairs” which includes interviews and survey sheets about the process of making hickory bottomed chairs in Macon County, Tennessee. Sheets may include a brief description of a practice, a photograph, and text classification.

Kezar, Jovanna (Fa 1153), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1153. Student paper titled “Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village: The Shakers Today” in which Jovanna Kezar details her visit to the Shaker community located near Poland, Maine. Kezar gives a brief, albeit thorough, history of the Shaker experienceas it relates to spirituality, organization, and guiding principles such as mottos, beliefs and practices, forms of worship, and governmental structure. Kezar also describes her trip to the Shaker village and provides color photographs and slides of buildings and photographs along with newspaper clippings, postcards, and assorted stationery.

Hoyt, Roy (Fa 1145), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1145. Student paper titled “Upholstery – A Folk Occupation” in which Roy Hoyt speaks with Frank Black, a resident of Burgin, Kentucky and “the last of the true ‘tufters’ in his portion of Kentucky.” In the interviews conducted by Hoyt, Black, who had been a craftsman for more than three decades, details the tools, materials, and processes used to upholster furniture. The paper also includes occupational anecdotes and color photographs of Black’s workshop, machines, and finished products.

Pyatt, Susanna (Fa 1380), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Folklife Archives Project 1380. “Woven Evidence?: Western Shaker Connections with Native Americans,” a paper written by Susanna Pyatt in April 2018 for a WKU folk studies class.