Representation of non-seriality in handmade practice

Abstract

This paper discusses an interesting aspect of handmade realization as a modern hobby-project. As a many-sided phenomenon, the handmade project actualizes several questions and features of modern culture. In this paper authors focus their attention on the special status of hand-made product that becomes very important for social and cultural interactions of different types. A man-made thing is opposite to the mass-production and this position for authors’ opinion became a special cultural point. Representation of non-seriality, uniqueness, personification is analyzed in this paper as an inherent feature of modern handiwork and also as the basis for communication and identifi cation practices. Authors research the main way of getting this special status for a handmade product and its representation in communication and gift-giving acts, they apply to several specifi c characteristics. In particular, the most effective method of marking a handmade product is leaving a tiny defect which can be researched in terms of stigma-theory by E. Goff man. This defect puts the thing in opposition to the world of ideal machine-produced objects and becomes evidence of its origin, a marker of a man-partaking which feeds a very popular now “cozy”, “sweet”, “personal” image. Authors also apply to other interesting features of hand-made aesthetic that are represented in the info-sphere such as therapy, “diet precepts”, etc. They consider that handmade product is very significant and represents individual and community identity, constructs and marks relations. Since handmade products usually are produced to be given as a gift, this moment is researched in the paper with references to classic and modern works on gift economy. The article contents research of actual in modern situation questions about communication and representation strategies. It is a part of the authors’ research of handmade project in modern Russian culture. Refs 9.