wood in culture
Vessels Xylotheque
- Writing - In progress:
- "Woods of Sculpture" - Wood species historically significant to sculpture.
- "Brazilian Woods" - History, uses, and cultural meaning of Brazil’s native woods.
- "Remarkable Woods" - Exceptional woods and the natural and cultural histories that make them unique.
The research investigates wood through the lens of material culture, examining the relationships between its biology, geography, history, and cultural uses.
The research studies individual wood species from the tree itself—its anatomy, growth, and habitat—to how different societies have used, carved, traded, valued, and understood its wood over time. It considers how wood's physical properties shape what is made from it and traces the histories, traditions, and meanings associated with particular species.
As part of the research, an ongoing xylotheque of hand-carved vessels serves as a material archive. Each vessel is carved from a different wood species, allowing its color, grain, texture, density, anatomy, and carving behavior to be observed and compared.
The research studies individual wood species from the tree itself—its anatomy, growth, and habitat—to how different societies have used, carved, traded, valued, and understood its wood over time. It considers how wood's physical properties shape what is made from it and traces the histories, traditions, and meanings associated with particular species.
As part of the research, an ongoing xylotheque of hand-carved vessels serves as a material archive. Each vessel is carved from a different wood species, allowing its color, grain, texture, density, anatomy, and carving behavior to be observed and compared.