Design in a Colonial Periphery: Guilds, Artisans, and Non-Artisans in 18th-Century Sonsonate, El Salvador
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Historical studies on the subject of Central American design are scarce. This article attempts to fill the gap as well as to overcome the exclusive correlation of design with industrialization. It highlights the relationship in a space and time other than those studied customarily: in the present case, 18th-century Sonsonate, El Salvador. With this purpose, it analyzes crafts, based primarily on an unpublished census of 1787 housed in the Archivo Municipal de Sonsonate. Considering design as a practice inherent to human life, this paper argues that design was present in craft activity through the creation of products, becoming a key factor for survival in a colonial periphery and overcoming guild barriers. Research findings indicate the limitations of conceiving design in industrial societies as a construction of coloniality, positing also the need to advance a concept of design that addresses the cultural and historical realities of peripheral regions like Sonsonate.
Source: Arts
DOI: 10.3390/arts12060223
Author: José Ricardo Castellón Osegueda
Institution: Berlin University of the Arts
Language: English
Topic: Crafts, Textile, and Design
Subfield: Museology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,335
OpenAlex ID: W4387976138