Art as Politics: Re-Crafting Identities, Tourism, and Power in Tana Toraja, Indonesia (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780824830724)

Art as Politics explores the intersection of art, identity politics, and tourism in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Based on long-term ethnographic research from the 1980s to the present, the book offers a nuanced portrayal of the Sa'dan Toraja, a predominantly Christian minority group in the world's most populous Muslim country. Celebrated in anthropological and tourism literatures for their spectacular traditional houses, sculpted effigies of the dead, and pageantry-filled funeral rituals, the Toraja have entered an era of accelerated engagement with the global economy marked by on-going struggles over identity, religion, and social relations.

In her engaging account, Kathleen Adams chronicles how various Toraja individuals and groups have drawn upon artistically-embellished "traditional" objects--as well as monumental displays, museums, UNESCO ideas about "word heritage," and the World Wide Web--to shore up or realign aspects of a cultural heritage perceived to be under threat. She also considers how outsiders--be they tourists, art collectors, members of rival ethnic groups, or government officials--have appropriated and reframed Toraja art objects for their own purposes. Her account illustrates how art can serve as a catalyst in identity politics, especially in the context of tourism and social upheaval.

Ultimately, this insightful work prompts readers to rethink persistent and pernicious popular assumptions--that tourism invariably brings a loss of agency to local communities or that tourist art is a compromised form of expression. Art as Politics promises to be a favorite with students and scholars of anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, ethnic relations, art, and Asian studies.

Author: Kathleen M. Adams
ISBN-10: 0824830725
ISBN-13: 9780824830724
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Language: English
Published: 08/31/2006
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 8.99h x 6.32w x 0.77d

Review Citation(s):
Reference and Research Bk News 02/01/2007 pg. 59