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A compilation of America's premier folk artists and a celebration of their excellence and devotion to their crafts.

This fascinating two volume biographical dictionary by Alan Govenar chronicles the lives of America's most significant folk artists--people dedicated to working in time-honored art forms including, music, dance, crafts, and spoken word traditions. This artistry has often been learned informally by word of mouth or by example. An overview of the first 20 years of the National Heritage Fellowship Program presented by the National Endowment for the Arts to recognize excellence of individual artists and the ongoing ingenuity of different cultural styles, these volumes include an education guide and interactive multimedia.

With over 200 entries of one to two pages, the book covers practitioners of Ghanian American drumming, Puerto Rican carnival mask making, Shaker hymn singing, Czech American egg decorating, knotted bedspread making, and more. Also included are an extensive bibliography, discography, and filmography of available recordings, publications, films, and videos, and a resource list.

* A-Z encyclopedia of biographies of every National Heritage Fellowship recipient of the past 20 years

* Many photographs documenting the artists practicing their crafts

* An appendix listing the recipients of the Bess Lomax Hawes Award, created in 2000 to recognize artists whose contributions have greatly benefited their artistic tradition

* A selected bibliography, discography, webography, and filmography of available print, recordings, films, and videos compiled from materials at the National Endowment for the Arts, Library of Congress, and Smithsonian Institution, among others

Reseñas proporcionadas por Syndetics

Library Journal Review

For this unique biographical dictionary, folklorist/filmmaker Govenar draws on 20 years of interviews with participants in the National Heritage Fellowship program, a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) program honoring American artists who practice the traditional or folk arts. Those represented include Afro-Cuban drummers, Ukrainian American egg decorators, Native American basket makers, African American tap dancers, Basque American accordionists, and Anglo American quilters. Arranged alphabetically by name, the entries each begin with a black-and-white photograph of the artist and list his or her ethnic identification. The essays, one to two pages of straightforward text, provide biographical information and details about the person's craft while also recognizing ethnic and cultural influences. The second volume concludes with an appendix about the Bess Lomax Hawes Award, the NEA's annual prize for excellence in the folk and traditional arts; as this was introduced in 2000, there are currently two entries. The book also features a resource list facilitating further research about the Heritage Fellows, a selected bibliography, discography, and filmography arranged by the artists' names, and an index that covers nationalities, ethnic groups, art forms, and personal names. Recommended for most public and academic libraries with an interest in the arts or ethnic and cultural studies. Cynthia A. Johnson, Barnard Coll. Lib., New York (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up-This resource chronicles the lives and careers of the 259 recipients of the National Heritage Fellowship, awarded annually since 1982 by the National Endowment for the Arts to individual practitioners of folk and traditional arts. Arranged alphabetically by artist's name, the entries do not follow a standard format, other than including the subjects' birth (and, where applicable, death), and dates and fields of artistic endeavor, and are not comprehensive biographies. Instead, they present an informative, anecdotal overview of those aspects of the subjects' lives that directly influenced their professional development. Each one- to three-page entry, based primarily on interviews with the artist, is accompanied by at least one black-and-white photograph, usually a portrait. Further resources on each artist are listed in the "Selected Bibliography, Discography, Filmography" which precedes the general index. The general index has an inconsistent format: a search for blues music yields a list of musicians with the page numbers of their entries, but under Cajun music there are only page references and no musicians' names. It is disappointing that the articles, especially those on quilters and other textile artists, do not include color photographs of their work. However, in his introduction, the editor mentions related DVD-ROM and interactive Internet resources. This set will be especially useful in large public libraries, academic libraries, art schools, music conservatories, and secondary schools that specialize in the arts.-Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

This set profiles each of the 257 recipients of the National Heritage Fellowships, intended to recognize noteworthy folk artists and the artistic traditions and cultures they represent and awarded annually by the National Endowment of the Arts since 1982. The entries are therefore concerned as much with traditional arts as with biographies of the artists. The biographical sketches, generally less than two pages in length, are accompanied by a photograph of the artist. Although most of the fellowships have gone to musicians, other artists range from the relatively common basket makers, weavers, and potters, to the less common egg decorators, lei makers, and tea ceremony masters. Most are little known outside their fields. Arguably, the best-known is Irish-American step dancer Michael Flatley, although his leading role with the celebrated Riverdance and Lord of the Dance stage productions is curiously not mentioned in his profile. The "Selected Bibliography, Discography, Filmography" section cites additional sources for each of the artists. A general resource list and an appendix covering the first two recipients of the Bess Lomax Hawes Award begun in 2000 are also included. Primarily of interest to libraries collecting in traditional art forms and multicultural studies. R. Nash University of Nebraska at Omaha

Booklist Review

The National Endowment for the Arts began the National Heritage Fellowship program in 1982 to recognize outstanding individual artists and different cultural styles. Nominated by the American public and selected by a panel of folklorists, ethnomusicologists, artists, and cultural specialists, fellows are chosen for their contributions to folk arts, mainly music, dance, crafts, and spoken-word traditions. This set surveys the first 20 years of the National Heritage program by providing information about the lives and careers of the fellowship recipients. More than 250 artists profiled A-Z by name include accordionists, beadworkers, blues guitarists, hula masters, metalsmiths, quilters, saddle makers, santos carvers, singers, and storytellers. A photograph of the recipient and such basic information as craft, ethnic identification, and the artist's place and date of birth introduce individual entries. The entries themselves are short, usually a page or two, and are descriptive and biographical rather than analytical. Except for examples which appear in some artists' portraits, there are no photographs of artworks. Much of the entry material came from the program books created by the staff of the folk and traditional arts program of the NEA. The set includes a selected bibliography, discography, and filmography; a resource list; and a useful index. The index helps the reader locate entries by art form or ethnic heritage. As an overview of the National Heritage Fellowship program's many folk and traditional art forms, this set will be of particular interest to libraries and teachers specializing in American folklore, cultural arts, and traditions. This set will complement the coverage of the Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century American Folk Art and Artists (Abbeville, 1990).

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

Alan Govenar , PhD, is founder and president of Documentary Arts and is a writer, folklorist, filmmaker, and photographer.