The Wyoming Folklife Archive
Bright scraps of fabric and nimble fingers fashion a quilt to warm a bed.
From an isolated cabin the plaintive sounds of a fiddle fill the night.
Saddles of breathtaking beauty are created by master craftsmen skilled in tradition and artistry.
The American Studies Program is pleased to house the Wyoming Folk Art Archives in the Cooper House, on the University of Wyoming, Laramie campus.
From the exquisite beauty of a handmade fiddle to the whimsical humor of a pop can whirligig, Wyoming's folk artists make unique and diverse contributions to the region's material culture. Ethnic festivals, home entertainments, community celebrations and regional events are also important elements of Wyoming's folk heritage.
The mission of the Wyoming Folk Arts Archive is to preserve a record of Wyoming's folk arts and culture. Color slides, audio tapes, photographs, manuscript files, as well as video tapes and artifacts are available for use by researchers.
More about the Collection
Use of the archive
Use of the Wyoming Folk Art Archive is by appointment only. Questions
about the archive should be addressed to Professor John Dorst, at the
mailing address below.
To schedule an appointment to view the collection please e-mail us.
The Wyoming Folk Art Archive
c/o The American Studies Program
P.O. Box 4036
Cooper House
Laramie
Wyoming 82071-4036
phone: (307) 766-3898
fax: (307) 766-3700
some definitions
folk craft
"Warren Roberts (1972a) defines 'folk craft' not with a specific
definition but by listing a number of tendencies. According to Roberts,
folk crafts are types of material culture which tend to have the
following characteristics: 1) They are traditional: that is, learned
orally or by example, often passed down in families or through
apprenticeships. 2) They tend to be in general use throughout a society,
not just in the upper or educated class. 3) The craftsperson generally
creates and designs the entire craft or object; that is, it is not made
on an assembly line. 4) The craftsperson generally creates a finished
product, as opposed to an occupation such as mining or logging which
creates a raw material" (Evans,1995:p.11).
folk art
"For a definition of folk art, we turn to Henry Glassie. Glassie (1972)
states that 'most folk art exists within the immediate context of folk
craft.' Most traditional crafts, Glassie says, will simultaneously give
pleasure and serve 'some practical social or economic end.' An object is
art if giving pleasure is dominant over the practical ends. Glassie
writes, 'the artifact is art to the extent that it is an expression of
an intention to give and take pleasure, and it is folk art to the extent
that the intention was esoteric and traditional" (Evans, 1995:p.11-12).
material culture
"...material culture can be considered to be the totality
of artifacts in a culture, the vast universe of objects used by
humankind to cope with the physical world, to facilitate social
intercourse, to delight our fancy, and to create symbols of meaning" (Schlereth,
p. 2).
"...the term material culture...refers both to the subject matter of the
study, material, and to its purpose, the understanding of culture" (Schlereth,
p.3).
"Material culture study is, therefore, the study through artifacts (and
other pertinent historical evidence) of the belief systems -the values,
ideas, attitudes, and assumptions -of a particular community or society,
usually across time " (Schlereth, p.3).
Sources Schlereth, Thomas J. 1982. "Material Culture Studies in America,
1876-1976," in Material Culture Studies in America, Nashville:
Association for State and Local History.
Sources
Evans, Timothy H. 1995. Western Saddle Making:
History, Technology, Innovation. Doctoral thesis, Indiana University,
departments of Folklore and American Studies.
Glassie, Henry. 1972. "Folk Art," in Folklore and Folklife, ed. Richard
M. Dorson. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Roberts, Warren E. 1972a. "Folk Craft," in Folklore and Folklife, ed.
Richard M. Dorson. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
