Busying Production, Running Business, and Making a Livelihood: The Vocational Predicament of Artisans in Yilan Old Town
Date Issued
2008
Date
2008
Author(s)
Wu, Po-Hsun
Abstract
This research attempts to present multi-dimensions of artisans’ vocational predicament in Yilan old town by examining their daily life experiences. In-depth interview and participant observation are adopted here to discover artisans’ inner thoughts and to record the producing culture. Furthermore, this research proceeds to analyze artisans’ attitude towards the sustainability of their job based on the aspects of personal identity, spacial exercise, and social network. Through the study of literary review on handicraft, the development of craftwork in Taiwan, preservation of traditional profession, social class, and the shop life style, this research assumes the craft itself possesses the potential to improve the vocational predicament and suggests the dynamic interaction between business culture and shop space. Since artisans perform as the critical intermediators who integrate social culture, the shops become the embodiment of the public value carried by the craftwork. This research further argues that the multiple roles of an artisan－worker, manager and communicator, effect the mix use in the shop and weave the social connections of artisans and consumers. As a matter of fact, artisans live under great economical pressure due to the decline of handicraft in the age of mechanical reproduction. Hence, most artisans tend to take conservative attitudes towards the picture of their future. This research comes to the conclusion that the multiple roles of artisans influence their willing to sustain the craft. Accounts like the limited scale of production, human resource, and word-of-mouth marketing also cause artisans feel conservative about the vocational sustainability. Besides, the mix use of the shop, the house, and the workshop are interdependent with business culture. Thus, the display of the shop makes it possible to become alternate public space. All in all, if the struggle of artisans’ personal consideration extends to the consensus of public issue, the vocational predicament might invert.
Subjects
artisans
crafts
craftwork
bussiness culture
vocational predicament
Yilan old town
Type
thesis
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