ABSTRACT

This article explores the relationship between art, folklore, and cultural institutions in mid-twentieth-century Ecuador. The founding of the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana (CCE) in 1944 represented a milestone in the construction of the idea of ‘national culture’. It generated a cultural policy that recognized indigeneity as the foundation of Ecuadorian identity. The artists of the time took up joint actions with the CCE intended to salvage what was initially regarded as ‘manual art’ or ‘indigenous arts’, and eventually became notions of ‘handicrafts’ and/or ‘folklore’. Following the creation of the Instituto Ecuatoriano del Folklore and the Instituto Azuayo del Folklore in the 1960s, both of which were affiliated with the CCE, a series of art-related activities were organized. The artists involved regarded themselves as folklorists and took charge not only of collecting ethnographic materials throughout the country but also of motivating an aesthetic interest in, and promoting craft practices among the indigenous peoples. From this perspective, this article considers the complex interweaving between what was being configured as a field of artistic-aesthetic creation and research as conceived from the standpoint of material culture, its intersection with the anthropology of folklore at the time, and the interests of the nation-state in this kind of cultural practice.

摘要

本文探讨了 20 世纪中叶厄瓜多尔的艺术、民俗和文化机构之间的关系。1944 年厄瓜多尔文化之家 (CCE) 的成立代表了“民族文化”理念建设的里程碑。它产生了一项文化政策，承认土著是厄瓜多尔身份的基础。当时的艺术家与 CCE 采取联合行动，旨在挽救最初被视为“手工艺术”或“本土艺术”的东西，并最终成为“手工艺品”和/或“民间传说”的概念。随着 1960 年代隶属于 CCE 的 Instituto Ecuatoriano del Folklore 和 Instituto Azuayo del Folklore 的创建，一系列与艺术相关的活动被组织起来。参与的艺术家将自己视为民俗学家，不仅负责在全国范围内收集民族志材料，还负责激发对土著人民的审美兴趣，并促进土著人民的手工艺实践。从这个角度来看，本文考虑了从物质文化的角度构想的被配置为艺术美学创作和研究领域的复杂交织，它与当时的民俗人类学的交叉，以及当代人的兴趣。民族国家在这种文化实践中。