New vernacular publication
It’s been a little while since the last post here on the Museum of the Vernacular site as behind the scenes a new project is coming into being.
The Vernacularist, Numbewr One cover page featuring artwork by Benjamin Work
A new printed journal The Vernacularist – is on it’s way! Here’s a little about the publication:
The Vernacularist – Exploring the vernacular as a social movement.
This printed journal delves into the rapidly evolving vernacular identity of Aotearoa New Zealand and the vernacular as an essential foundation for cultural as well as economic sustainability and growth. The inclusion of thought provoking articles, the questioning of social ‘norms’ and the celebration of vernacular and indigenous practices contributes to this new challenging and evocative publication.
The Vernacularist questions: What are the social paradigms which may be used to define us and by the same token constrain us? Do symbols or cultural identifiers such as imagery of fauna and ferna, the black singlet and No8 wire or language like chur, bach etc. (- cultural products of the New Zealand vernacular) still retain significance? Have they been reduced to branding? Are they becoming redundant in NZ’s developing culture? Where did they come from to begin with, why have they become so significant and what do they mean?
Articles included in The Vernacularist are written by independent contributors exploring culture not just at face value but at a deeper level. The development of cultural identity and heritage through such lenses as vernacular architecture and art, the strengths of vernacular culture like intrinsic value vs. threats posed by globalisation (e.g. the rampant deconstruction of arts, crafts, traditions into commodities and consumables, or, colonisation of cultural identity by consumer culture) are just some of the ongoing discussions which make The Vernacularist the unique and significant publication it is.
The concept for this journal has developed out of recent Depot Artspace projects Cultural Icons, The Cultural Mapping Project, The Museum of the Vernacular, and most recently the independent publication In Search of the Vernacular.
Issue one features contributions from Linda Blincko, Barry Brickell, Nigel Brown, John Coley, Guy Collier, John Coutts, Mia Hamilton, Dominic Hoey (AKA Tourettes), Peter Jennings, Brendan Kitto, Rachel Liebert, Marie E Potter, Gregory J Smith, Michael Smythe, Tony Watkins and Benjamin Work.
Submissions for Issue two are already open on the theme of ‘community’. Email erin.forsyth@depoartspace.co.nz for more information…