Description

pp. 254, color illustraitons, “This charming and beautiful book concerns itself with “the small skills of carving insects”a derogatory term once used by the elite to describe the art of peasants and the urban poor. The art forms discussed here are those still practiced today, including papercuts, shadow puppets, embroidery, batik, and woodblock prints. The traditions, symbols, and motifs have been handed down for thousands of years. Berliner devotes one chapter to these symbols, and others to each art form, describing the history of each and the techniques involved. The illustrations are beautiful, and the author’s devotion to her subject is obvious. A for both scholars and the general public”