Rugs, Guitars, and Fiddling: Intensification and the Rich Modern Lives of Traditional Arts - Paperback

by Chris Goertzen (Author)

What do exotic area rugs, handcrafted steel-string guitars, and fiddling have in common today? Many contemporary tradition bearers embrace complexity in form and content. They construct objects and performances that draw on the past and evoke nostalgia effectively but also reward close attention. In Rugs, Guitars, and Fiddling: Intensification and the Rich Modern Lives of Traditional Arts, author Chris Goertzen argues that this entails three types of change that can be grouped under an umbrella term: intensification. First, traditional creativity can be intensified through virtuosity, through doing hard things extra fluently. Second, performances can be intensified through addition, by packing increased amounts of traditional materials into the conventionally sized packages. Third, in intensification through selection, artistic impact can grow even if amount of information recedes by emphasizing compelling ideas--e.g., crafting a red and black viper poised to strike rather than a pretty duck decoy featuring more colors and contours.

Author Biography

Chris Goertzen (1952-2025) was professor emeritus of music history and world music at the University of Southern Mississippi. His books include Fiddling for Norway: Revival and Identity; Southern Fiddlers and Fiddle Contests; Made in Mexico: Tradition, Tourism, and Political Ferment in Oaxaca; George P. Knauff's "Virginia Reels" and the History of American Fiddling; American Antebellum Fiddling; and Eck Robertson at the Crossroads of American Fiddling, the latter five published by University Press of Mississippi.