Craftsmanship Isn't Valued for Its Beauty

Arguing that the value of indigenous craftsmanship lies in its beauty limits the creative freedom of craftsmen

Carlos Didjazaá

I recently attended the lecture "Of that which we call Mexican craftsmanship" by the brilliant anthropologist Victoria Novelo (1943-2020), and two things caught my attention.

The first was her persistent denunciation of professional intrusions, only to end her lecture with what would be, by her standards, an intrusion: a sermon on art and …