This now weekly posting began simply because I was drawn to things…Caribbean things, specifically. The objects created uniquely through, by and for the Caribbean experience, all of which contribute to what is called “material culture”.
We’re a couple months in so I decided to take a step back and start at the start. In this two parter, we’ll first tackle the what and the why of material culture. In the second installation, we get into the juicy bits, namely, why in particular is Caribbean material culture important. Honestly I can’t wait to get into that and hopefully get your thoughts as well.
Every post is open for comments.
If you’re on IG, feel free to comment there as well @salt.and.aloes
This week’s post also features work from photographer Ivar Wigan whose work captures some of Jamaica’s street culture. Wigan had been visiting the island for a decade before the project and makes a point to recognize his position as outsider and the implications that come with that.
More about the work here
Ivar Wigan, Jamaica, 2015
What is Material Culture?
Consider all the objects that you physically touch today, the myriad of products that you encounter throughout the day. From the mattress you slept on, to the mug you chose for that first morning coffee, to the car that transported you to an awaiting world of even more things…our lives are full of STUFF. That stuff, it turns out, can be a critical key to unlocking who we are.
Think back to your first moments of consciousness this morning. Many of us instinctively reached out for our smart phones (if you’re among the folks who don’t, I genuinely applaud your will power here). How would you describe this clearly critical object? What does it look like? How does it feel? What function does it serve? Now dig a little deeper…How do you feel about this object? What does it signal about you and how does it factor into your relationships with others?
Now apply those same questions to everything you touch today, the things you adorn yourself in, that objects that you surround yourself with…everything.
The study of material culture begins with the premise that the “things” that we interact with on a daily basis, the physical objects in and around our lives, are critical signs, symbols and tools for our complex social systems. Put another way, the study of material culture is the study of societies, past and present, through observation and analysis of the physical objects generated and used by them.
Ivar Wigan, Jamaica, 2015
Material culture studies focuses not just on the artifacts themselves, but rather the meaning of those objects to people. One of the features that characterize humans apart from other species is the extent to which we interact with objects, whether they are used or traded, curated, adapted or discarded. In the creating, reimagining, exchanging and consuming of objects, we communicate a particular public self. Objects, in other words, are like blank slates upon which we project our needs, desires, ideas and values. As such, material culture contains important information about who we are, who we were and who we want to be.
Ultimately, when the question of why material culture is worthy of , the simple answer is that things matter. Things complete the story of us.
Ivar Wigan, Jamaica, 2017
Next Week….CARIBBEAN THINGS; Identifying and celebrating our story