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congruent events
Oct. 12th, 2007 05:01 pmThe arrival of a newly published book by Stephen Braude renewed my interest in the conceptual tangles of synchronicity (with accompanying synchronistic occurrences). Doris Lessing won the Nobel Prize, and on the same day Loreena McKennitt and musicians gave a memorable performance beneath the artificial stars of the caravanserai-themed auditorium of Atlanta's Fox Theatre (which McKennitt described as "the hall we want to carry on tour with us"). Tomorrow is the 700th anniversary of the suppression of the Knights Templar, and the Vatican has published an eight thousand dollar edition of the heretofore secret documents in the Vatican archives.
Obviously the only possible response to all this is to return to my reflections on how Chinese manufacturers go about producing convincing fake wood carvings of Thanksgiving figurines. (Regrettably, it does tie in with the 1920s technology of the Fox Theatre sky-ceiling that goes from full day to starry night, with the currently unused option of clouds drifting across the stars in the night.)
I had meant to photograph these things, because I can't find them illustrated online, but Pike Nursery has gotten in two very similar sets of Pilgrims and Indians from different brand-name manufacturers. All are in a pseudo-naive style reminiscent of actual handcarved figures from before World War II. All have slightly different application of paint, but the places where the "knife" "slipped" and "gouged" the "wood" are absolutely identical.
So these are cast from molds. But they don't feel plastic; they feel remarkably like actual wood, from texture down to general weight.
How widespread is the distribution of this type of figure, and does anyone have a guess as to the material that's poured into the molds? I'm guessing a combination of machine-applied paint and hand finishing.
If nobody has seen this stuff, I'll have to post comparative detail photographs. I've been fascinated by the general distinguishing features of the Chinese-produced holiday objects that Pike Nursery carries, but this has really piqued my curiosity in terms of creating authentic-looking fakes.
Obviously the only possible response to all this is to return to my reflections on how Chinese manufacturers go about producing convincing fake wood carvings of Thanksgiving figurines. (Regrettably, it does tie in with the 1920s technology of the Fox Theatre sky-ceiling that goes from full day to starry night, with the currently unused option of clouds drifting across the stars in the night.)
I had meant to photograph these things, because I can't find them illustrated online, but Pike Nursery has gotten in two very similar sets of Pilgrims and Indians from different brand-name manufacturers. All are in a pseudo-naive style reminiscent of actual handcarved figures from before World War II. All have slightly different application of paint, but the places where the "knife" "slipped" and "gouged" the "wood" are absolutely identical.
So these are cast from molds. But they don't feel plastic; they feel remarkably like actual wood, from texture down to general weight.
How widespread is the distribution of this type of figure, and does anyone have a guess as to the material that's poured into the molds? I'm guessing a combination of machine-applied paint and hand finishing.
If nobody has seen this stuff, I'll have to post comparative detail photographs. I've been fascinated by the general distinguishing features of the Chinese-produced holiday objects that Pike Nursery carries, but this has really piqued my curiosity in terms of creating authentic-looking fakes.
