Graburn’s Classification

Graburn (1982) has proposed a classification of such art forms, starting with the assumption that at some time, there exist a traditional or functional art tradition on which is made for internal consumption according to the methods and aesthetic rules of the society. It can be briefly followed the possible evolution away from such embedded arts, under the forces of tourism and change, into other forms of arts and crafts such as commercial replicas, souvenir and novelties, reintegrated arts, popular arts and assimilated arts. The authenticity of these different forms depends not on how closely they adhere to traditional forms, but on how they are honestly represented to the relatively ignorant tourists. The ultimate authentic arts are of course these embedded, often sacred and symbolic forms. One final category of arts and crafts, which is emerging all over the world, is what Graburn has called assimilated arts. These are the artistic efforts of people, often-ethnic minorities, to work in the medium of someone else’s traditions, often in international art media such as painting or instrumental music. Key examples would include Australian aborigine watercolor painting, American Indian poster and oil painting, Canadian Eskimo printmaking, Japanese abstract expressionist works, West African boutique, Zambian sculptures and so on. Again these are quite authentic of their own kind, though they are new hybrid in traditions are being copied. Authenticity is slighted only when we people told that they are old traditions, or even that the exploratory “borrowing” group does not in fact create them. These works too have in some instances become tourist arts and some have even ended up in museums, appreciated for their artistic value and norms on the basis of how old the tradition is or isn’t. If the tourism products decline in quality, this will ultimately result in a decline in the tourism economy.