Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This essay surveys the understudied collecting practices of Russel Wright (1903–1976) in and in relation to Southeast Asia during the mid twentieth century, with emphasis on Vietnam. On behalf of the American State Department, from November 1955 to February 1956 Wright travelled throughout Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Hong Kong to assess the region's potential to produce handicraft for export to the United States for domestic consumption. Wright toured sites of handicraft production and collected examples that upon his return to the States he displayed in commercial contexts and about which he published an essay in Interiors. Wright promoted the purchase of Southeast Asian handicraft items and championed an aesthetic that rendered them especially suitable for middle class American homes. Through Russel Wright Associates, in Southeast Asia he established centers to foster the production of handicraft and display and sell the results. Wright's collecting practices relating to Southeast Asia broaden the basis on which traditionally we have valued Wright's significance for American culture while they also alert us to transnational dimensions of historical relationships of American diplomacy and culture.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

“America's Arts and Skills, Part I.” Life 39 no. 16 (April 18, 1955): 108–132.

“Arts of the Frontier, Part VI.” Life 39 no. 22 (November 28, 1955): 74–89.

“Beauty in the Tools of Today, Part IX.” Life 40 no. 21 (May 21, 1956): 96–114.

Brennan

Harold J.

“Training the Hand Craftsman.” School Arts 53 (April 1954): 13–16.

Brown

Conrad

. “ICA's technical assistance of U.S. industrial designers and U.S. Craftsmen promise some exciting results in their efforts to aid the Asiatic craftsman.” Craft Horizons 18 no. 4 (July/August 1958): 29–37.

“Caution is Urged in U.N. Aid Role; Progress Should Not Result in Disrupting Cultures or People, Lodge Says.” The New York Times June 26, 1956: 50.

Clifford

James

. “Of Other Peoples: Beyond the ‘Salvage’ Paradigm.” In Discussions in Contemporary Culture, No. 1, edited by Foster

Hal

, 121–130. Seattle, Washington: Dia Foundation and Bay Press, 1987.

“Close Ups of Vietnam, Scenes from Troubled South Vietnam.” The New York Times Magazine (May 1, 1955): 10–11.

“Craftsmen and Patriots, Part II.” Life 39 no. 22 (May 30, 1955): 56–72.

10.

“Design as a Political Force, Part 2.” Industrial Design 4 no. 4 (April 1957): 44–60.

11.

Dominguez

Virginia

. “Of Other Peoples: Beyond the ‘Salvage’ Paradigm.” In Discussions in Contemporary Culture, No. 1, edited by Hal Foster, 131–137. Seattle, Washington: Dia Foundation and Bay Press, 1987.

12.

Eggers

George William

. “Handcraft, The Lore of Substances.” Craft Horizons 14 no. 6 (November–December 1954): 11.

13.

Faas

Horst

and Page

Tim

, Editors. Requiem: By the Photographer who Died in Vietnam and Indonesia. New York: Random House, 1997.

14.

Fabian

Johannes

. Time and the Other: How Anthropology Makes its Objects. New York: Columbia University Press, 1983.

15.

Fall

Bernard

. Vietnam Witness, 1953–1966. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966.

16.

F[leishman]

A[vrom].

“The Designer as Economic Diplomat: the government applies the designers’ approach to problems of international trade.” Industrial Design 3 (August 1956): 68–73.

17.

Giles

Dorothy

. “The Story of the A.C.E.C.” Craft Horizons 14 no. 5 (September–October, 1954): 1921.

18.

“The Greek Revival, Part IV.“ Life 39 no. 9 (August 19, 1955): 58–69.

19.

Hennessey

William J.

Russel Wright, An American Designer. Hamilton, New York: Gallery Association of New York State, Inc., 1983.

20.

“Homespun Heritage, Part III.“ Life 39 no. 3 (July 18, 1955): 54–68.

21.

“ICA Set Up in Department of State.“ Department of State Bulletin 33 (July 18, 1955): 124–125.

22.

“Interview with General J. Lawton Collins: What We're Doing in Indo-China.“ U.S. News and World Report (March 4, 1955): 82–88.

23.

Kennedy

John F.

“America's Stake in Vietnam: Cornerstone of the Free World in Southeast Asia.” Vital Speeches of the Day 22 (August 1, 1956): 671–691.

24.

Larsen

Jack Lenor

, “Handwoven Silks from Thailand.” Craft Horizons 12 no. 6 (November–December, 1952): 32–5.

25.

Lederer

William

and Burdick

Eujene

. The Ugly American. New York: Norton, 1958.

26.

Mitarachi

Jane Fiske

. “Design as a Political Force, Part I.” Industrial Design 4 no. 2 (February 1957): 37–39, 52–55.

27.

Nowlin

Eugenia C.

“The Army Arts and Crafts Program.” School Arts 53 (June 1954): 9–12.

28.

Pepis

Betty

. “Crafts of the U.S.A.” New York Times Magazine (October 18, 1953): 50–51.

29.

Pepis

Betty

. “Handcrafts of Asia,” The New York Times Magazine (June 24, 1956): 28–29.

30.

Poor

Henry Varnum

. “Design & a Common Language.” Craft Horizons 11 no. 4 (November 1951): 19–21.

31.

Pulos

Arthur J.

The American Design Adventure, 1940–1975. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1988.

32.

Reif

Rita

. “Art Works From Orient Seek American Market.” New York Times August 29, 1960: 19.

33.

Robertson

Walter S.

“Progress in Free Viet-Nam.” Department of State Bulletin 34 (June 11, 1956): 972–974.

34.

“The Romantic Decades, Part V.“ Life 39 no. 16 (October 17, 1955): 98–114.

35.

Samuels

Gertrude

. “People in Search of Identity.” The New York Times Magazine (September 23, 1956): 26–27, 31, 39, 42, 44.

36.

Seonaid

Mairi Robertson

. Craft and Contemporary Culture. London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd and UNESCO, 1961.

37.

Russel Wright Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Library.

38.

Slivka

Rose

. “U.S. Crafts.” Craft Horizons 19 no. 2 (March–April 1959): 9–21.

39.

“U.S. Gives Viet-Nam $37 Million for Refugee Resettlement.“ Department of State Bulletin (February 6, 1956): 208.

40.

Wright

Mary

and Russel . Guide to Easier Living. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1951.

41.

Wright

Russel

. “Gold Mine in Southeast Asia.” Interiors 116 no. 1 (August 1956): 94–101.

Russel Wright and Handicraft Transnational Collecting Practices

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References