Contemporary: Souvenir & Decorative
Souvenir & Decorative | Contemporary TraditionalSubjects, Topics & Types:
- Description
- Souvenir
- Decorative
- Appropriation Decorative
- Temple Shop Art (Prior to mid 20th century)
- Suspect Art
- Fake Art
- Skill Level: Excellent, Good, Average, Poor
- Confusions
- Others...
Contemporary Traditional Souvenir and Decorative art is defined as created in the last half of the 20th century. Prior to that time souvenir and decorative art varied greatly based on region and time. Other names can be applied to this form of art such as Export Art or Temple Shop Art. The Field Museum of Chicago has a good selection of examples of Temple Shop art from the turn of the 20th century, acquired for the museum in approximately 1906.
Souvenir art is created as a commodity. The art is for resale. Souvenir art is often of a poor quality, poor skill and does not necessarily follow iconographic, religious or stylistic norms. The art is intended to represent something that seems familiar. A lack of iconographic rigor and accuracy is a key characteristic of souvenir art.
Art created for decorative purposes can be of a slightly better quality both because of the materials and the skill of the artist. Replicating patterns is easier than having to know the details of complex Buddhist or Bon iconography.
Jeff Watt 6-2017 [11-2018]
